[blparent] baby stroller question

[Dena Wainwright]

Jenn.

You cannot push a stroller in front of you with a guide dog. It is
absolutely not safe. Your stroller (and thus your baby) would hit everything
before you or the dog could determine what was in front of you. E.g., a
flight of stairs.

The stroller that many of us have is the Peg Perego Venezia. It has a
reversible handle and four swiveling wheels. It is wonderful to pull, and
turns on a dime. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued, and I'm not sure
if Peg Perego has made a replacement for it.

Another popular product with many blind parents is the Sit 'n Stroll, by
TriplePlay Products. It is a carseat and stroller in one. It is wonderful
for portability, but it is not nearly as stable or nice to pull as the
Venezia, and it is not suitable for infants under about 6 months of age,
because it does not recline. It also has no storage to speak of.

A third option is to get a carseat frame (Graco makes one). The frame has
stroller wheels and a basket, and your child's Graco infant seat clicks into
it. I used this with my daughter for the first several months. It is very
light (about 12 pounds). The down-sides are that not all the wheels swivel,
and you have to have the carseat base with you when you're out and about.

Finally, some people choose to wear their babies in a front or back carrier,
and just bring the carseat for the first while. There are many carriers
available. A great website to learn about baby-wearing is:
www.thebabywearer.com

My best advice is to go and try as many baby-wearing devices and strollers
as you can before making a final decision. I would also contact your school.
I am a GDB grad, and a trainer actually came to my house to teach my dog and
I how to work safely with a stroller before my daughter was born. I would
also keep in mind the sort of terrain you typically encounter when
traveling. The Venezia is extremely stable. I've off-roaded with it up and
down small hills, and it's never come close to tipping. The Sit 'n Stroll,
on the other hand, is two pieces of gear in one, but is much easier to tip.
Everything has it's up and down-sides. No solution is perfect. You just have
to find the one that works best for you. Unfortunately, sometimes that means
having more tools than a sighted parent in your possession.

Hope some of this helps.

Dena


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Bose" <jen10514 at gmail.com>
To: <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 1:57 PM
Subject: [blparent] baby stroller question


> Hello, parents.
>
> I'm a new member and mom-to-be. I have only had a taste of parenting,
> since my husband and I do get to have his daughter live with us for a
> few weeks, but the parenting world is overall pretty new to me. I'm
> getting ready for a new baby due in October and I'm anxious about
> getting what I need for the baby. I'm also excited and enjoying the
> process. The one thing I'd like to ask at this point is whether any of
> you know of a stroller with swivel wheels. I've heard they exist but
> don't know much about them. I have a wonderful guide dog I work with
> and would like to find a stroller that could be either pushed in front
> or pulled behind me. Has any of you used one? Do they even exist? Let
> me know what you think of them.
>
> Thanks very much.
>
> Jen
>
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