O.K. so, the overwhelming world of baby stuff. What do we need, what is the best deal or most user friendly? When you walk into Babies R Us to start the registry it is totally crazy, all the options, will I really need all this stuff?
Well, everyone's needs are different and you really don't know until that baby comes what your specific needs are going to be. Will you need bottles? What Breast pump will work best for you? Will your child like swings, swaddling or noisy toys? Who knows?
I am going to write about my experience and Gear that has worked for me. I have two children, I live in the city and use public transit or walk. I am 5 feet tall, approx 115lbs and I have fairly large children, these things are all factors.
First I will talk strollers. For me this was my baby necessity, the image of walking down the street pushing my baby in a stroller was very romantic to me (little did I know that I would actually become more of a baby wearer when my children were infants). the first time my partner and I happened upon the baby section of a department store I was about 4 or 5 months pregnant and we were Christmas shopping but the escalator dumped us off in front of a row of strollers so we decided to look and were faced with Travel Systems, Convenience Strollers, Umbrella Strollers and Jogging Strollers. I knew that I didn't want a Travel System, I take the subway or walk and would not need to attach my infant car seat to my stroller. I wanted something easy to handle and maneuver. Now, as I said before, I am only 5 feet tall, my partner however, is 6 foot 3 inches so finding something that worked for both of us was also a bit of a challenge. We were both attracted to the Quinny Buzz (we had actually seen this stroller in the park soon after finding out we were pregnant and been impressed by it), this stroller allows the child to face either the parent or face out, it fully reclines, half reclines and sits upright, there is a single bar handle and three wheels which makes it easily maneuverable and the handle adjust to varying heights. It also had the option of a bassinet attachment which appealed to me to make a carriage when the baby was young.
We went home inspired by this trip to do some research into what was out there and choose a stroller that met all our needs. After a lot of research, and quite a few shopping trips to various baby stores, we did decide to go with the Quinny Buzz. My parents, who are famous bargain hunters, found the Buzz on sale half off during a department store seasonal clearance sale making it a really good buy. The store was clearing the old colours and patterns and we got the floor model bassinet for 75% off to boot!
Now, I do really like the stroller and still use it for my daughter but if I went back in time I would spend a lot less money on a smaller convenience stroller for my life style. We didn't even use the stroller until my son was almost two months old, I was still recovering from my Cesarean Section so most often, my partner carried him in our Baby Bjorn (Carriers will be the next blog). When we did start using the stroller with the bassinet, my son didn't really like it. We tried for the romantic evening walks in the park and would end up carrying a crying baby home. I think he didn't like that he couldn't see around him. With my daughter, I didn't even put the bassinet on the stroller, it sat in our living room as a bassinet on a Moses Basket stand and she napped in it. When my son was about 5 months old and we switched to the upright seat, he loved the stroller and walks in the park or out to the village to shop became enjoyable.
My other issue was the subway, the buzz is very wide and even though it could work on the subway, it was not great on busses, impossible on the streetcar and too wide for single escalators of which there was one at the subway station near my work. So, I bought a carrier and wore my son whenever we travelled on the subway until on old hip injury started to act up.
My physiotherapist told me to stop wearing the baby because it was aggravating my hip so my partner and I picked up a small $17.00 umbrella stroller (this is usable if your child can sit unsupported). the umbrella stroller was great for me, it was small and light I could carry it up and down the stairs at subway stations that didn't have escalators or elevators however, the handles were too short for my partner to push it without bending over and it did not recline so when my son fell asleep in it he was often kind of hunched over.
This led me to research all types of umbrella and convenience strollers and request that my parents give my son a Cosatto Hula umbrella stroller for his first birthday. This stroller was truly great, sturdy, light weight, reclining and the handles were tall enough for my partner to hold comfortable. This stroller travelled to day care, to shopping, on vacation and when my daughter was born I could wear her in the carrier and push my son in the Cosatto. Until he was about 2 and a half and he broke the foot rest climbing in and out. At this time my daughter was about 6 months old and getting large for the carrier that I was using so I started shopping for a new carrier and a new stroller.
I didn't want a double stroller because my son at 2 and a half was at the point where he didn't always want to ride in a stroller, a friend recommended to me that I try a sit and stand so I looked into them and decided on the Joovy Caboose Ultralight. This allows my daughter to ride in a stroller seat in the front and my son to either sit on a small bench or stand on a platform on the back and if I need to reign him in, I can buckle him to the bench. I really like this stroller for walking around the neighbourhood, going to reading groups and play groups and the grocery store. It travels well on the bus and fits in the trunk of the car if we need it to but it does not do the subway as it is too long for me to get down the stairs if there is no escalator or elevator. Therefore, when I need to travel by subway or GO Train, my son walks and my daughter rides in a carrier that can go on the back.
So this is my stroller saga, I now have 2 children and 4 strollers, each stroller serves a different purpose and is useful in its own right however, looking back, I could most likely have made due with two if I had made smarter choices. You don't know until you try or speak to other people and gain some sage advice, or read a blog. Ultimately though you really need to look at your own personal needs and do some research.
No comments:
Post a Comment