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I'm also in NYC but not in a walk up(though the elevator in our old apt would break all the time so it was kind of a walk up
) and have a Cruz and a Mesa for when lo was smaller. I've loved it, though I'm jealous sometimes of the easy way the city mini folds up from the middle of the seat-- I tend to only use the Cruz these days when it's our main vehicle/we're mostly on foot or on subways with elevator stops. We also have a g-luxe which we used a lot as well
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@lctbqe: pizazz on court street is actually wonderful with strollers. The woman who works there is the stroller guru. Even if you don't end up buying there, they are really helpful. Also, are you on the bococa mom groups (assuming you are in those neighborhoods) or park slope parents? Great resources for stroller advice and buying used strollers. After buying my first stroller brand new I realized I would never do that again. It's so much fun to try new ones. Which brings me to my last point, you don't have to commit to one stroller, most of my mom friends have tried a few to see which works best. And what works best in the beginning is not always what works best at 6 months or a year. PM me for info on the local mom groups if you want.
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@LCTBQE: Mine is grey. It is basic and gender neutral and I got a prior year model at a discount that was only available in that color. The seat has a long enough expiry that even a prior year model will see me through a second kid if we decide to have one.
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@LCTBQE: We should have a tall people check in or something! I try to chime in on any thread that even remotely mentions something about tall people.
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We have a Bumbleride which is great for city living. We used it for three plus years in the city. We folded it up in our trunk and got it out for rides all the time.
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for city living, i love my bugaboo cameleon. it is heavy, though, so if you have to carry up the stairs to your place every time you go in and out, i would pass, but if you can leave it in the downstairs/lobby, it's awesome, and works for taller parents. (it;s also narrower than the UBV).
If you want a more portable stroller, i have NYC friends who reco the bugaboo bee over the cruz (better wheels for unpredicatable streets, easier to fold.)
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@Beehive: @SweetiePie: @shortcake: @MrsBucky: @jengirl: @catlady: we went to the Chelsea Buy Buy Baby after work Thursday and tried just about every stroller mentioned on this thread--the City Mini GT is the only one we liked! I wanted so much to love the Nano but I felt really hunched over pushing it, and my husband kicked all of them except the GT, which is not exactly light as a feather, but I can live with carrying it up the stoop or subway stairs. baby jogger just came out with a new 2016 model and now the 2014 one (the one everyone has) is only $250 on amazon, so just doing that--easy. The aton looked great and the seat path for cabs is awesome, getting it in black as well
thank you again for your help, ladies. @shortcake: thanks for the reminder that this is not the end-all/be-all of decisions, ha
I'm just in that excited phase where I want shiny new stuff, but def not above getting into the used gear trade once I get into the parenting groove. going to PM you!
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@LCTBQE: I'm really glad you checked and found one that worked for you!
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@LCTBQE: I'm very interested by this update. I'm going to go try out some this afternoon. We live in a city and walk a ton. We have to go up a stairs into our home because it's lifted (because we live below sea level) and I want something lightish and easy to fold. However I mostly need something that will manage our terrible sidewalks. The City GT has been what I've been thinking about.
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@LCTBQE: I think the one handed fold might offset the heaviness compared to the MB Nano anyway. Glad you found something you like!
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@mrsjd: the guys who worked at BBB explained the difference between the City Mini regular and the GT to us: the GT has rubber tires that are much tougher for shitty sidewalks and cobblestones and snow (not your problem if I correctly remember where you are
), whereas the regular has plastic tires that eventually (like, probably a long time from now) would need to be replaced. But my husband and I thought it handled slightly better than the regular, and he (6'2") kicked the basket on the regular but not the GT. on the downside, the GT is like 4 pounds heavier than the regular, but when I held them both in both arms, it didn't feel that much worse. nice to see your name again, I hope everything is going great for you 
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@LCTBQE: No, living in southeast Louisiana, snow is not going to be an issue for us, fortunately. Intense humidity, yes.
I went yesterday and the GT is the winner for me. I actually like that it's a big weightier and more substantial feeling. And compared to the BOB (the other one I was told to consider), it's so light and folds like a dream. If I'm going to have a baby or carseat in one hand and the stroller in the other (which is likely), the one-handed fold is a must. I think it's definitely the one for us. I liked the way it handled too. We are 5'7" and 5'11" respectively, so I wasn't too worried about kicking it but my husband wasn't with me so it's good to hear that yours had no issues.
I'm doing so well! This pregnancy has been a dream. 26 weeks and I still feel awesome. Definitely getting ready for her to get here. How are you feeling, you must be in the home stretch!
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@cascademom: I agree with this. I also have a bumbleride indie. I bounce it up 6 steps to get into our condo. It actually can be used from birth since it has as fully flat recline which turns into a mini-bassinet. I didn't have the baby in the carseat much when she was tiny. The new model apparently has a really easy fold, and is self-standing.
oh and the indie is a BEAST in snow, sand, gravel, cobblestones, grass. We live in NYC and we love it. It even fits into the trunk of our small VW hatchback. -
I'm going to be thinking about strollers soonish too so this thread has been helpful... and also a bit overwhelming, there are SO many options. I just want someone to tell me what to do! @LCTBQE: Like you, I live downtown in a big city, and lots of snow. It's funny because I see the uppababy vistas EVERYwhere around me, so assumed that's what I should get. But after reading all these responses, it seems like it's kind of a pain!
One thing I'm confused about, if anyone can answer: I don't understand the difference between travel systems (stroller + carseat combo) and getting a stroller with a carseat adapter (which seems to be the more popular choice). I've read travel systems are really bulky and a lot of people regret them. But how is that different than snapping your carseat on top of your stroller?
This stuff is way more confusing than I ever imagined, haha...
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@Goldengirl: The ones that people call bulky are the old style Gracos and Chiccos that are a full stroller where you click the carseat into it. Like this: https://www.diapers.com/p/graco-alano-classic-connect-travel-system-roman-204828
The more modern systems are just a frame where something can attach to it - bassinet, seat, or carseat. Think Uppababy, City Select, etc.
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@Goldengirl: I think the travel systems, i.e. the graco stroller which is sold with the car seat, is generally not going to handle as well/have as many bells and whistles as a stroller like an uppa baby or city mini. However, almost every stroller can BECOME a travel system, like you said, by using the carseat adaptor. but with a regular travel system, you don't need to use an adaptor.
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@Goldengirl: like the others said, a travel system is usually a fairly bulky but not great stroller base that the seat snaps into. People seem to prefer just getting a really lightweight snap and go base for the early days then either a full size stroller or an umbrella stroller, depending on your needs.
And while the UB Vista does have significant down sides, I do love mine! I keep mine open in my building garage parking spot. It's great for sitting living and getting over crappy sidewalks and everything, if you have someplace to leave it. As a single I have loved it. As a double I have a few more complaints.
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@Goldengirl: glad you found it helpful, too! I think the UB strollers sound like they're great if you don't have stairs to deal with--and they're also all over the place in New York City, but now I suspect they belong to people who live in elevator buildings, or like @Foodnerd81: can park them downstairs. I met a dad on my block the other day who had turned his into a double, and he told me his wife could barely lift it and it was a total pain (they lived in a third-floor walkup, like me). also re: your "travel system" question--this took me like three months to figure out
have you looked at Lucie's List? it's pretty thorough and her writing is so funny and friendly.
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@Foodnerd81: I'm interested in your complaints about the UB Vista as a double! Still no plans for me to have another kid, but it's the only reason I'm still holding on to mine! I figured it's best to keep it and get a rumble seat or skateboard.
Otherwise I would just get the Citymini GT. -
@SweetiePie: I have the older version, which I assume you do too. It's perfectly fine for pushing straight on flat surfaces, but you have to put the bigger kid in the rumble seat until the baby is 6 months or sitting up (I think we are at that point but started another thread on the topic!). With a 30 something pound toddler sitting almost on top of the front wheels, it's just very hard to maneuver. I'm sure that's true of most tandem doubles though. And it's difficult to pop up on curbs, again probably true of most. Plus it feels very long front to back- but if it was shorter the kid in he bottom seat would be even more cramped. I think it will push a lot nicer when I switch the toddler to the main seat and the baby to the rumble, though I'm also a bit worried about big kid kicking the baby.
We don't have the piggyback board yet but I think that would make it a lot easier. I'm still really glad to have it and I like how easy it is to switch how I want to use it- double with main seat, double with car seat, baby in carrier and kid in stroller and just remove the rumble seat. Much more versatile than a side by side. Mine are almost 2.5 years apart and we live in the city so use the stroller a lot. But I have never needed to fold it with the rumble seat on and we don't ever put it in the car.
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@SweetiePie: we use ours with the glider board (don't have the rumble seat) and it's been great! Yes, the board take a bit of getting used to so that you're not kicking it, but once we adjusted the handlebar height, it has been totally fine. I really have no other complaints about it--the board has allowed me to keep using the UB as I normally would (doesn't affect basket storage, steering, etc, and is very easy to use up and down curbs and bumps).
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@LCTBQE: We're likely going to move before baby comes so will probably have to hold off on any decisions because I don't know what the stairs situation will be. Regardless though, I can imagine us using it on the subway and still needing to confront lots of stairs, so I think something lighter/portable just seems to make sense. I haven't checked out Lucie's List but totally will because I STILL don't get it. Thanks!
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@Goldengirl: oh yeah, I'd def wait in that case, too. If you have a carrier for the first couple weeks I'm sure you won't urgently need a stroller with a 5-day old, so there's plenty of time!
As for the system: the classic--this is what hilsy linked to above, forget this even exists, it's obsolete and you're not considering any of those strollers anyway. This leaves two options:
1. First six months: a car seat and a light frame that the car seat clicks into. Without the car seat, the frame has no way to hold a child. After infancy: dump the frame, car seat stays in the car, and you get a City Mini etc and that's your stroller from there on out. Benefit is that the frame is light/convenient while the infant is too small to hold herself up in a City Mini (or umbrella stroller, etc)
2. Get a car seat, a City Mini etc, and an adaptor system (plastic clips that live on the stroller) so the car seat can clip onto your permanent stroller (the city mini/umbrella). First six months, Adapters stay on the stroller and you stick the car seat directly onto it. After that, adapters come off, car seat stays in the car, and baby sits up in her stroller. First six months is clunky (a lot of plastic stacked on top of more plastic) but benefit is that you're not buying an entire extra piece of equipment with a short short life span.I thiiiink that's correct, make sense?
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@LCTBQE: You explained it perfectly!
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@SweetiePie: it took me SO LONG to figure that out!
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@LCTBQE: Yes! I've seriously spent all day today reading articles... it's nuts. My brain hurts. I find there's a strong recommendation toward doing the snap n go frames with car seat at the beginning, and I like the ease of that. However, would those be able to get through any snow if necessary? And wouldn't that cost more money in the end since you end up ditching it pretty quickly?
For those reasons, I'm more inclined toward a good stroller that will last a couple years, with the car seat adapter for when baby is sleeping. But there are just SO MANY STROLLERS. I don't know how anyone decides
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@Goldengirl: Personally, I don't really get the whole snap n go thing. I think they're pretty junky and definitely aren't as smooth handling as a real stroller. I figured I had enough baby things to buy that would only last a few months, I preferred to use my main stroller from the beginning. But I guess if you're not much of a stroller person or don't need it to be pack mule the way I do, you could get a snap n go and then move on to an umbrella stroller.
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@ShootingStar: @Goldengirl: I'm not doing a snap and go either, I'm doing option #2--I just don't want to buy even more short-lived crap, just like you said shootingstar
plus am hoping to baby wear a lot in the beginning.
As for which stroller of the 4000 for sale, I narrowed it down to 3 or 4 based on our walk up, NYC weather, and my height, and then when I tried them in real life there was a super clear winner, immediately. If you don't have as many special circumstances, just go and try them all at a big shitty box store where they have a ton of varieties. I think online research only gets you so far! -
@Goldengirl: I was able to buy a used snap and go for about the same cost as the car seat adapter for my vista. It was worth it for me because getting my vista into the car was a big pain and the snap and go was so easy for that. Since I mostly only ever drove to places that would be indoors or paved (like to a store or mall) it worked just fine. But no it wouldn't work well in the snow or on really bumpy sidewalks. I figured since I bought t used I would be able to sell it again for almost the same price (but I will be handing it down to my sister instead).
) and have a Cruz and a Mesa for when lo was smaller. I've loved it, though I'm jealous sometimes of the easy way the city mini folds up from the middle of the seat-- I tend to only use the Cruz these days when it's our main vehicle/we're mostly on foot or on subways with elevator stops. We also have a g-luxe which we used a lot as well
), whereas the regular has plastic tires that eventually (like, probably a long time from now) would need to be replaced. But my husband and I thought it handled slightly better than the regular, and he (6'2") kicked the basket on the regular but not the GT. on the downside, the GT is like 4 pounds heavier than the regular, but when I held them both in both arms, it didn't feel that much worse. nice to see your name again, I hope everything is going great for you 
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