One item that you might be thinking about including in your baby registry is a stroller. I struggled with the decision to add a stroller to my baby registry because it is a larger gift than most people’s budgets could accommodate. I added one after my mother pointed out that with many stores that have baby registries, you can purchase items from your registry at a discount if you do not receive them as gifts. A group of my aunts surprised me by pooling their resources to purchase my stroller as a baby shower gift.
The variety of strollers that are available is mind – boggling. To further complicate matters, some strollers can be used for newborns while others are not safe to use until your child reaches a certain age, or a certain stage of physical development such as being able to hold his head upright. Before you register for a stroller, it is important to do some thinking about where and how you will use it. For example, I knew that I would be wearing my baby in a sling whenever we went most places, so I did not need a stroller that I could use with his infant car seat. Some people do find travel systems and stroller bases that can be used with infant car seats very useful because they fit perfectly into their lifestyle.
What was important to me was getting a stroller that I could use for taking long walks on the beautiful (and very hilly) dirt roads near my house. I chose a fairly simple Jeep jogging stroller. Although I knew that Dylan would have to be six months old before he could ride in it safely, I also knew that I would not be doing any outdoor walking until he was six months old. His birthday is in November, and where I live it is often cold until April or May. More importantly, our road is a mud pit in March and April and does not usually dry out until May.
Dylan is two and a half years old now, and we still use our Jeep jogging stroller faithfully a few times a week. Dylan’s baby brother Blake was born in March, and I have been taking him on our walks by wearing him in an Ergo baby carrier with the infant insert. Since Blake will be old enough to ride in a jogging stroller near the end of this summer, it is time for me to start looking for a jogging stroller that can hold both of the boys.
By thinking carefully about how and where you will use your stroller, you will be better able to sort through the available options and register for a stroller that is just right for your family and your lifestyle. Some families choose strollers that help them to easily navigate a busy lifestyle while others consider them an essential piece of fitness equipment. The variety of ways in which families use strollers is the reason that there are so many out there to choose from. Since I have mentioned certain products by name here, I feel that it is important to note that neither Jeep nor Ergo have compensated me in any way for mentioning their products here.
Photo by click on morguefile.com.