Babywearing & public transit??

[Brendalee]

I'm due with my 1st in April, just a few short months away!  My plan is to babywear, but I don't drive & take public transportation (generally the bus) fairly often.  

What do people recommend for safety purposes??  Is she supposed to be safer in a stroller on the bus than strapped to me?  I don't really want to have to carry a stroller around because of bus trips, but I guess I would if I had to.  
  
I've asked a few women I've seen out & about wearing their babies, but they've all stated they have cars & use car seats for transportation.  *sigh*  

Thanks for any help and/or insight!

[frioct3]

When I take the bus or streetcar I always wear my baby. Normally I try and sit down in one of the seats that face forwards, to me they seem a little safer since in an accident or sharp stop other people are less likely to end up in your lap.

[Bruebee]

Hello :) I have never taken public transit while babywearing but have taken my daughter at 2 in her jogging stroller on the light rail train. It was a pain! It was bulky and in the way. I would think that babywearing especially on the front would be pretty safe on the bus or train. There would be no chance of the stroller rolling away, and less chance of strangers touching the babe . Also You are much more hands free with out the stroller to hang on too. Good luck and I hope you find what works for you.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I baby-wore with ds on public transit all the time and do again now with the baby I nanny. I think on you is easier than in a stroller. Takes up less space. You know right where baby is all the time. No fear of rolling at a stop or anything.
I have ridden buses, trolleys , trains, and subways all while baby wearing. It is certainly easier than lugging a stroller.

[eirual]

Some towns ban strollers from busses (they can take up A LOT of room...especially if you get more than one on the bus). Babywearing is where it's at for public transit!!

As babe grows it can get trickier to sit and still acommodate their legs, but WAY better than lugging a stroller around.

The times it gets tricky are if you're buying a lot of stuff (in which case you could get some kind of shopping cart/trolly thing if need be).

The best carrier will change seasonally and with the growth of your babe, so no easy answer there. The type of bag you take will also depend on the carrier you're using and what you plan on doing while out, but none of that needs to be perfect and you'll figure out what works for you as you go.

[cyclamen]

I take public transit all the time.  When DD was a newborn, I found it more convenient to babywear and just have her on my front when I rode the bus.  But that's because here you have to fold the stroller up when you get on the bus and I thought it was a little bit of a hassle to get her out and fold it up.  And she was so light, carrying her was more convenient.  The heavier they get, the less hassle the stroller seems, lol.

[mamatoabirdie]

I have a car but I cannot think of anything more inconvenient than using a stroller with public transit.

if I were you, I would totally invest in a good backpack and a good carrier.  it seems a lot easier, safer, and more fun!

[kitteh]

I take public transit (bus) or bike everywhere, and the bus drivers around here actually wont allow a child to ride on the bus while sitting in a stroller. So babywearing is actually much easier and more convenient than using a stroller. And safer, according to the bus drivers!

[RoseSweetie]

Buses in the DC metro area do not allow you to keep your child in a stroller while riding. You must take the child out of the stroller AND fold the stroller up for safety reasons. I'll ask my husband later if it is just certain transit systems or all transit systems in the country, he works for the Federal Transit Administration particularly with buses.

[Ayn1999]

I wore my daughter in the sling on the subway and it worked like a charm. I imagine people would offer their seat if needed...

[chel]

Babywearing much easier than stroller.

Lots of places I've been required the child to be out of the stroller and the stroller folded.
also a pain locating elevators in train/subway stations.
Strollers are nice when you are carrying lots of stuff.

[rachelsmama]

Lots of people use strollers on the bus here, and the kids are always getting tripped over, nearly tipping over, nearly getting dropped getting on and off the bus, etc.... it's not good.  Not to mention that during rush hour there often isn't a physical way to fit a stroller on the bus, which can mean standing in horribly miserable weather for a long time.

I babywore on the bus for a LONG time, and it meant I could always get on the bus, I almost always had a seat (people give up their seats to babywearers around here), my kids were never tripped over or fallen on, and getting on and off over snowbanks was not much harder than it is kid-free, and certainly safer than with a stroller.   Also, in that awkward stage when the kids wanted to walk sometimes, but not all the time, it was easier to carry a carrier just in case, than to carry a just-in-case stroller, or to carry an overtired child in my arms.

The few times I took, a stroller I planned extra carefully to make sure I avoided rush hour, and chose wheelchair accessible routes to avoid dealing with stairs.

[kitteh]

The worst is when you DO bring a stroller, but your over-tired toddler refuses to sit in it so you have to carry her in your arms without the added support of a carrier, AND you have to lug around a folded umbrella stroller.

[dechaoui]

Definitely better to wear baby in public transit than to lug around a stroller! Where I live, they require you fold up the stroller in the bus anyway. And when the bus is full, it's so much easier when you take up less space and are able to move around quickly! Also, when my daughter was still tiny and vulnerable, it was nice to have her close to me, not being breathed on and touched by strangers in public transports. I can't say enough good things about babywearing when using public transportation!

[dechaoui]

Also, n regards to seat when babywearing, I straight up ask people to get up so I can sit and not risk tripping with my baby. If the basis full I ask the bus driver to make the announcement. Never had a problem. I also aske bus driver to wait until I sit before he/she starts the bus.

[pek64]

If you use a stroller, the stroller must be collapsed to take it on the bus. That means you're holding the baby. If the bus comes to a sudden stop, you may not be able to hold onto your baby. I think it would be safer for you to be wearing the baby, rather than holding the baby.

[MissAnthrope]

Women in the town in Kenya I lived in for my thesis research wore babies on their backs in wraps on buses.  It never seemed to present a problem for them, but of course baby on the back is the norm there.

Given the shape and size of seating on buses in the West, front carries are generally easier.  I usually see tiny babies worn in slings on buses around here, and toddlers on the back or front in Ergos or other SSCs, but I have used front carries with my wrap and found that to be the most comfortable.  But if you're going to stand, or you're taking a lightrail train or trolley to a location where you will walk around a lot (the zoo, a museum, the farmer's market), I would probably opt for the back carry.

In any situation where you're going faster than a walking pace and an infant isn't traveling in their own safety seat, babywearing is pretty much going to be the safest option.

[rachelsmama]

Originally Posted by pek64 

If you use a stroller, the stroller must be collapsed to take it on the bus.

It depends where you are, but strollers are tricky on the bus either way.

[LeeNYC]

Yes, wearing the baby is much easier on the bus or subway than a stroller.  I used a ring sling when she was a newborn, then a Baby Bjorn until her legs kicked me too much, and now I'm back to the ring sling snuggling her into my hip.  Taking stroller on the bus is always a production - good to know you can do it if you have to, but babywearing is always easier.

Good luck!

[ESPMadre]

Babywearing, hands down is best for public transportation.  It gives you both hands free even if you do take a stroller also.  I've ridden public transport all over the country  and it varies on whether you are allowed to have stroller unfolded on the bus and a child in it or not.  But every place I have been, you have to take the child out of the stroller, fold the stroller and then get on the bus.  This reallly sucks when the child is asleep in the stroller and has to be woken - sucks for everyone on the bus and the mom and baby.  Maybe some places let you use the wheelchair access?  Still the children in strollers always looked stressed and so did their mothers for all the reasons other people have allready commented on.  The babywearers are so much more comfy and stress free.  With my first born I only had to take public transport once and that was a subway - I didn't have to think or plan about anything the way I do when a stroller is involved.  Just on and off as easy as if it were just me.