This is not intended as medical advice. If you have questions about newborn care, contact your child’s pediatrician.

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When putting together a baby registry, a question that we struggled with was whether or not we needed a stroller. We did ultimately get a stroller, but we barely used it for the first 8 months. Here’s why.

If your baby has GERD or bad reflux, they may not love a stroller.

After a long stay in the NICU and with moderately severe reflux, our little one did not sleep well on flat surfaces. The only way she slept well was when held. Desperate from weeks of holding her in shifts around the clock, we ordered a used Uppababy Vista V2 and eagerly awaited its arrival, picturing that we’d be able to walk with her around the neighborhood instead of holding her all day and night.

Unfortunately, her intolerance of flat surfaces like the crib extended to lying flat in the stroller’s bassinet or in the stroller’s seat with a newborn insert.

Stroller rides can overstimulate some babies.

For some babies, a stroller ride can be overwhelming rather than calming. We discovered that to be true for our little one. Even once we’d worked with her pediatrician to address the reflux issues (see here how we solved her reflux issues), we found that she became unhappy during some stroller rides for another reason: the motion of the stroller and all the sounds and smells of the outdoors were just too much to take in at once. She’d wake up shortly after embarking on our stroll and start crying. Then, she’d be awake for a couple hours or more, waving her arms franticly, kicking, and looking stunned. The first time this happened, I assumed that she was overwhelmed by the bright light (despite using the sun shade) since it was a sunny day. However, she reacted the same way in the evening and on a cloudy day.

You can see in our video here that she sometimes slept during stroller rides. However, what that video doesn’t show is the return trip. For about 45 minutes, she cried continuously in the stroller as we hurried home, and she was awake and upset for a couple hours after that, too.

So did we ever use a stroller?

For our little one, a stroller was not a good choice for her first ~6 months. She has always loved being in a baby carrier (here’s the baby carrier that we use and love), so we’ve used that extensively for around the house and for long walks.

After several tear-filled stroller rides in the first few months, we waited until she was about 6 months old to try again. Here’s why:

• Reflux severity improves significantly, for most infants, when they start to eat solid foods around 6 months of age. Also, reflux tends to be less of a problem for babies when they sit upright, which is something they’re allowed to do in a stroller around 3 months (though recommendations depend on the individual stroller, and you should check with your pediatrician if you have any questions).

• By roughly 4 months of age, most infants are less prone to becoming overstimulated.

Luckily, she likes the stroller pretty well now that she’s older, and we expect that the stroller will be increasingly useful as she grows.

Why not just continue using a baby carrier exclusively?

Since she loves the baby carrier, we could have just used that exclusively instead of a stroller. However, there are a number of benefits to using the stroller now that she’s a little older:

• Heat. It’s easier to keep her cool enough in the summer if she’s in the stroller, especially with a stroller fan.

• Convenience. Have you tried tying your shoes or picking up something off the floor when you’re carrying a baby in a front pack? Our experience is that it’s pretty tough. Our little one usually wakes up when we lean over, so we try to avoid doing so.

• Weight. Pushing a larger baby in a stroller is more comfortable than carrying all that weight.

But should you get a stroller for your baby?

If your baby is unhappy when lying flat in a crib, they may not like riding flat in a stroller either. Also, keep in mind that stroller rides can be overstimulating for some babies, so you may need to help your little one grow accustomed to the stroller before they’ll enjoy it. Your mileage may vary. Your best option may be to borrow a friend’s stroller for a day to see how your baby reacts to the ride. Good luck!