The Fine art of Wandering: Wheels, Arms, or Carrier?

I am a flaneur by nature. I love to wander through the city with no purpose, other than to explore and discover things that I would miss if I drove through the same area. There is something amazing about having no clear purpose or mission—just treating the city like a playground—traveling all on foot. When my daughter was born, I thought that part of my life was over.

It is so easy to get caught up in the “the baby has a schedule” or “there is too much stuff to gather and then carry” internal monologue. While the previous may be true, they should not be limiting ideas. You may now have a baby, but there is no reason that you should completely eliminate the things that make you happy. In my case, one of the things that make me happiest is strolling directionless through the city. And I was damned if I was going to give that up. But there were logistical challenges.

First and foremost, the baby had to be safe. I had to check the outside temperature to make sure that she had the proper clothes on and then pack a host of appropriate clothing in the baby bag, just in case the weather shifted unexpectedly (I live in the Bay Area of California). Diapers? Check. Wipes and cream? Check. Food? Check. Bib? Check. Nook? Check. Baby was all taken care of. But how would I carry her? There were three options.

Stroller: These can be great. They have wheels and you can strap things to them, reducing the amount of baby stuff that you have to physically carry. The baby is safe and secure and pushing a stroller takes minimal effort. But strollers take up a lot of room and are hard to maneuver if you decide to take a walk off paved roads. Also, if you want to stop in a restaurant or café, trying to stow the stroller is quite difficult. And depending on the age of your baby, you might not be able to set her down to fold up the stroller.

Arms: You could carry the baby, but you can get tired out very quickly. Also, it is so much more dangerous to carry a baby. You could trip and fall. That’d be a real bad look. Someone could bump into you, then you’d get angry and the situation could escalate to very dangerous levels. And if you are carrying your baby, it is going to be hard for you to carry other things: i.e. the baby bag, camera, water, etc. If the baby is old enough, you could put her on your shoulders, but that’s not a sustainable mode of locomotion, as there are other dangers and limitations.

Carrier: Whether it is the Baby Bjorn, Maya Wrap, sling, Ergo Carrier or some other knock off of how indigenous people transport their babies, carriers can be a great compromise between the stroller and toting a baby in your arms (or up on your shoulders). Some of the benefits are that your hands are free to carry other things, protect the baby, cover the baby’s face when some idiot is blowing smoke, or you can push people out of the way because the idea that babies are fragile and vulnerable have escaped the minds of the general populace and some folks even resent the fact that there is a baby in their presence and will not move out of the way, even when asked politely (like I said, I live in the Bay Area of California).

When I wander, I like to use the carrier. If your kid is old enough to be aware of her surroundings, she will have a sensory treat. My daughter (at sixteen months) is a huge wanderer. Watching her watch the world, reaffirms that wonder and awe still exist. She points, and tries to name things—truly interacting with her environment. When it is safe, I take her out of the carrier and watch her run around and pick things up (leaves and sticks are her favorite found objects)—just watch her play and join in.

There is no reason that the pleasure in your life should stop because you have a baby. I’d argue that the things that you used to take pleasure in before your baby was born—unless you were into some foul ish—will be twice as pleasurable now that you have someone to teach it to.

Keep wandering.