OK, that's not necessarily true -- in all three of my kids' cases, that backpack was an Evenflo Trailtech (not the recalled Gerry Trailtech that Evenflo handled), shown here getting some of its last good use with baby #3. But seeing as how eBay or Craigslist is among the only places you can score one of those anymore, Chicco's $90 Smart Support Backpack looks to be a reasonable alernative to this must-have for anyone who needs to be mobile and baby-bound at once. And if you're chained to a desk during the days like I am, the fact that you get a workout in the process isn't bad, either. 

The lightweight Smart Support pack features a height-adjustable seat that accommodates rugrats up to 33 pounds, and the lumbar support and padded straps help to keep you from pulling out your back when you're hauling around that much baby weight.

Unlike the pack I used, this one also includes a water-resistant canopy with sun visor. In Austin, TX, where my family lives and the mercury's already pushing into the triple digits, that would've been a welcome feature, although I spent just as much time indoors with our pack.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to cook, clean and navigate stairs with a baby strapped to my torso. (When my wife came home one day to catch me me trimming hedges while our 8-month-old dozed peacefully on my back, I was officially grounded from the backpack for a while.) Sometimes, though, necessity has to trump common sense.