The toddler carrier hangs in the closet, not having been used for weeks, months. But I?m not quite ready to give it away. When my daughter came to me at two, I was eager to strap her onto my body. Adopting a toddler meant that we had missed out on those early days of skin-to-skin contact that are so important for helping baby and parent attach. I was naturally drawn to any way that I could help build attachment. And for me, there was nothing like the delicious weight of my new daughter falling asleep on my chest. 
And it was a weight. The first few times I tried it, my back and shoulders cried out for mercy, but then they must have gotten used to it, or even ended up strengthened by it. I started to think of it as my alternative to going to a gym. And I found that using the carrier with my tall two-year-old was much easier on my back than carrying her freestyle, which I often ended up having to do if we were out too long without the stroller or carrier. It helped that there were others in our circle who enjoyed a toddler carrier, including one of the other families in the music class we attended weekly who used one as their main method of transportation.  I sometimes used it for convenience. In those days when many subway stations didn?t have elevators, it was easier to bring a carrier than a stroller. Or when I knew my little one could walk to a destination but wouldn?t be able to make it back home without a meltdown, the carrier was my go-to. 
When my daughter finally...