Car seats and/or strollers

I'm also pregnant with my first, so I don't have any experience, but I can't imagine it being nice to not have a stroller..
If you go shopping for yourself, have a day out with family etc. and you're carrying your baby all the time, it doesn't seem very practical.. especially when baby is around 5/6 months old. Seems pretty heavy to carry them all day, even though those Ergobaby things are made for that!
You have to decide for yourself, of course, but we're taking both, both a stroller and a carrier/wrap.

Xkruimel

As a childcare worker, I’d advise you not to carry your baby... First and foremost, it’s terribly bad for your own health/body, no matter what aids you use; your body will eventually suffer under the weight... Secondly, you’re spoiling your child enormously by always carrying them, which will lead to them always wanting to be carried, and you’ll end up standing around cooking, washing, ironing, etc., while holding the baby... You might say now, “That won’t happen to me,” but I have too much experience with this... Believe me, it does happen!

Additionally, if you take your child to daycare, to grandma and grandpa, or to others, your child will expect the same from them... We’ve had ‘carried babies’ in our group, and with 7 babies, we really can’t lift that one carrier all the time; we’re not allowed to, and we don’t want to either... The result... A baby who cried almost continuously because he was used to being carried... You don’t want to do that to your child, do you...

What’s wrong with a Maxi-Cosi or a stroller?? It’s easier and better for your own body, and it gives your child more rest than constantly exposing them to all the stimuli from the outside world (while being carried, they see much more and have to process more at a young age... And don’t be mistaken, this starts from day 1!)...

I’d urge you and advise you not to just carry your child!!

When we go visiting, we actually bring the stroller along because then baby can sleep in the travel cot. I think he'll just get 'coo-cooed' over by everyone on a changing mat (funny word, hehe) and get overstimulated (then he'll never fall asleep, of course) + it's not really safe if he has to sleep, due to rolling and stuff.

I think you'll regret not bringing a stroller, but hey!
If you try it out first, you can still score a cheap stroller somewhere if you change your mind

xCrumb

From a mom's perspective, I'd still recommend a stroller. If needed, start with a cheap second-hand one to see if you'll actually use it. I can't imagine not having a stroller. If you want to carry your baby, I'd definitely go for a woven wrap. With that, you can also carry your baby on your back, and it's much more comfortable for your own body.

They recommend a Maxi-Cosi, but even in that, a baby shouldn't lie for too long. I believe it's max 1 to 1.5 hours. Then your baby really needs to get out to stretch.

I’d go for something like a stroller. I bought at least 3 different baby carriers for the birth of our first, but after a C-section and back complications, I couldn’t carry my son at all in those first months. My back and abdominal scar were just too much strain. So we quickly bought a Quinny buggy that you can click a Maxi-Cosi onto. Very convenient and maneuverable, light, especially for a toddler. You can step alongside it when they’re bigger, etc. Now I sometimes still use it when my preschooler (15kg) is super tired and I need to quickly run an errand. So not an unnecessary purchase. I think it cost €199, but 3.5 years later it’s still going strong and can now serve our new baby due in August. So I’d say get one; you don’t need a heavy, expensive stroller with all the extras. PS I’d never leave my baby alone, not even just around the block, but that’s just my personal opinion :-) .

I am curious to know what you (especially Bienebloem) consider "pedagogically irresponsible" about leaving your child alone for 5 minutes to walk up and down the street while he sleeps… Just so you both know (Bienebloem and Kiekje), does that mean you don’t shower when your child is sleeping? Do you not go to the toilet when your child is sleeping…? The fact that you’re so impressed by this surprises me, which is why I felt compelled to reply…

At night, they lie alone in their room for at least 8 hours without anyone checking on them, so I really wonder what’s irresponsible about letting the dog out while your child is sleeping (I’m not talking about an hour-long walk in the woods, just a quick round around the square in front of our house…).

I don’t quite understand how it’s "pedagogically irresponsible" (since that’s what "pedagogisch" means) to leave your child alone while they’re asleep… You’re not raising them while they’re sleeping… Besides, yes, they might wake up… Oh dear… then I’m not there… Well, if they wake up at night, I’m not there immediately either. We usually wait 5 to 10 minutes because they often fall back asleep in that time…

Maybe I’m just more relaxed about these kinds of things… I don’t see the problem… The house doesn’t really burn down in that little block around the corner.

I do get startled by the "intense" and startled reactions to my statement… I really don’t see any harm in it… I think if you look at my explanation, you’ll realize that you’ll also leave your kids alone (sometimes for even longer than 5 minutes) in the future… But I understand that as new mothers without experience with your own kids, you view it this way… Next year will be very different; your life will change, and so will your views… It’s an ideal image, but unfortunately… No matter how beautiful it sounds and how much you’d like it to be true… eventually, reality hits, and you realize, "Oh no! I do indeed leave my child alone in bed while I’m enjoying a shower," and then that crazy, irresponsible charge doesn’t seem so crazy anymore…

I kind of agree with Charde..
Of course you're not constantly by your baby's side when they're sleeping, so letting your dog pee on the field in front (or behind our house) is the same as when you're in the shower and the baby is in bed.

But still, you try to keep it in mind as much as possible.. so the dog might pee an hour earlier or later, and there's also a dad around, so it won't happen that often.
But what I want to say is; if it does happen once, you're not suddenly a bad, irresponsible mother
Waking up a sleeping baby, dressing them, putting them in a stroller or carrier, taking the dog out for 2 minutes and then back to bed is much more exhausting (for the baby and yourself) than just quickly stepping outside while baby is sleeping.

Xkruimel

If you're already so sure that you want to carry your baby all the time, why did you start this topic, if I may ask?

It's all nice and good that carrying is better due to natural reflexes, blah blah blah, but it's only feasible for women who have one child, don't work, and don't have to clean the whole day while hobbling around the house with a baby on their belly/hip/back.
Yeah... hunters and gatherers did it too, hats off, but why make it so hard for yourself in 2014?

Crumb, I totally relate to how you feel!

Flower, you don't want advice; you want others, but especially yourself, to be convinced that what you're going to do is right... You don't need to do that, though. If YOU feel it's right, then do it... You're the mother, it's your child...

You just shouldn't open a topic to convince yourself; you should already be convinced... That's not what we're here for... We're here to point out the downsides, to keep you grounded, to help you see the other side of the story...

And you put "LOL" and laughing emojis after it, but your irritation comes through in your text...

I think we're done here...

Bienebloem, I read the whole article, okay! And yeah, I find it too much blah blah blah, it's all a bit too woo-woo for me, but thanks for sharing.

And I don't mean it in a bad way, but it's just like Charde says; you're trying to convince yourself more than actually listening to others' advice.

I already told you that I'd also like to use a wrap sling later on, it's nice to have your baby close by! But I think it's actually nice for indoors, for example when he cries and I can't calm him down otherwise.

Besides, I don't think it's very pleasant to carry your baby outside in winter. Baby in a jacket in the wrap, you in a jacket. Fumbling around in the supermarket parking lot, trying to get your baby from the maxi-cosi into that wrap/sling.

But if you think strollers give too many stimuli, you shouldn't use a playpen either... it comes down to the same thing, mobile above, toys inside, impressions. From the living room itself... And if you don't have a playpen, well then you'll have to carry him indoors too... that's why I started talking about indoors.

Just do what feels right for you, okay. I don't judge anyone!

Girl, we're not trying to drive you away, okay!
It's a shame that you feel that way; it's not my intention.

I won't respond anymore; you know my opinion and I know yours. Wishing you all the best with your pregnancy and lots of happiness with your baby coming in January.

Xkruimel

Good for you