Is there a split on stroller parents and babywearing parents, or do we alternate based on activity?
I strongly prefer babywearing because I have nightmares of pushing the stroller out in traffic before me. My husband prefers babywearing (though he was in the stroller camp before DS was born) because the stroller stresses him out.
Only one of my other friends in this area (mildy hilly suburbs) is a baby wearer.
Which are you, or do you do both? Why do you prefer that one?
53 votes
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
When I babywear: at home, going for a walk, grocery shopping (although sometimes I now use the seat in the shopping cart), sightseeing
When I push the stroller: when shopping for clothes for me, when he was newborn and fell asleep in the carseat
persimmon / 1453 posts
We'll be 100% babywearing at first...because we were too cheap to buy a stroller. Haha. Lugging around a stroller kind of drives me nuts anyway, so I don't know how soon we'll get one.
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
@Minnie_Girl: Choice by necessity. Nice. 
It's pretty cool. I like how different everyone is. My friends here that have strollers give us advice on being less worried about strollers and we give them advice about being less worried about baby wearing. It's really funny.
I wish I were less paranoid about strollers because we have a pretty nice one.
coconut / 8430 posts
I typically use the stroller when we are at the mall or if we need a chair for her and baby wear when we are at home.
pear / 1895 posts
@Minnie_Girl: same here. BRU has on their "must-haves" checklist a infant stroller system, full-size stroller, AND lightweight stroller. No way I'm spending that much money on all that. We're planning to babywear exclusively until baby is good to sit in a regular (lightweight) front-facing stroller.
nectarine / 2019 posts
We have a city mini, but even when we take it I usually baby-wear. Our 5 year old sits in the stroller more than anyone. It's good when we are traveling for him to take a little rest in or have a snack.
grapefruit / 4056 posts
I split about 60%/40% in favour of the stroller. I babywear at home, or for short walks, once I give up the infant seat I will probably just sit Sawyer in the cart for grocery shopping.
I 100% prefer the stroller for shopping where I don't use a cart (malls, markets etc), and for long walks. We usually do our long walks all together (Me, DH, LO and Dog), but if DH was travelling I would babywear to walk the dog.
We like the stroller for diaper and camera bag storage, since we usually have both a sizeable diaper bag and DH's DSLR bag (small backpack sized) plus often a tripod, so wearing all that plus baby between us would be ridiculous. It is far easier to throw the diaper bag on the frame with my diaper bag clips, and then camera bag in the storage basket.
We have the britax b-ready, so it is a good all around stroller for what we need it for.
clementine / 889 posts
I prefer to baby wear, though we do a lot less now that DS is mobile and weighing 35 pounds! He will still let me carry him on my back sometimes, but not too often. But I usually only use the stroller for running or if I am shopping for me and need him to be sitting and strapped in. I wore DS grocery shopping, on walks, hiking, at the mall, everywhere really...
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
@MsMini: Ah, yes, the storage container! 
@sunny: Oh a chair! I used to bring the stroller to restaurants but now I babywear eating out, too.
@Junebugmama: The 5 year old in the stroller gets me thinking--maybe it's the age that makes the difference in which I use.
@allison: We read that and just got the travel system and figured we would go from there.
pomelo / 5093 posts
I was all babywearing until she got too big for me. Then I bought a stroller which I love. My husband is vehemently anti stroller and refuses to use it. He uses a constructed carrier or an ergo, in a pinch.
grapefruit / 4712 posts
I babywear at home and at the store. I like our stroller for going to the mall and going for walks. We have a dog so we find it easier to walk with the stroller. DS only tolerates being in the carrier for short bits of time because his hip joint is formed totally normal.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I was never a big fan of baby wearing so we used our stroller a lot.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
We only use a stroller. I so wanted to be a baby wearer..... but lo had other ideas. She always preceded the stroller. Well now she prefers walking.
coconut / 8279 posts
@pastemoo: as a FTM, I fully set out to babywear when preparing for DS. I bought the Ergo, the Bjorn and numerous slings. I received a cheap stroller frame in the event that I had complications where I couldn't comfortably wear something around my waist but didn't think I'd use it at all.
DS HATED being swaddled and anything that resembled a swaddle with a fiery passion and HATED every carrier we had... like screamed bloody murder every time he was in one. And he wasn't a fussy baby at all! Only when he was in a carrier. I ended up using the stroller for the first 4 months exclusively, every once and a while I'd test out the carriers. It wasn't until he was 6/8 months old that he started to tolerate them.
pomegranate / 3388 posts
It depends on what kind of mood I'm in. I think I'm pretty close to 50/50 on walks. When we go out for bigger trips though, I favor the stroller due to the built in storage in the basket underneath. At the grocery store DD loves to sit in the shopping cart now, so I never bring my Ergo anymore.
coconut / 8234 posts
LO and I prefer the carrier. We use the stroller for long walks in the park, but primarily use the carrier, especially for public transportation. DH prefers the stroller (we have a City Mini, which is the stroller of choice in our neighborhood). Our nanny prefers the stroller, too.
grapefruit / 4110 posts
If we are getting in and out, we use the stroller. If he is in for a while, we babywear. So Disneyland we stroller, zoo we babywear.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
I did a lot of babywearing in the Ergo the first year of LO's life because she seemed to HATE the stroller.. and it was way easier to snap and snap with the Ergo than to bust out a heavy stroller. As she aged though, she seemed to actually enjoy being strolled around... and babywearing started getting straining on me, so now it's stroller all the way. I stopped babywearing completely when she hit 16-months.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I vary by activity for sure!! I used to babywear for walks but now that he is older I prefer to push the stroller and he does too because he gets a better view. He didn't like the stroller until he was 7mos+.
I used to babywear for grocery shopping but now that he can sit up I usually plop him in the cart.
I babywear at social and family functions for sure! Also I babywear in the airport, or if he is being a little more clingy or when I miss him and want to cuddle 
or if I will be somewhere where it'd be hard to maneuver a stroller
Stroller for walks, shopping, etc. I love both evenly!!!
grapefruit / 4049 posts
@junebugmama: @pastemoo: I do think age is a big factor. A lot of moms I know agree that a stroller is good for the first year, but once they become little toddlers, they hate it being restricted and just want to walk everywhere and/or be carried. Then they turn 4-5 years old and love the stroller when they get tired of walking too much.
Currently, my 16 month old is in the "hating the stroller" phase (about 75% of the time). I babywear her on my back a lot while my 4 year old happily sits in the stroller.
bananas / 9118 posts
For us it definitely depends on my mood and activity. We use the stroller most of the time, but wearing him is so convenient at times. We weren't able to use the shopping cart well until 8-9 months.
We have a couple slings and a framed backpack, but I just ordered an Ergo for Black Friday since you can use it with larger babies. He became too heavy for my back with the Bjorn style carrier early on and the slings are hurting my back now... so maybe I will carry more frequently with the Ergo.
coconut / 8305 posts
I babywear the majority of the time for sure! I even considered selling our stroller because I didn't use it at all until P was 6mths old. Even when shopping most of the time I'm not by myself so I just wear her & hand her off if I need to try anything on. I pretty much only bring it out if we're going to be somewhere where I'll be sitting for a period of time bc P hates being worn if I'm siting.... I wonder if trying a different kind of carrier would help that though?..
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
Oh, does anyone live in a walk up? This is part of why we don't use the stroller, too. If we could just snap in and walk out the door I might try the stroller more often.
coconut / 8279 posts
@pastemoo: we do - we live in a townhouse, so ground level is our hall & stairs and we live on second and third floors. Not the easiest with a baby but we love living in the city and aren't ready to leave just yet
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