“I have just given birth to my first born. Being a first time mom I had to buy my baby stuff based only on the baby product reviews that I could get. Now for the stroller, I got the City Mini stroller. I believe it is a very good stroller, based on the reviews that I read; but the problem is I don’t know when I can start using it.”
I got this from one of my readers just recently. And while I she is the only one who brought it up, I know many first time parents could be battling with the same. Well, now I want to tackle this issue once and for all. Read along and enjoy!
Putting Your Baby in a City Mini Stroller
I got the City Mini for my second born. But because the stroller didn’t full recline, I bought it with a bassinet and a baby infant car seat adapter.
For the very first couple of months (three months) I used to take off the stroller’s eat and set up the bassinet’s adapter brackets. You will be surprised but the stroller’s seat unsnaps really fast and easily.
Once the bassinet was intact my boy would sleep soundly as if he was in his cot. The bassinet also lay flat and therefore my boy never felt any strain on the back. The best part was this, the bassinet lifts off so easily and I could put in the car seat adapter on while using the frame like the snap ‘n go in case I was on the road.
When my boy hit six months I put back the stroller’s fabric and have since been using the City Mini stroller as a regular stroller.
Well you don’t have to remove the seat if it full reclines before you attach the bassinet. However, I have tried this with many other regular strollers and it really looked so ugly and bulky too. I would laud removing the fabric any day!
What You Should Know
From my personal experience you can now be the judge. You will find out that I didn’t use my City Mini stroller from the very first day with my baby. The reason is simple, the stroller doesn’t full recline; actually, most city mini strollers don’t.
It is therefore very important that you actually wait until your baby has adapted the perfect head control and when the neck is strong enough. This should be at around six months of age or even more.
If your city mini stroller reclines fully you could start using it at day one. However, I wouldn’t recommend this for first time parents. Parents who have many kids might have the experience of mastering their babies and would easily notice when the baby is not comfortable.
For first time parents using a bassinet and an infant car seat would be an awesome choice to make. You will be guaranteed that your baby’s back is flat in the bassinet and that the baby is very comfortable.
What to Do at Six Months
Here are a few tips on how to use the city mini stroller at six months if your baby has these challenges.
If the Baby’s Head is Still Weak
Some babies might still be unable to hold their heads properly even at six months. If this is the case with your baby, here is what you can do.
You can get a hard plastic and a thin piece of memory foam to add the padding at the back seat of your city mini stroller. Most stroller seats have an end that you can use to access the inside part of the padded seat and add the foam and the thin plastic.
This should provide the stroller’s seat with more support and also leave your baby’s back firmly rested without so much strain.
The Baby Has a Small Body Size
Apart from a weak head, some babies will have small bodies. This means that they could easily fail to get secured appropriately on the seat.
At this point you can try to work the belts up and get them as tight as they can be. You can also put the baby higher in the seat such that both the baby’s legs are comfortably rested inside the stroller’s seat.
The latter should help the baby to feel a little bit fuller and to also occupy the seat much more comfortably than they had done before.
Which Car Seats Work with City Mini Stroller?
There are number of car seats that will easily integrate with the city mini stroller. Some of the best ones that you can choose to go with include the following.
- Baby Trend: Flex Loc
- Chicco: KeyFit & KeyFit 30
- Cybex: Aton
- Nuna: Pipa
- Evenflo: Discovery & Serenade
- Graco: SnugRide Classic Connect
- Maxi-Cosi: Cabrio, Mico, Mico AP
- Peg Perego: Primo Viaggio
Before choosing an infant car seat to use with your stroller, make sure that you keep in mind the following considerations.
- What is the price of the car seat?
- What is the lifespan of the car seat?
- What do the previous users say about the car seat?
- Does the car seat come with additional warranty?
- How does the car seat adapter operate or work?
Conclusion
The City Mini Stroller is a great buy. It folds really fast and is highly compact. You can pack it in your trunk faster than you could imagine and you can set is with the same agility. The bassinet will not send the price flying above the roof and so there is no harm in grabbing one. Click here to get the best city mini stroller now.