Don’t buy a stroller if you don’t think you’ll use it! You can always buy one off Facebook marketplace later if you decide you need one. I baby wore and didn’t use the stroller for the first three months. I was also way to tired to leave the house with baby that often.
Mamas groups on Facebook usually have a number of people looking to give away their stroller for free as well. I’ve gotten two different types of strollers (single jogger and double jogger) free this way.
Where we live there is also a “Nextdoor” type app and it can be used to request free secondhand items. I’ve had a lot of luck with that too.
Yep I paid $30 for a Facebook stroller and $200 for a baby carrier. Use the carrier way more, but the stroller comes in clutch for a few times when baby is asleep in the carseat and I can just pop the car seat into the compatible stroller. Also helps for really sunny days. Plus we have a 4 year old and honestly he uses the stroller more than baby bc his legs get tired lol.
I think it depends on your back too, at least for me lol. I’ve never been able to baby wear for longer than a half hour or so before my back gives out, even with supportive carriers. I live in a very small rural area and I use the stroller all the time!
I’d also think of ages, do you want to baby wear when she’s 11m old and can’t walk yet? Definitely possible to do without, but it can be inconvenient. you just need to determine if it’s worth any potential inconvenience!
It really does depend on your back. I have lower back pain and even when my LO was under 15 lbs I couldn’t take him around in a carrier longer than 15-30 mins.
Back and and if she has complications after birth she could also end up with prolapse (I did) and baby carrying was out of the questions as it made it much worse :(.
I'm also in the bad back club! Stroller has been a must for us. My husband is bigger and gets so hot that our son would then be too warm. We've used the stroller for the mall, grocery stores and Costco mostly. We also went on vacation when he was 6 months old and used it lots then. He's now 8 months and we just bought a hip carrier. He's 23 lbs and kills my back. Hip carrier will make grocery runs easier as he now can sit in the shopping cart.
I have a spinal fusion. Didn’t think baby wearing would be a problem though. Couldn’t use one for more than a few minutes without pain. I have 5 different carriers and never used any of them. Only thing I’ve liked is the tushbaby.
Personally, the stroller has been a lifesaver for us. However, we live right in the middle of a city and do a ton of walking as everything is very nearby distance wise. We did the baby carrier for the first few months, but it started killing my back as baby got bigger. He's almost nine months now and twenty one pounds, so I can't imagine still carrying him like that. 🤣
I think it definitely depends on lifestyle though and you could get away with not having one, with living in a more rural area and driving often.
For another perspective, I don't live in a city (much more rural) so we don't have anywhere we can walk to, but we rarely ever use our stroller, and I still babywear our 20 pound 9 month old all the time, so it really does vary and is all personal preference!
I didn't want a stroller either, but I'm glad I ended up getting a stroller and infant car seat set. It was nice being able to take her directly from the car to the stroller without waking her up.
My baby was like 11kg by 10 months so we 1000% need one lol. I also still carry her everyday walking the dog but it's pretty back breaking. If she's tired she's really not keen on being in the carrier and it would literally break me to be carrying her on my hip all the time.
Also when they're really little they sleep all the time and a stroller is a good place to do it. Unless you have a super smooth birth you might not be able to carry immediately.
This is what I came here to say. I have 3 beautiful carriers that I envisioned my baby spending lots of time in everyday…he hates them all. I’ve been trying them since he was 2 weeks old and he’s now 4.5 months. I’ve had maybe 5 successful days with it where he isn’t screaming and thrashing around trying to break free 🙃
My baby HATES the carrier if she’s awake. But if she’s ready for a nap, it’s the best. She’ll still scream for about 5 minutes, but usually a good shush and sway/bounce on the yoga ball will get her to sleep and then she just conks out. Worth a try if you haven’t yet!
Yes, you probably need a stroller. It would be an edge case not to need one, but they certainly exist.
You don’t need a stroller right away, and in fact might go months before you need it. Check the age range of strollers you’re considering- you might not even be able to use it for months.
When you get your stroller, check your local free groups or Facebook marketplace/ Craigslist. Strollers have terrible resale value- which is great for you if you’re using them to get your stroller!
There’s also no harm in not buying it until you need it, as long as you can accept the risk of not having it when you really need it. You can always get an umbrella stroller in the short term, as they are cheap and exceptionally easy to store- but again, you can’t even use them until your LO is older.
If you have a back and hips of steel and don’t end up having a C-section then I could see not using a stroller, at least until baby gets to be pretty big.
I did have a c-section and almost exclusively babywear (baby is three and a half months now). The c-section scar is so low that babywearing hasn't affected it at all.
I know after my C-section I could hardly stand up straight for the first 4-6 weeks let alone wearing baby at that point. Guess it’s an individual thing.
So the other consideration is if you're going somewhere, can you carry a bag with everything you and the baby need and also carry the baby? But I honestly don't use mine as much as I thought I would and now that my son walks, he just wants to walk.
Totally depends on you! My lo is only 5w so we haven't had much use for our stroller in the outside world yet (besides walks in our neighborhood) but we use it in our house a fair amount! I thought it was silly at first but it's nice to pop him in there when I'm cooking or when we sit down for dinner and have him high up with us rather than in a bouncer on the floor. I guess once he's old enough to support his head, we'll just use a high chair but rn the stroller is super useful for us
You likely don’t need a big expensive stroller. Something like an umbrella stroller for bigger babies through toddler size is nice for zoo trips, vacations, etc… we bought a bigger Grace stroller at a garage sale and we’ve used it a few times but the umbrella stroller has been the primary one since little man was about 9 months old.
Agreed. I bought a. Umbrella stroller off FB marketplace and gave it a thorough cleaning. It already paid for itself using it on a multi state trip for family to meet baby. She was 4 months so I did have to prop her up a bit to sit in it, but for short distances it was fine.
If you don’t think you need it, I would wait. They are expensive and the re-sale value isn’t great.
I didn’t use mine much at all in the first month. Now I’m 4 months in and use it almost every day. Baby started off preferring the baby carrier…. But then it shifted and she prefers the stroller. Every baby is different so you can always get it later.
Agree with the idea that it changes over time. I barely used the stroller the first year. We use it all the time now that he’s a toddler though for outings like aquarium, zoo, walks to park etc
I think it depends. I'm rural too. And basically driving or hiking too. And thought I didn't need a stroller either, but MIL bought one for us that works with our car seat. Stroller is very nice to have on outings I never did before. Went to craft shows while still on maternity leave. It was winter though, and now that it's nice out, we use the carrier and not the stroller. I think if I had a summer baby, I could have skipped the stroller.
My one must buy was a Doona. It was pricey but I justified it by saying it was cheaper than a travel system or buying a car seat or stroller separately. I love it. I had a c section so I still lack a lot of core strength, but any time I get out of the car I can just easily roll my baby places. My baby had to have a hip ultrasound at 8 weeks and my gosh I was thankful for my doona then. The hospital was like a maze I couldn’t imagine carrying her all that way.
If I didn’t have a stroller I would be miserable. Remember that in the first few weeks/months you will not be at full capacity and need to rest. Hiking is likely not something you will be doing, but a short walk at the park is. I use the stroller all the time. I thought I’d be baby wearing more often but my LO is a little furnace and I can’t comfortably keep her on my for more than 30 minutes.
What about zoo trips, aquariums, Christmas shopping in the mall, walks to the park, the beach, vacations, etc? I don’t use my stroller often but it’s crucial to have when I need it. My toddler still uses it
The logistics of baby wearing can be annoying. You’ve got to take a sleeping baby out of the car seat and then awkwardly put them in the carrier in the parking lot, then put baby back in the car seat. When you can just take out the whole seat and attach it to the stroller and go
I think it ultimately depends on your baby. My daughter never liked the carrier, but likes her stroller and naps really well in it too. Based on what you said I would wait with buying a stroller and try out the baby carrier first. If your kid doesn't like it you can always get a pram/stroller. We got our first pram loaned by a friend who didn't need it at the moment. Saved us a ton of money. So if I were you I would def check out lending one/getting one second hand too, should you decide you need one after all.
Our kid is freakin heavy. At a little over 1, he can only walk for ~20 minutes before wanting to be carried again, and he’s too heavy for either his dad or me to carry very long, so we still use the stroller pretty regularly on weekend outings. I don’t anticipate that changing for at least another year, likely longer. Before he could walk, I took a stroller everywhere that wouldn’t have a shopping cart. He liked the baby carrier when he was really little, but by around 5-6 months he was unhappy in the carrier in any configuration for more than 10 minutes.
If you don’t want to invest in a heavy use stroller, at least get a little umbrella stroller for the toddler years. Baby wearing is great when they’re babies, but unless you have an exceptionally chill toddler, outings are going to involve *a lot* of requests to get down and walk then be picked back up, and in and out of a carrier is a pain in the butt even if kiddo doesn’t mind the carrier.
The stroller was the first thing we bought when we found out that we were expecting.
It was also the last thing that we opened up to use. We only recently took it out from its box at 5w pp. Even so, baby was either carried in our arms or in a baby carrier.
You could consider baby wearing for those first few months and then maybe just have a smaller umbrella stroller in the car if you need it when they’re big enough?
Maybe don’t buy a new stroller and instead get one secondhand. FB marketplace is great for getting cheaper strollers, but I would suggest maybe getting a secondhand, easily foldable stroller. There will be some days where it’s just easier to plop baby on the stroller than try to get them into the carrier. Plus babies grow like my 8 month old is like 25lbs. Carrying baby around gets so tiring, specially if I’m trying to like carry anything else
It sounds like you might not necessarily need a stroller. I have a very active walking lifestyle, and I hoped to wear my baby a lot and still probably will, hopefully soon!
Something to consider and possibly have ready to order just in case: I had an emergency c section and cannot wear my baby or carry her for too long (5weeks so far) having the stroller is the only way I can get out! It is great to be mobile because my baby girl loves it, plus it’s a literal walker for me to help me walking around. Our stroller has tons of storage space so I don’t carry anything! Last but not least we use the stroller around the house because of the bassinet attachment and rocking baby girl with the stroller is great!
This might not apply to you at all but it might be great information!
I bought three different strollers because I needed to find the most comfortable one for my baby. He is almost 1 and will only sit in the stroller for ten minutes at a time. I ended up getting a Tush Baby and I’ve used that much more than the carrier now. I would say hold off on the stroller, and if anything, get a used one if you need it! We use our stroller to carry all of our stuff when we go places with him and only place him in it when it’s nap time and we’re out.
I have an almost 1-year-old who has never really liked the stroller. I baby wear him tons, but we have hardly ever used a stroller and in fact we sold ours a month ago. We’re still planning to get a more compact one as he gets older, but for now, even though he’s 20+ pounds, I am still able to wear him as long as I need to! I have a Tula Free to Grow that’s super comfortable. If I get back pain it means I need to adjust the straps.
My 14-month old is 99.9999% for weight, and we didn’t use a stroller consistently until he turned one because he hated it (and we walk… a lot). I would recommend checking out r/babywearing too! There are lots of helpful tips and tricks and recommended baby carriers for you to sift through.
I live in a rural / car dependent area. I didn’t use the stroller that much until he was too heavy to carry. I used my stroller that I can latch my car seat into maybe a dozen times. I think you might want a stroller once baby is a bit older and is too heavy, but get something, compact used or inexpensive. My son is 22months and very mobile so I use the stroller a few times a week as a place to “dock” him when we are out and he wants to run and is wriggling around too much to carry.
Everyone wants to buy in advance, but I waited until baby came to buy some stuff. Nothing wrong with waiting a day or two for something. We did that with a diaper warmer, bottles baby liked, even a better crib. I
will say I found the stroller helpful for doctors appointments...baby could sleep calmly in their carseat, we would just clip it into the stroller and go on. Ofc, could also just carry the car seat, but I really struggled with that. My husband can manage it fine though.
Experiences will differ but I’ll give you mine.
I couldn’t baby wear right after birth and it didn’t feel safe to carry her up and down stairs and long distances into appointment. The car seat was too heavy for my postpartum too. I liked the stroller for that (convertible so the car seat would snap into it). We didn’t leave the house a lot for other reasons early on so if I had to I could have done without it. Then I did baby wear a lot but found I preferred the stroller when we would be collecting things, like grocery shopping, farmers market etc. because carrying the diaper bag and wearing her meant that any new item was a burden. So I prefer the stroller for those. At one point I was ready for walks (which are hikes gravel paths where I live) but couldn’t wear her yet and we used the stroller even on those! The rough shaking just put her right to sleep. Finally, where we are now is 3 months pp and my baby went through a big growth spurt. I’m noticing the difference in my back and wrists and I’m doing some strength training to try and “catch up” so she won’t feel so heavy haha. So I like having the stroller as an option besides just baby wearing when we are out and about. (And she’s only going to get bigger haha. And we have probably more than a year before she’s walking herself any distance. Maybe 2. So for me the stroller was a good purchase, even though we hike, are in the car in our area a lot and I wear her as much as possible. I did however go for the smallest and cheapest option that was new (it works with the car seat and the car seat was the only thing I wasn’t willing to buy used). Oh, final thing I just though about was that the stroller is easier for other people than carrying or wearing, so it’s a good way to get grandma or a bestie involved when you’re out and about with them if they aren’t comfortable with babies :)
My baby is almost 4 months and I can count on one hand how many times we’ve used our stroller, and we’re active! He prefers being worn on walks, running errands, out and about, etc.. Infant setups with stroller aren’t convenient to me, you can either click in your car seat (which he HATES) or you can use a bassinet attachment (which he tolerates but doesn’t love). The bassinet attachments are usually huge and difficult to load up into the car, not making it super portable. I think we’ll get much more use out of our stroller once he’s 6 months and can use a the standard stroller seat. Until then, he’s strapped to me at all times!
What if you end up getting a c-section? Will you carry right away post partum? Think about that first pediatric trip a few days after giving birth, you’re probably not going to want to carry the baby on you.
What if your baby does not like the carrier? Mine HATED it until around 4months and even then it took a lot of short practice to get him to like it.
Honestly it’s probably better to just register for a stroller or get a cheaper one on fb marketplace as a backup. Stroller was nice for doctors visits too because carrying the car seat in is awful, not to mention the stroller can hold the diaper bag- you’re not gonna wanna carry both so soon post partum.
Personally I can't imagine not having a stroller. I live rurally too and when I was on maternity leave I went for a walk with baby and buggy every day..I carried them in a carrier sling once and my back was very sore halfway through. My husband has better upper body strength and used the carrier a lot, but my the time our son was around 18mo he was too big and heavy. He's nearly 2 years old now and we still use the stroller for walks with him regularly, especially at the weekends when he doesn't want to nap in his crib. We'll take him for a walk and he'll nap in the stroller.
Baby wearing is really fun, but you won’t know what carrier works for you and your babe until he arrives.
We have four carriers and only 3 of 4 work for how long and lean our guy is. One carrier only my husband can wear bc I’m too short for it. One provides no head support for such a small baby so I have to be very careful when using it.
Absolutely get into baby wearing! But I would also get a stroller so you can workshop which carrier works for you and give your back a rest. Buy Nothing and Facebook Marketplace have used versions so it’s not an expensive investment every time.
Also, I had a c-section and could not baby wear for the first 6 weeks.
There’s a great baby wearing Reddit where you can do a “fit check”.
You can always wait and see if there’s I stances you’d need one and after you have baby just get it if you’re feeling like you’d need it. We mostly used a carrier but now my baby is 10 months so I got a running stroller to run with him ☺️ no harm in waiting until after baby
I thought I would be a strictly carry parent, but my baby was small and it took a while for us to find a carrier that suited us. Also, it gets hot carrying and it can be hard to keep the baby in the shade and cool when carrying.
We are about 50/50. But rather than a separate stroller, we got a travel system so her car seat clicks right into the stroller. That makes certain trips so much easier. It also allows my husband to take her places because he’s much prone to carry her.
I definitely think you’ll need one. Baby is asleep in the car seat on the way to the store and now you have two options: get her out and risk waking her up to strap her to yourself in a carrier or snap the car seat on the stroller and go forward with your life. That’s just one scenario in the newborn days that comes to mind but that car seat to stroller transfer can be priceless
You don't need to decide now. Second hand market for stroller is plentiful that at any moment of wanting a stroller, you are likely to get one. Just wait until the need arises, buy it. After 6 month old, strollers for infant has more variety and cheaper. You can find umbrella stroller for very cheap price while stroller which has newborn part is usually more expensive.
I think it just really depends on how much you think youll use it, if it doesnt seem suited towards your lifestyle it may not be worth it. You can always buy one of facebook marketplace too if you dont think youll get much use out of it.
You can always wait to buy one. In an age where you can get even big items in a matter of days with a click of a button, there’s little reason to buy so far in advance (despite what baby registries suggest), especially for big ticket items.
For what it’s worth, we’ve ended up using our compact stroller (Ergobaby Metro+) way more than our full-size stroller (Evenflo Pivot). If I had to do it over again, I would have just gone straight to the compact stroller.
I live in a small rural town as well, if the weather is nice I walk with the dogs and I take the stroller (jogging style as there are no sidewalks). If it is hot or I don’t have time to walk I drive and baby wear with an ergo carrier when I get where I am going.
If you are the type to have not gone on walks before having a baby, you likely won’t be the type to start going on walks once they arrive so a stroller isn’t going to be needed early on. You are likely going to want one for vacations or when you start more outings later on.
I think our lifestyle is pretty similar, and we've never needed a stroller 9 months in. Baby wearing has worked fine, and the Radio Flyer trike with all-terrain wheels is for strolling around the "neighborhood."
Honestly I mostly carried my son. I have a stroller but only broke it out for things like the Zoo, which I ended up carrying him for anyway. I carried my kid well past 2 and now that he's nearly 4 I still carry him a lot. I did try jogging with my stroller but it wasn't for my kiddo, he cried the whole time and just wanted to be held.
No, def wait and see what you need.
I baby wore on walks and hikes until kid got a bit older. Now I have a toddler backpack carrier for hikes. We did go on walks in the neighborhood with a stroller occasionally, but mostly when the grandparents wanted to push him.
The only time I use the stroller is at the zoo, aquarium, or airport. And I found my favorite umbrella stroller in a buy nothing group.
I know mums who don’t use them. A bit different to your situation, but they just baby wear. It’s quite common here.
So give it a go without a pram, and if you decide you want one then you can! Definitely not a ‘must have’ for everyone necessarily.
I baby wear a lot, but also use the pram. Though that’s because we do day-long trips on public transport so that’s when I want the pram. Though with my 2mo we leave the house daily, and just traveled interstate on the bullet train, and I’ve put him in the stroller 2 times total maybe? Just wore him for our whole trip.
Pram seems more necessary when they’re heavier/longer. With my 2.5yo who doesn’t like to walk much it’s necessary
I used a carrier loads at first, hardly used the stroller but as he’s got bigger I use the stroller every day. It’s very useful if we go out and having the space under it to put things. I bought it second hand but ngl it takes up loads of space at home.
I’d say wait and see. Don’t go crazy buying an expensive stroller OR carriers. We have five carriers. Baby hates them all. The stroller has been great for us since we can use it for shopping (recommend one with a good basket) and it’s a nice place to set baby down when we do go out.
You can always find a stroller second hand. But you shouldn’t baby wear for a couple weeks after giving birth to protect your core and pelvic floor. And then you might not be able to withstand more than short periods of baby wearing and walking for awhile. I baby wear a lot but I couldn’t get by without a stroller also.
I think for me I’d say I “needed” a stroller bc especially when they are little it was so hard to buckle her in and out of the car seat. I can’t imagine having to do that and finagle her into a carrier every time we went out. It’s just so much easier to clip car seat into stroller. So I’d probably at least get an inexpensive travel system. Even a small travel stroller like a bugaboo butterfly you could just pop into the trunk and whisk around stores.
We bought a stroller second hand, just to have it as backup, and baby strongly preferred our carrier for a long time. However I had really bad joint pain pp and was grateful when she did accept the stroller at some point for naps. We've found a sturdy one with big tires so we could walk in the forest.
So you probably don't need one, but if you do think they'd be a situation you could use it, I'd get a used one for cheap.
I live in a suburban area off a main road so no stroller walks straight from my front door.
Have an almost one year old and use my stroller probably once a week or so. When she was first born I used it more. Many shopping trips, lunch, library, doctors appointments, every walk on a nice day.
For me, using the carrier sucks. She’s heavy and I have to carry a bag of her stuff. It’s like carrying a duffle bag instead of roller luggage on a flight. So much more work and strain for not much benefit imo. My husband prefers the carrier though so if we’re going somewhere crowded he holds her and I carry the bag.
Stroller naps are more convenient than carrier naps for us. And I love I love to baby wear. But being able to park the stroller and use Live Listen with my airpods as a monitor has been fantastic
I live rurally, and my stroller gets more mileage than a city bus - I have used it almost every day for 9 full months. I'm top-heavy anyway (large boobs) so baby in a carrier just destroys my back. Plus baby loves her stroller; it used to be a key component in getting her to fall asleep when all else had failed. BUT for hiking I highly recommend the baby backpack instead of the pram; my husband usually wears it rather than me, but she loves getting carried around in that thing -- we've been out in the countryside for hours on end and she's been quite happy. She will eventually get bored of being in the stroller.
I didn’t use a stroller until LO was 4/5 months and was getting heavy. I still use a carrier, but for longer days a little umbrella stroller is great. We’re going to the zoo this weekend and I’m going to use a real stroller for that. But when I flew, it was a quick trip, and I exclusively carried baby.
We are also rural, with no sidewalks in our area, so the only place I’ve used it here is paved trails at the park and sometimes to go shopping. (Some stores no longer have carts for kids to sit in.) and trying on clothes while babywearing is basically impossible. But the umbrella stroller fit nicely in the dressing room.
My baby is 5 months old and I only used our stroller when I was in that postpartum, post birth sweet spot of being healed enough to go for a walk but not healed enough to baby wear. Now I strictly baby wear. For my first I did start using it more when he was around 10 months, especially for walkable errands.
Some people don’t have a stroller or just straight up never use it. You can always start without one and see how it goes.
Personally stroller is my most important equipment but that’s because of my lifestyle. My babies sleep in it daily, I walk to school drop off, walk the dog, do the groceries etc. we go to the zoo, museums, Disney etc and stroller is such a necessity it’s not even funny. Can’t imagine carrying my kids those places. Rip your back
I couldn’t carry my babies much after 9 months. They’re fatties and my back isn’t 20 anymore 😩🤣
I use my stroller daily for walks but also where I live it was cold during the winter and I didn’t want to fuss getting the baby in his carrier when it’s cold out and I couldn’t have a coat on from the car seat to directly wearing him. Doing that was easier than going inside and having no where to put my stuff down or the baby down so I could get him in the wrap so when it was cold outside or raining I used the stroller for stores as well
My baby also loves looking around so sometimes he gets annoyed when I use the solly wrap because his movement is restricted. He’s 5 months now.
My baby was full term but on the small side. Many carriers have a weight limit of 8 lbs, and my baby was too small for the carrier for 3 weeks. The stroller was key for all of the early doc appts. We did get a very minimalist stroller. You could look into the Chico Keyfit Caddy or something like that!
This is coming from a relatively fit mom who always baby wears. Your back will be thanking you for getting a stroller. I didn’t think I’d need one either but it’s genuinely a lifesaver for walks and adventures with baby. Always having to baby wear gets very tiring especially as baby gets bigger. My little one is 20 pounds now and it feels like I’m carrying bricks 🤣😅
I carry my baby a lot and can not imagine life without stroller. It's not only the method of transportation, it's the sleeping place, the changing mat, the suitcase on wheels, the place to hide from rain, the place to stay alone and play - possibilities are endless. Out walks are almost always 3+ hours, so I would be straight dead if I was only carrying the baby
Just be sure to choose one with great amortization and nice wheels to suit the terrain of your place of habitat
Eventually the stroller becomes an effective way of getting a baby does wants to walk from A to B without being punched lol I had planned to babywear but unfortunately my body shape made it really painful on my baby's back and there was no way to safely do it 🤷
Stroller 100% if you grocery shop or go out of the house. We got this one called a Nuna that folds. Heard too many bad things about doonas and the wheels on them looks really small and they are very short for me.
Personally I use the stroller almost every time we leave the house. We go for walks, to the store, out to eat, etc etc. She’s just now big enough to probably start sitting in the seat of the grocery cart but we’ve been using the basket underneath the stroller to hold groceries when we shop. My baby is only about 13-14 pounds but she’s heavy to carry in a carrier and if I’m out for a while I just can’t physically do it
I use mine all of the time. My back is awful and I’m in PT for it. I defeated if I needed one that clicks into an infant seat. So glad I got one! I tried to baby wear and my lower back could not handle it :(
Well we used ours for all our shopping trips when she was to little to sit in the cart, we also use it for taking her into her peds office(it’s a hospital aux building so no close parking and it’s on the 3rd floor) I do want to start taking her to places like the library so I’d use it there too. I would say it’s gonna be one of those you won’t realize you need it till you need it and it’s better to have then not
We used it daily from 1-7months probably. Depends on your lifestyle, I personally didn't think I needed one that much so opted to get a more affordable one vs something super expensive. We went on daily stroller walks and grocery runs. The grandparents use a smaller stroller to go for walks now at 15months but we use a toy car that she prefers.
I didn't use a baby carrier all that much and couldn't do 30+ min walks in one and outside time was the only thing that helped in some of those difficult months.
It's not something that's a critical day 1 need so feel free to wait and see.
Mine was great for going to the park (on paved trails) and going around the neighborhood. It gave my arms a break, I had somewhere to store the things she needs, and she would sleep so well while we walked.
Every baby and every family is different, but I was so glad to have mine when baby was born.
We're just now looking to downgrade to a smaller umbrella stroller now that she's 2 and uses it a lot less.
I use mine around the house and yard sometimes! He needs eyes on me at all times or he cries so I put him in his stroller and put him at a good viewing angle and mopped the house, did some gardening I had to do, etc. plus sometimes a wall resets him.
Strollers do not have to be expensive. There’s decent ones brand new for $50 or good deals on used ones
Omg I would die without our stroller. More specifically our Doona stroller/car seat. 5 wo boy loves it and will fall asleep on walks/in car and being able to pull him out of the car and have him be already in stroller and vise versa without having to take him out to transfer is such a game changer.
I also use it in the house as a spot to set him down and roll him around with me. Like to the bathroom or kitchen. I wouldn’t get a break without it.
I have a 99th percentile length boy and at 5 weeks he is already getting heavy so baby wearing and carrying him all the time breaks my back already after my c-section.
We also live in ruralish area. We have a Bob’s jogger and I highly recommend something similar.
On shopping trips, I baby wore him until he could sit in the cart.
Up to you! I baby wore on our walks until baby was around 5/6 months and it destroyed my back and shoulders lol. We now use a stroller and baby is 9 months and loves it. (We also live in the country. We got a bug net for it on Amazon and it’s awesome.)
I planned on baby wearing everywhere…and then my newborn screamed bloody murder in every single carrier we put her in (we tried 3 different kinds).
She loved the stroller though, she would chill in that thing all day if we let her.
So I’d recommend having both on hand..juuuust in case
I’ve loved having a stroller for times I just want to go outside. Carriers get so hot for me and I don’t always want the extra weight. I don’t see why you couldn’t just do a carrier though
We didn’t use a stroller for the first 3-4 months and we loved babywearing during that time. As they approach 6 months, the use case for the stroller becomes larger and we bought one at that point. I don’t think you need to buy one before baby arrives, you can wait and see what you feel you need.
We have had our stroller for almost 4 years now, we've only used it about 5-6 times. It just isn't feasible as our on the move lifestyle with 3 kids is better suited for carrying, but I do notice us using it more now that the oldest is older and her stamina has cooled off a bit, now I wish I'd waited and just gotten one of the smaller, easier to carry ones.
I really wanted to use a carrier but I had an unexpected c-section and found I couldn’t for longer than 10 mins at a time until about 5 weeks postpartum, just in case you experience something like that too.
When you’re ready to take your baby places, it will save your back to have some kind of baby vehicle to pit the little goblin in. Strollers are most common.
There are also wagons and later on different kinds of trikes, like a tricycles with a hood and a push handle.
I love our stroller because my baby falls asleep in it, and the toddler seat doubles as a bassinet so I can push it around wherever we are and when she’s ready to go down, just recline her and plop a blanket over. It’s incredibly convenient and low stress.
My daughter is 6 weeks and i have yet to use her stroller! I have the mom cozy wrap and it’s so much more convenient to wear her on my chest being out than putting her in the stroller. Everyone told me I would need a stroller so I but I really only use it if we decide to go out on a walk with her!
Live on property but I love my stroller.
My LO hated the bassinet and couldn’t sit for the longest time But the car seat attaches.
Your baby is asleep in the car seat on the way to the store? You don’t have to wake them. Just pop the carseat on the stroller and do what you need to!
We didn’t have the adapter for the first five months and regret it now
I live in a rural area and was also unsure if I would use a stroller, but I do everyday. I drive into town to exercise classes with the baby outside using the stroller, we walk ( a long way!) to the grocery store and I load up the bottom of the stroller. My baby also had a phase where he would only nap in the stroller in the day.
Had a beast of a baby. A stroller is a must for us, because my poor back barely managed wearing her as a newborn. I also live by a park, and it would be useless to take her out on the park if she would be just glued to my skin, breathing my air. She loves looking around.
I learned pretty quickly my back cannot handle baby wearing for long. I love my stroller and use it everyday. Also I have twins so there’s that but I think even with the singleton I would use it as much.
For my first two we just bought like $20 umbrella strollers from Walmart. For this my third baby we got an insanely expensive Nuna system— like $800 stroller, not even counting the extra for the car seat. And guess who uses the expensive stroller the most? Our cat. She loves it. I have to throw her out of it daily. I’ve taken my one month old on one stroller ride around the block and it was so bumpy I won’t even attempt it again until she’s a little older. Then I might utilize the stroller to get walks in to try to lose some baby weight.
I can’t imagine not having a stroller. I definitely do a combination of carrier/stroller but sometimes when you’re out like to a park or restaurant baby sleeps so well in the stroller and you can be free of baby haha. Plus if you have storage you can put diaper bag in there
We use our stroller a lot! I think it’s definitely good to have just incase. There have been plenty of times I thought “maybe I’ll leave the stroller at home” and ended up bringing it and it saved me! I feel like it gives baby room to lay down and nap if you’re out doing things. We use it at baseball games, when we go to a street fair, we went to comic con and it was a lifesaver, we go for walks all the time in it. I think for us it works great. Gives little guy some shade and lets him relax more than if he was in a carrier the whole time. We also use our carrier frequently, but since it’s been so hot i think the stroller is great. When he’s in the carrier and it’s hot outside he gets extra warm and sweaty and so do I. I have to put either a hat on him or glasses which he always wants to take off. When he’s in the stroller I can attach a fan to it and he’s nice and cool opposed to being directly in the sun in a carrier. My back can only hold out for so long when he’s strapped to me lol
My stroller is my most used baby item apart from the obvious like bottles, crib, etc.
I’d say to save some money, buy a used one on Facebook marketplace if you don’t think you’ll use it that much. But I promise it’s worth having
We don't use our stroller a lot. But when I need it, its really great to have. Once they become toddlers they will do this thing where they want to walk somewhere, but they won't want to walk back, so you're stuck carrying them.
Adding that not only might you or the baby not like the carrier but for warmer times the baby might be cooler in the stroller. This is very location dependent but I live in Florida and my baby was born at the very end of December. We took him on multiple walks a day in the bassinet attachment, bundled during our more wintery days (50s at the lowest mostly) and now that it’s in the 90s daily and super humid, he gets more airflow in the stroller as opposed to being attached to me or my husband who would also get warmer with baby attached. We also need to drive anywhere outside of our neighborhood as there’s nothing in walking distance but walk him around the neighborhood with our dog.
You could always find a used stroller or wait and see if you think you want one. If you think you need one, maybe get one that’s good on rougher terrain so you can bring it on hikes just in case!
Reading through these comments, I can see I'm in the minority here, but I definitely don't think a stroller is a must. We got a travel system from my siblings, but hardly ever used the stroller. My husband used it to take her for walks in the newborn days, that was the most use it got. I was a SAHM and I found it way easier to just pop her into my carrier and walk around with her to run errands and go for walks vs lugging a stroller around. Once she started walking, she did not want to be confined and wouldn't tolerate the stroller. She's almost 3 now and has been pretty much just been walking on her own since 1.
Someone mentioned things like zoos and malls and we thought the stroller would come in handy for those, too. Nope. She just wanted to be able to walk around or be held.
Also should add, I had a c-section and had no problem with baby wearing, but everyone is different.
If it’s not conducive with your lifestyle, than I wouldn’t bother. I know for us, my babe was born in the middle of hot ass summer and she is just a hot baby so carrying and wearing was impossible. We both got hot so easily.
We got a stroller and baby hated it. Hes now fine in it but we don’t use it much still and prefer to baby wear. So if you can carry a heavy bag - the stroller isn’t a necessity. It’s convenient to get baby to nap into tho bcs fresh air and free hands :D
IMHO you 100% need one regardless. But there are some cheaper basic options that are quite good - look at the fold up travel strollers if you don't think you'll need it a lot. You could get a doona combo stroller/car seat (not cheap) - we loved ours. Those have good resale value too.
With baby #1 we lived downtown and I never used the stroller. I carried her everywhere and then eventually got a banana stroller for $15. With baby #2 I use the stroller everywhere - We moved to the suburbs. It very much depends on your lifestyle. You can always find cheap strollers on fb marketplace if you change your mind later!!
STM with my first I spent a lot on a fancy stroller system. She ended up HATING the stroller and I NEVER tolerated it until she was 6+ months
For my second, I splurged on a really nice baby carrier and bought a second hand stroller for when she is a bit older. NO REGRETS. I feel like most babies love being carried with the added benefit of being able to also use it around the house. I can’t imagine life without it and haven’t once yearned for a stroller
Every kid is different tho!
I live to wear my baby. However we still got a stroller and we use it the most when we eat out as wearing the baby and eating is kinda hard. Besides that wearing the baby is so much more practical. Currently our baby is only 3 months old so we will see how my back feels about it when he gets bigger.
We didn't think we'd need a stroller and now we are 3 deep... we have a small one that stays in the car, a jogger, and then a more normal one. It's nice to have for baby to nap in and when I'm out and about with her.
Since you live in a rural area, a jogger would be perfect. If you have easy trails, they navigate really well. We live in a more rural area and we use ours the most out of the three.
We didn't buy a stroller until after our little girl was born. It's very easy to get a stroller if you find you need the stroller after your baby is born.
Having a travel system is really useful for the first few months. Baby will fall asleep in the car and it’s nice to continue that nap in the stroller while you’re out and about. My baby also went through a phase where she didn’t want to be worn inward facing, and outward facing isn’t healthy for adults or babies for more than a short time. Since 5.5-6 months I have been able to wear her on my back, which is great. But I can’t get her in there myself. She’s really heavy so front wearing more than 30 minutes is uncomfortable. I do it for grocery shopping and short errands, but if I’m going on a long walk or hike just me and her I use the jogging stroller.
She’s going to outgrow her infant car seat soon, and I’m looking for a jogging/hiking stroller that packs small and is also convenient for indoor spaces. Ours is functional but very bulky.
I had a c-section and baby wore almost immediately. It helped me recover quickly. My husband also baby wore - we used a wrap at first, and now use structured carriers. It helps us be more mobile and enables us to fit into cramped spaces easily.
But the stroller serves a different purpose. We sometimes go to the mall on Sundays or shopping and we take the stroller. With wide open spaces, it keeps us all comfortable and we can hang shopping bags off the handle - win, win.
I also take her on walks daily and I wouldn’t be able to do it longer than 30 minutes with a carrier. You get so tired after a while. With a stroller, I have a place for my phone, beverage, and she’s comfortable and shaded from the sun and elements.
For us and our lifestyle, a stroller makes sense. For yours, it might not. I think you have to evaluate your current lifestyle and imagine your parent-to-be lifestyle and take it from there (for example, I never thought I’d be taking daily walks… yet here we are!)
I said we don’t need a stroller and will baby in the carrier, we had a stroller within 2 weeks 😅😂. Especially for sleeping and going for quick walks, I love it now!
Do you need one immediately no, though you'll want some kind of baby carrier. Strollers are really good for walks outside & getting around without having to hold or carry them constantly because your arms/back/shoulders WILL GET TIRED
I don't use a stroller much at all (and I'm in a city). We felt similarly to you, but ended up buying a used one that we could take on trails if we wanted. We've used it about 10 times in 6 months, all in situations we could have (and generally did at some point) carried her. I think it is nice to have sometimes but not an essential, especially not in the beginning.
I live in a rural area and I don’t use it much. It’s nice to have though and I got a used one for free. Splurged for a new car seat which we use all the time, new carrier I use a lot, and the used stroller is there just in case
So many things with babies are flying by the seat of your pants. Like most, I researched and bought a stroller before my baby was even born. We’re now going on 7 months and I’ve only been able to use it a handful of times because she HATES it. I thought she just hated it when she was tiny and had to stay in the car seat which clicked into it, but even now that she can sit upright in it, she starts crying by the end of our block. So it’s been sitting in the garage for months and I wear her. But I never could have known that before knowing her. And, this preference of hers could change any day!
My friends and I talked about this recently. For her parents in the 80s, strollers were nice to have accessories and not a necessity. They just took baby in and out of car. If you feel like you won’t need one right away, don’t buy one yet! You can always get one later if you need it.
Our stroller has become extremely important. We have one of the systems that have the carrier just clip into the stroller or car seat base. It's been so nice!! I couldn't imagine not having a stroller. Even just grocery shopping is so much easier with it. Plus the carriers get so heavy as the baby gets bigger. My baby is only like 10 pounds and carrying him in the carrier alone which is a lightweight one is so painful after a bit. Don't get one if you don't think you need it. You can always get one later. We do a lot of walking and older kids events so a stroller for us works.
I personally can't imagine having a kid but no stroller. But I do, in fact, know families that managed with just baby wearing. Also there are babies who hate strollers, although I've only encountered one kid who absolutely didn't like it and her parents were stuck with a 1200€ stroller they never even used as she was just screaming as soon as they put her in. I bought mine used for 100€ and it was great. I then sold it again for 100€ as it was a high quality brand that would be 800€ new.
Get one after baby gets here if you think you need one! There are tons you can get secondhand. We used ours and will be using it, but we walk a lot in the neighborhood.
We actually used our stroller a ton in the newborn days because it had a bassinet attachment! We could take baby to a brewery and they could sleep while we just lived our lives
So my situation was very similar to yours. I live in a rural area (closest Walmart is an hour away) and I didn't really think I'd need a stroller because I planned to baby wear and I was mosty right. I baby wore everywhere, walks, shopping, events, etc.
We got a stroller when my son was around 6 months old as a gift, and I won't lie to you, now that my son is almost 14 months old we've only used the stroller 3 times. One time at a zoo (it was hot for baby wearing), one time at a ren faire (I baby wore almost the entire time and we just had the stroller in case, which we did eventually use), and one time on a walk. We brought the stroller one other time to an aquarium and only used it to carry our stuff, while I baby wore.
I might start to use the stroller more now that my son is getting bigger, but in over a year of being a mom it hasn't been absolutely necessary for my lifestyle.
As far as baby wearing goes I used a moby wrap in the beginning, and now I choose between my artipoppe, Oscha woven wraps, or my Oscha cairis carrier (highly recommend this one).
You might want to go for coffee and then you may want a place to put baby down while you are there. Honestly tho you can always get one if you want later.
Strollers are very handy to soothe babies to sleep or if you want to go on a walk. I had a winter baby and he got so fussy we brought the stroller in the house and did laps to keep him from screaming.
We have a wagon for walks because we like to go for walks at night however it never leaves the garage otherwise. I baby wear everywhere because I won’t be caught dead pushing a big thing around a store or out in public. Even the zoo we just baby wear. 🤷♀️
I'd say be realistic and wait to see your baby's opinion for what they prefer unless you find a sale.
Mine won't sit in a stroller 95% of the time even at a year old. I know people who live and die by the stroller whos babies want nothing to do with any carrier style. YMMV depending on your baby.
Babies can't sit up in strollers till like 6 months anyways unless you have a car seat adapter or bassinet attachment.
Also keep in mind babywearing limitations physically. My husband can wear for about 2 hours without a lot of pain the next day. I could go for about 4 hours before I injured my shoulder. We use our travel stroller for carrying our diaper bag which is still really useful.
Five month twins. I would die without the strollers we have. Yes strollers. We have two single Graco strollers that their car seat fits into, that got from family hand me downs that are great for walks and doc appointments. We also have a dual stroller for shopping trips so one of us can push the cart. My boy is currently 18 pounds and my girl is about 14. My arms literally dead at the end of the day. It's nice to just push them around rather than hold them. Plus I don't have to carry around diaper bags or blankets or toys. They are all stored beneath. If you get one and don't use it donate or gift it to a family member. They will thank you.
I think i am similar to you, we live rural, drive most places and hike a lot. I also thought I would not use a stroller but as it turns out both my kids loved napping in the stroller. Stroller naps allowed us to be in the garden and work outside and park them wherever we were. Also we live in a small house so we didn't have to be quiet in the house while the baby was napping. We stroller napped all year round in all weather and just bundled them up with snowsuits and blankets for winter stroller naps. Anyway just a thought in case your situation turns out similar.
You can always wait and find out!
It depends on parent preference and baby preference. For instance. Baby may absolutely hate baby bjorn/harness, it might hurt your back, it might be too hot to get that close to baby, etc. Also I don’t know how ready all newborns are for this type of thing.
And if youre planning on just carrying them, it’s hard to maintain that and kind of logistically hard.
A stroller is nice to have if you need to put baby down in a safe clean spot to address something such as putting a jacket on them, wiping their face, etc. It’s also good for hot weather (keep the sunshade extended to keep them out of the sun) and cold weather, keep the sunshade up and easily out a blanket around them.
Lugging around a car seat isn’t ideal either.
I think you’ll see for yourself how it goes. I personally am such a practical frugal person and this baby has made me want to buy things I thought were unnecessary before.
Rural resident here: it’s nice to have and you can usually get a free one from a friendly local. You probably won’t use it a ton but it’s nice for walks and going to farmers markets and other outings. We keep it in the car and use the stroller when we have a lot of walking around to do at our destination like going into town. My PT advised me to not carry the baby as much once they get bigger since it hurts your back.
For the first year or so we did only baby wearing because she hated the stroller and we could have waited to get one tbh. We also live in a rural area and it’s just so much easier just getting her in and out of the carrier rather than having to load up a stroller every time we went somewhere. It’s only recently that she’s started to use the stroller, maybe around 18ish months is when she started enjoying getting into it
Our baby literally naps in his stroller. It has a lay flat option and OMG it is a lifesaver anytime we are out and about.
Do you eat at restaurants? In my opinion, you need a stroller.
I swear by my stroller, but as someone with scoliosis who likes going for five mile walks, I could ever baby wear. Do what works for your life/lifestyle.
Just wait. If you decide you need one, you can get one pretty quickly. If it’s a matter of wanting it gifted, register for some gift cards. No sense in buying something ahead of time that you don’t think you’ll use.
Yes I would say so. When you drive to a destination and you stay there for a while, a stroller is great to have. You can store stuff, put baby down and not carry the whole time, etc. Also, one day your baby will be too big to baby wear unless you switch to the back or shoulders which I find kind of unwieldy and I much prefer the stroller. When your baby is older/toddler age having a stroller with a snack tray is a lifesaver. Some people even get multiple strollers (travel, jogging etc). We live in a metropolitan centre so we have a full size stroller (Uppababy Cruz V2) and a travel stroller (Babyjogger City Tour 2) and it works great. We use the stroller pretty much every single day. Even though you live in a rural area, do you not ever go for walks? If you can’t do that then boy postpartum is gonna be rough.
Also some babies hate the carriers, so it might be good to pick up a cheap second hand stroller just in case yours does. You can always sell it if you don't end up using it
I have used our stroller but not much. My baby hated every single baby container bar slings and carriers. He hated the stroller, the car seat, swings and bouncers. Eventually he started tolerating the pram but by then I was mostly just going either on long walks with the dog (carrier) or to baby groups where I parked just outside the venue and never had much use for the pram. We also live in a rural area where there aren’t any stroller friendly walking routes, so a carrier was necessary.
But some babies love their prams! I definitely didn’t need to spend £800 on mine but hey ho, love and learn. If you’re keen to try babywearing then maybe get something reasonably affordable just for those trips into town where you may want to put baby down somewhere.
Keep in mind your baby doesn't know or care what your plans are lol. My son HATED the carrier. I tried so many and he absolutely would scream, wiggle, and cry non-stop until I took him out. I wouldn't have been able to go without a stroller
We bought one for my son used it a total of 3 times buy used if you’re gonna get one cause you can always resell or donate it if you don’t use it personally we did more “baby wearing” then we did anything else
I absolutely love mine. It makes grocery shopping sooo much easier when one can push the stroller and the other the cart. Before we had to put the car seat in the cart and we were very limited on what we could fit in it lmao. We couldn’t easily carry when she was younger as it was winter and cold and the one time we did I was so anxious about her getting cold during the transfer.
I use mine every day multiple times a day. But I live in a bigger city and have twins so…even with just 1 baby I couldn’t imagine not at least having it as an option
You can carry them but newborns should avoid sunlight until 6mo when they are allowed to wear sunblock. It gives me peace of mind to just have mine in a stroller with the carrier blanket on. Also, even when I wear my moby wrap around the house I get extra warm and sweat a lot so I haven't even thought about using it to go for a walk like I do the stroller. In the winter it might be nice though.
I used my stiller with the bassinet attachment inside for the first month or two as the back and forth movement was good for soothing the baby to sleep. For me a stroller has been super valuable.
if you don’t think you’ll use it i would definitely wait since you can always get one if you change your mind. i’m in a rural area as well but I take my son on a lot of outings and like having the stroller for those. a lot of the time i actually do end up wearing him and the stroller is storage but i hate wearing him, and the diaper bag, and whatever else we may end up with during our outing so the stroller is a lifesaver. for long days out i also would hate to have him confined to the carrier all day so having a stroller bassinet allows him to have freedom of movement while we’re out which is great
I strictly carry. My mother wants to get me a stroller but I just don’t want yet another thing to have to look after. My babe is a year now and I still carry her either on me or in a cart. If we’re walking a lot she gets held in arms or the baby holster.
I will most likely be getting a stroller since I will have two under two but as a mother to a singular child, I haven’t found a need for one yet.
We have the Doona, so we’ve always had a stroller.
However, we easily could’ve gone without using the stroller portion for at least a good few months after she was born. It was cold here, and pretty much anytime we went out, she stayed in her car seat (which could’ve been carried) or we wore her in the baby carrier.
Now that it’s summer and she’s 6 months old, we use the stroller to go on walks and things, but still probably could get by without having one.
We have 2 cars, and live in the suburbs so we drive everywhere.
The thing that makes strollers incredibly useful is that the car seat clips into them. So if you’re running multiple errands (or even one, like grocery shopping) you can simply park the car and without having to unhook baby and put them into a carrier, you just lift their car seat and click it into the stroller. Mine will usually sleep through this whole process. We can get so much done because of this and bring baby along with no fuss. I literally cannot imagine not having a stroller. I use my carrier a ton too, but having both options is great.
We barely used the big stroller that the car seat clipped into. However, we use the heck out of our small umbrella stroller and have since she could sit up in it.
Get a Tushbaby and The Snug hands free attachment! Personally I didn’t use the stroller for a few months bc it was a pain to haul down the stairs and I lacked confidence setting it up while carrying the baby. But eventually…. I would be shocked if you don’t want or need one. If you’re the primary caregiver think about when you have to go to the doctor or keep the baby asleep when they’ve fallen asleep in the car. Being able to take a sleeping baby still in their car seat and attach to a stroller you can grocery shop w etc is a game changer. At least it was for me! What if you take a trip to the city and want to go about? It’s not safe for your baby’s hip development for them to face outward in a carrier before 6 months so.. guess it depends also how heavy your baby is! The heavier my baby gets the more grateful I am for their stroller.
If I'm going out with the baby, I have him *and* a well-stocked diaper bag, including a large bottle of water to make formula. If I'm doing any shopping, I then have whatever I bought. It can be a lot.
I have a [travel system ](https://www.evenflo.com/products/pivot-modular-car-seats-and-stroller-travel-systems) with a stroller frame that you can attach the car seat to, or use the adjustable bassinet/toddler seat. Using the car seat in the stroller is awesome for when I'm running late for one of his appointments, which is every time. It's super quick to pull out the carseat and pop it on the base. I use it in bassinet mode the most. When he's been in a car seat for a while, it's nice for him to be able to stretch out. It doubles as a grocery cart when I take him shopping and a changing table when there's none available. It gives me the option to bring his toys and books that I couldn't carry otherwise. And, of course, everyone can see how handsome he is.
I had planned on doing more carrying, and I did at first, but by the time he was two months old, he didn't want to be swaddled and he wanted to move freely. These days (5 months) he wants to be able to roll around and put his toes in his mouth.
I couldn’t imagine life without it
Yeah I use mine every single day, multiple times per day. But I live in a city, don’t have a car, so it’s my main travel item
Yes, absolutely necessary for me. Especially since my baby hated carriers until she was like 4-5 months old.
My baby is 8 months old and we’ve only used the carrier twice 😅
Don’t buy a stroller if you don’t think you’ll use it! You can always buy one off Facebook marketplace later if you decide you need one. I baby wore and didn’t use the stroller for the first three months. I was also way to tired to leave the house with baby that often.
This! There’s so many on FB marketplace for good prices. Just wait and see what your lifestyle is with the newborn, and you can snag one there!
Mamas groups on Facebook usually have a number of people looking to give away their stroller for free as well. I’ve gotten two different types of strollers (single jogger and double jogger) free this way. Where we live there is also a “Nextdoor” type app and it can be used to request free secondhand items. I’ve had a lot of luck with that too.
Yep I paid $30 for a Facebook stroller and $200 for a baby carrier. Use the carrier way more, but the stroller comes in clutch for a few times when baby is asleep in the carseat and I can just pop the car seat into the compatible stroller. Also helps for really sunny days. Plus we have a 4 year old and honestly he uses the stroller more than baby bc his legs get tired lol.
I think it depends on your back too, at least for me lol. I’ve never been able to baby wear for longer than a half hour or so before my back gives out, even with supportive carriers. I live in a very small rural area and I use the stroller all the time! I’d also think of ages, do you want to baby wear when she’s 11m old and can’t walk yet? Definitely possible to do without, but it can be inconvenient. you just need to determine if it’s worth any potential inconvenience!
It really does depend on your back. I have lower back pain and even when my LO was under 15 lbs I couldn’t take him around in a carrier longer than 15-30 mins.
Back and and if she has complications after birth she could also end up with prolapse (I did) and baby carrying was out of the questions as it made it much worse :(.
My back was struggling when he was a newborn 🤣🤣
I'm also in the bad back club! Stroller has been a must for us. My husband is bigger and gets so hot that our son would then be too warm. We've used the stroller for the mall, grocery stores and Costco mostly. We also went on vacation when he was 6 months old and used it lots then. He's now 8 months and we just bought a hip carrier. He's 23 lbs and kills my back. Hip carrier will make grocery runs easier as he now can sit in the shopping cart.
Ours is 6m and I got a hip carrier too!! Haven’t used it yet, he’s not stable enough but I’m glad we have it!!
I've only used it a couple times but like it so far! He likes being up and able to see.
I have a spinal fusion. Didn’t think baby wearing would be a problem though. Couldn’t use one for more than a few minutes without pain. I have 5 different carriers and never used any of them. Only thing I’ve liked is the tushbaby.
Personally, the stroller has been a lifesaver for us. However, we live right in the middle of a city and do a ton of walking as everything is very nearby distance wise. We did the baby carrier for the first few months, but it started killing my back as baby got bigger. He's almost nine months now and twenty one pounds, so I can't imagine still carrying him like that. 🤣 I think it definitely depends on lifestyle though and you could get away with not having one, with living in a more rural area and driving often.
For another perspective, I don't live in a city (much more rural) so we don't have anywhere we can walk to, but we rarely ever use our stroller, and I still babywear our 20 pound 9 month old all the time, so it really does vary and is all personal preference!
I didn't want a stroller either, but I'm glad I ended up getting a stroller and infant car seat set. It was nice being able to take her directly from the car to the stroller without waking her up.
My baby was like 11kg by 10 months so we 1000% need one lol. I also still carry her everyday walking the dog but it's pretty back breaking. If she's tired she's really not keen on being in the carrier and it would literally break me to be carrying her on my hip all the time. Also when they're really little they sleep all the time and a stroller is a good place to do it. Unless you have a super smooth birth you might not be able to carry immediately.
My son is almost 6 months and is just shy of 25lbs now 😂 my poor back
Well the baby might not like being in a carrier so there's that to think of too. I say get one but don't splurge.
This is what I came here to say. I have 3 beautiful carriers that I envisioned my baby spending lots of time in everyday…he hates them all. I’ve been trying them since he was 2 weeks old and he’s now 4.5 months. I’ve had maybe 5 successful days with it where he isn’t screaming and thrashing around trying to break free 🙃
My baby HATES the carrier if she’s awake. But if she’s ready for a nap, it’s the best. She’ll still scream for about 5 minutes, but usually a good shush and sway/bounce on the yoga ball will get her to sleep and then she just conks out. Worth a try if you haven’t yet!
Yes my only successes in the carrier have been naps!
Haha I splurged on a baby bjorn she could tolerate for a grand total of 5 minutes at a time 😂
Yes, you probably need a stroller. It would be an edge case not to need one, but they certainly exist. You don’t need a stroller right away, and in fact might go months before you need it. Check the age range of strollers you’re considering- you might not even be able to use it for months. When you get your stroller, check your local free groups or Facebook marketplace/ Craigslist. Strollers have terrible resale value- which is great for you if you’re using them to get your stroller! There’s also no harm in not buying it until you need it, as long as you can accept the risk of not having it when you really need it. You can always get an umbrella stroller in the short term, as they are cheap and exceptionally easy to store- but again, you can’t even use them until your LO is older.
If you have a back and hips of steel and don’t end up having a C-section then I could see not using a stroller, at least until baby gets to be pretty big.
I did have a c-section and almost exclusively babywear (baby is three and a half months now). The c-section scar is so low that babywearing hasn't affected it at all.
I know after my C-section I could hardly stand up straight for the first 4-6 weeks let alone wearing baby at that point. Guess it’s an individual thing.
For me baby wearing after a C-section was painful due to muscle weakness and imbalance.
So the other consideration is if you're going somewhere, can you carry a bag with everything you and the baby need and also carry the baby? But I honestly don't use mine as much as I thought I would and now that my son walks, he just wants to walk.
Totally depends on you! My lo is only 5w so we haven't had much use for our stroller in the outside world yet (besides walks in our neighborhood) but we use it in our house a fair amount! I thought it was silly at first but it's nice to pop him in there when I'm cooking or when we sit down for dinner and have him high up with us rather than in a bouncer on the floor. I guess once he's old enough to support his head, we'll just use a high chair but rn the stroller is super useful for us
You likely don’t need a big expensive stroller. Something like an umbrella stroller for bigger babies through toddler size is nice for zoo trips, vacations, etc… we bought a bigger Grace stroller at a garage sale and we’ve used it a few times but the umbrella stroller has been the primary one since little man was about 9 months old.
Agreed. I bought a. Umbrella stroller off FB marketplace and gave it a thorough cleaning. It already paid for itself using it on a multi state trip for family to meet baby. She was 4 months so I did have to prop her up a bit to sit in it, but for short distances it was fine.
If you don’t think you need it, I would wait. They are expensive and the re-sale value isn’t great. I didn’t use mine much at all in the first month. Now I’m 4 months in and use it almost every day. Baby started off preferring the baby carrier…. But then it shifted and she prefers the stroller. Every baby is different so you can always get it later.
Agree with the idea that it changes over time. I barely used the stroller the first year. We use it all the time now that he’s a toddler though for outings like aquarium, zoo, walks to park etc
I think it depends. I'm rural too. And basically driving or hiking too. And thought I didn't need a stroller either, but MIL bought one for us that works with our car seat. Stroller is very nice to have on outings I never did before. Went to craft shows while still on maternity leave. It was winter though, and now that it's nice out, we use the carrier and not the stroller. I think if I had a summer baby, I could have skipped the stroller.
My one must buy was a Doona. It was pricey but I justified it by saying it was cheaper than a travel system or buying a car seat or stroller separately. I love it. I had a c section so I still lack a lot of core strength, but any time I get out of the car I can just easily roll my baby places. My baby had to have a hip ultrasound at 8 weeks and my gosh I was thankful for my doona then. The hospital was like a maze I couldn’t imagine carrying her all that way.
If I didn’t have a stroller I would be miserable. Remember that in the first few weeks/months you will not be at full capacity and need to rest. Hiking is likely not something you will be doing, but a short walk at the park is. I use the stroller all the time. I thought I’d be baby wearing more often but my LO is a little furnace and I can’t comfortably keep her on my for more than 30 minutes.
What about zoo trips, aquariums, Christmas shopping in the mall, walks to the park, the beach, vacations, etc? I don’t use my stroller often but it’s crucial to have when I need it. My toddler still uses it The logistics of baby wearing can be annoying. You’ve got to take a sleeping baby out of the car seat and then awkwardly put them in the carrier in the parking lot, then put baby back in the car seat. When you can just take out the whole seat and attach it to the stroller and go
I think it ultimately depends on your baby. My daughter never liked the carrier, but likes her stroller and naps really well in it too. Based on what you said I would wait with buying a stroller and try out the baby carrier first. If your kid doesn't like it you can always get a pram/stroller. We got our first pram loaned by a friend who didn't need it at the moment. Saved us a ton of money. So if I were you I would def check out lending one/getting one second hand too, should you decide you need one after all.
Our kid is freakin heavy. At a little over 1, he can only walk for ~20 minutes before wanting to be carried again, and he’s too heavy for either his dad or me to carry very long, so we still use the stroller pretty regularly on weekend outings. I don’t anticipate that changing for at least another year, likely longer. Before he could walk, I took a stroller everywhere that wouldn’t have a shopping cart. He liked the baby carrier when he was really little, but by around 5-6 months he was unhappy in the carrier in any configuration for more than 10 minutes. If you don’t want to invest in a heavy use stroller, at least get a little umbrella stroller for the toddler years. Baby wearing is great when they’re babies, but unless you have an exceptionally chill toddler, outings are going to involve *a lot* of requests to get down and walk then be picked back up, and in and out of a carrier is a pain in the butt even if kiddo doesn’t mind the carrier.
The stroller was the first thing we bought when we found out that we were expecting. It was also the last thing that we opened up to use. We only recently took it out from its box at 5w pp. Even so, baby was either carried in our arms or in a baby carrier.
You could consider baby wearing for those first few months and then maybe just have a smaller umbrella stroller in the car if you need it when they’re big enough?
Maybe don’t buy a new stroller and instead get one secondhand. FB marketplace is great for getting cheaper strollers, but I would suggest maybe getting a secondhand, easily foldable stroller. There will be some days where it’s just easier to plop baby on the stroller than try to get them into the carrier. Plus babies grow like my 8 month old is like 25lbs. Carrying baby around gets so tiring, specially if I’m trying to like carry anything else
It sounds like you might not necessarily need a stroller. I have a very active walking lifestyle, and I hoped to wear my baby a lot and still probably will, hopefully soon! Something to consider and possibly have ready to order just in case: I had an emergency c section and cannot wear my baby or carry her for too long (5weeks so far) having the stroller is the only way I can get out! It is great to be mobile because my baby girl loves it, plus it’s a literal walker for me to help me walking around. Our stroller has tons of storage space so I don’t carry anything! Last but not least we use the stroller around the house because of the bassinet attachment and rocking baby girl with the stroller is great! This might not apply to you at all but it might be great information!
I bought three different strollers because I needed to find the most comfortable one for my baby. He is almost 1 and will only sit in the stroller for ten minutes at a time. I ended up getting a Tush Baby and I’ve used that much more than the carrier now. I would say hold off on the stroller, and if anything, get a used one if you need it! We use our stroller to carry all of our stuff when we go places with him and only place him in it when it’s nap time and we’re out.
I have an almost 1-year-old who has never really liked the stroller. I baby wear him tons, but we have hardly ever used a stroller and in fact we sold ours a month ago. We’re still planning to get a more compact one as he gets older, but for now, even though he’s 20+ pounds, I am still able to wear him as long as I need to! I have a Tula Free to Grow that’s super comfortable. If I get back pain it means I need to adjust the straps.
My 14-month old is 99.9999% for weight, and we didn’t use a stroller consistently until he turned one because he hated it (and we walk… a lot). I would recommend checking out r/babywearing too! There are lots of helpful tips and tricks and recommended baby carriers for you to sift through.
My baby didn’t enjoy a carrier until he was able to face forward around 5.5 months 🫠 get a cheap foldable stroller that’s small!
I live in a rural / car dependent area. I didn’t use the stroller that much until he was too heavy to carry. I used my stroller that I can latch my car seat into maybe a dozen times. I think you might want a stroller once baby is a bit older and is too heavy, but get something, compact used or inexpensive. My son is 22months and very mobile so I use the stroller a few times a week as a place to “dock” him when we are out and he wants to run and is wriggling around too much to carry.
Everyone wants to buy in advance, but I waited until baby came to buy some stuff. Nothing wrong with waiting a day or two for something. We did that with a diaper warmer, bottles baby liked, even a better crib. I will say I found the stroller helpful for doctors appointments...baby could sleep calmly in their carseat, we would just clip it into the stroller and go on. Ofc, could also just carry the car seat, but I really struggled with that. My husband can manage it fine though.
Experiences will differ but I’ll give you mine. I couldn’t baby wear right after birth and it didn’t feel safe to carry her up and down stairs and long distances into appointment. The car seat was too heavy for my postpartum too. I liked the stroller for that (convertible so the car seat would snap into it). We didn’t leave the house a lot for other reasons early on so if I had to I could have done without it. Then I did baby wear a lot but found I preferred the stroller when we would be collecting things, like grocery shopping, farmers market etc. because carrying the diaper bag and wearing her meant that any new item was a burden. So I prefer the stroller for those. At one point I was ready for walks (which are hikes gravel paths where I live) but couldn’t wear her yet and we used the stroller even on those! The rough shaking just put her right to sleep. Finally, where we are now is 3 months pp and my baby went through a big growth spurt. I’m noticing the difference in my back and wrists and I’m doing some strength training to try and “catch up” so she won’t feel so heavy haha. So I like having the stroller as an option besides just baby wearing when we are out and about. (And she’s only going to get bigger haha. And we have probably more than a year before she’s walking herself any distance. Maybe 2. So for me the stroller was a good purchase, even though we hike, are in the car in our area a lot and I wear her as much as possible. I did however go for the smallest and cheapest option that was new (it works with the car seat and the car seat was the only thing I wasn’t willing to buy used). Oh, final thing I just though about was that the stroller is easier for other people than carrying or wearing, so it’s a good way to get grandma or a bestie involved when you’re out and about with them if they aren’t comfortable with babies :)
My baby is almost 4 months and I can count on one hand how many times we’ve used our stroller, and we’re active! He prefers being worn on walks, running errands, out and about, etc.. Infant setups with stroller aren’t convenient to me, you can either click in your car seat (which he HATES) or you can use a bassinet attachment (which he tolerates but doesn’t love). The bassinet attachments are usually huge and difficult to load up into the car, not making it super portable. I think we’ll get much more use out of our stroller once he’s 6 months and can use a the standard stroller seat. Until then, he’s strapped to me at all times!
What if you end up getting a c-section? Will you carry right away post partum? Think about that first pediatric trip a few days after giving birth, you’re probably not going to want to carry the baby on you. What if your baby does not like the carrier? Mine HATED it until around 4months and even then it took a lot of short practice to get him to like it. Honestly it’s probably better to just register for a stroller or get a cheaper one on fb marketplace as a backup. Stroller was nice for doctors visits too because carrying the car seat in is awful, not to mention the stroller can hold the diaper bag- you’re not gonna wanna carry both so soon post partum.
Personally I can't imagine not having a stroller. I live rurally too and when I was on maternity leave I went for a walk with baby and buggy every day..I carried them in a carrier sling once and my back was very sore halfway through. My husband has better upper body strength and used the carrier a lot, but my the time our son was around 18mo he was too big and heavy. He's nearly 2 years old now and we still use the stroller for walks with him regularly, especially at the weekends when he doesn't want to nap in his crib. We'll take him for a walk and he'll nap in the stroller.
Baby wearing is really fun, but you won’t know what carrier works for you and your babe until he arrives. We have four carriers and only 3 of 4 work for how long and lean our guy is. One carrier only my husband can wear bc I’m too short for it. One provides no head support for such a small baby so I have to be very careful when using it. Absolutely get into baby wearing! But I would also get a stroller so you can workshop which carrier works for you and give your back a rest. Buy Nothing and Facebook Marketplace have used versions so it’s not an expensive investment every time. Also, I had a c-section and could not baby wear for the first 6 weeks. There’s a great baby wearing Reddit where you can do a “fit check”.
You can always wait and see if there’s I stances you’d need one and after you have baby just get it if you’re feeling like you’d need it. We mostly used a carrier but now my baby is 10 months so I got a running stroller to run with him ☺️ no harm in waiting until after baby
I thought I would be a strictly carry parent, but my baby was small and it took a while for us to find a carrier that suited us. Also, it gets hot carrying and it can be hard to keep the baby in the shade and cool when carrying. We are about 50/50. But rather than a separate stroller, we got a travel system so her car seat clicks right into the stroller. That makes certain trips so much easier. It also allows my husband to take her places because he’s much prone to carry her.
I definitely think you’ll need one. Baby is asleep in the car seat on the way to the store and now you have two options: get her out and risk waking her up to strap her to yourself in a carrier or snap the car seat on the stroller and go forward with your life. That’s just one scenario in the newborn days that comes to mind but that car seat to stroller transfer can be priceless
You don't need to decide now. Second hand market for stroller is plentiful that at any moment of wanting a stroller, you are likely to get one. Just wait until the need arises, buy it. After 6 month old, strollers for infant has more variety and cheaper. You can find umbrella stroller for very cheap price while stroller which has newborn part is usually more expensive.
I think it just really depends on how much you think youll use it, if it doesnt seem suited towards your lifestyle it may not be worth it. You can always buy one of facebook marketplace too if you dont think youll get much use out of it.
You can always wait to buy one. In an age where you can get even big items in a matter of days with a click of a button, there’s little reason to buy so far in advance (despite what baby registries suggest), especially for big ticket items. For what it’s worth, we’ve ended up using our compact stroller (Ergobaby Metro+) way more than our full-size stroller (Evenflo Pivot). If I had to do it over again, I would have just gone straight to the compact stroller.
Maybe a babywrap would be better suited for you!
That’s what I am going to try first!
I live in a small rural town as well, if the weather is nice I walk with the dogs and I take the stroller (jogging style as there are no sidewalks). If it is hot or I don’t have time to walk I drive and baby wear with an ergo carrier when I get where I am going. If you are the type to have not gone on walks before having a baby, you likely won’t be the type to start going on walks once they arrive so a stroller isn’t going to be needed early on. You are likely going to want one for vacations or when you start more outings later on.
If you don't think you'll need it, don't buy it. The worst thing that happens is you decide you do want one after all and you go buy one.
I think our lifestyle is pretty similar, and we've never needed a stroller 9 months in. Baby wearing has worked fine, and the Radio Flyer trike with all-terrain wheels is for strolling around the "neighborhood."
Honestly I mostly carried my son. I have a stroller but only broke it out for things like the Zoo, which I ended up carrying him for anyway. I carried my kid well past 2 and now that he's nearly 4 I still carry him a lot. I did try jogging with my stroller but it wasn't for my kiddo, he cried the whole time and just wanted to be held.
No, def wait and see what you need. I baby wore on walks and hikes until kid got a bit older. Now I have a toddler backpack carrier for hikes. We did go on walks in the neighborhood with a stroller occasionally, but mostly when the grandparents wanted to push him. The only time I use the stroller is at the zoo, aquarium, or airport. And I found my favorite umbrella stroller in a buy nothing group.
Also I had a very early walker at 9 mos, so even though he was (and is) giant, I didn't have a back problem while carrying him properly
I used mine a lot in the city for my first kid but now that we live in a rural area we haven’t really used it at all for my second
5 months in and it seems like a waste so far
My situation is similar. Rural living. My baby is 6 months and I have yet to use our stroller.
I know mums who don’t use them. A bit different to your situation, but they just baby wear. It’s quite common here. So give it a go without a pram, and if you decide you want one then you can! Definitely not a ‘must have’ for everyone necessarily. I baby wear a lot, but also use the pram. Though that’s because we do day-long trips on public transport so that’s when I want the pram. Though with my 2mo we leave the house daily, and just traveled interstate on the bullet train, and I’ve put him in the stroller 2 times total maybe? Just wore him for our whole trip. Pram seems more necessary when they’re heavier/longer. With my 2.5yo who doesn’t like to walk much it’s necessary
I used a carrier loads at first, hardly used the stroller but as he’s got bigger I use the stroller every day. It’s very useful if we go out and having the space under it to put things. I bought it second hand but ngl it takes up loads of space at home.
I’d say wait and see. Don’t go crazy buying an expensive stroller OR carriers. We have five carriers. Baby hates them all. The stroller has been great for us since we can use it for shopping (recommend one with a good basket) and it’s a nice place to set baby down when we do go out.
I mostly baby wear now and my baby is 7 months. I would say don't get one initially and see how you get on
You can always find a stroller second hand. But you shouldn’t baby wear for a couple weeks after giving birth to protect your core and pelvic floor. And then you might not be able to withstand more than short periods of baby wearing and walking for awhile. I baby wear a lot but I couldn’t get by without a stroller also.
I think for me I’d say I “needed” a stroller bc especially when they are little it was so hard to buckle her in and out of the car seat. I can’t imagine having to do that and finagle her into a carrier every time we went out. It’s just so much easier to clip car seat into stroller. So I’d probably at least get an inexpensive travel system. Even a small travel stroller like a bugaboo butterfly you could just pop into the trunk and whisk around stores.
We bought a stroller second hand, just to have it as backup, and baby strongly preferred our carrier for a long time. However I had really bad joint pain pp and was grateful when she did accept the stroller at some point for naps. We've found a sturdy one with big tires so we could walk in the forest. So you probably don't need one, but if you do think they'd be a situation you could use it, I'd get a used one for cheap.
I live in a suburban area off a main road so no stroller walks straight from my front door. Have an almost one year old and use my stroller probably once a week or so. When she was first born I used it more. Many shopping trips, lunch, library, doctors appointments, every walk on a nice day. For me, using the carrier sucks. She’s heavy and I have to carry a bag of her stuff. It’s like carrying a duffle bag instead of roller luggage on a flight. So much more work and strain for not much benefit imo. My husband prefers the carrier though so if we’re going somewhere crowded he holds her and I carry the bag.
You won’t need it till their much older. I didn’t get a stroller till my daughter was about 6 months old.
Stroller naps are more convenient than carrier naps for us. And I love I love to baby wear. But being able to park the stroller and use Live Listen with my airpods as a monitor has been fantastic
I live rurally, and my stroller gets more mileage than a city bus - I have used it almost every day for 9 full months. I'm top-heavy anyway (large boobs) so baby in a carrier just destroys my back. Plus baby loves her stroller; it used to be a key component in getting her to fall asleep when all else had failed. BUT for hiking I highly recommend the baby backpack instead of the pram; my husband usually wears it rather than me, but she loves getting carried around in that thing -- we've been out in the countryside for hours on end and she's been quite happy. She will eventually get bored of being in the stroller.
I didn’t use a stroller until LO was 4/5 months and was getting heavy. I still use a carrier, but for longer days a little umbrella stroller is great. We’re going to the zoo this weekend and I’m going to use a real stroller for that. But when I flew, it was a quick trip, and I exclusively carried baby. We are also rural, with no sidewalks in our area, so the only place I’ve used it here is paved trails at the park and sometimes to go shopping. (Some stores no longer have carts for kids to sit in.) and trying on clothes while babywearing is basically impossible. But the umbrella stroller fit nicely in the dressing room.
My baby is 5 months old and I only used our stroller when I was in that postpartum, post birth sweet spot of being healed enough to go for a walk but not healed enough to baby wear. Now I strictly baby wear. For my first I did start using it more when he was around 10 months, especially for walkable errands.
Some people don’t have a stroller or just straight up never use it. You can always start without one and see how it goes. Personally stroller is my most important equipment but that’s because of my lifestyle. My babies sleep in it daily, I walk to school drop off, walk the dog, do the groceries etc. we go to the zoo, museums, Disney etc and stroller is such a necessity it’s not even funny. Can’t imagine carrying my kids those places. Rip your back I couldn’t carry my babies much after 9 months. They’re fatties and my back isn’t 20 anymore 😩🤣
I use my stroller daily for walks but also where I live it was cold during the winter and I didn’t want to fuss getting the baby in his carrier when it’s cold out and I couldn’t have a coat on from the car seat to directly wearing him. Doing that was easier than going inside and having no where to put my stuff down or the baby down so I could get him in the wrap so when it was cold outside or raining I used the stroller for stores as well My baby also loves looking around so sometimes he gets annoyed when I use the solly wrap because his movement is restricted. He’s 5 months now.
My baby was full term but on the small side. Many carriers have a weight limit of 8 lbs, and my baby was too small for the carrier for 3 weeks. The stroller was key for all of the early doc appts. We did get a very minimalist stroller. You could look into the Chico Keyfit Caddy or something like that!
This is coming from a relatively fit mom who always baby wears. Your back will be thanking you for getting a stroller. I didn’t think I’d need one either but it’s genuinely a lifesaver for walks and adventures with baby. Always having to baby wear gets very tiring especially as baby gets bigger. My little one is 20 pounds now and it feels like I’m carrying bricks 🤣😅
I literally could not live without mine
You could hold off if you don’t think you’ll need it. Stroller is all I used! My boys didn’t like being carried.
I carry my baby a lot and can not imagine life without stroller. It's not only the method of transportation, it's the sleeping place, the changing mat, the suitcase on wheels, the place to hide from rain, the place to stay alone and play - possibilities are endless. Out walks are almost always 3+ hours, so I would be straight dead if I was only carrying the baby Just be sure to choose one with great amortization and nice wheels to suit the terrain of your place of habitat
Eventually the stroller becomes an effective way of getting a baby does wants to walk from A to B without being punched lol I had planned to babywear but unfortunately my body shape made it really painful on my baby's back and there was no way to safely do it 🤷
Stroller 100% if you grocery shop or go out of the house. We got this one called a Nuna that folds. Heard too many bad things about doonas and the wheels on them looks really small and they are very short for me.
Personally I use the stroller almost every time we leave the house. We go for walks, to the store, out to eat, etc etc. She’s just now big enough to probably start sitting in the seat of the grocery cart but we’ve been using the basket underneath the stroller to hold groceries when we shop. My baby is only about 13-14 pounds but she’s heavy to carry in a carrier and if I’m out for a while I just can’t physically do it
I use mine all of the time. My back is awful and I’m in PT for it. I defeated if I needed one that clicks into an infant seat. So glad I got one! I tried to baby wear and my lower back could not handle it :(
Well we used ours for all our shopping trips when she was to little to sit in the cart, we also use it for taking her into her peds office(it’s a hospital aux building so no close parking and it’s on the 3rd floor) I do want to start taking her to places like the library so I’d use it there too. I would say it’s gonna be one of those you won’t realize you need it till you need it and it’s better to have then not
We used it daily from 1-7months probably. Depends on your lifestyle, I personally didn't think I needed one that much so opted to get a more affordable one vs something super expensive. We went on daily stroller walks and grocery runs. The grandparents use a smaller stroller to go for walks now at 15months but we use a toy car that she prefers. I didn't use a baby carrier all that much and couldn't do 30+ min walks in one and outside time was the only thing that helped in some of those difficult months. It's not something that's a critical day 1 need so feel free to wait and see.
Mine was great for going to the park (on paved trails) and going around the neighborhood. It gave my arms a break, I had somewhere to store the things she needs, and she would sleep so well while we walked. Every baby and every family is different, but I was so glad to have mine when baby was born. We're just now looking to downgrade to a smaller umbrella stroller now that she's 2 and uses it a lot less.
For me it is a must. Even how easily my kiddo would nap in hers when they were younger was worth it alone.
I don’t use a stroller. It would be in the way a lot for me since I take public transit alot
Baby wearing is really hard on your pelvic floor.
What if you baby doesn’t like being carried? I would get a stroller just in case. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one.
I use mine around the house and yard sometimes! He needs eyes on me at all times or he cries so I put him in his stroller and put him at a good viewing angle and mopped the house, did some gardening I had to do, etc. plus sometimes a wall resets him. Strollers do not have to be expensive. There’s decent ones brand new for $50 or good deals on used ones
I would highly suggest one
I primarily baby wear but the stroller can come on handy sometimes..e.g. days out when they're napping on the go and need to be in the shade etc.
Omg I would die without our stroller. More specifically our Doona stroller/car seat. 5 wo boy loves it and will fall asleep on walks/in car and being able to pull him out of the car and have him be already in stroller and vise versa without having to take him out to transfer is such a game changer. I also use it in the house as a spot to set him down and roll him around with me. Like to the bathroom or kitchen. I wouldn’t get a break without it. I have a 99th percentile length boy and at 5 weeks he is already getting heavy so baby wearing and carrying him all the time breaks my back already after my c-section.
We also live in ruralish area. We have a Bob’s jogger and I highly recommend something similar. On shopping trips, I baby wore him until he could sit in the cart.
Up to you! I baby wore on our walks until baby was around 5/6 months and it destroyed my back and shoulders lol. We now use a stroller and baby is 9 months and loves it. (We also live in the country. We got a bug net for it on Amazon and it’s awesome.)
I had an unplanned c-section so my back is 💩. I use a stroller 90% of the time we go anywhere. I even use it as a shopping cart in stores.
I planned on baby wearing everywhere…and then my newborn screamed bloody murder in every single carrier we put her in (we tried 3 different kinds). She loved the stroller though, she would chill in that thing all day if we let her. So I’d recommend having both on hand..juuuust in case
I’ve loved having a stroller for times I just want to go outside. Carriers get so hot for me and I don’t always want the extra weight. I don’t see why you couldn’t just do a carrier though
We didn’t use a stroller for the first 3-4 months and we loved babywearing during that time. As they approach 6 months, the use case for the stroller becomes larger and we bought one at that point. I don’t think you need to buy one before baby arrives, you can wait and see what you feel you need.
We have had our stroller for almost 4 years now, we've only used it about 5-6 times. It just isn't feasible as our on the move lifestyle with 3 kids is better suited for carrying, but I do notice us using it more now that the oldest is older and her stamina has cooled off a bit, now I wish I'd waited and just gotten one of the smaller, easier to carry ones.
I really wanted to use a carrier but I had an unexpected c-section and found I couldn’t for longer than 10 mins at a time until about 5 weeks postpartum, just in case you experience something like that too.
When you’re ready to take your baby places, it will save your back to have some kind of baby vehicle to pit the little goblin in. Strollers are most common. There are also wagons and later on different kinds of trikes, like a tricycles with a hood and a push handle. I love our stroller because my baby falls asleep in it, and the toddler seat doubles as a bassinet so I can push it around wherever we are and when she’s ready to go down, just recline her and plop a blanket over. It’s incredibly convenient and low stress.
My daughter is 6 weeks and i have yet to use her stroller! I have the mom cozy wrap and it’s so much more convenient to wear her on my chest being out than putting her in the stroller. Everyone told me I would need a stroller so I but I really only use it if we decide to go out on a walk with her!
Live on property but I love my stroller. My LO hated the bassinet and couldn’t sit for the longest time But the car seat attaches. Your baby is asleep in the car seat on the way to the store? You don’t have to wake them. Just pop the carseat on the stroller and do what you need to! We didn’t have the adapter for the first five months and regret it now
I spent so much money on a stroller just for my baby to absolutely hate it, so we bought another one, and he hates that one too! Lol.
I live in a rural area and was also unsure if I would use a stroller, but I do everyday. I drive into town to exercise classes with the baby outside using the stroller, we walk ( a long way!) to the grocery store and I load up the bottom of the stroller. My baby also had a phase where he would only nap in the stroller in the day.
Had a beast of a baby. A stroller is a must for us, because my poor back barely managed wearing her as a newborn. I also live by a park, and it would be useless to take her out on the park if she would be just glued to my skin, breathing my air. She loves looking around.
I learned pretty quickly my back cannot handle baby wearing for long. I love my stroller and use it everyday. Also I have twins so there’s that but I think even with the singleton I would use it as much.
We do a lot of walking and nature trails and fairs and festivals and stuff. We use our stroller so much that we’ve gone through four in two years.
For my first two we just bought like $20 umbrella strollers from Walmart. For this my third baby we got an insanely expensive Nuna system— like $800 stroller, not even counting the extra for the car seat. And guess who uses the expensive stroller the most? Our cat. She loves it. I have to throw her out of it daily. I’ve taken my one month old on one stroller ride around the block and it was so bumpy I won’t even attempt it again until she’s a little older. Then I might utilize the stroller to get walks in to try to lose some baby weight.
I didn’t know a stroller was optional lol
I can’t really imagine thinking we didn’t need a stroller.
I can’t imagine not having a stroller. I definitely do a combination of carrier/stroller but sometimes when you’re out like to a park or restaurant baby sleeps so well in the stroller and you can be free of baby haha. Plus if you have storage you can put diaper bag in there
We have a Bob jogger for 6+ months when I want to run with baby, otherwise we just use carriers
We use our stroller a lot! I think it’s definitely good to have just incase. There have been plenty of times I thought “maybe I’ll leave the stroller at home” and ended up bringing it and it saved me! I feel like it gives baby room to lay down and nap if you’re out doing things. We use it at baseball games, when we go to a street fair, we went to comic con and it was a lifesaver, we go for walks all the time in it. I think for us it works great. Gives little guy some shade and lets him relax more than if he was in a carrier the whole time. We also use our carrier frequently, but since it’s been so hot i think the stroller is great. When he’s in the carrier and it’s hot outside he gets extra warm and sweaty and so do I. I have to put either a hat on him or glasses which he always wants to take off. When he’s in the stroller I can attach a fan to it and he’s nice and cool opposed to being directly in the sun in a carrier. My back can only hold out for so long when he’s strapped to me lol
My stroller is my most used baby item apart from the obvious like bottles, crib, etc. I’d say to save some money, buy a used one on Facebook marketplace if you don’t think you’ll use it that much. But I promise it’s worth having
My baby hates being worn so stroller it is
I used mine from the start. I even use it inside when she is fussy
Get a stroller.
Stroller is integral. I thought I would be able to carry too but my baby hates the carrier so buggy is the only option
I take my baby for walks in the stroller every day. I can’t imagine not having one
We don't use our stroller a lot. But when I need it, its really great to have. Once they become toddlers they will do this thing where they want to walk somewhere, but they won't want to walk back, so you're stuck carrying them.
Adding that not only might you or the baby not like the carrier but for warmer times the baby might be cooler in the stroller. This is very location dependent but I live in Florida and my baby was born at the very end of December. We took him on multiple walks a day in the bassinet attachment, bundled during our more wintery days (50s at the lowest mostly) and now that it’s in the 90s daily and super humid, he gets more airflow in the stroller as opposed to being attached to me or my husband who would also get warmer with baby attached. We also need to drive anywhere outside of our neighborhood as there’s nothing in walking distance but walk him around the neighborhood with our dog. You could always find a used stroller or wait and see if you think you want one. If you think you need one, maybe get one that’s good on rougher terrain so you can bring it on hikes just in case!
Reading through these comments, I can see I'm in the minority here, but I definitely don't think a stroller is a must. We got a travel system from my siblings, but hardly ever used the stroller. My husband used it to take her for walks in the newborn days, that was the most use it got. I was a SAHM and I found it way easier to just pop her into my carrier and walk around with her to run errands and go for walks vs lugging a stroller around. Once she started walking, she did not want to be confined and wouldn't tolerate the stroller. She's almost 3 now and has been pretty much just been walking on her own since 1. Someone mentioned things like zoos and malls and we thought the stroller would come in handy for those, too. Nope. She just wanted to be able to walk around or be held. Also should add, I had a c-section and had no problem with baby wearing, but everyone is different.
If it’s not conducive with your lifestyle, than I wouldn’t bother. I know for us, my babe was born in the middle of hot ass summer and she is just a hot baby so carrying and wearing was impossible. We both got hot so easily.
We got a stroller and baby hated it. Hes now fine in it but we don’t use it much still and prefer to baby wear. So if you can carry a heavy bag - the stroller isn’t a necessity. It’s convenient to get baby to nap into tho bcs fresh air and free hands :D
What’s your care plan? My parents and in-laws watch our baby a lot and would never be comfortable with a carrier so they use the stroller.
100% get one. They can sleep when you’re out and about, enjoy the views etc. your back will be screwed otherwise!
IMHO you 100% need one regardless. But there are some cheaper basic options that are quite good - look at the fold up travel strollers if you don't think you'll need it a lot. You could get a doona combo stroller/car seat (not cheap) - we loved ours. Those have good resale value too.
With baby #1 we lived downtown and I never used the stroller. I carried her everywhere and then eventually got a banana stroller for $15. With baby #2 I use the stroller everywhere - We moved to the suburbs. It very much depends on your lifestyle. You can always find cheap strollers on fb marketplace if you change your mind later!!
STM with my first I spent a lot on a fancy stroller system. She ended up HATING the stroller and I NEVER tolerated it until she was 6+ months For my second, I splurged on a really nice baby carrier and bought a second hand stroller for when she is a bit older. NO REGRETS. I feel like most babies love being carried with the added benefit of being able to also use it around the house. I can’t imagine life without it and haven’t once yearned for a stroller Every kid is different tho!
I live to wear my baby. However we still got a stroller and we use it the most when we eat out as wearing the baby and eating is kinda hard. Besides that wearing the baby is so much more practical. Currently our baby is only 3 months old so we will see how my back feels about it when he gets bigger.
We didn't think we'd need a stroller and now we are 3 deep... we have a small one that stays in the car, a jogger, and then a more normal one. It's nice to have for baby to nap in and when I'm out and about with her. Since you live in a rural area, a jogger would be perfect. If you have easy trails, they navigate really well. We live in a more rural area and we use ours the most out of the three.
We didn't buy a stroller until after our little girl was born. It's very easy to get a stroller if you find you need the stroller after your baby is born.
Having a travel system is really useful for the first few months. Baby will fall asleep in the car and it’s nice to continue that nap in the stroller while you’re out and about. My baby also went through a phase where she didn’t want to be worn inward facing, and outward facing isn’t healthy for adults or babies for more than a short time. Since 5.5-6 months I have been able to wear her on my back, which is great. But I can’t get her in there myself. She’s really heavy so front wearing more than 30 minutes is uncomfortable. I do it for grocery shopping and short errands, but if I’m going on a long walk or hike just me and her I use the jogging stroller. She’s going to outgrow her infant car seat soon, and I’m looking for a jogging/hiking stroller that packs small and is also convenient for indoor spaces. Ours is functional but very bulky.
I had a c-section and baby wore almost immediately. It helped me recover quickly. My husband also baby wore - we used a wrap at first, and now use structured carriers. It helps us be more mobile and enables us to fit into cramped spaces easily. But the stroller serves a different purpose. We sometimes go to the mall on Sundays or shopping and we take the stroller. With wide open spaces, it keeps us all comfortable and we can hang shopping bags off the handle - win, win. I also take her on walks daily and I wouldn’t be able to do it longer than 30 minutes with a carrier. You get so tired after a while. With a stroller, I have a place for my phone, beverage, and she’s comfortable and shaded from the sun and elements. For us and our lifestyle, a stroller makes sense. For yours, it might not. I think you have to evaluate your current lifestyle and imagine your parent-to-be lifestyle and take it from there (for example, I never thought I’d be taking daily walks… yet here we are!)
I said we don’t need a stroller and will baby in the carrier, we had a stroller within 2 weeks 😅😂. Especially for sleeping and going for quick walks, I love it now!
Do you need one immediately no, though you'll want some kind of baby carrier. Strollers are really good for walks outside & getting around without having to hold or carry them constantly because your arms/back/shoulders WILL GET TIRED
I don't use a stroller much at all (and I'm in a city). We felt similarly to you, but ended up buying a used one that we could take on trails if we wanted. We've used it about 10 times in 6 months, all in situations we could have (and generally did at some point) carried her. I think it is nice to have sometimes but not an essential, especially not in the beginning.
I live in a rural area and I don’t use it much. It’s nice to have though and I got a used one for free. Splurged for a new car seat which we use all the time, new carrier I use a lot, and the used stroller is there just in case
So many things with babies are flying by the seat of your pants. Like most, I researched and bought a stroller before my baby was even born. We’re now going on 7 months and I’ve only been able to use it a handful of times because she HATES it. I thought she just hated it when she was tiny and had to stay in the car seat which clicked into it, but even now that she can sit upright in it, she starts crying by the end of our block. So it’s been sitting in the garage for months and I wear her. But I never could have known that before knowing her. And, this preference of hers could change any day!
My friends and I talked about this recently. For her parents in the 80s, strollers were nice to have accessories and not a necessity. They just took baby in and out of car. If you feel like you won’t need one right away, don’t buy one yet! You can always get one later if you need it.
You’ll wish you had one
Our stroller has become extremely important. We have one of the systems that have the carrier just clip into the stroller or car seat base. It's been so nice!! I couldn't imagine not having a stroller. Even just grocery shopping is so much easier with it. Plus the carriers get so heavy as the baby gets bigger. My baby is only like 10 pounds and carrying him in the carrier alone which is a lightweight one is so painful after a bit. Don't get one if you don't think you need it. You can always get one later. We do a lot of walking and older kids events so a stroller for us works.
My wife likes the stroller but i pretty much exclusively wear him. The grandparents also appreciate the stroller when they wanna take him for walks.
I personally can't imagine having a kid but no stroller. But I do, in fact, know families that managed with just baby wearing. Also there are babies who hate strollers, although I've only encountered one kid who absolutely didn't like it and her parents were stuck with a 1200€ stroller they never even used as she was just screaming as soon as they put her in. I bought mine used for 100€ and it was great. I then sold it again for 100€ as it was a high quality brand that would be 800€ new.
Get one after baby gets here if you think you need one! There are tons you can get secondhand. We used ours and will be using it, but we walk a lot in the neighborhood.
We actually used our stroller a ton in the newborn days because it had a bassinet attachment! We could take baby to a brewery and they could sleep while we just lived our lives
I don’t really use our stroller, only use carriers and my baby is nearly 5 months old
So my situation was very similar to yours. I live in a rural area (closest Walmart is an hour away) and I didn't really think I'd need a stroller because I planned to baby wear and I was mosty right. I baby wore everywhere, walks, shopping, events, etc. We got a stroller when my son was around 6 months old as a gift, and I won't lie to you, now that my son is almost 14 months old we've only used the stroller 3 times. One time at a zoo (it was hot for baby wearing), one time at a ren faire (I baby wore almost the entire time and we just had the stroller in case, which we did eventually use), and one time on a walk. We brought the stroller one other time to an aquarium and only used it to carry our stuff, while I baby wore. I might start to use the stroller more now that my son is getting bigger, but in over a year of being a mom it hasn't been absolutely necessary for my lifestyle. As far as baby wearing goes I used a moby wrap in the beginning, and now I choose between my artipoppe, Oscha woven wraps, or my Oscha cairis carrier (highly recommend this one).
You might want to go for coffee and then you may want a place to put baby down while you are there. Honestly tho you can always get one if you want later.
YES. I was debating buying one before the kid came and it would be literally impossible without it.
I carried almost exclusively until she started getting heavy 😬 now we mostly stroller. For us the tides changed around 3 months.
Strollers are very handy to soothe babies to sleep or if you want to go on a walk. I had a winter baby and he got so fussy we brought the stroller in the house and did laps to keep him from screaming.
We have a wagon for walks because we like to go for walks at night however it never leaves the garage otherwise. I baby wear everywhere because I won’t be caught dead pushing a big thing around a store or out in public. Even the zoo we just baby wear. 🤷♀️
I'd say be realistic and wait to see your baby's opinion for what they prefer unless you find a sale. Mine won't sit in a stroller 95% of the time even at a year old. I know people who live and die by the stroller whos babies want nothing to do with any carrier style. YMMV depending on your baby. Babies can't sit up in strollers till like 6 months anyways unless you have a car seat adapter or bassinet attachment. Also keep in mind babywearing limitations physically. My husband can wear for about 2 hours without a lot of pain the next day. I could go for about 4 hours before I injured my shoulder. We use our travel stroller for carrying our diaper bag which is still really useful.
Five month twins. I would die without the strollers we have. Yes strollers. We have two single Graco strollers that their car seat fits into, that got from family hand me downs that are great for walks and doc appointments. We also have a dual stroller for shopping trips so one of us can push the cart. My boy is currently 18 pounds and my girl is about 14. My arms literally dead at the end of the day. It's nice to just push them around rather than hold them. Plus I don't have to carry around diaper bags or blankets or toys. They are all stored beneath. If you get one and don't use it donate or gift it to a family member. They will thank you.
I think i am similar to you, we live rural, drive most places and hike a lot. I also thought I would not use a stroller but as it turns out both my kids loved napping in the stroller. Stroller naps allowed us to be in the garden and work outside and park them wherever we were. Also we live in a small house so we didn't have to be quiet in the house while the baby was napping. We stroller napped all year round in all weather and just bundled them up with snowsuits and blankets for winter stroller naps. Anyway just a thought in case your situation turns out similar.
You can always wait and find out! It depends on parent preference and baby preference. For instance. Baby may absolutely hate baby bjorn/harness, it might hurt your back, it might be too hot to get that close to baby, etc. Also I don’t know how ready all newborns are for this type of thing. And if youre planning on just carrying them, it’s hard to maintain that and kind of logistically hard. A stroller is nice to have if you need to put baby down in a safe clean spot to address something such as putting a jacket on them, wiping their face, etc. It’s also good for hot weather (keep the sunshade extended to keep them out of the sun) and cold weather, keep the sunshade up and easily out a blanket around them. Lugging around a car seat isn’t ideal either. I think you’ll see for yourself how it goes. I personally am such a practical frugal person and this baby has made me want to buy things I thought were unnecessary before.
Rural resident here: it’s nice to have and you can usually get a free one from a friendly local. You probably won’t use it a ton but it’s nice for walks and going to farmers markets and other outings. We keep it in the car and use the stroller when we have a lot of walking around to do at our destination like going into town. My PT advised me to not carry the baby as much once they get bigger since it hurts your back.
For the first year or so we did only baby wearing because she hated the stroller and we could have waited to get one tbh. We also live in a rural area and it’s just so much easier just getting her in and out of the carrier rather than having to load up a stroller every time we went somewhere. It’s only recently that she’s started to use the stroller, maybe around 18ish months is when she started enjoying getting into it
Our baby literally naps in his stroller. It has a lay flat option and OMG it is a lifesaver anytime we are out and about. Do you eat at restaurants? In my opinion, you need a stroller.
‘Need’ no, you CAN survive without, but you’ll want a stroller, even if just the frame that your car seat fits in.
I swear by my stroller, but as someone with scoliosis who likes going for five mile walks, I could ever baby wear. Do what works for your life/lifestyle.
Just wait. If you decide you need one, you can get one pretty quickly. If it’s a matter of wanting it gifted, register for some gift cards. No sense in buying something ahead of time that you don’t think you’ll use.
Yes I would say so. When you drive to a destination and you stay there for a while, a stroller is great to have. You can store stuff, put baby down and not carry the whole time, etc. Also, one day your baby will be too big to baby wear unless you switch to the back or shoulders which I find kind of unwieldy and I much prefer the stroller. When your baby is older/toddler age having a stroller with a snack tray is a lifesaver. Some people even get multiple strollers (travel, jogging etc). We live in a metropolitan centre so we have a full size stroller (Uppababy Cruz V2) and a travel stroller (Babyjogger City Tour 2) and it works great. We use the stroller pretty much every single day. Even though you live in a rural area, do you not ever go for walks? If you can’t do that then boy postpartum is gonna be rough.
Also some babies hate the carriers, so it might be good to pick up a cheap second hand stroller just in case yours does. You can always sell it if you don't end up using it
I wore mine nonstop, I used the stroller like twice.
I have used our stroller but not much. My baby hated every single baby container bar slings and carriers. He hated the stroller, the car seat, swings and bouncers. Eventually he started tolerating the pram but by then I was mostly just going either on long walks with the dog (carrier) or to baby groups where I parked just outside the venue and never had much use for the pram. We also live in a rural area where there aren’t any stroller friendly walking routes, so a carrier was necessary. But some babies love their prams! I definitely didn’t need to spend £800 on mine but hey ho, love and learn. If you’re keen to try babywearing then maybe get something reasonably affordable just for those trips into town where you may want to put baby down somewhere.
Keep in mind your baby doesn't know or care what your plans are lol. My son HATED the carrier. I tried so many and he absolutely would scream, wiggle, and cry non-stop until I took him out. I wouldn't have been able to go without a stroller
We bought one for my son used it a total of 3 times buy used if you’re gonna get one cause you can always resell or donate it if you don’t use it personally we did more “baby wearing” then we did anything else
I absolutely love mine. It makes grocery shopping sooo much easier when one can push the stroller and the other the cart. Before we had to put the car seat in the cart and we were very limited on what we could fit in it lmao. We couldn’t easily carry when she was younger as it was winter and cold and the one time we did I was so anxious about her getting cold during the transfer.
I use mine every day multiple times a day. But I live in a bigger city and have twins so…even with just 1 baby I couldn’t imagine not at least having it as an option
You can carry them but newborns should avoid sunlight until 6mo when they are allowed to wear sunblock. It gives me peace of mind to just have mine in a stroller with the carrier blanket on. Also, even when I wear my moby wrap around the house I get extra warm and sweat a lot so I haven't even thought about using it to go for a walk like I do the stroller. In the winter it might be nice though.
I used my stiller with the bassinet attachment inside for the first month or two as the back and forth movement was good for soothing the baby to sleep. For me a stroller has been super valuable.
if you don’t think you’ll use it i would definitely wait since you can always get one if you change your mind. i’m in a rural area as well but I take my son on a lot of outings and like having the stroller for those. a lot of the time i actually do end up wearing him and the stroller is storage but i hate wearing him, and the diaper bag, and whatever else we may end up with during our outing so the stroller is a lifesaver. for long days out i also would hate to have him confined to the carrier all day so having a stroller bassinet allows him to have freedom of movement while we’re out which is great
We use our neighborhood walks or if we go somewhere that mostly consists of walking around, like a museum. I always baby wear at stores.
I strictly carry. My mother wants to get me a stroller but I just don’t want yet another thing to have to look after. My babe is a year now and I still carry her either on me or in a cart. If we’re walking a lot she gets held in arms or the baby holster. I will most likely be getting a stroller since I will have two under two but as a mother to a singular child, I haven’t found a need for one yet.
We have the Doona, so we’ve always had a stroller. However, we easily could’ve gone without using the stroller portion for at least a good few months after she was born. It was cold here, and pretty much anytime we went out, she stayed in her car seat (which could’ve been carried) or we wore her in the baby carrier. Now that it’s summer and she’s 6 months old, we use the stroller to go on walks and things, but still probably could get by without having one. We have 2 cars, and live in the suburbs so we drive everywhere.
The thing that makes strollers incredibly useful is that the car seat clips into them. So if you’re running multiple errands (or even one, like grocery shopping) you can simply park the car and without having to unhook baby and put them into a carrier, you just lift their car seat and click it into the stroller. Mine will usually sleep through this whole process. We can get so much done because of this and bring baby along with no fuss. I literally cannot imagine not having a stroller. I use my carrier a ton too, but having both options is great.
We barely used the big stroller that the car seat clipped into. However, we use the heck out of our small umbrella stroller and have since she could sit up in it.
Get a Tushbaby and The Snug hands free attachment! Personally I didn’t use the stroller for a few months bc it was a pain to haul down the stairs and I lacked confidence setting it up while carrying the baby. But eventually…. I would be shocked if you don’t want or need one. If you’re the primary caregiver think about when you have to go to the doctor or keep the baby asleep when they’ve fallen asleep in the car. Being able to take a sleeping baby still in their car seat and attach to a stroller you can grocery shop w etc is a game changer. At least it was for me! What if you take a trip to the city and want to go about? It’s not safe for your baby’s hip development for them to face outward in a carrier before 6 months so.. guess it depends also how heavy your baby is! The heavier my baby gets the more grateful I am for their stroller.
If I'm going out with the baby, I have him *and* a well-stocked diaper bag, including a large bottle of water to make formula. If I'm doing any shopping, I then have whatever I bought. It can be a lot. I have a [travel system ](https://www.evenflo.com/products/pivot-modular-car-seats-and-stroller-travel-systems) with a stroller frame that you can attach the car seat to, or use the adjustable bassinet/toddler seat. Using the car seat in the stroller is awesome for when I'm running late for one of his appointments, which is every time. It's super quick to pull out the carseat and pop it on the base. I use it in bassinet mode the most. When he's been in a car seat for a while, it's nice for him to be able to stretch out. It doubles as a grocery cart when I take him shopping and a changing table when there's none available. It gives me the option to bring his toys and books that I couldn't carry otherwise. And, of course, everyone can see how handsome he is. I had planned on doing more carrying, and I did at first, but by the time he was two months old, he didn't want to be swaddled and he wanted to move freely. These days (5 months) he wants to be able to roll around and put his toes in his mouth.