Traitor! Sellout!

"The Crime":
I.bought.a.PRAM..

I!, who am the biggest advocate and devotee of babywearing, still toting my 19mo around town in an ergo, breastfeeding and napping, for hours on end.. and loving it!
And always looking to (and successfully in quite a few cases) convert even the most mainstream of mummies into at least part time babywearers, with a sort of religious or activist zealousness..

And not just any pram, but one of those ludicrously expensive european ones..
Have I become one of those latte-sipping toorak yummy mummy types, with docile or aggravated child consigned to a far away pram. Have i become one of those mums?

Well even if i haven't, i'll certainly look like one now... I'll be a crunchy mama in mainstream clothing.

Here's the crime scene..

"Oh, How Could You?"
Well first of all, i got it second hand for much less than retail. Although, ok, it's still much more than your basic umbrella stroller, and arguably much unnecessarily more.
But my recent paid employment makes this possible, without having to justify it to DH or ask him nicely for money, even if i'm entitled to it.

Okay, i'm just going to launch into my justification for this.
We'd all agree that a wheeled device for toting your child around is sometimes a necessary and useful contraption (eg neighbourhood or park walks, grocery or market shopping, long trips to a shopping centre, full days out in town).

There are times when even if you have a great carrier permanently attached to your hips, occasionally you'll want your child off your body for a while (say 1 hour in 3?), especially when he's fallen asleep.
No matter how well distributed the weight is, it's still 11 kgs on top of my 52kg frame (that's just under 1/5th of my weight!), and after 4 hours, i'm just exhausted, especially if i have to carry the groceries + nappy bag as well!! (Sometimes plus a small dog on a leash.. What can i say, we all love our outings).

(We've never had any luck with a normal pram/stroller, as he'll decide he's had enough after 20mins, and never go back in again.. more on why in a minute).

We go out for half-days on end, walking all around in his little red trike (parent handle and steering) at the park or suburbs, getting several kms under our feet. If we go shopping, he'll sit in a shopping trolley.
In both cases, he'll sit happily for hours, looking around, talking to me, eating snacks.
Meanwhile, I'll always be wearing the ergo carrier, and when he's sleepy, i'll carry him around while he naps, while pulling along a childless trike or supermarket trolley... and feeling quite physically burdened after an hour or two.

So, why this pram then?:
I've looked at his trike and the supermarket trolley, and wondered why he'll stay in those for hours, but not his usual pram.
And i extrapolated..: in both, he's physically and visually exposed, not physically constrained (or much restrained) by anything except a thin bar. He feels fairly free, I suppose, important for a feisty one like himself.
And in the trolley, he's right up there where all the cool stuff is, and close to me. We talk, sing, play, kiss, all throughout our outing (just like in a baby carrier).

Whereas in a pram, he hates the semi-reclined position they all have, and feeling so enclosed by the pram walls, and being so far away down on the ground away from everyone and everything.

So i looked for a pram which has these same features, and found that this was the only one..

It has a very high seat, as you can see, and is reversible, so he sits facing me at my chest level.
It sits very upright (not seen in the pic), so he's completely sitting upright, not reclining in the least.
And there's nothing around his head or body, no fabric or seat frame to make him feel enclosed (that hood you see folds way back, and even the bar is optional).
= ie. he'll probably be quite likely to travel happily in this one!

Plus an added bonus for me: it goes up/down stairs! (the wheel struts fold up to become like a 2wheeled dolly)

So i figure... this pram, if it works for us, allows us:
- some of the benefits of babywearing - staying connected and interactive, child can see all goings-on and be part of adult interactions, no stair hassles;
- plus the benefits of a pram (not having to carry him while he sleeps; not having to stop if he wants to sit by himself and snack; not having to carry groceries/diaper bag).

and of course i'd still bring the ergo to carry him for his frequent-boobing or boobing-to-sleep (which is generally the only times he wants "up!")

And if it turns out not to work, it should resell for what i paid for it.
Okay, I've gotten this off my chest and conscience =)