I'm having lots of trouble deciding which kind of stroller to get. I love stroller systems that have bassinet attachments for when babies are young and then can convert for carseats & toddler seats (like Uppababy, Orbitz, iCandy), but I'm worried that this isn't practical for our lifestyle.
We life in a town where many things are accessible on foot and we walk a decent amount but we still rely on our car most of the time. Does it make more sense to just get a stroller that the car seat can attach to?
I'm afraid that I'm just aesthetically drawn to the look of a pram but when it comes down to it I won't be using it as much as I'd like. Also all of the systems I've found are on the pricier side.
My mom thinks I should get a more basic stroller & then a vintage pram to satisfy both but I feel like this is a waste.
I'd love any suggestions/personal experiences with such systems and how non city dwellers really use their strollers.
Thanks!
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Honestly, if you are in and out of the car a lot, you can't beat the convenience of a stroller frame for the car seat. I know it's not super pretty, but you probably won't care when you realize that it's so much lighter and easier to shove into the trunk!
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Also, strollers like the Uppababy have car seat adapters that snap right into the fame, so you can use the car seat adapter and click the car seat in when you are out and about, the bassinet when you are just our walking and baby is small, then the seat when baby is bigger. Also you can get a bassinet frame for like $40, and use the bassinet in your bedroom for baby to sleep in in the beginning. I am getting the Uppababy and this is my plan!
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I strongly agree with Mrs Yoyo on the stroller frame. If I were in and out of a car a lot, I'd want a light stroller frame to carry in and out of my trunk. An infant car seat for us lasted 10 months with my first and will probably last that long for our second too. That's a lot of mileage and value for both the car seat and stroller frame.
I do have to say though, that I've owned 5-6 different strollers between my two girls, and of them all I do love our Uppa Baby Vista the most though. However, we live in a walking city and pretty much never have to fold or lift it. If we did need to fold and lift all the time, not sure it would be the right one for us. For our rare trips in a car, we go with the snap n go stroller frame... The Vista definitely stays home..
Definitely go to a store and take different kinds of strollers on test drives. Practice folding and lifting different types if that's what you'll be doing a lot.
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I found that I used the pram attachment more than attaching the car seat to a frame, but that's because I walk around a lot with the stroller and it is better to have an infant in a full recline than sitting in a car seat for long periods of time.
The stroller I have has a regular seat for the kidlet, a bassinet that makes it a pram as well as attachments for the car seat. It is a pain to fold, so it doesn't travel with us unless we're going somewhere where the terrain is a bit bumpy. For city or indoor use, we have a lightweight Britax, but I hate it.
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We don't have experience wih this yet but this is what we're buying and why: Britax B-agile stroller and Britax Chaperone carseat. We live in he burbs and will be using the car all the time. This car seat is super light - 10lbs. The stroller closes by pulling on the handle on the seat. I was able to close it with one hand and put it into the trunk with one hand. The car seat attaches right to the stroller and the stroller is fantastic for baby after you stop using the car seat.
We looked at the baby jogger but the infant car seat adapter for that was awkward and it didn't fit in my trunk as well. Honestly, I would get a pram if we were city dwellers but, we're not so it's really not practical at all.
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For the first few months, I used my infant car seat with the snap & go stroller frame. It was invaluable in getting my daughter in and out of the car while still asleep and being able to run errands. Once she was 6-7 months old, she was sitting up well and hated laying in the infant carrier while we were out because she couldn't see much, and she would struggle to sit up. We stopped using the snap & go and started using our BOB stroller. At this time, our BOB is our only stroller (my daughter is 15 months old today) and we LOVE it. We take it everywhere - the mall, the park, etc. The only place I don't take it is Target/grocery store, because they have carts with seats. I can't say enough about the BOB... expensive, but so worth it.
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Where we live we can't take walks from home, so our concerns were having something that would allow DS to stay asleep when transferring him from the car to stroller, and having something that could fit in our cars without taking a ton of space.
We were initially gifted a Baby Trend jogging stroller travel system since the stroller we registered for was out of stock. It didn't fit in our cars, was heavy and I hated it. After a lot of deliberation and knowing we were traveling by plane out of state when DS was 5 weeks, we went with a typical travel system. It's somewhat bulky in our cars, but we made do with it. I loved that DS would stay asleep while I did all of my errands around town - mall, shopping, walks, etc... He fell asleep often in the car.
Later I took the plunge and got a jogging stroller - the Baby Jogger Summit XC. LOVE IT!!! It's light, folds easily, and the wheels come of with the click of a button so that it takes up very little room in our cars when we are on weekend trips. It fits with the wheels for trips around town.If I had to do it over again, I would have gotten a jogger with an infant seat attachment. I also would have purchased a stroller frame for trips where we'd be flying, since the jogger isn't really travel friendly unless you get a travel bag for it - although I don't really trust baggage handlers for it not to get broken or torn.
Is there a reason why LOs should be in a full recline instead of in a carseat? Just curious - I never heard that and DS was in his carseat a lot while I was on maternity leave. I left the house almost every day for walks and errands since I go stir crazy.
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@mediagirl: We're went with the B-Agile as well, but we're getting the newer carseat (B-Safe?) because it will fit better in DH's car. I love the stroller now, so I hope it actually works out well when Sneakers gets here!
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We got the b ready and love snapping the car seat into it. It's different the. Other strollers because the stroller seat actually comes off and you snap the car seat into the frame not on top of the stroller seat. This meant less bulk for us.
Honestly when she was an infant and we went for walks we just reclined the seat flat and she laid there like it was a pram.
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@Thehistoryofus: did you use an infant insert system when you went for walks with the infant in the stroller or did you just strap the baby in there?
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@c.sassy: We're registering for the exact same system! Britax B-Agile stroller and B-Safe car seat. I think the B-Safe is a smaller/more lightweight version of the Chaperone or Marathon. I guess those don't fit as easily into compacts and sedans.
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@mediagirl: we just walked on our sidewalks in the neighborhood. Nothing major so we just let her lay there. Honestly we didn't even strap her in when she was that little. The stroller seat has sides and it's flat so unless the whole stroller was knocked over she wasn't going anywhere.
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Everyone I know told us Bob strollers are the best, so that's what we have. We haven't gotten to use it yet, but it's pretty cool.
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For the first 6 months, I used a Snap N Go for the infant car seat and TOTALLY plan on doing it for the 2nd baby. Our LO used to fall asleep in the car every time and it was nice to be able to move the baby without waking him up. After 6 months when he was able to sit up, we invested in a Bugaboo Bee (which we LOVE). It's lightweight, easy to fold and easy to steer. We were also considering the City Mini because of how easy it is to fold!
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@mrstilly: In Europe, there's a lot of discussion about airway compression in infants when they are seated in the car seat for extended periods of time. The car seat is designed to protect the babe in the car but isn't designed for long term usage for things like naps, even though a lot of parents rely on them for that. In the end you have to do what you are comfortable with and that level is different for all parents.
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Thank you all so much for your input. This is one of the most valuable threads I've seen in a while. I'm not sure which way we'll go but I love hearing everyone's recommendations.
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We have the Uppababy and we love it. I take it in the car all the time. It is a little on the heavy side to lift in and out of the car but its not too bad. I also use it a lot for walks around our neighbourhood.
We used the bassinet in the beginning and we bought the stand with it as well. You can also purchase laundry hampers to go in the stand after you are done using it for the bassinet.
We have the car seat attachment and it was super convenient during the first few months. It would be a pain to wake them as young infants when you have to move them in and out of the car. I also used the car seat for walks as well when he was much younger.
Would absolutely recommend the uppababy or a travel system type.
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I'm going to revive this thread, it's 2 months later and I'm still clueless about which stroller to get.
Lately I've been looking at more typical travel systems but I'm concerned about the bulk.
I'd love to hear more about what non city dwellers like & why. Also, does anyone know of a place to get good reviews/recommendations/comparisons of strollers? I feel totally lost and I'm running out of time.
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