Is stroller a necessity?

[mama2G]

Personally, I do NOT think so, but My DP and MIL think so, and they bought one yesterday.
I kept telling them I would be happy with wearing him in ergo. if im not wearing him, he is just happy rolling on the floor. He is 7mo just discovered that he can roll to get to places.

Am I crazy? How do I convince my DP and MIL? i really do not want him strapped in his stroller...

[eirual]

Accept it and move on. Who knows, maybe you'll throw your back out down the line or something....we have a stroller, we've used it twice in the past 7.5mos...mainly 'cause DH wanted to try it out.

So do you NEED a stroller- definitely not, but who knows what the future will hold, so if you had one given to you I'd hold on to it.

[~Megan~]

I use mine but I also carry ds a lot too. I depends on what I'm doing. If I'm going to buy shoes for example, its much easier for him to be in a stroller then trying to balance while carrying him.

Like most tools they have their place.

[frog]

:

[Benji'sMom]

Benji went through a phase where he loved riding in the stroller and didn't want to be carried, I mean somewhere between 1 & 2 years old. So it could come in handy far in the future.

[loree]

I agree that both the stroller & a carrier are "tools" and will be used at different phases of your child's life.

I couldn't live w/out my jogger stroller. I use it several times a week. When my son got too heavy to carry on hikes, I had to resort to it. On the other hand, the "regular" stroller has been used about 1/2 dozen times in the last year. Mostly only if I have to go to the mall or once when we went to a local theme park.

[Talula Fairie]

You can get away without one, but occasionally they are a godsend. I like to use mine as a pack mule during trips to the mall!

Also, I have two kids 16 months apart. My toddler *hates* the back carry, I couldn't take the pain of the hip carry with her constant leaning out, and after awhile, I was too pregnant to sling her in the mei tai on my front. So I used the stroller for outings. Now that I have two, if I go out without my husband and we have any walking to do, one of my kids gets the Stroller Of Doom. Heh.

[tree_hugger]

I used my pram for the second time today, and my baby is 4 months old.

The first time was when I went shopping for some new clothes, and I knew I'd need somewhere safe to lay him while I was dressing and undressing.

The second was today when taking my two older children to the park. I am not 100% confident doing back-carries without a spotter and I didn't think I'd be able to safely push the swings while doing a front carry. So I sat him in the pram while I pushed.

I definately don't think you *need* a pram, but one or two situations may arise when one could be useful.

But I can think of a million reasons when a sling is much more useful!

[tynme]

My dad bought me a stroller, and in five months has been used twice. Both times by babysitters who wanted to take him for a walk. For some reason, they would wear him down to sleep, but didn't understand they could wear him on walks too. I think it is good to have, for a sitter's sake. My ds doesn't really like it though, he can handle short walks and that is it. HTH

[kdabbler]

I find it amusing that you've spent 7 months without one and they bought it yesterday.

In any case, use it to make them happy if you're out and about with them. Leave it home when you're not. If dc fusses while he's in the stroller, pop him in the ergo and show your folks how happy he is.

[abclan]

you never know . . . .

We rarely used our stroller when our kids were pre-walking. Used the sling and backpack mostly. But there are certain times now when we are glad to use it for dd (3yo) or ds (18months). You might find it useful as you babe gets older or as you have more kids or only for certain extended activities- or maybe not

I'll admitt my favorite part of the stroller is the hugs cargo hold that carries my diaper bag, purse, snack, etc. in addition to a child. I usually sling one and push the other.

[rmzbm]

I used a stroller VERY rarely with my oldest, with the next 3, never. I do use a carrier daily!

[mama2G]

we had a stroller when he was littler. we used that maybe 3times when we flew to Hawaii. DS out grew it.
then DR bought Burley which is too big to fit in our car, we used it once at our drive way.
now they bought another stroller...

we never go to a mall...

im sure there will be a time when i will be thaknful of the stroller, but i would rather not have it until i NEED it.

what did they use before strollers?? YKWIM? i came from a country that strollers were not so popular. (nowadays it is tho...)

[boatbaby]

DS is 2 years one month and we never used a stroller.
No, they are not necessary. They are a choice and you can choose not to use one. I find them clumsy and cumbersome and I love breezing passed big SUV strollers with ease while I have my toddler and small packpack strapped on and can go anywhere!

My ERGO on the other is is VITAL!!

[AppleOrangePear]

DS is almost 3 and i FINALLY just sold a Peg perego that was only used 3 times and that was while we went for a walk when he was a baby and figuring out the sling WHILE we walked

Im prego with #2 and will remain stroller free for outings however i will say i do have a jogger which DS enjoys for really long walks on the beach ( only thing it is for)


Heck hold on to it then in a few months sell it on craigslist.com and put the cash towards a new SLING

Michele

[AppleOrangePear]

Hi Boatbaby great to see DS is still tvfree

I do have to say i agree i feel bad when i see these moms struggling with their big ole strollers,,, though i give them credit cause im to clumsy for one and would take me all day to work it.. i guess like it would be like making formula

Michele

[nolonger]

I didn't use a stroller. I think I actually did own one when dd was first born, because I vaguely remember taking her for a walk in the sling and pushing the diaper bag in a stroller, and I see what looks like a folded up stroller in the background of some of her baby pictures, but I don't see another baby in the apartment.

I used a nojo with her until I was fairly far along pregnancywise with him (they are a bit less than three years apart) and then I switched to a Sara's Ride for the toddler. My son alternated between an Over The Shoulder Baby Holder and a homemade ring sling and I could still put the toddler on my other hip in the Sara's Ride when she got tired.

I didn't have a car until they were 2 and 5, so we walked or took public transportation everywhere. I pushed one of these for grocery and library runs. It was much easier to get on and off of the bus than the strollers I saw other parents struggling with.

I have a really cute picture of both toddlers sitting contentedly in the shopping cart, which must have been padded with the diaper bag, when they needed to take a bit of a break on the way to the store to get some food. I also remember dd falling down and scraping both knees fairly badly on the way back from the BART station when she was seven (the car must have been in the shop) and putting her in the Sara's Ride while the four year old walked. We got some funny looks and her little feet bumped against my knees, but we made it home okay and she was fine.

[Peppamint]

I have a really nice stroller that I do use sometimes. Audrey hasn't spent much time in it, but for example when we went to the town parade for July 4th there was NO shade to be found so Audrey napped the whole time in the stroller with a UV sunshade blocking the rays. She wasn't unhappy. I find if nothing else it's handy for trips to the mall etc.

OTOH, we went to an auction the other night and she spent the whole time in the pouch and we did just fine (and couldn't have taken the stroller in some places).

It's something I like to have, but I have ONE stroller and four or five baby carriers- and a whole list of other baby carriers etc I'd like to try.

[eirual]

Originally Posted by boatbaby

DS is 2 years one month and we never used a stroller.
No, they are not necessary. They are a choice and you can choose not to use one. I find them clumsy and cumbersome and I love breezing passed big SUV strollers with ease while I have my toddler and small packpack strapped on and can go anywhere!

My ERGO on the other is is VITAL!!

AMEN! (except I use a sling, no Ergo) I'm DANGER with a stroller, especially in stores!! It's so much easier to navigate you and babe as one unit....not to mention in the groc store I have a habit of leaving the cart to just dart a little ways down an isle- can't do that while babe's in there!

And public transportation- babywearing is a MUST!

[boatbaby]

I have to say though, I only have one kid and plan to hopefully stay that way. I am not sure how I would do it with more kiddos?