Concealed carry with an Infant

[bdcheung]

I'd love to hear fellow parents chime in on the matter.

Do you or did you carry while also carrying your infant?

What carry method did you use?

We've got a 6-week old, and when we are out, we carry him in either a Sleepy Wrap (pictured below is not me):
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee159/lintpicker/WW/20110526_5482.jpg

Or an ErgoBaby carrier (again, pictured is not me):
http://www.naturalnursery.co.uk/user/products/ergo-baby-carrier-baby-backpack[2].jpg

Is pocket carry my only option? Off-body carry isn't an option since my wife could take the diaper bag (and she is sans permit).

[MikeyC]

If you're not committed to a particular baby carrier, I always preferred the Baby Bjorn. It gives me full access to everything on my belt. Frankly now that I look at it, it rode the same way as a lot of chest rigs.

http://www.amazon.com/BABYBJ%C3%96RN-Organic-Original-Carrier-Walnut/dp/B002Q0Y8QO/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1344959097&sr=8-12&keywords=baby+bjorn

[JHC]

I carried a LOT with two small ones, including infanthood in an NPE. I used AIWB mostly because you spend so much time bending over with them, it's the best for not printing.

[DocGKR]

IWB/AIWB between 1-3 o'clock.

[bdcheung]

If you're not committed to a particular baby carrier, I always preferred the Baby Bjorn. It gives me full access to everything on my belt. Frankly now that I look at it, it rode the same way as a lot of chest rigs.

http://www.amazon.com/BABYBJ%C3%96RN-Organic-Original-Carrier-Walnut/dp/B002Q0Y8QO/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1344959097&sr=8-12&keywords=baby+bjorn

Wife has nixed the Bjorn since it doesn't allow for hip carry or backpack carry.

We don't have the ErgoBaby yet, but I'm really hoping I can wear it high enough to allow belt access. My thought is that if I carry my DS on my weak-side hip, I'll still have access to my AIWB holster.

[bdcheung]

I carried a LOT with two small ones, including infanthood in an NPE. I used AIWB mostly because you spend so much time bending over with them, it's the best for not printing.


IWB/AIWB between 1-3 o'clock.

Do you think AIWB would work with the ErgoBaby (lower picture in my original post)?

[Jay Cunningham]

Usually carried them in an infant car seat thingy that detaches from the base and can go in a stroller. Nothing changed, I carried in my usual conventional strong side (right side for me) spot and the baby would get carried with my left hand. I'm extremely confidant in my SHO draw and shooting; I can pull off a fast SHO reload and malf clearance as well.

[JV_]

IWB/AIWB between 1-3 o'clock.Yep.

[JDM]

I never used one of those sling things, I just carried my kid in my left hand or in her infant car seat.

At the time I carried strong side.

[JHC]

Do you think AIWB would work with the ErgoBaby (lower picture in my original post)?

I've never worn one of those; we used a different front pouch/sling thing; but I think I could make it work. Details like full size vs compact or sub-compact would have to be pending experimentation but I am pretty sure I could make it work.

[NickA]

I don't think we ever used a sling or anything once ours grew out of the car seat carrier thing. I always carried normally (AIWB), and used my left hand to carry her. One thing I was thinking about the other day- now that she's 5 (and almost 60 pounds) I rarely carry my daughter, but when I do it has to be with her in front, legs wrapped around my waist. If I REALLY had to, I could still draw from AIWB by hiking her up with my left arm.

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[Jay Cunningham]

I don't think we ever used a sling or anything once ours grew out of the car seat carrier thing. I always carried normally (AIWB), and used my left hand to carry her. One thing I was thinking about the other day- now that she's 5 (and almost 60 pounds) I rarely carry my daughter, but when I do it has to be with her in front, legs wrapped around my waist. If I REALLY had to, I could still draw from AIWB by hiking her up with my left arm.

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Word. (except for the AIWB part in my case)

[nar472]

I never used one of those sling things, I just carried my kid in my left hand or in her infant car seat.

At the time I carried strong side.

This^

I have carried strong side through most of my kids infant years ,although just recently I started packing AWIB right as my newest daughter was born and find it alot more forgiving for bending over and picking them up and the other many misc things neccesary with infants/children.
The Ergo baby looks like it could work if you left the lower support a little loose and used a t-shirt/polo that hung below it and then used the shirt to clear everything. Problem with leaving the lower support loose is it leaves most of the weight on your shoulders instead of your hips, I would have to say that it would definitely need some experimenting.

[MDS]

Many "modes of being" with an infant. Day in, day out is easy, carry like normal - though as others have said it's even easier AIWB because of the bending over. In fact I sometimes put my hand on the back of the slide, making a seat for the kid and putting the weight on my belt. Maybe not so good for the belt, but it lets me comfortably carry the kid in a forward-facing position for a good chunk of time without any bag at all.

Long hikes where you're wearing the baby most of the time is less easy, but there are some good options. I use a Kid Comfort III by Deuter (awesome suspension, comfy loaded to 50lb with a kid and bunch of hiking stuff, kid's in the shade and even fairly protected from rain) and put the gun in a HPG Kit Bag on my chest. For shorter hikes, or when I'll be putting the kid on and taking them off regularly (e.g., a long walk in the park to the playground, shopping at the mall, etc.,) I love the Boba G3 carrier. At least for me, I can position the hip belt on my AIWB holster, and untuck the front of my shirt over everything - this leaves a clean draw after clearing just my shirt. It's not as comfortable as wearing nothing under the hip belt, but the Boba's only good for the smaller baby, maybe 20-25lb total, so I don't have to really cinch down the belt to get the weight off my shoulders.

If I don't plan to be carrying the kids for more than 10-15 minutes at a time, it's totally not worth bringing a bag, I just carry normally. Honestly, I carry with whichever arm is least tired - at the risk of a slower draw if I'm charged by a knife-wielding maniac. If I hold the kid in the same position for too long, my already-messed-up shoulders get even more painful.

FWIW, I'm a big experimenter, I love "wearing" my kids to the point of silliness, and have tried all kinds of bags and solutions for this over the last 2.5 years. The Bjorn is OK until the baby's more than 10-15 lb. After that, 15 minutes of carry does Bad Things to my back. The Ergo is pretty good, I would use it if I didn't like the Boba much better. Here's a picture of me experimenting with the oldest in the Deuter, the youngest in a Bjorn, and the gun in a kit bag:

335

The little one's too big for a Bjorn anymore, but it was fun to play around with different configuration. Whatever you decide, enjoy it! :D

[JAD]

I wore a Baby Bjorn for a lot of the first year -- side and back carry would make me really uncomfortable, I need that kid where I can see him (and his grubby little mitts). I also used a Chicco car seat and lugged that around a lot. Mostly since 6 months I have just carried him in my weak arm -- so much so that my bicep is visibly larger on my 'weak' side. I never use my strong hand or strong side; that's always clear, not just for a draw but also to catch crap that he's knocked off the grocery store shelf. Only now that he walks a lot and holds my hand is my strong side occupied -- if we're on the right side of the street, he walks to my strong side.

Throughout all of this, 3:30 IWB has never been a problem. I do have a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack S-Type set up as a diaper bag and sometimes run the pistol in there, if I'm in and out of NPEs like daycare.

[bdcheung]

So I've been doing some experimenting with the little sex trophy and the only really viable option, while he's this small, is pocket carry with my LC9.

The LC9 + DeSantis Nemesis holster fits in pretty much all of my front pockets and conceals surprisingly well.

Anything on the belt is out of the question, as the baby carrier pretty much covers my entire beltline.