Saturday, January 26, 2008

You know you're a mom when...

you are blogging about strollers! BORING!

Thanks for all the suggestions. Admittedly, I was hoping that everyone would write in and agree on the same stroller, but I guess that's a bit unreasonable.

I have read all your advice and narrowed down my options. Here is the low-down:

(any last minute warnings OR experiences with the strollers listed below would be helpful!)


1. PHIL & TED STROLLER - many of you wrote in highly recommending this cadillac grand-daddy. A pretty penny is right! I may have to sell my first born to afford this. However, jokes aside...it would be worth it to me if it was that "magical" stroller that did EVERYTHING.

LOVE: compact, streamlined, lightweight, people in Hollywood use it.

DON'T LOVE: the newborn carseat has to go in the front. I am pretty convinced that Jack (my active, wants-to-see-the-world 18 mo. old) would not enjoy being down there in that "baggage claim" area with no view and little interaction.



2. GRACO DUO GLIDER - A solid name to stand by, right? My stroller now is a Graco. I can't say I LOVE it, but I also don't have any issues with it either. This is just your run-of-the-mill old classic.

LOVE: The frame looks sturdy. It seats two kids and matches my graco carseat. Inexpensive.

DON'T LOVE: Heavy


3. KOLCRAFT CONTOUR - now this is a nifty idea...these seats can be turned in ANY direction. The kids can face each other, be back to back, or both forward.

LOVE: seat rotation. Back seat can be replaced with a lightweight metal frame for an infant carrier. Cute style.

DON'T LOVE: Heavy, supposedly REALLY long, and you have to remove one seat EVERY time you fold it up. (seat removal does seems easy, though)


4. JOOVY SIT N' STAND - Among all these choices, a sit n' stand model would be my first pick. HOWEVER, I think Jack is still about a year too young for one. I really think he'd be fine on short outings to the park, pool, or even mall, but a day at Disneyland or the zoo on one of these...EEEK! I am not convinced that little lap belt could contain him.

LOVE: Lightweight...it's NOT a double stroller monster!

DON'T LOVE: Lacks a 5 point harness that could contain the excitement of a 1 1/2 year old. Plus...does the reclined front seat get in the way of the seated toddler in the rear?


5. BABY TREND SIT N' STAND - This is a double stroller that can be converted into a sit n' stand by removing the back seat.

LOVE: it seems versatile enough with two seats to get us out of the early toddler stage and into a more independent age where Jack can then handle the sit/stand part.

DON'T LOVE: The back seat seems cramped for a tall toddler like ole jack attack.



I guess now it is up to me. With much fasting and prayer maybe, just maybe, I will be able to make a decision. Thanks again for enduring these BORING posts. Your comments are ALWAYS welcome!

10 comments:

Amy said...

Good luck with that!

I knew I was a 'mom' when I bought a sing-a-long CD of kids songs to jam out to during our car rides. Sebastian loves it! The first time Brandon rode with us and the CD, he said he wanted to shoot himself. Well, you can't please everyone!

merideth said...

gosh i am lovin that kolcroft contour...i think that was the name. it looks great.

heidi said...

I like the Kolcraft one too. I like that the seats can face eachother. I also like the look and it seems easy to handle. I like the joovy too. Melissa has that but when the front seat is layed back--no room for the stander to sit!

You have a big enough trunk though to fit a full double.

Marie said...

not to give you any more ideas...but I love the instep double jogger stroller with the swivel wheel. The only problem is it is wide, so it's not so good for mall shopping with skinny isles. Who wants to take two kids shopping anyway? Good luck!

Roney Family said...

Ali, looks like you have some great choices to choose from. You should just take Jack to the store and test drive them. Good luck on your decision. I would love to see your post on what you pick! Good luck!

sheena said...

I went through this same long-miserable-up-all-night-sweating-all-day-process of which stroller to get.

I ended up not getting one at all. It was just too much stress, and really, somedays I'd be ok if Jonah ran away.....only kidding of course.

But actually I hate shopping with two...so that doesn't really happen and anywhere else we go Jonah can usually walk. Big all day events (Disneyland/etc) we just got a tiny little oh-so-light umbrella stroller. love it.

And now that Lucy's big enough I can throw them both (gently) in the wagon for parks and other mom stuff.

being a mom is hard stuff.

lauren said...

wow i came back to see if you made your decision. im telling you its phil and teds all the way, just sell the firstborn. jk. but did you look on e bay. im trlling you it is SO WORTH EVERY PENNY! i too looked into the other options, and im so glad about my decision. plus my 18 month old liked sitting in the back, and she too is EXTREMELY active. plus its only for a few short months until the baby can hold its head up, then it can go in the back. or you can buy these inserts that go on the seat that have neck/head support. i had my baby in the back at 6 weeks. you have to think long term with this investment, that you will be using this stroller for a long time, and the car seat attaching issue is only a short term thing. in my case my babies only sit in them til 6 months max, so it really wasnt an issue to make sure the car seat attached. i just took the baby out of the car seat and never even used the attachment. sorry if this is way too much information that you didn't want to hear from someone you dont even know, i guesse what i really wanted to get across is i love my phil and teds. yes it was a lot of money, but i consider it money well spent.

lauren said...

wow i came back to see if you made your decision. im telling you its phil and teds all the way, just sell the firstborn. jk. but did you look on e bay. im trlling you it is SO WORTH EVERY PENNY! i too looked into the other options, and im so glad about my decision. plus my 18 month old liked sitting in the back, and she too is EXTREMELY active. plus its only for a few short months until the baby can hold its head up, then it can go in the back. or you can buy these inserts that go on the seat that have neck/head support. i had my baby in the back at 6 weeks. you have to think long term with this investment, that you will be using this stroller for a long time, and the car seat attaching issue is only a short term thing. in my case my babies only sit in them til 6 months max, so it really wasnt an issue to make sure the car seat attached. i just took the baby out of the car seat and never even used the attachment. sorry if this is way too much information that you didn't want to hear from someone you dont even know, i guesse what i really wanted to get across is i love my phil and teds. yes it was a lot of money, but i consider it money well spent.

lauren said...

i really didnt mean to leave that extremely long comment twice. dumb blogger. sorry.

ali said...

thanks lauren. very convincing arguments. Now, do you want to buy my son?