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Baby Strollers
For most people, baby strollers are the most important large purchases aside from furniture and car Safety Seats. It's worth taking the time to think about how you will use baby strollers and which types you'll need. Several brands of infant car Safety Seats are compatible with, and often sold with, the same manufacturers' large collapsible strollers.
That is, you can lift your infant carseat out of its base (which remains installed in the car) and snap it onto the top of the stroller of the same brand. These combination systems are great for transferring a sleeping baby between the stroller and the car. There are also collapsible, lightweight stroller frames that are compatible with most major carseat brands, handy if you won't always be carrying the larger stroller with you.
If you'll be traveling more by public transportation than by car, you'll want a stroller that is easily opened or closed with one hand, and carried with one hand, too, as you board the bus or subway while carrying the baby. There are narrower, more lightweight baby strollers made with urban dwellers in mind. These usually have some storage underneath, but the baskets won't be as large as the ones on the combination strollers. Most recline, but some don't; you'll want at least some ability to recline the seat for a small baby, and it's great if they can be made to lie completely flat for long naps. (So-called "umbrella" strollers, light and inexpensive, are handy for older children but don't recline and offer no head support for small babies.)
Baby Furniture
Baby furniture brings to mind more than Baby Cribs, Booster Seats, Bassinets, and Cradles. Baby furniture evokes peaceful images of settling a tiny baby into a pretty crib, nursing a tiny infant in a rocking chair, even a playful round of peekaboo while bending over the changing table. Of course, your baby's nursery, or whatever room serves as the center of your baby care activities, will also be the scene of less idyllic moments, as your baby wakes for a 2 a.m. feeding or tries to roll off the changing table as soon as you've got the diaper off. So Baby Nursery Furniture has to be sturdy, safe, and easy for you to use correctly.
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