A Fleet of Strollers
I have a confession. I own 5 strollers, yes 5, AND I have used 4 of those in the past 3 months. Even worse, I have owned a total of 8 strollers since my youngest was born five years ago. Let me explain...
I was not at all familiar with the baby consumer world until I actually became a mother. I had no idea what I was in for! With that in mind, the first stroller I bought was at a consignment store when my baby was only a few days old. It was just your typical Graco that you could snap a car seat into or use on its own, complete with a parent and toddler tray. It was navy blue. I didn't really think anything of it being blue until people started asking what my son's name was all the time (it didn't help that my little girl didn't have hair until she was almost 3!) Anyway, that's beside the point.
After awhile I decided that I could really use a jogging stroller, which I bought from Target with gift cards from my baby showers. It was a Schwinn and looked great, but it was really heavy. After borrowing my neighbor's lighter-weight BabyTrend, I decided I wanted one of those, so I sold the Schwinn (bad move) and bought a used BabyTrend off Craig's List that ended up being a piece of crap. The story goes on and on about all of the cheap strollers I've bought over the years. The best one I've owned has been the Inglesina Twin, which I bought new from an Internet store after reading TONS of reviews (I'd finally wised up a bit by that point). The problem with it was that my kids outgrew it super fast because they are big for their ages. It is now being stored in the attic until I decide what to do with it.
A year after my first was born, my sister-in-law had a baby. Somehow, she knew about this whole other level of baby products, things that you only find in baby boutiques (which I also had not known about). I had no idea that a $400 stroller even existed until my nephew was born! So, she asked for a Bob Revolution as a group gift and got it. At first, I thought she was crazy, but now I see that that was smart move. She was able to sell her single Bob after only 3 years for more than half of its original price and use that money toward the purchase a used double Bob to accommodate her growing family. As far as I know, those are the only 2 strollers she's ever and will ever own. Hmm.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd definitely go with the Bob. Or a Peg Perego, or a Maclaren, or...
Posted in: baby gear, strollers on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at at 10:55 PM
Yeah! Another blog-friend!
Sara should weigh in ;)
I agree with reading the reviews & trying to get the best one you can, if it is something you'll use for a long time. Strollers, for sure.
The bummer is, with baby stuff, sometimes you don't know if your baby will need it, or like a certain type, or whatever. Like, maybe your particular baby doesn't like swings, or bouncy seats, or johnny jump-ups or, slings, or...... But, maybe they'll love it! Someone needs to open a rental/borrow baby stuff business.
Karie! You secret blogger!! I was reading this and thinking, this lady sounds like Karie... then I saw the comments and realized it WAS you!! Haha! I'll comment about strollers tomorrow, too tired now, but I just wanted to say that this blog looks great and I'm excited to participate!
Well, we've had about 10 strollers come through our family in the last 5 1/2 years! And, I've finally decided on the best 2! Like Erin said, so much depends on your kids and their preferences and your lifestyle. It is good to know that there is more out there than just what is offered at BRU! I could talk about many of the ones that are offered out there, but I will just talk about the 2 that I have settled on. We have the Peg Perego Pliko P3, lightweight, snack tray, infant seat fits in it, toddler step on the back, cup holder, it is a great all around single stroller, I would buy it again in a heartbeat! We also have the Valco Baby Trimode Twin, which is beasty and AWESOME! Pretty much any double jog stroller you have will be beasty, so why not have the one that pushes almost by itself ;), I can fit all 4, yes 4! of my kids on it, we are in/out of the stores downtown so it is easy to manuever, snack tray, infant seat, toddler seat, and buggy board can all attach to the stroller, cup holder, and it even comes with it's own secret tire pump! Many of the items I listed about it are optional and cost extra, but the versatility of this stroller is amazing! Sure there are other strollers out there that I'd love to have, one example for all impractical reasons, the Bumbleride Queen Bee with toddler seat, SO cute, but I, like most moms, are limited to space and money, so I've settled on the 2 that work best for our family. I would love to have a rent a stroller business for parents to try out, that would be awesome!