My friends make fun of all the efforts I take to travel light. Yes, I did in fact manage to go away for a week with my two kids and get everything we needed into one suitcase... the night before we left! My thinking is, spending a week packing for a week's vacation pretty much sucks the fun right out of the experience. And as I've been keeping up on the latest parenting trends, I've noticed a new niche for other parents just like me: baby gear rental. Genius! Not unlike car rentals, you even have several options for stroller rental: a single ($8/day), a double stroller ($11/day), a double jogger ($13/day) or even a premium Bugaboo ($18/day).

The items are not limited to strollers, of course. Essentials like high chairs, car seats, strollers and portable cribs as well as "nice to haves" like Exersaucers, baby bathtubs, monitors, nursing pillows are all available. At first you might think that's a little extravagant but, is it really? Dollar Rental Car charges $10/day for a car seat. But airlines can charge $80/bag beyond two free items per passenger so if you are not a fabulous packer like me, renting your gear can save your back and your money.

I've stumbled upon a few companies... in the U.S., Baby's Away and The Traveling Baby Company. In the U.K., Tiny Tots Away provides a similar service.

Are you one of the lucky American families crossing the Atlantic this month? August is peak season for European vacations, making it a little too crowded for my taste. They say the population of Portofino goes from 2,000 to 30,000 during this prime time! And this year, it is blazin'! I suppose 90 degrees might seem like slight relief from triple digit temperatures... but don't forget to pack the bottled water!

In the U.S., lightweight travel strollers are a godsend. From a quick trip to the store to day-long outings, our landscape is well designed to accommodate baby wheels. This is not necessarily so across the Atlantic. Stroller mamas (and papas) who venture to Italy and France, for example, often find that they regret bringing a stroller at all.

The numerous steps and stairs and the narrow, crowded, cobblestone streets make it nearly impossible to use one. A few friends report that their umbrellas models ended up folded and carried! During our own tour of the Adriatic and Amalfi Coasts, we noted (and assisted) many a miserable parent with stroller.All of the picturesque quaintness of the hill towns along the coast is lost on a couple who is too busy trying not to tumble down 100 steps.

The big cities have a host of other challenges. One mom reports that Paris is just nor stroller-friendly. The sidewalks are narrow and without sidewalk ramps. There are no escalators to and from the public train stations or between platforms, just stairs. And the fare gates and turnstiles turn commuting with a baby and a stroller into a sick combination of Twister and Operation.

Avoid the nightmares and bring a baby backpack and/or sling instead. Both solutions provide hands-free transport options that are relatively comfortable for the carrier and the carried. The backpack is useful in airports, as you manage additional luggage. It also gives your babe an ideal balcony seat on the sights. Slings work best with infants and young babies, although some companies offer toddler slings too. Backpacks can be used until three years of age, after which your little tike could actually… walk! Novel idea!