The question of whether or not to bring a stroller when you travel to Russia to get your child seems to come up over and over on the Russian adoption listservs. It's not only whether or not to bring a stroller, but then what kind of stroller to bring? Should you get the kind with the snap-in carseat? Should you bring an umbrella stroller? Can you buy one there? Should you bring a Baby Bjorn type thing instead? How about a sling?

Oh, the mind boggles.

Part of me shakes my head fondly and thinks - worry about the details now, people, because soon you'll have bigger fish to fry.

Another part of me begs common sense.

One, if you are adopting a child under one to one and a half you should probably bring some kind of device to "wear" the baby - a sling, a Baby Bjorn, a Snugli, whatever. But I also think you should bring a stroller, specifically, an umbrella-type stroller. For kids who are already ambulatory you should stick to the umbrella stroller.

Anything bigger than an umbrella stroller is going to be a pain to mess with getting in and out of cars, going through the airport, going up and down stairs (the hotel in our region did not have an elevator, although the fancy ones in Moscow certainly did. People in Russia also generally don't seem to use carseats and although I appreciate the safety aspect of the carseat I think it will also be a pain when getting in and out of taxis, vans, cars, etc. If your child is small enough to be carted around in a carseat then you should probably try to wear the baby to promote early attachment. There's nothing like having that kid glued to your chest to help you bond!

Some children, even the younger ones, are not going to want the closeness that wearing him/her will promote. These children may have sensory or attachment issues and it might make them very anxious to be so close to you from the get-go. For these kids it would be great to have the umbrella stroller.

As for buying it here or there - I don't know. Will you have time to buy it there? If yes, why not. If you don't know, just do it here.