- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
April 2016 Moms
thaisac1
member
Stroller thread
thaisac1
member
This came up on our ticker change thread today, and it was suggested that a new thread should be created.
For the moms out there, please share your do's and don'ts, your likes and dislikes when it comes to strollers you have tried!
For the moms out there, please share your do's and don'ts, your likes and dislikes when it comes to strollers you have tried!
Re: Stroller thread
There are a lot of things to consider with strollers. Just like a car seat, there's no best stroller. It matches your lifestyle. I would never recommend my stroller to my sister for instance. Before you make any decisions consider some of these questions:
Do you live in a city or suburbs?
Do you have a lot of trunk space?
Will you be taking it on public transportation?
What is your budget?
Do you want more kids in the near ish future (some strollers convert to doubles)
Do you want to run with it?
How much storage space do you want?
Do you want built in accessories like parent cup holders and snack trays or are you willing to pay for these as extras?
Will you be going on daily walks outside or more using it at the mall etc.
Do you want a travel system, a detachable seat so you can snap the carseat in (with or without adaptors), or just a plain old no car seat option stroller?
Is how it "looks" important to you?
I'm sure I had more but I'll start there :-)
Feed my addiction and let's talk gear!
Eta: added some considerations after originally posting
I follow the StrollerQueen StrollerSwap group on FB and couldn't resist. We have a Baby Jogger Versa, which was discontinued a few years ago in the US (still made in Canada). I wanted a stroller that can fold with the seat parent facing or forward facing (with most strollers you have to flip the seat back around to forward facing before folding it). I've only used it twice in the house, so I don't know yet if it will fit all our needs, but our 6 year old thought it was very comfy and the push was still great with him in it! I'm actually super glad I bought it when I did, because now they are almost out of stock everywhere and the price has gone up by $40.
Not sure if a double stroller is worth it since my son will be 3 in April, but I'm looking at the City Mini double and the Britax double jogger. We are out and about a lot so I want my oldest to have the option of sitting but they also cost over $400.
Something to keep in mind for anyone looking at strollers - this is a totally acceptable thing to buy used, unlike carseats. The better brands hold up well for years, if properly taken care of, and can hold resale value really well. Check craigslist, local FB pages, baby consignment stores, etc.
I had a frame stroller for the car seat at first, and it was much easier than lugging a full size stroller everywhere. Full size we use for walks around the neighborhood, Triumph lives in my trunk for everywhere else we go.
We have the bugaboo donkey which we got "used". Basically a guy I went to high school with was getting divorced and his wife realized she had no money and sold t because she also had the double orbit. However after having it for 1.5 years and being able to utilize at as a double and even for 3 kids, I would totally have paid full price knowing what I know now. I know it's outrageous though.
We have the uppababy g-luxe for an umbrella but I usually just keep the bugaboo in the trunk.
Valco baby tri mode jogger. Got it for $100 from a neighbor for DH who refuses to get rid of it but has used it less than a handful of times. It's not as nice as the bob but pretty good. I also like having it as a spare stroller if mines in the trunk and my mom comes over and wants to walk H.
We didn't use orbit carseat at first but use the toddler seat, so when I flew to Israel we got a g2 frame on Craigslist so I wouldn't have to carry his car seat through the airport. I was in shock at how poor the maneuverability of it is! The car seat is amazing. But I do not like the stroller. Maybe I'm spoiled by bugaboos maneuverability though. I did like the side panniers for it and the way the handlebars are separated. Easy to put my diaper bag over it.
We'll be adding the stroller board for both stroller when this little nugget arrives.
Edited for spelling.
I was secretly hoping for twins so that I could (sort of, kind of, maybe almost) justify a donkey. No dice, and this is likely to be one and done since we're out of bedrooms with my stepsons in the house.
I have a baby jogger city select and I absolutely love it. We'll be getting the second seat to accommodate the new kiddo. We use it all the time. I'm not going to lie, the thing is heavy, BUT it has great all terrain tires never flat (I've never had a problem on grass), a huge basket underneath, the seat faces both ways, the sun shade actually shades DD, and it has a telescoping handle that makes it comfortable for short people like me and all those tall people out there.
DH and I knew we were going to try to have kids close enough together that a double stroller would be in our future, so I tested ever comvertible I had access to. I tested out conventional singles and doubles too, but this was by far my favorite.
If it's something you are seriously considering (and no one is ridiculously generous and gets it for you) opening a BRU credit card will get you 15% off? and if you're lucky to find a coupon that doesn't exclude baby jogger OR you can use a bed bath and beyond 20% off coupon. If you already have a Toy R Us rewards card you can use any rewards money you may have on top of the other stuff. My mom ended up doing all of these things and ended up paying less than half price.
Do you have a lot of trunk space? Yes
Will you be taking it on public transportation? No
What is your budget? No budget
Do you want more kids in the near ish future (some strollers convert to doubles) : Still unclear.
Do you want to run with it? I'm not a runner but I do run when I want to lose weight, so I'm gonna say yes.
How much storage space do you want? It doesn't need to have a trunk of its own, but I would be looking for something with good storage.
Do you want built in accessories like parent cup holders and snack trays or are you willing to pay for these as extras? No preference
Will you be going on daily walks outside or more using it at the mall etc. During the spring/summer/fall yes, daily walks outside.
Do you want a travel system, a detachable seat so you can snap the carseat in (with or without adaptors), or just a plain old no car seat option stroller? Yes a travel system sounds convenient!
Is how it "looks" important to you? Not horribly. I wouldn't want the ugliest stroller out there, but looks are not my priority.
@thaisac1 no budget at all? Some luxury strollers with accessories (cup holder etc) can be over $1k
Joggers are really big and since you live in a city it may be in your best interest to get something smaller for every day use, walks, shopping etc, and then a jogger for runs, if you decide you want to take that on (since you're not a regular runner). If you only want one stroller then you can make a jogger work as your only stroller for sure, just know it may not fit in a taxi trunk etc.
Edited because my brain works faster than my fingers.
Are the handlebars telescoping?
Tell me more about options that go from car seat to stroller... Are they good enough for everyday use?
Also, pardon my ignorance but... What's an umbrella stroller?
Umbrella: really small stroller that folds up small like an umbrella. Usually doesn't recline (but some of the luxury ones do). Think of the dinky doll type strollers. You can get them for super super cheap or upwards of $200. Even the super expensive ones are kinda dinky, although they do have many more features than the $15 ones. You won't find features like snack trays, adjustable handles, etc.
Snap and go: a relatively dinky set of wheels that your car seat snaps on to. Once baby is out of infant seat you can't use it. It usually comes with a decent storage bucket and built in cup holders.
Travel system: usually a full sized stroller that has the option of putting the car seat in it as well. Traditionally the car seat went on top of the seat and snapped in if its the same brand, or you can buy adapters for relatively cheap. They can be pretty bulky.
Recently the trend of luxury strollers is a "travel system" but the stroller seat comes off completely, basically allowing your stroller to function as a snap and go. Does that make sense? Usually these strollers also come with bassinets, and the seat is reversible. The traditional travel systems have a set in seat that can't parent face after they're out of the car seat.
Joggers are for running. They're big and have excellent maneuverability. The seat is always forward facing except for orbit and bugaboo which are both brand new/about to be released. Most you can buy adaptors for the car seat to use immediately, but it's not recommended to jog with a Newborn
Other features are strollers you can add a seat to to become a double. Uppababy, bugaboo, baby jogger, and britax all have great ones. Bugaboo is side by side and the rest are tandem (front to back). I feel like I'm missing a convertible stroller and can't think of it.
Recently, the "non luxury" brands (that are great too!) like graco and Chicco have come out with sleeker frames to mimic the luxury "travel systems".
There are also lightweight options that are not umbrellas, these are great all around choices. Baby jogger and britax have two of the best known ones. These lack features like a reversible seat though, but weigh less than the frame/Tavel system.
Do any of these speak to you? Can help you narrow down brands after. But seriously start looking at baby gizmo YouTube videos, she does a great job of breaking it all down.
Head to a buy buy baby if there is one near you and test drive both. After we looked at all strollers my husband himself said he was buying the chameleon. The bee was purchased when DS was a year old and we tired of fighting with him and each other about the umbrella stroller.
@thaisac1 an umbrella stroller is smaller light weight stroller many moms switch to as baby's get older. You'll see them a lot at malls and airports.
From all of the descriptions, I tought the travel systems sounded best.
Baby jogger City mini
Britax b agile
Baby jogger city select
Britax b ready
Uppababy vista
Bugaboo cameleon (or buffalo if you want more all terrain, or donkey if you want a double option)
Bumbleride indie
I would also check out graco modes and Chicco urban, I don't know too much about either but they're the same concept as the luxury stroller but cheaper.
The first two options don't have parent facing seats but do have car seat options.