Your baby is due and you have almost everything you need to welcome your new arrival. Everything except one thing; a stroller that is just right for your infant. But which of the hundreds of strollers available do you choose?
There are so many different options when deciding upon a stroller that the most important question to ask is what are you going to use it for? It may seem like a silly question requiring a matter-of-fact, but exasperated "to carry the baby in" but it is a serious question. Do you want a stroller that will accept your baby's car seat? If so, you might just need a stroller frame that accepts snap-in car seats so your infant can mercifully stay asleep from a long car ride and transition on to the stroller with a minimum of jostling which could wake the little angel up.
Some stroller frames are relatively inexpensive since they don't have to supply a comfortable seat, snug belts, and cute upholstery. The downside, of course, is that you need to have a good, compatible car seat. This may negate some of the benefit of the stroller frame's lower expense, but if you already have the car seat (perhaps as part of the gifts you received at the baby shower or when the tiny bundle of joy was born), then you are sitting pretty. If you don't, or if you need a second car seat (such as for a second car) then a more traditional stroller would be your best bet.
High-end strollers with detachable car seats offer the same benefit of the car seat/stroller frame combination mentioned above, but there is the added benefit of having matching frame and upholstery. Also, there is absolutely no question that the car seat will fit your frame; a potential problem with a frame designed to accept "any" car seat. If, on the other hand, you want a simple and cheaper stroller to cart your child around in, then checking out standard, old-fashioned baby strollers is the best bet.
The fewer additions you add to a stroller, the lower the price tends to be. The downside may be that the stroller requires you lift your sleeping child from the stroller or car seat in order to transfer the child, but if they aren't asleep, what is the difference. Inexpensive, gently used infant strollers can be found at pre-owned stores such as thrift shops or Once Upon a Child, the latter of which has very stringent standards for the items they purchase while the former usually rehabilitates and cleans the stroller fairly well.
Of course, strollers, and particularly buggies or baby "prams" to borrow the British word, have become a fashion statement. These retro chic strollers are reinterpretations of classic baby strollers from 100 years or more ago; black cloth with chrome handles and white painted wheels. Designers have put their names on essentially the same kind of stroller while altering it enough to make it discernable to the practiced eye; you might just want to look into grandma's attic to find some buried stroller treasure.
Tags: Babies, Baby, Infant, Maternity, Mobility, Parent, Pram, Pregnancy, Pushchair, Stroller, Toddler
US $89.98
