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I say splurge, but my idea of a splurge and your's might be very different. I'd by a $200-400 stroller versus one that was $100 or less but I wouldn't buy a super fancy $900 stroller. There's such a range!

I would buy a well reviewed, mid-range one. Here in Chicago, City Minis are hugely popular. We have a Bumbleride Indie. It was a gift, but it's a great stroller, easy to fold up, and carry.

Where do you live? how much do you walk?

If I lived in the city where walking was 80% of our transportation, I would say splurge on a nice stroller.

BUT I live more in a burb where you have to drive everywhere, although a stroller is nice for long walks, I probably could have lived without it, so I didn't mind having a cheap one. My stroller was $180 and it's a three-wheel jogging/all-terrain stroller that works with a carseat and as a regular stroller.

It's so bulky though that I want to get an umbrella stroller... I'm looking at the first years ignite since it's only about $50... Maybe an umbrella stroller is the way to go since you said your LO is already 5 months? Umbrella strollers are cheaper but you can get a nice one (like Maclaren) for less than even a cheap "regular" stroller.

We live in the suburbs where you drive everywhere so I wanted a nice stroller that would work as a travel system, that was light, and wasn't too pricey. A splurge to me was the B-Agile (which we got).

Ours was a splurge and I love it every time I use it. Web we are at my moms we use her cheap travel system on and I hate every step (handles too low, not enough space to store stuff, baby can't sit up, limited sunshade etc).

I think it just depends what you like/want/need.

I went to try out strollers after having done a lot of research. I fully expected to fall in love with the UppaBaby Vista, but once I tried them all out I found I actually greatly preferred the Britax B-Agile. So I think it's a really personal decision and you really need to try out all the options before making up your mind!

part of me really wishes i splurged on the uppa baby vista because seeing my 2 friends with it every week, it looks like the perfect stroller...but like you i live in an apartment and the stroller i have seems to be perfect for that (britax b-agile). I keep it folded in the trunk of my car and so i have to fold and unfold it everyday and it is really easy to do and easy to lift/carry. so for now i am sticking with it and I would recommend it (or something like it) for living in an apt.

Same as previous posters, it really depends how much you plan on using the stroller.

We splurged. I'm an urban girl, who doesn't drive, and who has stairs down to the parking garage and to the sidewalk. LO was born in December so I needed something with good wheels to make it through Canadian winters too. We went with the cameleon because for a stroller with good wheels, it doesn't weigh a lot. I use it every day. We rarely drive anywhere (we have like 1300 km on the vehicle we bought last October). That being said, our family went together and bought it for us, so that made the decision easier! I also use the Beco a lot, but when I need to bring along the diaper bag or extra toys, it's the stroller!

My mom taught me to always buy the nicest I could afford. I bought a used ub vista off craigslist and its one of my best baby purchases.

As someone who went economical to start and ended up splurging later on, I can say it is definitely worth the money to buy something you like from the start!!! We use ours a lot and whilst LO wasn't a big fan of the old pram, she loves this new one and is happy to sit in it for ages - she'll even go down for the night in it when we're out (we move her to her cot when we get home, but the point is that we can stay out later because she'll happily sleep in it!)

We now have the newest version of the Britax B-Ready (it's called the Steelcraft Strider Compact in Australia) but I'm not sure that model is out yet in the US as Australia gets all their new products first for a test market before they're released in the US and elsewhere. We were able to justify our purchase in that it is second seat compatible so it will serve more than one purpose. If you're looking at having another baby somewhere down the road, it might be easier to go with something like that to justify it more in your mind.

@Mrs. Bee: Please, please do! One thing I would love to know: for people who get an expensive stroller, like the UBV, which I love, did they consider what they would do when/if they wanted to have another LO close in age to their first? What do you do with the oldest if you have a second? Who gets the stroller? Do you get a double one? This is something I'd love to consider before splurging on a luxury stroller for #1!

I'd also love to know about the baskets underneath-especially, do they sag?

FWIW, we live in the city and walk pretty much everywhere, so if it weren't for this issue, I'd totally go for a nice one we'd use all the time!

Out of curiosity, why didn't Charlie and Olive like the City Mini?

@PrincessBaby: OK, I need you to answer my other question that I asked Mrs. Bee-what are you going to do if #2 comes along? This is pretty much the issue that would keep me from splurging on a UBV!

@LovelyPlum: Pile em' in the UBV!

@LovelyPlum: they like the umbrella because it's easy to climb into, and the city mini obstructs peripheral vision somewhat.

and we need two strollers because we have to take just one kid out regularly (doctor's appt, and in the fall -- different school).

a generous relative offered to buy us a high end stroller, but i just went with the city mini. since we live in a ny apartment, space is a must and the umbrella stroller and our double stroller fold up really small. it really depends so much on your lifestyle.

just get a snap and go you'll know better what your needs are once baby comes. we used our snap and go for 6 months.

@LovelyPlum: Total score!

Tbh, I didnt leave for too many excursions that required a stroller in those early days. She was so little, and HATED the bassinet on the ubv, so I wore her. I put her in the regular UBV seat at around 3 months and I could have done it sooner- she loved it! So as attractive as the bassinet option was to me when stroller shopping (aesthetically- it's soooo cute!), we didnt get a lot of use out of the bassinet, and were too overwhelmed with newbornhood to try very hard. I was initialky disappointed, as the bassinet drew me to the ubv, but it drives like a dream- H sleeps in it like it's the Four Seasons- and I've come to appreciate so many genius things about it that I dont even really think/consider the bassinet. For #2, if our wits are together enough to all get out together in the first couple of months, we'll just wear #2 until 2 or 2.5 months old. Those nb days are just bonkers and they FLY so I wouldnt worry about not being able to make it a double with the bassinet. That is such a short time period. It's worth the $ for so many other reasons:)

We live in NYC and splurged. We got the uppa baby gluxe and love it. We walk every where and appreciate that it's light so we can go up and downstairs with no problems

To be honest, I'm one of the few that is not a fan of the City Mini and similar higher end strollers. They are just too big, heavy, and I'm too cheap to spend very much on a stroller. My nephews use one, and as mentioned above, there is a considerably obstructed view, they had a hard time seeing out when I was pushing them around the zoo.

Like @Mrs. Pen: I went with the Jeep Liberty stroller, I think we got it for $175, which was plenty expensive for us. We use it a lot for hiking and off road walks, it has a very smooth ride. I'm planning to use one of those "skateboard" attachments for C when #2 arrives (I've looked into it and there are a few that will fit) It is still pretty big, so for traveling and places with less space we got the Kolcraft Contours stroller for $50. It is a little bigger than an umbrella stroller, but light and small, and quite sturdy.

@PrincessBaby: thank you for feeding my stroller insanity with so much good info