The Perfect Stroller: Your Baby's First Set of Wheels

For the first several years, if you are going to go anywhere with your little one, the first thing you will likely want to make sure you take with you is your stroller.  It is how your child gets around for the first few years of life and becomes one of your most useful baby items.  At one time, parents needed to buy several different strollers as there were far fewer options.  Luckily, these days there are so many different options when choosing a stroller that a new parent can choose the one that will not only best fit their needs, but also their long term family plans.  

If you are a very active person, then you will have different needs than someone who is not very active, thus you will need a different kind of stroller.  Similarly, if you are planning more children in the near future, then there are strollers that can grow with the family, thus saving you money in the long term.  How you are going to use the stroller and what your long term family plans are going to be are generally the two most basic criteria when selecting a stroller.  

If you were going to select a third criteria, it would have to be prestige.  As much as we all like to be practical, parents still look at what other parents are pushing.  The degree of 'wow' may be different for each person, but it will still be there.  How high this ranks on your list of priorities will go a long way in determining which stroller is best for you.  But make no mistake, parents do not have to give up versatility for prestige and should never be asked to.  

One way to avoid spending money on multiple strollers is to avoid the one box travel system.  The stroller that comes with these systems is usually of a lower quality and tends to not serve the needs of most parents.  They are packaged together because they are convenient to purchase.  What most parents don't know is that many car seats will work with many different strollers, so you can pack the stroller that best fits your needs and the car seat that is most suitable for your car, for you, and for your child.  

There are lightweight strollers like the Baby Jogger City Mini or iCandy Cherry, here are luxury umbrella strollers like the Ingelsina Zippy, there are multi-role strollers like the iCandy Apple, the Uppa Baby Vista, and the Uppa Baby Cruz.  There are also prestige strollers like the Mountain Buggy Special Edition Urban Jungle and the iCandy Peach that offer both versatility and exclusive styling.  There are expandable strollers like the Phil & Teds Explorer and Dash, the Britax B-Ready, the iCandy Pear and Peach Blossom, as well as all terrain strollers like the Baby Jogger City Elite and Bumbleride Indie.  No matter what your taste or level of activity, there is a stroller that will suit your needs.  It's just a matter of thinking about how you are going to use it.  A stroller doesn't have to do everything, it only has to do what you need it to do.  

A special note for joggers.  Parents should not jog with a newborn until they are at least 9 months old as doing so prior to this shakes them around too much.  Think of shaking your baby, which causes severe brain damage, and you can understand why this should not be done.  There are however joggers that can be used from birth as parents should get out and walk as soon as possible  Strollers like the Mountain Buggy Terrain and Baby Jogger Summit XC offer pram and car seat options so they can be used from birth.  

No matter what stroller you choose, the best way to save money is to get the one stroller that will not only fit your family's lifestyle, but also your long term family plans.  That's how you wind up with one stroller instead of six!