I know that your little explorer is eager to see the world scenery and take its blueprints in his mind, he is not cooperating to sit in the car seat longer.
But is there any hard and fast rule to decide that tells you when your baby is ready to sit in the stroller?
The whole internet is full of debates on this issue, but as an experienced mum, let me tell you, there is NO steadfast rule on this shift.
It is all dependent upon the muscular strength and growth of your baby. But yes! In 99% of cases 3- 4 months old baby is developed enough to sit in the stroller. Let explore this more in the given article.
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When Can You Put Baby in Stroller Without Car Seat
Honestly speaking! No one can state a definite age to decide that your baby is ready to sit in the stroller without the car seat. Because the consideration is solely dependent upon the muscular development of your infant, and we know that every child grows at its own pace.
To generalize the fact, you need to check the development of neck muscles before deciding about this shift. Your baby’s neck should be strong to support his head. Normally, 3-4 months baby is strong enough to partially support his head.
Thus, we can say that in between 3-6 months of age you can shift your baby from the car seat to the stroller dependent upon the strength of his neck muscles.
Why you need to shift your baby from the car seat to the stroller:
For the new mums, reading my article and wondered why do I need to shift my baby? Let me explain it in technical terms. Studies have found that when an infant is growing to be a baby, his ribs needs room to grow well too.
Long sittings in the car seats put pressure on the chest and not only hinders the chest development but also block the oxygen passage to the lungs, although this obstruction is mild still, it is harmful.
So, you should not let your baby sit in the car seat for more than 2 hours. Furthermore, sitting in the car seat can damage the head shape by making it flat and can cause gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) too.
Thus, it is necessary to shift your baby from the car seat to the stroller as soon as you deem it appropriate.
And for neck muscle growth, I suggest you give good tummy time to your baby, this is proven helpful in strengthening shoulder and neck muscles.
Important Considerations:
As described earlier, a 3 to 4 months baby has the strength to keep his head upright, but for a relatively shorter time.
But it’s good if you decide to make a shift at an early stage because your baby also wants exposure to the beautiful scenery outside and he gets tired of lying down all the time.
But before making this major move, considering the following factors is crucial:
Reclining Strollers:
If you have decided to shift your 3-month-old from a car seat to a baby stroller, you need to make sure that the stroller is fully reclined i-e you can make it straight at 3600 so that your baby can easily sleep within.
Moreover, this design gives a good amount of support to your baby’s neck and back and its bassinet design keeps your baby safe from getting fall off.
Such strollers, assist your child to sit up even if his neck is not strong enough, they are designed to give support to the neck while the baby sits in a slanting position.
Multi-purpose stroller:
There are a variety of strollers available in the market that comes along with different accessories, like car seats, detachable canopies, or detachable bassinets.
Well in my experience, it is best to go with the stroller that has a detachable bassinet along. In this case, you can use your stroller, even if you carry an infant along.
Because the bassinet structure gives a very comfortable and secure place for your baby to sleep. Such strollers are engineered in a way that your baby can use them at any age till being a toddler.
As an infant, you can use the bassinet, and as he grows up to be a child you can remove the bassinet and use the reclining seat.
Moreover, the seat can be adjusted to an upright position too, making it suitable to be used at a later age also. Well! It’s a good investment though!
Precaution:
Be cautious and check out with some doctor or an elder to decide if your baby is ready to hold his head, and can sit in the stroller or not?
Moreover, while deciding upon the stroller, it is imperative to check the safety and comfort of the seat. Most strollers have exposed sidebars, and do not offer any kind of support, avoid such strollers.
You must go for the one that can recline completely and offers maximum support from the back and sides, and if you have head support too, then it’s a cherry on the top.
Conclusion:
After reading the article above, I am sure that now you can decide upon when you can put your baby in a stroller without a car seat.
Just be assured that your baby’s neck muscles are strengthened enough and the stroller you are using is offering maximum support, comfort, and security to your child.
That’s why I always say that stroller is a lifetime investment in your baby gear, so try to get your hands on the best possible option available to you.
Hello, This is Erica Wilson and I am a mother of two kids, one Three-year-old daughter and my beautiful 2 year old Son. I studied MA in Social Science at University of Texas at Austin, United States. Please do not hesitate to contact me via email at [email protected].
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