Do modern prams isolate young mums?

iwannabeonthebeach

I babywear most of the time (DD is now 23 months) and have done since birth. We can chat, she's comforted, warm and has a great outlook on the world around her.

AngelOfTheNorth

I find slings very convenient for smaller babies, but back pain precludes it for me once they're bigger.

peachyprice

The health and comfort of my babies always came first, they stayed in a proper lie-flat matressed pram for as long a possible, no way would I have put a young baby in a stroller.

It does seem rather shortsighted to have a craft fair selling baby goods on the first floor, someone didn't think that through did they.

OrkneyStar

peachyprice wrote: »

The health and comfort of my babies always came first, they stayed in a proper lie-flat matressed pram for as long a possible, no way would I have put a young baby in a stroller.

It does seem rather shortsighted to have a craft fair selling baby goods on the first floor, someone didn't think that through did they.

I think it depends on the stroller, some are more structured than others. I would not have put DS in one of the very flimsy ones, but the padded one we had was suitable from 4 months (this was a few years back but there is one on the website which has the same name, and now actually says suitable from birth-tbh I wouldn't have used it that young though).

rach_k

It probably depends where you live and what you WANT to do. I used London buses a lot when my oldest was a baby so we had a Bugaboo Bee - lie flat from birth, parent facing as long as you want (much better for communication and who doesn't like to look at the person they're talking to?), narrow enough to go down the aisle of the bus instead of having to get on at the back and leave the baby to go and pay. Here, some of the coffee shops are quite small so it might be tricky to go in there with a proper pram but I do see people with them and I see loads of mums with the much larger Bugaboo Chameleons and I often see herds of them together so they mustn't find them too much of a barrier to socialising. You can just choose to go somewhere else - if having a big pram would stop you going out, somebody with sense would just buy a smaller one!

I wouldn't put my child in the flimsy £20 buggies. No parent facing, not suitable for young babies, no protection from the elements without draping them in a sweaty plastic cover, presumably no protection in case of an accident (have you seen the videos of babies in pushchairs falling onto rail tracks? I'm not sure babies in wibbly buggies would have fared so well) and you can't hang your shopping on them in case they tip. I'd much prefer a wrap if I needed a budget or super-narrow option.

FatVonD

I had a bog standard M0thercare pushchair that is a pram when the foot bit is folded up. I chose the second from bottom priced one (based on fabric) and boy did I regret it! It was way heavier to push than the cheapest one though I preferred using a baby sling anyway.

It was a relief when he was old enough to go into a buggy and then it was the next one up from the cheapest, definitely not the one that was 'fashionable' at the time (and there was snobbery about type of buggy then too!)

sulphate

littlerock wrote: »

I am sure that if you go everywhere by car one of the three way pram buggy carry cots is OK but I see so many young women pushing one of these on their own on foot and I cannot help but wonder if they had something smaller and more mobile it would enable them to get around more and so make life more interesting for them.

Many women find maternity leave isolating and want to get out as much as possible - if they thought that getting a more lightweight stroller would help then don't you think they would have one already?

Or maybe they actually want to go as many places as they can on foot. I certainly intend to where possible.

Mrs_Imp

littlerock wrote: »

I am sure that if you go everywhere by car one of the three way pram buggy carry cots is OK but I see so many young women pushing one of these on their own on foot and I cannot help but wonder if they had something smaller and more mobile it would enable them to get around more and so make life more interesting for them.

I walk everywhere and that's what makes my life so interesting. We stop and look at things, feed the ducks, chat to other people from our local community and generally have a very interesting walk to wherever we're going. We save money on bus fare/parking, we get to see more of our surroundings, she can stay put if she falls asleep - no shifting her from car seat to pushchair or house. Walking with a child is fantastic and definitely not isolating.

Our days are far more interesting, and getting around is far easier when I have the pram rather than the pushchair.

Not to mention that my eldest now walks everywhere with us, and I think all the walking we do (whatever the weather) is setting him a good example, providing him with exercise, and getting him plenty of vitamin D.

I'm not sure why you think walking makes for isolation and boredom.

Jagraf

Hated prams.

Very quickly pram to buggy. As soon as toddling ditched pram.

Always faced pram outwards. I didn't want my face to be the only face my baby saw lol! If they look outwards everyone smiles and talks to them.

mr_knight

I have a travel system and I have now realised with baby 2 how huge and cumbersome it is. It's hard to get into some small places. However I live in the middle of nowhere and it is fab to go on walks with the dogs. I do have a pushchair which I will be buying a newborn "bit" for so it saves space, I use this for our annual holiday too. If I take my travel system out I can't fit anything else in the car other than the base (wheels) and the carrycot. It is actually a bit of a pain so the other pushchair will become my main one now.