>From a practical standpoint: For a three-month old, I recommend a Belle carrier. They are lightweight, packable and a front carrier, allowing you to carry additional gear in a backpack on your back. They have an infant insert if your child is still having difficulty holding up his/her head, but at three months your baby is likely to be able to just use the carrier without the insert. Although more expensive than some other options, the Belle is by far the most comfortable carrier we have used for longer hikes (up to 8 miles). We used one with our first son until he was about 9-10 months old, and we are using it now with our 3 month old.
Once s/he is older (able to sit up well), you will want a good backpack carrier. I would recommend the Deuter kid carriers. The Kid Comfort II and III are very comfortable to wear for both the child and parent, and they have under-carrier storage capacity. If you need more storage capacity, the III has more, but it is a bit heavier and taller than the II. Osprey is also coming into the kid carrier market with the Poco. I have not tried this carrier, but it is getting good reviews, and in general I love Osprey packs. I have not gone backpacking with either of my sons, just car camping and day hiking. In those situations, disposable diapers are the easiest option. If you will be out for several days of backpacking, I think cloth diapers will be the best option. I'm guessing you would need about twelve depending on how quickly you can expect them to dry in between washings, and I would recommend trifolds with probably 3-4 good covers (I like Thirsties). Then you can rinse and hang them in the sun to dry and get several uses out of them before they need a really good washing. The trifolds will dry more quickly than if you go with pocket diapers or all-in-ones, and we have found that they leak less. You may want to get a beefier insert for night time - but they will take longer to dry in between uses. A good website for shopping/comparing cloth diapers is Jillian's Drawers. You will also want to invest in some good synthetic or wool clothing for your little one. Patagonia and Smartwool make infant clothing that I can recommend. Expensive, but no way do you want your baby out there in cotton onesies. Check ebay for some good deals (we are lucky to have a hand-me-down source for these). Flaphappy hats are great sun protection. Pick a good sunscreen, too. The skindeep database rates sunscreens for babies and adults based on their lack of toxic ingredients and allergens. Good luck! I certainly think this is doable as long as you don't push things too hard. Feel free to email me personally if you have additional questions, although I am by no means an expert. There are also fabulous blogs of adventurous parents. Check out this post, for one: http://www.adventuretykes.com/hiking-2/guest-post-3-years-2-kids-550-miles-of-wilderness/ Rebecca
