Congratulations on the new baby, and kudos on getting him into the outdoors! On the home page of this site you'll find this excellent article, "Hiking with Children."

I agree with BZH, in that with a properly built and properly fitting backpack, at least 90% of the pack weight should rest on your pelvic girdle, via the hip belt, not on your shoulders.

While I don't have the problems you describe, I do have extremely pressure-sensitive shoulders. In addition to requiring a pack that does an excellent job of transferring the weight to the hip belt, I also need effective load-lifters that pull the shoulder straps entirely off the tops of my shoulders. Basically, I use my pack's shoulder straps and chest strap only to keep the pack from zigging when I zag, and/or from falling off my torso. I cannot use an unframed day pack (even one with hip belt) to carry more than 6-7 lbs., so except for short hikes in high summer I use a smaller backpacking pack for day hikes. It must be genetic, because my 16-year-old grandson has the some problem.

You won't need a kiddie carrier (and there are some which will do what is needed--I've seen a number of recommendations for Deuter) for at least 6 months yet. Until the child has developed enough strength in his back to sit up strongly on his own for long periods (usually about 7-8 months), you want to stick with the supportive sling. You therefore have a while to look around.

You may want to check into custom pack manufacturers and do some experimenting yourself to design alterations to the pack harness that avoid the lumps and can be adjusted to fit uneven shoulder heights. Hopefully you have someone in the household to help you with the fitting? There is a section here about MYOG (Make Your Own Gear) and a section accessed from our homepage with a number of articles.

When you are shopping for a stroller or pram, consider a jogging stroller, which, unlike a regular stroller, can be used on unpaved paths, although not rough and rocky ones. While it limits you to relatively smooth surfaces, at least it keeps the baby off your back and does let you leave the pavement! Usually, by the time baby is 2, he's going to want to walk a good part of the time--although this limits you to very short hikes for the next few years.

You are in for some exciting times ahead, particularly when baby graduates to the backpack and discovers how much fun it is to pull your hair while you're hiking!