Stylish covers with window slits, shopping trays, swivel wheels, all-terrain tyres and more is what modern pushchairs are all about. Indeed, pushchairs have rolled on far indeed as compared to the 'ancient' Victorian-look prams that the royalty used for their babies in the 18th Century! Actually, the baby buggies were not really prams in the first half of the 18th Century. They were just baby carriages. Today, you have the stylish baby jogger stroller!

A British architect, William Kent, designed the first baby carriage as a shell with harnesses to make a goat pull it. He presented it to the Duke of Devonshire. The idea of attaching a handle to the baby buggies so that even parents could push them came much later.

Queen Victoria received three push-style prams in 1840 from Ludgate Hill stores. Though, these prams were too high to be comfortable for the baby, the Queen did start a trend. By the 19th Century manufacturers even started naming pushchairs and prams after royalty!

William H. Richardson patented the first pram that could be reversed as a pushchair in 1889. He also made changes four-wheel suspension and allowing independent turning of the front set of wheels and the back set of wheels. This innovation helped turn the prams and pushchairs by a complete 360 degrees in much smaller radius.

After World War I the baby boom also sparked a boom in the baby carriage market. Foot brakes, shopping baskets and stylish shapes were incorporated in pushchair designs. Also the earlier wooded and wicker models gave way to chrome plating, rubber and plastic parts. Baby carriages became a middle-class buy only in the 1950s. Owen Maclaren came up with a compact design for a baby buggy for his daughter in 1965.

The baby jogger stroller followed soon to help the busy parent who did not want to leave the baby alone at home while going to the grocery store. Baby stroller joggers were redesigned with shopping trays and extra compartments to keep goggles, purses, diapers etc.

Today, pushchairs and prams are extremely popular and can be used with ease. The latest in the market are the travel systems and the three-wheel all-terrain baby joggers. You can buy double prams and pushchairs or even one for triplets! Phil Baechler invented the baby jogger in 1980 because he wanted to take his son along while going for a run. A baby jogger has larger and sturdier tyres as compared to regular prams and pushchairs. A baby jogger is also known as a baby jogger stroller.

Also, more emphasis now is on the compact and lightweight baby stroller. A lightweight baby stroller can easily be stowed in the boot of a car or carried around with luggage. Most parents nowadays insist on a lightweight baby stroller as a first choice before looking for any other features.

Some of the top brands making baby strollers include Graco, Maclaren, Firstwheels and Obaby. Busy parents find baby strollers a big asset. And, now, you can even shop for the world's best baby strollers online!