Going mobile - things I need

I practice a mobile lifestyle, moving between my home and the farm, and all the places in between.  It means that GM also needs to be mobile so it was necessary to get "gadgets" that would make us mobile and be able to move around in comfort and safety as well as easily.  When you go to a baby shop, there are so many things that you can buy but in the end, you may end up spending unnecessarily, only finding out later that what you bought may be nice but of no real use in your baby's lifestyle.

The first item that I find is essential is a way to carry him, whilst leaving my hands free.  As he was still small, I didn't want to place him in a stroller.  To this end, I find a baby carrier with the baby placed at in front against my chest was important.  I didn't particularly like the sling-like baby carrier.

Safety is essential when travelling in a car so the next item is a car baby seat.  There are so many types to choose from and there are some designed specifically from newborn to about 3 months - based on weight.  GM has now outgrown his first car baby seat so I am looking for a new one.  Key items are that it is easy to place, solid construction, not heavy (as the car seat can also double as a carrier), with enough padding for the baby, easy to clean and of course, the color that I like.

I also find having a mobile "bed" for him to be a plus as during his first 2 1/2 months, he slept a lot during the day.  For this, I find that baby baskets are great although it can be quite cumbersome to carry around.  So, I use this mainly when I get to a location that I will be static for a while - a couple of hours.

A baby carrier is great for short outings but for longer outings, I opt for a
stroller.  There are so many out there and the price range also varies.  I started out with the criteria for my stroller:

1. Easy to open and close
2. Solid but not heavy - under 10kg
3. Can be used long term
4. Can be placed in positions so that GM can sleep or sit up or in between
5. Has a canopy for sun/light protection
6. GM can be placed facing me when he is still small and the seat turned to face forward when he is older (12 months?)
7. Has a "storage area" where I can place his baby bag
8. Good manoeuvrability

Having my criteria helped me manage my way through selecting the stroller that I wanted.  Once I had selected the possible strollers, the final test was the GM test.  I place him in the strollers to see how he would react to it.  After all, I may like it but if he is not comfortable in it, it could lead to unhappy outings.

There are so many baby bags out there - some big, some small and some in between.  I basically settled on two types based on two different needs: (1) for long trips and (2) for day outings.  The similar set of criteria that I had was:

1. Able to place a thermos in s "fixed" position
2. Pockets to place diapers and small towel
3. Pockets to hold spare milk bottle and milk container
4. Room to place travel size toiletries

Whatever  I get, another important criterion is that it easy to clean.  Babies can be messy so if something is difficult to clean, that it will not work for me.  I guess I am rather practical when it comes to selecting items for our mobile lifestyle but it does make life easier :)