Go read the Disclaimer again. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Seriously.
Our Experiences with Strollers
We received one stroller as a gift and bought two others.
The Kolcraft Universal II Infant Car Seat Carrier got Teddy and me to the grocery store and back with a whole lot of groceries, more than once.
The B.O.B. SUS jogger got Teddy and me to the grocery store and back with a whole lot of groceries. Teddy can sleep in the jogger. Roland and I have both gotten some exercise with the jogger.
We have the console for the B.O.B., and the wind and rain cover. I will probably buy the check-able soft bag that lets you bring your B.O.B. with you on a plane. Update: Probably will not; Roland is very suspicious of where the front wheel attaches. It tends to get bent and he doesn't believe the bag would be adequately protective.
We got a stroller bag for cold weather. It fits relatively well in the jogger (altho it could use a couple extra slits) and keeps Teddy very warm without the bright yellow weather guard.
The MacLaren Volo worked like a mule to move our gear around various airports and two train stations. It also carried Teddy on some zoo and Aquarium outings, and let me walk Roland to work many times while still in Seattle. It was not useful for grocery shopping.
We bought the organizer and a universal sun shade for the Volo.
Tripod strollers are available outside the US. But if you want them here, you have to go to a lot of effort.
The Australian QuickSmart BackPack Stroller and EasyFold Stroller are teeny tiny. They are not lighter than the Volo, but they fold up smaller. I have not found them reliably for sale in the US. The Easy Fold at Amazon is available in the US, but it's a redesign to make it a four-wheeler.
The Quinny Zapp, like the QuickSmart strollers, folds up teeny tiny, but again, is no lighter than the Volo. It is from the Netherlands and is available all over Europe, but not reliably in the US.
The Quinny Buzz is a very small (altho not quite so small) tripod stroller with multiple recline positions. If I "just happen to stumble across one on a trip to the Netherlands", I'll buy one. Independent of Teddy's age or whatever. And I'll do hella research to try to make that stumble happen. Update: Probably won't ever buy it; the reversible seat became more important.
Phil and Ted have several interesting strollers, including the E3 (a very different take on the double stroller) and the SmartBuggy, a very clever lightweight stroller.
Stokke, makers of the seat I like, have a stroller called Xplory, which puts the kid up fairly high for eye contact. It apparently developed some quality control problems, but I still like the idea.
At one point, I was seriously eying the Chariot stroller/bicycle trailer/XC ski device, etc. We didn't buy it because it seemed expensive (altho I did get over that) and was also too wide. This is also why I didn't buy their side car, altho I continue to find that really tempting.
Our Experiences with Baby Carriers
In general, older babies and toddlers are less awkward than fresh babies (plus you have a lot more experience dealing with them) which in my experience more than compensates for the added weight. In other words, it's a lot easier to make a carrier work with an older baby or toddler than it is with a newborn.
We received two hand-me-down Baby Bjorns, neither of which was the one with the additional back support, and which I have since been indoctrinated to believe borders on child abuse because of what it might do to a baby's hips.
We received two new Snugli soft carriers, which we all used as front packs. I liked the Snugli marginally better than the Bjorn; Roland felt the opposite.
We received an Ella Wrap, which Roland used a few times.
No one successfully used the Rebozo I bought (but it's awful pretty still).
We never owned a ring sling, which was probably a mistake.
I bought a Kozy and liked it for several months. I wish I'd had this at the beginning.
I bought an Ergo and will probably never use any other carrier again, except possibly the Kozy for a very little baby. Update: I ordered the infant insert for the Ergo.
We received a REI backpack child carrier, the Tagalong, which Roland used a lot in Seattle, but which has not been used much in Brookline.
I bought a Kangaroo, which only worked for one child care.
I bought two Sutemi packs. The regular one works well for Roland. The large one I sold, and then hired child care who could have used it.
If you are serious about wearing your baby, you'll have to think through how you are going to carry assorted baby gear and how you and your baby will keep warm. Otherwise it's just a way to take a long walk from your house with whatever is in your pockets and little else, which is at least a way to talk on your cell phone uninterrupted by a crying infant who'll sleep in the pack.
I have, and regularly use, the front pouch and attachable backpack with the Ergo. I also have and use slightly less often a baby wearing cloak. It's a wool version of the one depicted; they don't seem to carry the one I have any more.
I bought, but have used infrequently or not at all, the Suse's Kinder Coat rain poncho and baby-wearing vest. The vest does not work great with the backpack on the Ergo. I bought, and Roland has occasionally used, a fanny diaper bag, because I expected that particular problem.
We initially put the car seat on the Volo and then stacked everything else on top of the car seat. With the cloak over the top, we got a lot of, is your baby in there? Complete with slightly shocked but also disbelieving look. No, of course not. He's over there (point to moving walkway where Teddy is running in the opposite direction, treadmill style, on a leash, followed by his papa).
I researched:
I had decided up front that I wasn't going to buy a Sit'n'Stroll at this late date (or ever). We ultimately bought the Traveling Toddler and have been happy with it. We use it on a cheap, black American Tourister rolling carryon.
In September of 2006 (well after the research for the June trip), the FAA approved CARES, a harness which attaches to the airplane seat belt, approved for all phases of flight for children between 22 and 44 pounds sitting in their own seat. It weighs about a pound and is supposedly very easy to install. I plan to buy one before we fly again.
Update: the CARES is teh awesome. We got a bag and checked the car seat, altho some people believe that borders on child abuse or something since the gorillas in baggage handling will render the carseat non-functional. Whatever.
We bought a harness with no metal parts. We love it. Teddy loves not being in an equivalent harness that forces him to remain seated (i.e. a stroller). There are some extremely cute backpack plus harness products as well.
We got a portable DVD player to entertain Teddy, and some Teletubbies and Blue's Clue's DVDs to play in it. It doesn't have great battery life, but there's usually a laptop with us as backup.
In addition to the obvious and expectable iPods and noise-cancelling headphones, Roland and I both bring laptops with us when we travel. For a while, I had an EVDO card for my MacBook. However, as I considered the logistical issues of maneuvering a toddler and an infant through airports, I decided some downsizing was in order. Roland got me an ASUS EEE for my birthday. In conjunction with an external drive (Apricorn EZWriter) and a Centro (Verizon Wireless' VZAccess is _not_ compatible with the Mac, unfortunately, but is compatible with the ASUS), I can now compute at about half the weight. Since these must all be carry-on, that really matters.
A General Discussion of Travel
(Some of) Our Experiences with Strollers
(Some of) Our Experiences with Baby Carriers and Accessories
Copyright 2007 by Rebecca Allen.
Created February 22, 2007 Updated May 25, 2009