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do you use a stroller at all?

post #1 of 42
9/24/04 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 
my ds is 3.5 months and I carry him primarily in a mayawrap although i sometimes use a sari for a wrap (thanks mamatoto!). we recently got a kelty convertible backpack/stroller as a gift and we've used it a few times. i don't like having him in a stroller, but as we don't have a car it's the best way i've found to get to the food coop and back with all the groceries without really taxing my body. i put most of the groceries in the compartment under him. ds seems to enjoy it well enough. he likes looking around at things. my dh thinks it's fine once in a while as long as we don't think of the stroller as the first option.

i was wondering if other babywearing mamas use strollers from time to time. how do you decide when to use it and when to use a sling?
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post #2 of 42
9/24/04 at 5:49pm
we use ours eveyonce in a while. I think it is easier to put her in a sling than to push her. DH does not wear the sling so he uses the stroller if he takes DD for a walk without me!

I don't like the bulkyness of the stroller.

You could always put your baby in the sling and groceries in the stroller on the way home. I often times have the sling in the bottom of the stroller incase she gets antsy.

Jenn P
post #3 of 42
9/24/04 at 5:57pm
I'm planing on going on an all day outing with dd2 (will be 1 1/2 months at the time). it's like a fesival... lots of shops, ect. it's a long day i'm taking her stroller with us but i will mainly be using it as a changing table and shopping cart b/c i plan for her to be in my sling 90% of the time depending also on the weather... if it's 80+ that day she will prolly be in the stroller a little more often just b/c she won't get over heated. But if it's chilly that day she will definatly be in the sling...
post #4 of 42
9/24/04 at 6:06pm
I use one occasionally- either stroller or a wagon. But it's usually for my older kids, rather than the baby.

It really depends on where we're going and how long we'll be there. For longer outings that require me to bring along a big bag or a lunch, I'll sometimes bring the stroller. With just one baby, I think that the sling is easiest. But with 3 kids under 5 and their assorted stuff, sometimes a stroller or wagon is better. I've had enough outings where I end up carrying 2 or 3 kids to the car that I generally keep the stroller in the back of the van "just in case."

I'll also add that for longer outings, I prefer a backpack or wrap to the sling, even for small babies. After a few hours, my arm starts to go numb with the baby in the sling.
post #5 of 42
9/24/04 at 6:11pm
I have a chariot brand stroller that is also a bike trailer. I wore both of my guys for the first 6 months. With my first guy I was walking about 10 kilometers a day. I dont drive so I also had to carry grocery bags with me , so I purchased the stroller. I love both modes of transportation. With my second, during my pregnancy I injured a disk in my lower back, and had to use the stroller all of the time for my then 18 month old.I carried my second boy exclusively for his first 6 months. Now that he is a year old , I use a mix of the sling,backpack, the wagon and the stroller. Its nice to have a mode of transportation that my 3 year old can hop into if we have been dawdling too much and need to speed up!I always bring the sling with me, and never bring the stroller when there are crowds because it is too cumbersome. Its nice sometimes to give my body the break. Doesnt change my love for babywearing though.
post #6 of 42
9/24/04 at 6:12pm
I use a stroller quite often. Ds is 4 (almost 5) and dd 2 1/2. For Angelo due 10/25/04 we will be using a pouch but sometimes for changing and sleeping I will still use the stroller. It is a double so we will have to negotiate with ds and dd to take turns. I think as long as your ds is comfortable, that is what is important.
post #7 of 42
9/25/04 at 6:29pm
DD usually walks or is in the stroller now (she's 2.5 years). But, when she was younger, I would decide if I "needed" the stroller. When we went to the mall, the stroller came in handy for purchases . . .even if DD wasn't in it. I also think about how crowded a space will be. If it were crowded/narrow, I used a sling.

Also, it's not like you need to have one OR the other. I used to bring my sling everywhere. So, on the same trip, DD might ride in the stroller and the sling.

That said, I don't think you need to worry about this . . .as long as your child is happy, you made the right choice!!
post #8 of 42
9/27/04 at 7:03pm
I try to use a stroller when we're out for a long time, usually the mall. My back hurts if I carry DD for too long. But we rarely go to the mall, so the stroller is hardly used. If I had known this before DD was born, I wouldn't have bought such an expensive stroller! (Peg Perego P3)
post #9 of 42
9/27/04 at 8:12pm
I plan on wearing my baby, but I will be also using a jog stroller - well, because I need my outdoor excercise. Plus, with the state of my back, who knows long long I will be able to safely carry baby.
post #10 of 42
9/27/04 at 8:27pm
I use our stroller from time to time. If I am going to the mall and plan on spending a few hours I will bring my pouch and my stroller and go from there. Elle usually decides if she wants to be in the pouch or not. Yesterday we were at Kohls and she was in her pouch but she kept bobbing up and down to get out so I went outside to the car and got the stroller and she was much happier which is odd for her because she LOVES her pouch!! It is so much eaiser for me though to have her in the pouch especially when I am making quick trips into neumerous stores!!! I remember how awful it was before I bought my first pouch to have to lug that stroller everywhere we went!! I feel so free now
Amy
post #11 of 42
9/27/04 at 9:10pm
I've never usrd one, they're just so bulky, but I on't think there's anything wrong with using it if it makes your life easier
post #12 of 42
9/27/04 at 9:15pm
We have a jog stroller, but it's not used that often.
I find that wearing my little one makes it so much easier to get around- don't have to deal with escalators at the mall, or hills on the trail etc.....
I agree, I think a stroller now and then is fine, but it's just not the first option I choose.
post #13 of 42
9/27/04 at 10:35pm
My 5 week old hates the stroller, just the maya for her right now , but for my 2.5 year old, we always use a stroller. When my 5 week old gets older, I'll use the jogging stroller a lot for jogs. It all depends on where we are and what we are doing.
post #14 of 42
9/27/04 at 10:43pm

does a jogger count?

We have a jogger, I have used it once. My dd is only 3 weeks though, once I'm healed ( i had a c-section ) I plan on running each day with her in it.
or a few times a week at least.
post #15 of 42
9/27/04 at 11:16pm
Not anymore...but I drive around with it in my trunk, just in case. I used to still use it occasionally, but my ds knew how to take the shoulder straps off and would lean forward and try to wiggle out. I would really have to fight to keep him in it, so we just stopped using it all together. Fine by me!
post #16 of 42
9/27/04 at 11:26pm
I don't even own a stroller anymore. Ds1 rode in an umbrella stroller maybe 3x in his life and dd has never been in one (that I can recall). We probably won't use one with ds2 either. I am sure it is easier since we usually go out as a family so I have dh's help (like when he wore dd at the grocery store yesterday when I was wearing ds2).

Personally I have just never liked strollers, even when I was a nanny, before having kids of my own. I found them cumbersome and would carry the baby I watched in a crude front/back carrier . . . this was before I knew anything about "babywearing".

So now, despite having 2 pinched nerves in my back, I just always carry them.

I don't however see strollers as 'evil' (and if I ran you better believe I woudl have a jogging stroller) if they are used the right way. I just prefer not to use them unless I absolutely have to.
post #17 of 42
9/28/04 at 1:02am
yep, we use both now. DS is 16 mo & 25ish pounds. We just got a nice umbrella style stroller & it is *much* better than that bohemoth Graco thing we had. SO worth the money! We used our Maya always for about the 1st 12 mos, it was so easy & quick & comfy. Now I have my Kozy & it is great when he is going to be in it for awhile. But he does like to jump in & out of the stroller, too. And one sling or the other is always in the basket of the stroller! I find DS likes to be in the stroller when he wants to have his eyes on the world & in the sling when he wants to keep his eye on me! If I get into too big a crowd, I want him up in the sling with me, I hate him being at "cigarette" level, iykwim. But when we are cruising the park or neighborhood, he still really likes riding & looking, wind in his face, yk? They just both work really well for us! Wouldn't give either up!
post #18 of 42
9/28/04 at 1:07am
we use a pram - mostly for shopping: dumping anything except the baby in
post #19 of 42
9/28/04 at 9:44am
I have an umbrella stroller that I use to carry the bags when shopping. But DD (almost 3) LOVES riding in it. She hated strollers when she was tiny. Now it's a big treat. Quinn just rides in the pouch.

My stroller is actually too short for me. Ideally, I'd like a stroller that's as light and easy as an umbrella stroller, but made for taller people and with a cup-holder. I hate not having a cup holder.

But honestly I almost NEVER use the stroller because I never go anywhere. And I pretty much onyl have been buying clothes for myself at places with shopping carts.
post #20 of 42
9/28/04 at 9:03pm
I definitely believe that there's a time and place for a stroller. When I take DS for a walk around the neighborhood, I use the stroller. He's a little hotbox and when the 2 of us are getting warm from walking, whew, watch out. When we go to the mall, the stroller comes with us. Why It carries the packages, the diaper bag, whatever else I don't want to carry, and DS gets a view from the sling We also have a jogger, and on the really nice days, DH runs with DS in the jogger.
ITA~ strollers are not evil, some kids HATE to be worn and LOVE the stroller. For them, I say the stroller is a neccessity.
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