stroller or jogger?

Question

I have not yet purchased anything for transporting my infant (due May 23rd) and do not know where to start. What is your experience or advice?

Answer 1

It depends on your lifestyle and how much you will use it for each function. A jogger is great but I jog like at most twice or 3 times a week. A jogger gives a much smoother ride and you really can't take a stroller to go on a nature trail, nor can you comfortably jog with a regular stroller. However, joggers tend to be bigger and they don't fit very well in the trunk of a regular car or taxi if you also have other stuff in there. Joggers have fewer features that I will list below. If you choose a stroller, you probably want to think about what matters most to you and choose based on functionality. You might not know what all the options are so here is an incomplete list:

Recline - I wanted one that reclined all the way back to sleeping positon so my baby can nap while I was out without having to rush back home to put him to bed.
Umbrella or regular style fold - which will fit in your trunk
Looks - style, color, pattern - don't forget to choose one that your spouse wouln't be ashamed of wheeling around too!
Size, not just width (do you go to lots of crowded places and need something skinnier?), but height of handles if you are tall (or your spouse is), height of seat off the ground (seated closer to the ground or seated around thigh level)
The way it folds - I felt it was imperative that it folded with one hand vs two
Weight - trust me - at the store, try lifting the folded stroller with one hand and lift it up to your car trunk level (you may have your other hand holding on to your baby)
Padding - extra padding or minimal
Also used as an infant seat carrier - care or not?
Price - self explanatory - but price doesn't alway buy functionality
The sunshade - believe it or not, size DOESmatter not just for sunny days but also when your baby is napping in the sun or bright shopping malls and when strangers want to touch him - don't worry if you find the perfect stroller with and insufficient shade, I think they make an adaptable shade you can attach to your stroller
The ride - try pushing it and you will notice the difference in smoothness and how much force and effort it takes to make it go forward and turn and stop
And the usual durablity, reliability, reputation of the company, etc.
Main use or temporary - buy one that has all the functions (so I can use it for longer) or several with different functions (to have more than strollers around) even if you you try to get one with all the features that matter, your priorities might change as the baby grows so you will probably end up with more than one stroller down the line
The basket - how much stuff it holds, how accessible it is, how low to the groud it is
Weight Limit

perks
- folddown footrest - for babies so their feet don't dangle (I didn't realize my stroller had this but now that he's 11 months he loves having his legs forward instead of dangling for long stroller rides)
- i wouldn't worry too much about cupholders because there are plenty of aftermarket add-ons in that department
- mp3 player/ipod adaptability (not crucial)


In case you were wondering, I have 2 strollers, one for my car, one for my husband: The Inglesina Zippy and the Kolcraft Universal

both
holds an infant car seat
is a one hand umbrella fold
deep recline (the zippy was better)
easy maneuverability

the Zippy (mine) had a ton of extra features (I use day to day) than the Universal (husband's - use on occasion and lightweight travel) but is much heavier and way more expensive ($300 vs $55) but I don't mind -

I hope I provided you with the BEST ANSWER!

Answer 2

Ok, unless you have someone else with you all the time, you'll want a stroller. Imagine trying to carry a baby and pick up a few things at the store, or walk through the mall and look at anything, or try something on, or...I have a jogging stroller that I love for outside walking/running. It's pretty big and can be hard to maneuver in public(shops and such), so for those times I bought a ten dollar umbrella stroller that's always in my trunk. It weighs about two pounds, folds super tiny and is small enough to get in and out of places without running people over or knocking stuff down. This system works for us. I did, however, mainly use my front carrier until my son was about four months old, we both loved it. The other option is a regular sized stroller. The ones that allow you to hook up the carseat are good for young babies because they're set up so the baby faces you, which is nice, especially because half the time they're asleep and you can just take the whole shebang along without waking them. It depends on your lifestyle, but if you do any walking/jogging(great post-partum excercise) I'd recomend a jogger, it moves a lot more smooth than any other type of stroller and is very sturdy.

Answer 3

Jogger. You can stroll with joggers, but cant run with strollers. However, it was nice having the stroller the infant carrier snapped into. Get a used one of those and an nice jogger.

Answer 4

i bought a stroller, but hardly ever used it. whenever i'd take my son somewhere, i always carried him. i didn't like him to be to far from me. even if it was just a foot away in a stroller.

Answer 5

i use a stroller....seems to work fine