not buying a pram?

[minimalistmum]

I just don't think it's necessarily going to be that useful...Anyone else out there considering NOT spending a fortune on something that's just going to clutter up the hallway?

I used sling until about 6 months and only used buggy handful of times. I have no car, other children and weigh only a bit over 7 stone but still find it way easier than a buggy

Yeah, YABU. I'm on my 3rd baby now and this is the first time I've had a "proper" pram-type effort. It's easily been the best for the baby (putting a newborn in a Maclaren really isn't that comfy for them) and nicest for me to push around and show the pram baby off. Slings are fine for short walks- but you wouldn't want to go out all day shopping with one.

It does depend on your lifestyle op. I would go out at 8.30-5.30 all summer with mine with dd in sling as the only adult. I would take a teeny over shoulder hand bag with couple of nappies, bank card and keys. Whack my top when she needed feeding and sometimes it was easy to forget she was even there. Its easy for where we live as we were in woods, beach, massive walks etc and we have a very outdoorsy lifestyle you cant do with a buggy

A buggy is a must for me if only to store the baby and toddler gear - coats/blankets/football/bucket and spade/potty are things currently under mine that wouldn't fit in my bag (that's got a whole host of baby crap in too)

And where does one strap a tantruming or escaping tot without a buggy? when it's pouring down baby is still cosy..when they're (finally) asleep you can wheel them in doors without disturbing them

Love my buggy

I tried the sling and found I got too hot very quickly using it, even if I was just walking with DD, and carrying a changing bag, once you got hills and shopping factored in it was unbearable. A pram was much more liberating, we used to walk miles with it and all the stuff in the basket, but I agree storage is a problem. I also couldn't get on with using the sling around the house, I just couldn't get on with anything properly with a baby strapped to me, I'm glad I only borrowed it.

I love my sling but I don't drive so if I'm getting some shopping my maclaren is invaluable to get everything home hooked on the handles / underneath.

DD1 put slings in the same category as being swaddled, wearing a snow suit (or even a vest), ie I'm too hot, to confined WHAAA!!!!!!!!!

I had a sling which I loved and used for a long time, but I did the shopping on foot and couldn't have managed without a buggy. Dd wasn't a huge fan of it though so I was often pushing a buggy full of shopping home with dd in the sling...

Agree though that if you have a cs you may well struggle to use a sling for the first few weeks and need a buggy to get out easily. A friend of mine who had a vagina delivery also found that she bled very heavily when using a sling for the first 4-6 weeks, so much so that she stopped using it - I guess it was pressing on the placenta wound or something? A decent sling will keep the baby up on your chest but I would still have found it sore after my cs.

It is up to you. It is good to have options but I would wait and see what you feel you need at the time.

I have always been fine without a pram or pushchair. Others with other lifestyles would not be fine without. Something on wheels would not suit my life at all. I much prefer something I can pop in my handbag. I am minimalist I suppose.

I always thought prams and buggies were unnecessarily massive for tiny babies and then cumbersome and mostly empty for walking toddlers.

I think it depends also on how long you are in the body. I loved my sling when ds was tiny and used it every day. He is now 7mths and a lot heavier. He also likes to reach out and grab things, try and lean back and twist around etc so its pram mostly now. Sling for museums and shops only. I am smallish with a short torso and big boobs. I think it would be easier if one were longer in the body.

We have a baby jogger the mini city one. It folds up small and is great!

Also baby tries to pull off sunhat in sling ALL the time but pram has canopy that pulls right down so you should consider extremes of heat and rain too

One of my friends (who has a very outdoorsy lifestyle with a massive dog who requires enormous amounts of walking) managed without a pram for about 6 months with her first (a dainty girl). I was really dubious about how she would manage (thinking pub lunches and no where to put the baby) but it didn't seem to be an issue. They then got a McLaren primarily for visiting grandparents.

With her DC2 her husband, interestingly, insisted they get a double stroller from the beginning (age gap about 2.5 years). They have a double out'n'about and it is great - I've used loads of doubles and this is my favourite side by side model - when she was pregnant with no. 3 she was still using the double buggy even though her eldest was far too big to ride as it is much easier to push on rough terrain with a heavy toddler than a McLaren.

The upshot of this would be I'd see how you get on - might be worth having a look so you know what is around in case you have to make a panic purchase - buggies can be pretty tying but it can be difficult to carry stuff and your baby.

Everyone ends up with a McLaren but if you need a daily driver and walk a lot IMO there are better buggies to push esp. over slightly challenging terrain.

think about where you live - I'm in London and spent hours wandering around town when I was on mat leave - going to museums and galleries, browsing in John Lewis, meeting friends for lunch - I could easily be out of the house for several hours at a time. The pram was invaluable.

RiverTam yup. If you are city bound and barely use the car/ don't have one then a buggy which pushes well is invaluable.

I had friends visiting for Easter w/end and it was a good reminder to me about why I used to walk everywhere or use the backpack for tube trips - trying to get on and off public transport with a buggy sucks (and we had a super light McLaren) with us and every time we got on the flipping bus there was at least one buggy on board so we had to fold.

Such is life.

well, actually, I used the pram no problem at all on public transport, think once there was a space issue on the bus, and I learnt which stations have step-free access - but anyway, people were always very helpful as my station has steps, but I rarely had to bump the pram up by myself. Virtually all trains and tubes have wheelchair spaces which can be used by buggies (again, think a wheelchair was in a space once in 3 years, during the Paralympics, in fact).

Though, if you do get a pram and are in a city where steps may be an issue, get a light (or light-looking!) pram - I had a bugaboo bee which is pretty compact and light, but people (including me with my dodgy back) are less inclined to help if you have a whopping great P&T, for example.

I thought you were going to end with 'so that's why I used a sling or carrier' RiverTam. I am also in a city and spent so much time doing that kind of thing with dc1 so my mind automatically pictured you with a carrier dodging crowds and pt.

Just goes to show it is so much down to personal preference. So many ways to get around. I would second the advice to research both options so you don't end up purchasing the nearest pram or carrier which will probably not suit you.

I tried the sling a couple of times (one of those stretchy long ones) but even though DD was little, I still couldn't do it for long, especially if I was carrying several nappies, wipes, change of clothes and water, book, purse, travelcard, kets etc etc for me. Even more once she weaned - water for her, snack if we were going to be out for a while etc.

The bugaboo bee is very manoeverable, excellent for dodging the dawdlers on Oxford Street . I am positively evangelical about it, in fact, though I appreciate they are not cheap - we were very generously and luckily bought ours, but they often come up secondhand for sale.

I've barely ever seen anyone using a pram in a developing country (central america, south america, rural india, parts of africa) and they all seem to cope fine!

what an utterly bonkers thing to say. They probably 'cope fine' with having to walk for miles for water every day or their DC having to work in the fields or factories for a pittance too, eh?

My grandmother doubtless 'coped fine' without an automatic washing machine - should none of us have those either?

Really.

I bought a fucking Bugaboo for my first son and he just would not go in it. I had to sling him until he was 18 months and then he very occasionally started to go in a cheapo umbrella stroller for up to about 15 mins. I had no problems slinging him and only stopped when he was aged 3 and 2.5 stone because his legs were too long and he kept kicking my thighs. If you get a decent stretchy wrap then a decent toddler sling or wrap then you can definitely do without a pram.

I had hoped no 2 son would like the Bugaboo but he's also a pram hater so he was slung too. The pair of them, now they're older, like nothing more than to lie back in the double buggy (eBay, pennies) while I struggle to push them!

Slinging is ace. You can walk along beaches, climb hills, go on massive country walks. I loved it and wish I'd never bothered with a pram. Plus, I now have abs and thighs of STEEL!

The problem with leaving a decision until after you have DC is that you won't want to spend ages trekking round pram shops when you have just given birth with sore bits, leaky boobs, and having to stop every five mins to bf. is there any chance you could borrow a pram or lie flat pushchair for the first few weeks?
It's horses for courses, I bought a second hand bugaboo Cameleon which was by no means ideal but used it for 2+ years. Slings are handy but have limitations. Eg if you are out on a day trip, you maybe won't want to carry baby all day uninterrupted.

I didn't have a pram, and managed perfectly well without one, but we live in a remote rural area and I simply would never have used it. If we lived in a town, where it was possible to walk to shops or round the park, then I would have bought one.

I managed with a front sling until 6 months. After that I used a stroller (for trips into town in the car) and a back carrier for walks in the country.

What do you think now OP? Confusing isn't it :)

The one thing I don't get about prams/buggies/pushchairs is that people buy them before they even have the baby. To me it makes much more sense to wait and see what you need when the time comes - take the baby, push them around in a few... buy one when you need it.

Still, horses for courses... though they do say that everyone ends up with a MacLaren

Yeah, I didn't explain that very well RiverTam. I'm not talking about people in slums, refugee camps and the like, I'm talking about people who are their country's working class/middle class, living in towns/villages with a reasonable standard of living. They have all sorts of other things for their DCs, but no buggies. It's partly practical - pavements are narrow/broken/non-existent in many places so you wouldn't get far with a pram - and partly cultural - people just seem to hold/wear their babies a lot more.

I also find that people in e.g. Mexico are far more patient with their children - you often see a family on foot all going at the pace of their 2 year old! Quite different from the UK where I regularly see huge children crammed into buggies with their knees under their chins because their parents can't be arsed to walk at their pace/keep an eye on them/encourage them to walk (obligatory SN disclaimer: yes, I know about SN, major buggies etc. but there are also a LOT of healthy NT children in buggies far longer than they need to be, and many many more than 20 years ago).