Are Strollers Necessary? Can a baby sling/carrier do everything?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brandi Frey on April 30, 2010 at 9:49am

Excellent topic to bring up! I had the same questions when I was perplexed with the whole idea of buying stuff for baby. There is so very little "stuff" that you really need for your baby! I resisted the idea of the stroller, and kept getting so irritated at everyone telling me I HAD to have a stroller. I insisted that I would be able to carry or wear my baby and that it would not only allow me to stay fit and strong, but also have my baby comfortably close to me for bonding and ease in daily routine.

It turns out I was right--at least so far! Now my baby is 9 months old, and just about at the point that he was getting a little heavy to always carry in my arms at the grocery store and out and about, I can now just put him in the shopping cart to sit.

I did end up buying a little umbrella stroller upon my mother's insistance, but never use it. It's just so much easier when I am in a hurry (which is pretty much always) to carry my baby either in my arms or carrier, or put in a shopping cart seat.

A couple recommendations: I liked two different slings. The moby wrap or other soft type wrap is great for 0-6 months, then from 6 months on you might be more comfortable wearing the Ergo carrier. Look on Ebay and try to find used ones--they are a little pricey and there's really no need for a new one. Also, once your baby is old enough to sit up and go in the shopping cart, invest in one of those little cushy seat covers. You can find them on Etsy, and they are great, then you don't have to worry about germs and they are nice and soft.

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Robin Liberman on April 30, 2010 at 10:03am

We are a babywearing family, we have four different slings/carriers. We also have a stroller. If I could go back, I would not have gotten the stroller we got when our son was born. It was a travel system thingy, and we barely used the stroller. My son spent most of his time in the SleepyWrap his first few months. Now he rides around in our Hotsling and Boba Organic. I think having something to put the carseat in is good for when baby is sleeping and you don't want to wake baby running into the store etc. We have a simple Chicco umbrella stroller now. I love it, it's 11 pounds. My only complaint is the handles are shorter than I would like. Maybe go to a second hand shop and get a cheapy stroller or one of those things to set infant carseats in and push around. My son still prefers to be carried vs. stroller, but we use it sometimes. I will say this, it's nice to at least have the option of a stroller.

Permalink Reply by mama snail on April 30, 2010 at 12:01pm

Strollers are a complete waste. The only time slings aren't suggested is when you're boiling water/cooking extremely hot foods or lifting heavy items that might risk baby's safety. Otherwise, slings/wraps/carriers work great!! I especially enjoyed wearing my babies while grocery shopping. When I see other moms struggling with bulky car seats or strollers, I want so badly to say you know wearing your baby is a million times easier. I notice that others have mentioned an umbrella stroller ($15 at Wal-mart or Target) for when baby is older. Those can work for babies who are tire, but mine never wanted to sit in a stroller period. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Marci For Birth Choice on May 1, 2010 at 5:31am

Thanks so much to everyone who gave replies - this was tremendously helpful to me. I think I'm going to focus on getting baby wraps and hold off on the stroller thing. Ironically, I was just talking to my mom and she says that she never used strollers with any of us, and there are three of us children lol...so it must be possible.

Permalink Reply by Davonia on May 1, 2010 at 8:14am

Remember you can always buy a stoller later! Even if the one you wanted wasn't at the store, diapers.com will deliver it in short order.

I don't think that an all in one stroller in necessary. The only thing to consider is that you would have to put the wrap on and move the baby from car seat to wrap; it may be cold in the winter. That's the only thing I can think of. I plan on getting a small stroller at some point.

It also depends what all you plan on doing w/ the kid. How active at you and what activities will you be doing? let that guide you.

Permalink Reply by ABP on August 2, 2010 at 1:39pm

I don't know if I AM a "baby wearer"....but I do wear my baby in an Ergo as the need arises. I found having a stroller WONDERFUL. And I have a big bulky system with the car seat and all of that. For me, I found it a great relief to be able to lift the car seat into the stroller and go...rather than to fasten and unfasten the seatbelt for every stop when I was doing errands. And I had my baby in the winter which was part of the reason it seemed a bad idea to take her from a comfy warm place, into the cold so I could put her in a front pack.

I used the stroller almost exclusively when I went grocery shopping. I would put my purchases in the basket underneath the stroller and liked that quite a bit. Yes my stroller system IS bulky and that is a downside. I never felt comfortable with wraps (I know they can be perfectly comfy and safe for many women, but they always looked confusing to learn) but early on I had a difficult time using the Ergo with my newborn. Once she could hold her head up and had good neck control I found my Ergo carrier very useful! But in this summer heat...it makes us both sweaty so I prefer the stroller. Perhaps a wrap would be less hot...but I think just having a child pressed against you makes PLENTY of extra heat...even if the fabric were thinner or more breathable.

The other aspect of using a stroller I found useful is when trying on clothes in a clothing store. That's not a daily occurrence of course, but you can't just unwrap your baby and plop her on the ground in all places. So the safety of the stroller is nice.

Finally...my baby gets frustrated facing just me...and likes to look around. I find she enjoys the scenery when she can see what's in front of her while seated in a stroller. That's not the case early in infanthood..but once my little girl got curious about her world...she LOVED looking forward rather than stuck facing me.

Also if you like to jog -- it helps to have a stroller. And this is just MY experience, but long walks, for me, were very difficult wearing my baby in the Ergo. As ergonomical as it is...it still put a strain on my back. I can't imagine any sling or wrap or carrier, though (and I could be wrong), that wouldn't add some back strain since you're carrying weight in an awkward place. But my back is weird and pregnancy actually made my back feel GREAT!

Airlines let you go first if your baby is in a stroller...not so if you're wearing your baby (I found out when I wore my baby on my last flight).

Permalink Reply by Violet on August 5, 2010 at 1:40pm

This is an excellent topic to bring up! Thank you!

I'm one to wear my babies all day every so they can nurse non-stop and I can get things done.

This year it's REALLY hot and I'm finding it extremely difficult to wear my baby as well as dangerous (heat exhaustion). In these times I would opt for a stroller for they can get some air and not be soaking wet from both our body heat and the outside heat. When I took the children to the park I carried the baby in her car seat just so she could have some air and took her out to hold her. I varied my holds and we were okay. Nursing was not a hot and sweaty affair too although I didn't have the cover I'm used to in our wrap.

I haven't tried the bali breeze, but I highly doubt it would change the tummy to tummy heat.



My Natural Motherhood Journey

Permalink Reply by Marci For Birth Choice on August 15, 2010 at 11:30am

I'm grateful for all the responses on this thread :). We ended up purchasing a stroller and a Moby Wrap. Our plan is to expand our wrap collection as we both get the hang of it, but have the stroller 'just in case.' The stroller we purchased also has an option to add a toddler seat, so it might be especially helpful if we have a second child as close to our first as we'd like :). But between the two, I am the most excited about wearing the wrap with our baby! We'll see what ends up happening once she gets here (which should be pretty soon).