Baby rental items for our vacation

Prior to traveling this past week we looked into some baby rental options in positano. We were hoping to rent some items that were similar to what we rent to our guests. We brought our umbrella stroller, baby back pack and car seat.  Of the relax items, we brought the baby monitor.

 We were looking to rent a crib, play yard and a high chair but didn't find anything. I can make it work without a crib but I definitely missed the play yard and the high chair.  We had lots of folks to hold him he was on the loose a lot:)  the monitor did help me relax a bit while he was napping. 

 it was our luck that the airline messed up our bags and didn't send the car seat or the baby back pack until mid week. Ugh!  Fortunately our driver brought a car seat just in case. Thank you Giovanni! I don't know what I would have done if he didn't have one.

I spent some time researching back carriers vs strollers before our trip and thought I had it covered. Our uppa baby g-luxe umbrella stroller worked out great when not taking the stairs. That probably accounted for 50% of our time in positano. It had to be carried by someone the other 50% of the time. There was one day where I had to do the stairs (let's say 15 stair cases) alone w the baby and stroller. It wasn't impossible but it was not easy! 

We purchased the kelty 3 baby back carrier before the trip after reading lots of reviews. I never used it.  It was too much pressure on my lower back and I couldn't figure out how I'd handle the incline /decline of the

stairs w my 25lb baby on my back. It may just have been me because a lot of men didn't seem to have any issue with the back carriers. It did work out just great in the airport. The baby loved it too! The flat terrain seemed to make the difference for my back. I would have brought my baby bjorn if the kiddo wasn't too tall for it. That seemed like the way to go for most women I saw. 

If I were to do it all over again I'd probably buy the ergo baby carrier. A friend let be borrow hers after my brothers wedding reception. We had a long walk from hotel puppetto through town and then onto the bus. In all the wedding fun, someone forgot the stroller at the villa so I carried the baby down the mountain, through town and to the beautiful yet very challenging walk to the reception. The ergo baby carrier seemed to fit him well, he stayed asleep for the trek and I had my hands free.  I'd still like to see if he would enjoy it while awake but that was a huge help!