STM: How often did you use your stroller in the first 6 months?

RachelCA29

Instead of a travel system, because they seem bulky and heavy,  I was planning on getting a light-weight frame to hold an infant car seat, like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Baby-Trend-Single-Snap-Stroller/dp/B000BMKEVC

I was planning to also get an umbrella-style stroller for 6+ months of age because they fold up so small and are so light. I had my eye on a Chico Echo or Liteway.

We went to Babies R Us today to try out some of the strollers to see how light they were and that they were a good height for my husband to push. But he seemed very hesitant to NOT invest in a whole travel system, or at least an actual stroller (not just infant car seat + frame) that we could put a newborn in. And it got me thinking that maybe we SHOULD get a travel system that has a stroller that can be used from birth. And then maybe in a year we'll get a much cheaper umbrella stroller if we want something lighter.

My biggest concerns with a full-out stroller are that it folds up small to get in and out of our small car (we have a Nissan Versa) and  that it be light, because I am small and will be the one doing the majority of the baby moving/pushing in the first 6 months).

Thanks for your advice!

rainydayluck

I think it depends on your area. We didn't do a travel system, but we bought a 3 wheel normal stroller and an umbrella stroller. The umbrella was good for indoor shopping/traveling. I live in a city where the sidewalks are not so good. It is like off roading, so an umbrella stroller wouldn't hold up well for walks. We also go to festivals, zoo, parks and outdoor events a lot and those have rough terrain, so we needed one that was a little more suited to those kinds of roads/terrain. I used the stroller a ton over all, but definitely in the first 6 months, a lot.

mrspopsicle

If you buy a snap and go frame you don't really need a travel system. We never put DD in the stoller without her car seat until she could hold her head up around 5-6 months.

chillypenguin

We loved the snap n go stroller and used it all the time. We also used it in restaurants (because it is so small) instead of putting the car seat in the sling they provided. You could definitely use at first, and then a light weight one at 6+ months.

jjtyler

I did travel system last time and it worked out fine...we used it a ton and had her in the stroller a ton...but honestly, I am going Snap and Go this time because of the bulkiness.

ABColeslaw

I used my snap n go ALL the time.  I wouldn't have wanted a whole travel system

sthomas1222

We got a travel system as an Xmas present. I used it 2x b/c I wore DD, still do. But it was super easy to use & lightweight. I find even the umbrella strollers take up too much space in my Prius. Babies should not be in a car seat more than 2 hours a day to help prevent plagiocephaly (flat head). I did invest in a double stroller this time since I'll have 2u2 but will probably wear new baby until s/he can hold head up & go into a stroller.

kalette

We barely used ours at all the first 6 months. It was WAY easier to just put her in the baby carrier and wear her. To stores, on walks, etc. Now that she's older and wants to be more independent the stroller sees more use, but still not all that much. I was glad we just bought a cheap Graco stroller to go with the infant seat. Which also didn't see more than a few months of use before she out grew it.

ckandi007

The Snap n Go was great in the beginning with DS in the bucket seat. He'd be asleep and it'd be no problem. Once he got older (around 7 months) we swapped to the convertible car seat since he hated the bucket car seat and anything to do with the stroller! There was a lot of babywearing after that.

MCH77

I lived in a high rise apart when DS was a newborn. We used the snap & go ALL the time, we had a long walk from our car to apartment.

The snap & go was light/easy. And cheap. I bought off Craigslist for $20, there is no fabric, so I wasn't worried about buying used.

We also have a City Mini. LOVE IT!!!

Allibob

I used the snap n go a lot the first several weeks if baby was sleeping. After the first month or two, I would wear her if she was awake & not have to bother with a stroller. Pushing a stroller gave me new respect for the handicapped - looking for ramps & elevators everywhere. In the summer it can be hot with a baby in the carrier, so if we were going to be outside all day, it was nice to have the option of putting her down in the stroller. I had a hard time wearing her at first due to my CS, so having a snap n go option was important. I never would've used a bulky travel system stroller though. I agree that a snap n go to umbrella stroller works well. That's our plan.

typeset

We had a convertible carseat (so no bucket) and a Chicco Liteway. I wore him in the Ergo a lot. Probably going with the same setup this time, but I'm looking into a better stroller. 

frugalwife

Snap n Go all the way. Plus you can use the Liteway with a newborn since reclines fully.

hoot179

Once I was allowed to exercise I walked two times a day with my city mini. We had the adapter bar to connect the baby seat. If you're planning on walking a lot for exercise - I was bored and I just walked to break up the days and get in some workouts - I would skip the four wheel stroller system altogether. We still use the city mini, it's the only stroller we ever use. It's well worth the investment. H can push it too, it's super super light AND you just lift a little strap in the seat and it collapses. Huge city mini fan, obviously.

baby3ob

Probably depends where you live. We rarely used it so I'm happy we didn't get an adapter. That said - I live in Wisconsin and DD1 was born in November. This time around I'm planning on getting an adapter as I hope to be out a lot more for walks etc.

baby3ob

I loved the citi mini - we just sold ours and are upgrading to the city select double.

ErikaLynn75

My mom told me this weekend that she wants to buy me a stroller because it's pretty much the last "big item" we have left to purchase. After talking about it with her I had pretty much this same question, but for some reason this topic is so overwhelming to me that I just can't even read through these responses! Why does it have to be so hard? 

LindsayB0505

I used my sisters bumbleride indie stroller and it has a car adaptor to snap the carseat in. I used it a TON. I also had a snap and go style one which was nice because it was tiny and easier to maneuver in more confined places, but I loved the air filled 3 wheel tires for outside walks.

CVislo

I got a full size stroller, but not a travel system. I used it every day for almost a year. We took a lot of walks, but we never took it in the car. We always carried him when he was smaller and got an umbrella stroller when he was bigger.

pistolpackinmomma

Depends on a lot. Mostly lifestyle and season of the baby. However with that said, I used mine all.the.time. I have the babytrend travel system with the jogging stroller. We still use it quite a bit. It is the only stroller we have and I don't regret it at all.

runningyogimama

I used my running stroller ALL the time for running and walking. I used (and still use) the graco one from our travel system for running errands, etc. it lives on the trunk of my little ford focus, and I can still get all of my groceries in with it 90% of the time.

jenb_99

We used our stroller a lot, right from the beginning. We got a ton of use out of our Baby Trend jogging travel system, and we still use the jogger at least once a week. We like it much better than our Jeep mini stroller.

glowworm0166

I live in MD and had DS in June.  I did not buy a stroller system and was glad I didn't.  I wore DS everywhere we went and that worked for us.  I had an umbrella stroller that I started to use at probably 5 months or so but even so, I still wore him until he got so heavy it made more sense to push him.  You could always not buy the stroller to begin with, see how you like it without and then invest in it later if you decide you really need one.  My plan this time around is have DS in his umbrella stroller and wear LO.  I will be getting a double stroller though with a car seat attachment just in case.

CMDR513

We used the Snap n Go pretty much all the time for at least 7 months. We didn't even use the big travel one until then. We got a MacLaren one when he was 15 months. If I could do it again, I would skip the travel system.

Empireceo

I used my travel system all the time, right from the start, but I felt stir crazy so I would just go on walks with him around the neighborhood or around the mall if it was too cold (he was born at the end of October). I plan on using it all the time for this one too.

d.sbrook10

I agree with PP about your lifestyle having a large influence. If you are a working mom, you will use a stroller a lot less than perhaps a sahm that is doing daily trips. When I stayed home with dd, the zoo, mall and parks were daily so I really used it a lot.
When I went back to work, the stroller was hardly used as our trips were greatly reduced.
For this baby, I got the britax travel system and can't wait to use it.

PrincessJess19

My son HATED the baby carrier and would scream when I tried to put him in it, so I used the travel system all the time. I wasn't comfortable with him in the umbrella until he could really hold his head up.

Nmooney1

I had the travel system with DD. We sued it all of the time from early on. I love going to the zoo and some other local outdoor places and took her for the first time at 7 weeks (obvi it was more for us beings how she did nothing but sleep). I continued to use the regular stroller when she was out of her infant seat. I have never been a fan of our umbrella stroller: there's no tray to put snacks or drinks, not much room underneath for bags/purses/other items. I do think umbrella strollers have improved since I got mine in 2008. A friend of mine just spent over $160 on an umbrella stroller and hers is pretty nice. To me, that's too much for an u-stroller. Now, when we had DS we went with a double stroller. I LOVE it!!! The backseat folds all of the way down (completely flat.....a lot of strollers don't do that) so we were able to use it early on with DS. He slept just as good in it as he did in his crib. It is a super heavy stroller though and doesn't fold down small. It weights over 40lbs. We have the room for it in our vehicle though, so size wasn't an issue. In the end, we used our full-size strollers way more than the umbrella.

RachelCA29

Thanks for the responses everyone! We're looking at the Britax B-Agile right now, it seems like a good cross between a regular stroller and an umbrella stroller. We are big park and trail walkers and the substantial wheels on it seem better suited for us that the flimsier ones most umbrella strollers have. And it's under 20 pounds so that is a big plus for me. I want to go push it around in the store to make the final decision. Why does this have to be so complicated??

Empireceo

RachelCA29 said:

Thanks for the responses everyone! We're looking at the Britax B-Agile right now, it seems like a good cross between a regular stroller and an umbrella stroller. We are big park and trail walkers and the substantial wheels on it seem better suited for us that the flimsier ones most umbrella strollers have. And it's under 20 pounds so that is a big plus for me. I want to go push it around in the store to make the final decision. Why does this have to be so complicated??

That's the one I have. It folds really easily and is pretty light compared to others. I still use ours almost daily, just without the bucket seat. Good luck.

singing_lyn

RachelCA29 said:

Thanks for the responses everyone! We're looking at the Britax B-Agile right now, it seems like a good cross between a regular stroller and an umbrella stroller. We are big park and trail walkers and the substantial wheels on it seem better suited for us that the flimsier ones most umbrella strollers have. And it's under 20 pounds so that is a big plus for me. I want to go push it around in the store to make the final decision. Why does this have to be so complicated??

That's the same stroller that my SIL and brother got for their baby, and she highly recommends it, so I've actually registered for that one as well. She said she chose it because it's one of the lightest ones on the market and my SIL is tiny, like less than 100 lbs and only like 5'2", so that was a big concern for her. And she loved that in the country where we are where there aren't many sidewalks she can still use it comfortably on the side of the road or on a trail.

danabsd

Simple answer to your first question: all.the.time.

We have the Britax B-Ready travel system partly because we planned on having babies close together and it turns into a double.  I much preferred a full size stroller to the snap n' go.  IMO, they are really short and feel dinky.  

Xath

I love a snap n go while they're still in the bucket and then a nice agile stroller when they're older. I thought of getting an umbrella stroller, but ended up getting a Britax B-Agile because it folded up very compactly but was more durable than any of the umbrellas we looked at. The seat also folds down flat so you can use it for a newborn if you want to.

CookingStar

Snap and go makes sense too. I wish we had done something like that when my dd was little. We did the travel system which was okay but heavy/bulky. When she got older we got a jogging stroller (3 wheels) and that has been all we used and loved since. The wheels are bigger so it can go smoothly over more terrain (beach sand, gravel roads , grass etc) and you can also snap in an infant seat to it. The best feature I think to is the adjustable umbrella which most strollers only go down part ways but ends up baking your child in the hot summer sun. This one can go down all the way if they are sleeping and practically cover their whole body. Great for traveling at the airport too

KatieP71312

Never. i gave away the stroller to my travel system and i don't think we put little into a stroller until well over 6 months - we always baby wore. 

mmks

We lived in the city when my son was born and used our city mini almost every day. Never got the infant seat attachment, but just laid the seat all the way down and got a snuggler cushion thing for him to help him not jiggle too much. The city mini was great for rough terrain and easy to fold and is quite light too.