Strollers?

[sillygirl]

I've been looking around a lot today for strollers/carseats, as well as the combo ones. I found some good info, but I'm having some serious trouble trying to figure out why they range in price so much and what to really look for. I found a guide on WalMart's (I think) website, but still.... wow...

Anyone have any good advice?

[Grasshopper Green]

A 5 point carseat is the best. They are pricier, but worth the piece of mind. Just make sure to take it in to your local fire department or police station after installation to make sure it is in right...they are difficult to get in correctly and tight enough. Once ours was in, it rarely came out for this very reason. We had a carseat very similar to this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=glance&s=baby

As for strollers, I never liked the combo ones because they are so bulky; I preferred smaller ones that would manuever and not block up a bunch of space.

It all boils down to personal taste, really. If you have a limited income, I would really try to get the safer carseat and a smaller, less bulky stroller. If you need to carry something with the stroller, you can always bring a diaper bag.

[maleficent]

I just bought one for a shower - what I was told to look for was ease of use-- ie can you collapse it and put it in the car - one handed - and take it out of the car with one hand...

Not too heavy.
Will grow with the baby
a place to store baby stuff...

You might actually want two strollers - -a pram type for taking the baby out for walks - and a smaller umbrella style stroller for when you are out and about the town.

Go to the store and try them out - and see how easily you can use them...

If you are tall and have longer legs - some strollers will drive you nuts because when you walk- you will constantly kick it (running strollers are great if you have a long gait)

I saw the coolest thing the other day when I was in the train station... There was a baby that was in a car seat -- looked all comfy -only the car seat was on wheels and had a telescoping handle like luggage - the car seat became the stroller - which was kinda cool, but there was no storage place and the baby was low down.. so if you hit a puddle - thebaby would probably get splashed

[spindles]

to me this depends on whether you are after a pram (usually larger, able to recline the child and designed to be used from birth). There are a *lot* to choose from. My personal things to look for would be:
1. weight - the difference between an 8kg and a 13kg might not sound like much but when you are putting it into the car a lot this becomes important.
2. manouverability - we ended up buying a 3 wheeler "jogger" type because the are really really easy to push and move around.
3. reclining - ours actually reclines completely flat, which is good for when they are really little, but also allows you to set it up so your toddler is also sitting up for when they are older
4. storage - you will use this all the time.
5. price - you still have to find something that fits in your budget - from my recollection as weight went down, price went up...
6. are you thinking of having more than one? Does the pram you are looking at have a "second child" attachment?

or whether you want a stroller (usually really small, really lightweight). My wife just bought our second one of these as the first one didn't recline at all - this is important (or so she says) when the toddler (our son is 18 months) is ready for nap time, but they are still on the move.

Personally, I prefer to use the pram more often than not. Even though the stroller is half the weight of the pram and takes up much less space in the car boot (trunk for all the Americans ), the manouverability is crap (as the wheels are half the diameter of the pram ones). If we are going away, we are much more likely to take the stroller, though (or the backpack for that matter).

As mal said - you have to try before you buy - when doing so, take a "baby" sized thing of the right weight with you to the store (big bag of rice etc.), so you can see what it drives like with a load onboard.

edit - forgot to mention carseats - we hired the baby capsule (0-3 months) - it cost a small amount for an item we wouldn't get a lot of use out of.

[Charlatan]

Car seat wise, we bought one that will grow with our daughter. It converts from a rear facing tiny baby seat to a forward facing toddler seat to a child seat (Ontario law dictates that childeren under the age of 9 or below a certain height/weight must be in a booster). With this model we don't need to buy a new seat every few years.

Stollerwise. A pram style stroller is good for very little babies but you will want something a little bigger that convert from sitting up to lying down when they are larger.

The thing to keep in mind is what you will use it for. Are you going to use it for a stroll around the neighbourhood or use to go shopping? Are you going to throw it into the back of the car/SUV/mini van or are you on public transit?

Answer these sorts of questions and it will tell you whether you need a large stroller of a small one. One with lots of space to carry groceries or one that is stream lined. Some come with cup holders.

If you are a runner, you might want to consider a jogging stroller.

Lot's to consider, but when you figure out how you plan on using it, you will be able to answer this better.

[sillygirl]

I've already decided on getting a jogging stroller. Even with my short legs, I couold never push my brothers, cousins, etc around without kicking the back of it. I've found some reeeeeeeally cool strollers that have adjustable handles so short and tall alike can push without a problem.

The double stroller is something that I've considered, as we will most likely have at least one more child. However, we don't know how long that will be.

My concern with leaving a carseat in the car (however much I wish I could!) is that Arizona gets so hot in the summer, I don't want to have to worry about burning my little one. I get burned by the seatbelts in the summer, and have actually gotten a scar or three from it.

I really liked the carseat that Medusa posted. Does anyone have a particular stroller that they have used and loved? I'm trying to do as much research as I can to make sure that when I buy one, I really like it. I don't need one until July, but I want to be prepared before then.

These are some of what I've been looking at. I'm having a hard time finding reviews.

This is my hunny's fave:
Quinny Freestyle 4
I like it, but the tires are air-filled, so that leaves more maintenance, as I'm GREAT at making things full of air... go flat. Also, it doesn't recline flat, and I've read that for infants, it needs to be able to unless you're going to have them in their carseat. This will hold some carseats, but I couldn't find exactly which ones. Reviews I found basically said people love it.

Grace Quattro Tour Stroller
Couldn't find any reviews.


Jeep Wagoneer SE Tandem Stroller
I haven't been able to find any reviews, but I think this is my favorite so far.


THIS
Is my absolute favorite. But kinda.. out of budget....

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by sillygirl

Jeep Wagoneer SE Tandem Stroller
I haven't been able to find any reviews, but I think this is my favorite so far.
:

Review from EPinions

Graco Quattro Tour Stroller Reviews from EPinions

[sillygirl]

I followed a google link to epinions, and I stg that it said no reviews. *bangs head*

[JustJess]

CONSUMER REPORTS

Costs to sign up - but they're worth it. They have unbiased reviews of a ton of baby products. Have at it, they're the best.

[spindles]

The one we have is this:

https://secure.intellihost.co.nz/phi...etstroller.htm

re-air filled tires - they are easy to push and really don't need a lot of maintenance...

[Tachion]

You will thank God for these features.

Take baby from stroller to car without redoing belts on baby. IE: the baby remains asleep.

Take baby from car/stroller to inside house without redoing belts on baby. IE: the baby remains asleep.

Undo belt on baby without waking baby up.

After the first couple of times of waking the baby up to get into/ outof car you will kill to get rid of this problem!

[Chamaeleontidae]

We ended up choosing Graco travel system. They have many different stroller options (from single to double to jogging strollers)

The car seat clicks securly into a base that stays in the car, and is easily removed and clicked securly onto the stroller. They have a nice interactive demo of how the product works...

We bought a second base, so we would have one in both cars. Once the baby is out of the small car seat, you still have a nice stroller.

[highthief]

We have the Graco Quattro System and it has been great with tons of storage and has been very durable and easy to fold. I like jogging strollers but they are nowhere near as manouverable as regular strollers nor do they have the storage. They also take up more trunk room, full size car, SUV or minivan required for many models.

[CaliLivChick]

Originally Posted by JustJess

CONSUMER REPORTS

Costs to sign up - but they're worth it. They have unbiased reviews of a ton of baby products. Have at it, they're the best.

You can also go to the local library and look at the magazines there... wouldn't cost anything then, but Consumer Reports is a great resource for anything, so may be worth it if you plan on making a lot of purchases (any baby furniture, vehicles, colleges, etc.).

[freeload]

We're using a Mutsy stroller for our little girl. It's the "Urban Rider" modet - 4 air filled wheels with a swielling base, perfect for shopping. The handle is telescopic, so both tall me and my little boy (6 years) can operate the stroller without problems.

Check it out at http://www.mutsy.com/ (There's also a cars seat that can be mounted on the frame)

[raeanna74]

We were given a Cosco stroller when our daughter was born. It was the larger type but collapses down quite well. There are two attachements that you can clip to the sides and snap an infant seat into it too. I have used this on several outings with babies. The stroller can even fit on the floor boards between the front seats and the infant seat so does not take up all that much room. There is a little cargo room in the bottom of the stroller. It comfortably fits a large diaper bag and a large purse. When I'm ready to take the baby out of the car I can just unbuckle the infant seat and snap it into the stroller without waking the baby. When the child is older the stroller does recline and can hold even a 5 or 6 yr old child if necessary. We've had the pair for 6 years and used them quite a lot. The fabric seat and everything on the stroller are removable so that they can be washed in the washing machine. Same with the liner of the car seat, Underneath the padding and cover is hard plastic and soft rubber that can be wiped down easily. The only thing I wish I'd had in addition was a cup hold in the handle of the stroller. But I know there is another model with most of the same features from Cosco with that additional feature. The stroller and seat were Given to us so I do not know for certain what we'd have had to pay for them but I've seen them advertized and the cost is moderate.

[Ample]

When I bought new stollers for my daughters we went to walmart, kmart, and babysRus, but we found the best deal of all places Burlington Coat Factory. If you have one near you take a look, they have good deals on stollers as well as car seats.