Double double toil and trouble...aka double stroller mania

Buying a stroller these days is like buying a car.  First off, you have to consider your family: one, two, or more kids? Lifestyle: urban or suburban? Mall rat or Jogger?  Options: Sun canopy? Nap-friendly recline? Handbrake or footbrake? Telescoping handle? Rain shield?  Then, there’s the most important part: the price tag.  What happened to the ubiquitous plain-Jane umbrella stroller of our childhood?  These days a fancy stroller could put you back $200 on the low end, to more than $1K on the high end.  Can anyone say Buga-who? 

With our first, I was content with the City Mini—it was like my Toyota: affordable, reliable, good enough for those Cambridge cobblestones.  Plus it had that genius one-handed quick-fold.  We looked at the shiny uber-fancy Uppa Baby Vista for comparison, but were turned off when even our salesperson couldn’t figure out how to fold it.

Then came our little Miss last spring, We’ve held back on the inevitable: the double stroller. Been carrying her around in the ergo, in deep denial. Last weekend we bit the bullet and lugged the family to that high-end stroller haven Magic Beans. We crossed off the side-by-side strollers given our neighborhood’s narrow sidewalks, made even narrower by tree roots or by the clutter of recycling bins on trash day.  Because we opted for an all-terrain stroller, we were left to test-drive two (equally pricey) contenders: the City Select and Phil & Teds Explorer.

First: P&T’s. Our oldest called shotgun; little Miss looked a bit lost and forlorn in the back “second seat.” She was really given the shaft there.  Still, we loved the P&T’s handling and cushy air tires.  A bit like driving my husband’s civic—compact and peppy.  But there was a space issue: we realized later that we’d risk banging her in the head if we hung the diaper bag from the stroller handles, and there would be very little room to stow a diaper bag or anything else given her legs would be in the stroller basket. 

Second: City Select.  We put the kids facing each other.  Lots of giggles ensued. We tried tandem stadium seating, both kids facing out.  Everybody looked happy, enjoying the view.  Still, less assured handling, a little like driving a big SUV.   Not bad at all as we went around a typical Cambridge block, but not as easy as P&Ts. But boy, that stroller basket could carry a ton of stuff, diaper bag and more…not unlike an SUV.

Though we were dragging our feet all the way to the store, the test drives ended up being tons of fun.  The kids looked so cute together, especially in the City Select.  But when it came time to make a decision, we were left scratching our heads. So I looked into the crystal ball called google.  And came upon pages and pages and pages of online discussions singing the praises of each stroller…and others poo-pooing each of them in turn.  I literally spent HOURS surfing the web, searching for the definitive answer hidden like tea leaves in those amazon.com reviews. 

Why was I having such a hard time? Usually I am the queen of gut decision-making—those pro versus con lists never really help me. And I am an old pro when it comes to shopping.  Just ask my husband. But this time, I was truly stumped.

Ultimately, I realized that it wasn’t about the stroller at all. Both are fancy, fully-loaded strollers. The kids would be all right in either.  This was really about me.  I was looking for the dream—the idea that if I bought the perfect stroller, it would solve any double trouble. I have this dream of being impeccably coiffed, manicured, and fashionably dressed (no mom jeans!), sipping my latte on a sunny day, “strolling” around with two content young children on the way to our playdate.  When the reality is, I’ll probably be a bit bleary-eyed on the way to the park, with a coffee stain on my old khakis (having just spilled my coffee when the stroller went over those tree roots), all the while stopping every ten seconds to play flight attendant to two small hungry beings, distributing goldfish and sippy cups to keep the peace.

Well, in that case, I’ll take the City Select.  Better to have a lot of room to stow the said provisions to keep the troops happy. Still, even with those inevitable bumps ahead, I hope there will also be a little of that spirit of our initial test drive, giggles and all.  That was double happiness.

The Packing Dilemma: Car Seat and Strollers

Every time we are about to go on vacation I spend days having the same conversation with my husband about what baby gear we need to bring with us. It ends up mostly being a discussion about the car seat and stroller: Do we want the umbrella stroller? The jogger? The UppaBaby Vista? Should we bring the car seat on the plane or check it? Or gate check it? Should we have my mom buy a car seat in Florida? Should we buy a smaller one to bring on the plane?

For this last adventure to Florida we had purchased a seat for M, so we had the luxury of bringing the car seat on the plane with us. But my husband brought up the the question - do we really need to put her in the car seat on the plane? After doing some research, and talking to other Mamas, I decided that our best (and safest) bet was to bring the car seat with us on the plane and strap her in.

Now, we use the Britax Boulevard car seat in the car. And if you haven't seen it before, it is freaking huge. The reason we got it is because we needed one for very tall children, and this seemed to have the highest height allowance of all on the market. Plus, most of my friends have it, so we got it and she seems to be very comfortable in the car. I was worried that it wouldn't fit in the airplane, but checked with a friend who had recently flown with the same car seat and we were golden.

Since we were bringing the seat on the plane, I purchased the Go Go Babyz Travelmate that attaches to the car seat and allows you to pull it through the terminal like the baby is a piece of carry-on luggage. And thankfully we had this nifty piece of equipment because it made life much easier with all of the baggage we had with us. I had read that you would have to detach it from the car seat at security, but this ended up not being the case, as it still fit through the scanner with the Travelmate hooked on.

But here is the catch - the Britax/Go Go Babyz combo does not fit down the aisle of the plane. You must disassemble it before boarding the plane and carry the car seat onto the plane separately from the wheels, which is very awkward. There is no way that one person can carry baby, car seat, carry on and the wheel attachment themselves, so if you are traveling by yourself this is not ideal (as I discovered for myself). You will have to have someone help you down the aisle of the plane to your seat.

AND if you are traveling with the Britax Boulevard car seat your child will be able to kick the seat in front of them. We flew on JetBlue and had "even more legroom" seats (my husband is 6'9" tall) on the way down, and in these seats M didn't reach the seat in front of her. On our way home in the normal seats, all she wanted to do was put her feet on the seat in front of her, which was very easy to do. And I know JetBlue has more legroom in the normal sections than regular planes, so be cautious!! Having a kid kick the back of my seat on the plane is one of my biggest pet peeves ever.

As for the stroller, we have done every combo there is and this time we brought the umbrella stroller and gate checked it on the way down, but put it under the plane on the way back. Both times I put it in a Gate Check Stroller Bag that I purchased online, and thankfully I did because the bag came back all ripped and dirty - I can only imagine what the stroller would have looked like without it! A word of warming about the Gate Check Stroller Bag - If you use it and check the stroller with luggage under the plane, BE SURE TO TURN IT INSIDE OUT!! Multiple times we have checked it with luggage and they see the "GATE CHECK" writing on it and it ends up being brought to the gate instead of the baggage claim. Which is a huge pain in the balls.

So what will I do next time I travel? Probably buy a smaller car seat and use the wheel attachment. And maybe bring the jogger as we have yet to throw that in the mix!

I Heart My UppaBaby Vista Stroller!!

Uppa Baby Vista '09 with Rumble Seat

Like all new moms, I struggled over the decision last year of what stroller to register for. Do I go for the most popular (Bugaboo)? Do I spend a small fortune (Orbit)? Do I go practical (Snap n Go)? Do I want versatility (can baby face front and back? Is the carseat adaptable?)? Do I want the stroller to grow with my baby (Rumble seat capability)? Do I want easy to fold (do I have to remove the carseat adapter or seat attachment)? Light weight? Jogger? Coolest looking? Best color choice? Will the handle extend so my freakishly tall husband won't have to hunch over to push it? My mind was blown.

And then I saw an episode of Martha Stewart that was all about the hottest Mama products. Featured on that episode was the new "it" stroller, the UppaBaby Vista '09. It had Martha's approval so I was definitely interested.

After doing some research, I discovered that it was actually manufactured in Rockland, MA, which meant it was made locally and for some reason that made me feel really good. I watched every instructional video that I could find online, read reviews, did research, and was still interested.

I then went to Magic Beans and "test drove" the '09 model. It was smooth ride indeed. I was given a very helpful demostration by an employee who showed me how to attach my Graco carseat, how to flip the seat around so baby can face both ways, the extended sunshade, the gigantic storage space below, and he finished with a quick flick of the wrist to fold it all up into one neat little package.

Does that come in green? SOLD!!

Baby M all Gansta in her Vista

And I have to say I couldn't be happier with my choice. I have used my Vista every day of my babies life. We take it on long walks every morning. I have flown all over the country with it in tow. She easily takes naps in it when need be. I wish they made one in adult size and I would ride around in one all day. Here are some reasons I really love it:

- I can go grocery shopping w/o pushing a cart around. I put all my groceries in the bottom of the stroller, and have plenty of room for a ton of things. I am talking like 5 giant shopping bags worth plus a diaper bag kind of space

- The extended sunshade has been our best friend this summer. Baby M can remain out of the sun for the entire walk with this feature

- Like I mentioned before, it has an extended handlebar, which I actually use as well in the extended position as it feels better on my back (not sure there is any science to this but it is just my opinion)

- You don't have to take the carseat adapter off the base of the stroller to fold it up, nor do you have to remove the seat.

- When baby #2 comes, we have the option of the rumble seat. See the photo above.

I just can't recommend it enough to new moms. If you are looking for a versatile, cool looking, smooth-riding, fancy pants (but not the fanciest pants) stroller, look no further. Register for an Uppa Baby Vista!! I like to say it is the Lexus RX of cars - luxurious, but not flashy.

Strollers: Umbrella Strollers

Around 6 months your baby will be able to sit-up, and you might not want to lug around the heavy frame of the full-size along with the car seat – Enter the Umbrella. This much more compact and lightweight stroller is great for quick trips to the store, short walks, mall adventures and when you are traveling. Our favorite brands are MacClaren and Chicco.

Strollers: Peg Perego Pliko P2

Our South Florida Mama says that the Peg is the “it” stroller among the Boca Mamas. She likes it because the infant carrier/car seat fits directly into the stroller itself – no additional adaptor necessary. It is also one of the more lightweight strollers in the full-size arena and folds up really easily and very compactly. They do get you by requiring you to buy the Peg car seat, instead of the more popular (less expensive) Graco brand.

Strollers: BOB Revolution

For those running Mamas who want to take their tot along on the adventure, we highly recommend the BOB. We have found it can go absolutely anywhere – cobblestone, mud, snow, sand, etc.. But remember that this guy is gigantic, so we wouldn’t recommend this as your day-to-day stroller and hope you have a place to store this sucker!

Strollers: Stokke

Only one of our Mama’s has this stroller (she is our chic NYC Power Mama) but says it is the best thing on earth. It will be quite an investment, but after “test-pushing” all of the other luxury liners, she found that this one had the smoothest ride for her princess. It folds super easily, swivels smoothly and keeps baby closer to you, away from the dirt and grime of the city streets.

Strollers: UPPA Baby Vista '09

It is one of Martha’s Must Haves, so we must love it too!! For the most part that is true, but the Vista does have it’s flaws. This Rockland, MA made stroller looks somewhat like the Bug at first glance, but it is made completely of recycled materials. Like the Bug, it comes with a removable seat for older kids, as well as a bassinet (but seriously, who uses this??), and has all-terrain tires. But unlike the Bug, it can fold into one piece while the seat is attached (you do need both hands though, so junior will need to be somewhere safe while you do this). The seat can be used facing forward or backwards, but the handlebar is stationary (but can be raised and lowered with the click of a button). The Vista has the best storage space of the two (vs. Bug), and is lighter in weight (and price $669 – includes cup holder, retractable sun shade, padded shoulder straps and a softer selection of colors).

Strollers: Bugaboo

“Bug or Bust!” one of Mama’s exclaims! It is easy to navigate, gives your baby a smooth ride - no matter what the terrain, and is a classic for trendy city Mamas. A few complaints were that it is on the heavy side, it is hard to break down (must remove the seat/bassinet before folding it to put in the car) and that it is a little on the bulky side (will take up the majority of your trunk space). Some unique and fabulous things about the Bug is that with a click of a button you can rotate the handlebar from one side of the stroller to the other – reversing the way your baby is facing, and it’s all-terrain tires will be sure to get you out of the house on those snow filled winter days. Of course the price is nothing to smile about: $699 for the basic Frog and up to $999 for the Chameleon model (this has an adjustable handlebar height, unlike the Frog) – and that doesn’t include a cup holder ($49 sold separately) which all of us cool Mamas need of course! But damn will you look cool pushing this around the city streets…

Full-Size Strollers

Choosing a stroller is like choosing a husband. Find the one that matches your personality and you will be happy. For example, if you really love to have all the latest trends and fashion no matter the cost then you need the Bugaboo, if you are outdoorsy go for the BOB, if your practical but want a great ride for your babe get the Uppa. Some of our Mama’s with older kiddies, that have left us city folks for the burbs (gasp!) now regret that large purchase of the fancy pants stroller – if they had to do it again, they would forego the mama jama and just get a snap n go, and an umbrella stroller. Our city Mama’s, who walk the streets of Boston with baby in tow, are still in love with their luxury baby mobiles, and are getting their moneys worth.

Click on "Stroller Reviews" at the right to see our reviews of individual brands!