One of my friends has just had a baby, and now has the somewhat joyless experience of manoeuvring a pram in and out of narrow doorways etc when in town shopping.
The answer to me is simple and it's called: Baby on a Stick.
Here's how it works: Baby wears a nicely designed jacket that has a loop of strong material attached to the back area. Stick part of idea consists of a very light adjustable length rod, that terminates in an industrial strength double wheel castor at one end, and a handle at the other.
Part way up the shaft of the stick is a small saddle upon which baby's bum rests, and a little further up there is a padded hook. A plastic fold-away half bubble to protect baby from any rain or wind completes the arrangement. (when bubble is deployed it will look like you are wheeling along a device attached to which is the cocoon of a substantial larvae.
Now all that you need do when you go out, and want to bring your baby, is to hook it unto the stick, and wheel it along in front of you. The stick is contoured so that baby is still carried in such a way as to face backwards and therefore still able to see your face (most important, I'm assured)
Delux version has mud guards for the castors and a headlamp for night use.-- xenzag, Apr 14 2010 The other approach Monster_20Buggy [wagster, Apr 14 2010] This works http://arbroath.blo...ned-baby-orang.htmlFor when "baby-toting folks seem to travel in packs" per [Canuck]. (Shame about the flattened tire. That can't make toting a barrow-full of monkeys or orangs any easier.) [jurist, Apr 17 2010] Piling swivel http://www.google.c...age&ved=0CDkQ9QEwCAVery useful [8th of 7, Apr 18 2010] Piling swivel http://www.sccs.swa...e/piling_swivel.htmClose-up [8th of 7, Apr 18 2010] Piling swivel http://www.solearab.../namingofparts.html" ... which in your case you have not got..." [8th of 7, Apr 18 2010] Baby On A Stick http://www.robbiean...cs/Bindle042309.gifOtherwise known as a Bindle Baby, or the Hobo Solution. [jurist, Apr 18 2010] shockingly, this idea is not here already http://www.popsci.c...infants-zoom-around [theircompetitor, Nov 19 2010] You could, I suppose, just jam a wean into the dust bucket of your Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner. But this is better, less proudly bourgeois.-- calum, Apr 14 2010 // this is better //
Really ? Can it clean right into the corners ?-- 8th of 7, Apr 14 2010 "Baby on a Stick" is inevitably going to conjure images of infant kebabs. Perhaps this idea might be more happily renamed "Baby on Board".-- jurist, Apr 14 2010 // infant kebabs //
Kind of hard to see anything negative in that concept, actually ...-- 8th of 7, Apr 14 2010 So, it only has two casters of contact with the ground? A baby unicycle, basically? What happens if you want to rest it? Is there a kick-stand or something?-- RayfordSteele, Apr 15 2010 Well, this idea was alot more practical than I thought it was going to be...-- MikeD, Apr 15 2010 //Kind of hard to see anything negative in that concept, actually// [+] anyways.-- FlyingToaster, Apr 15 2010 I thought about building such a device a while back, having found myself in the same baby-laden situation as your friend. The reason I left it unbuilt was alluded to by [RS] above, that it's really important to not have to hold it upright all the time. Adding tripod or other legging that holds sturdy even on uneven surfaces adds a lot of bulk, and reduces the benefit of the otherwise single stick. I suppose you could hang it from a tree...-- swimswim, Apr 15 2010 [swimswim] When you want to stop and rest, you simply flick on the castor wheel lock and lean the stick against the nearest wall. Alternatively you can hook it over a set of railings, and when all else fails, (for example in the middle of a lawn) release its supporting spike, push it into the ground, and it will stand upright like a shooting stick.-- xenzag, Apr 15 2010 Stability while leaned against a wall assumes a baby that wiggles much less than mine. The hook idea would work in many situations. The spike, however, would have to be pretty long to support the weight of all but the smallest of babies. And you would have to call the gas company first before releasing the spike. Still, all-in-all: [+]
Have you considered installing a Segway-like gyroscopic stabilizer?-- swimswim, Apr 15 2010 // supporting spike, push it into the ground, and it will stand upright //
// a baby that wiggles much less //
Just a pole with a spike on each end, then ?-- 8th of 7, Apr 15 2010 [8th], I think your logic is vlad.-- swimswim, Apr 15 2010 //Just a pole with a spike on each end, then?//
Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Ralph for sometime now...-- MikeD, Apr 15 2010 Another suggestion is an over-the-shoulder holster accessory.
re: 'stopping and resting', how about the bottom half of the stick retracts, leaving a basic baby 'car seat' with a long handle, sitting on the ground.-- FlyingToaster, Apr 16 2010 That could work, in combo with a set of swing-out prop rods.-- RayfordSteele, Apr 16 2010 veering off a bit, how'bout a carrier/carseat to which two-wheels-and-a-push-stick assembly can be attached.-- FlyingToaster, Apr 17 2010 I realize I have come in a bit late with this, but a lot of baby-toting folks seem to travel in packs, so couldn't three or more of them simply fasten their Baby-on-a-sticks together for support and make a sort of tepee-like structure?
I still prefer the classic velcro suit method for toting infants around: You wear a vest made using the soft side of velcro whilst baby is clad in the spiky half, and Viola! you can carry baby completely hands-free!-- Canuck, Apr 17 2010 There's an alternative solution, [Canuck]. <link>-- jurist, Apr 17 2010 I have seen groups of children transported around in Amsterdam in large wooden wheelbarrows.-- xenzag, Apr 17 2010 sp. larva (singular)-- pertinax, Apr 18 2010 // fasten ... together for support and make a ... tepee-like structure? //
"Piling swivel"
<link>-- 8th of 7, Apr 18 2010 I actually thought this idea was going to be one where you hang a baby from a stick, with baby wearing a harness which allows them to hang from the top of the stick, which is carried around as normal...-- Selky, Apr 18 2010 //the stick, which is carried around as normal// What is the normal method of carrying a stick? Hobo style?
Something similar to a flight bag might be better, where you drag it along behind you.-- marklar, Apr 18 2010 // flight bag ... drag it along //
Suspended below a small blimp ?-- 8th of 7, Apr 18 2010 //blimp//
sp. UAV-- CaptainClapper, Apr 18 2010 random, halfbakery