Kiddofreedom

Get Stroller Up and Down Stairs

So you live on the upper end of a flight of stairs. And you have to lug your heavy baby stroller in and out of your apartment. I know — that can make your life r-e-a-l-l-y difficult. In this post, I’ll share a couple of ideas that made my apartment living with a stroller a more pleasant experience.

Related: Lightweight Baby Strollers for Apartment Living

Why Not Leave the Stroller in the Garage?

I imagine you don’t have a garage. Otherwise, you’d leave your stroller in there. That’s an ideal place because you can easily access the contraption as you head out with your lovely tot.

Why Not Put the Stroller in Your Car’s Trunk?

I know you didn’t come here to learn how to store a stroller. But many parents just leave their baby stroller in the trunk. That way, they can use the space inside the home for other storage needs.

Most strollers can fit in the trunk of most cars. Even if yours is a massive jogging stroller, chances are you can put it in the trunk and walk into the house holding your baby.

We own a Honda Civic, and that’s where we used to leave the stroller when our kiddies were young. But if you own a small hybrid car, I can see how that could be a problem.

A mom I’m friends with drives a hybrid, and there’s absolutely no room for the stroller in the trunk. Because the battery eats up a massive amount of the trunk. If that’s you, I have an idea or two on how you can carry your stroller up and down steps.

Get A Lightweight, One-fold Baby Stroller

Not all strollers are created equal as far as design. Some strollers are heavy and bulky and may not fold down at all. Obviously, that’s not the kind of stroller for you if you live up a flight of stairs.

Your living situation demands a lightweight stroller that’s also foldable. You shouldn’t have trouble folding the stroller with one hand and carrying it up steps while holding the baby with the other hand. The web is full of one-hand-fold options that are a snap to move into and out of an apartment with your baby in one arm.

Get a Stroller With Large, Air-filled Tires

One reason you could be struggling to climb stairs with your stroller is that its wheels aren’t built for that. If you can, sell that stroller and buy an option with wheels that won’t strain too much especially when bumping your way up.

Someone I know uses this kind of stroller to get their kiddo from the car all the way up to their apartment.

Here’s what they do:

Step #1: They strap the baby in super securely. Their stroller features a 5-point harness. And a 5-point harness is the safest way to buckle a child into a stroller or car seat.

Step #2: When going downstairs from the house, they roll the stroller backward so that the baby faces away from them. The back of the stroller catches the baby against gravity, and the tightly threaded harness does the rest of the safety job.

This isn’t hard because the wheels are big and full of air. And they only have 2 steps going down. If you have 5 steps I imagine you’ll work a little harder. But it’s really not hard, says that mom. Plus, the stroller boasts a really good suspension, which helps a lot in this bumpy ride down steps.

Step #3: When coming back from the adventurous trip or wherever, the mom does the reverse of what she does in step 2 above. She pulls the baby stroller backward up the stairs. But now, the stroller harness works much harder because the baby leans forward a bit.

Well, I think there’s a bit of risk here, because what if the straps came loose or something like that? Most strollers are safe, though, and the harness usually works well. But yes, there’s that.

Carry Baby in a Carrier and Stroller in Your Hand

Another trick to carry both baby and stroller up and down steps is to use a good baby carrier some of the time. You need to have a stroller that’s super easy to fold down with one hand and set up for use with one hand.

Simply load baby into a baby wrap, a meh dai, or structured carrier and haul the stroller up or down. This strap is safe and should work for pretty much anyone. With baby secure in a carrier, you can maneuver your stroller up and down as many steps as you need to without worry.

This idea isn’t only easy and convenient, it’s also safe. But you definitely need a one-hand fold stroller to execute this idea smoothly.

Carry Baby and Stroller Separately

This requires more work, and it may not work well for some babies. Note that this stroller carrying strategy is for babies who can be left unattended for a brief period of time. So, if your tot is trying to pull to stand and have built enough stability and balance, DON’T use this suggestion.

But if you can safely leave your baby at the bottom of the stairway or in the house momentarily, then why not?

A mom who lives in a 4th-floor walk-up apartment owns a travel system mainly because the young family doesn’t have a car. When coming in from an evening or morning stroll, the mom detaches the carrier from the stroller and leaves the stroller down there. She folds the stroller frame and attaches it to the railing using a secure bike lock.

Ask Your SO for Help

If you have a stroller that can be carried up and down your top-floor apartment, ask your husband, boyfriend or SO for support. Have them carry the thing down as they head out to work so that when you’re ready for your parent-baby stroller, it’ll be waiting for you down there.

And when you come back from your walk, attach it to something so your SO can haul it back up after work.

Wrapping Up

If you live in a top-floor apartment and don’t have a garage or storage room in your building, carrying a stroller up stairs and then down again can be challenging. But there are a few strategies that can make your parenting life a little easier.

Which of these tips for carrying baby and stroller in and out of walk-up apartments did you find the most practical? Did I leave out some strategies that you think would work well for most moms? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Author: Esther Moni

I'm Esther Moni, a proud stay-at-home mom and a psychology graduate of the United States International University (USIU) . I hate it when anyone calls me a housewife, because what does housewife even mean? Being a mother of two babies and a pup, Bailey, as well as being Ricky's wife tires me to no end, but I still manage a smile at the end of it all. And when my boys aren't done doing mischief, I juggle writing a post on parenting or baby gear performance for this blog and running my little counselling office based out in Nairobi. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/esther.moni/">Visit my Facebook profile here</a>, and this is my <a href="https://ke.linkedin.com/in/esther-moni-3841b573/">LinkedIn profile</a>, and here's my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKcVb3NNDrURDH8C0KiAE1g/">nascent youtube channel.

Esther Moni

I'm Esther Moni, a proud stay-at-home mom and a psychology graduate of the United States International University (USIU) . I hate it when anyone calls me a housewife, because what does housewife even mean? Being a mother of two babies and a pup, Bailey, as well as being a wife tires me to no end, but I still manage a smile at the end of it all. And when my boys aren't done doing mischief, I juggle writing a post on parenting or baby gear performance for this blog and running my little counselling office based out in Nairobi. Visit my Facebook profile here, and this is my LinkedIn profile, and here's my nascent youtube channel.

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