Moms- Recommend your stroller/travel system

TheWop

We're trying to figure out which stroller and/or travel system will work best for us.  I really have no idea where to begin.  We did take friends of ours who are parents with us, but they didn't have much input in this area.  I obviously want some durable, and easy to use.  I've heard you get what you pay for, so I'm trying to keep that in mind.  I was kind of eyeing running strollers (as I am a moderate runner, however I've mostly done treadmill running) that you can buy the carrier attachment for, but the H was eyeing the price tags ($$$).  Any recommendations from you moms out there? 

GRKaters

We had a Chicco infant seat and Trevi stroller. It was pretty cumbersome, though less so than the Chicco Cortina (and easier to use!). If we had to do it again, we'd probably do a Snap 'n' Go with a Graco infant seat.

I wouldn't spend $$$ on a jogging stroller, especially before 6mo (because you can't run with them 'til then anyway), unless you know for sure you're going to be using it a lot. Those suckers are *big* and, really, too much stroller if you're not going to be running with it.

goodgollie

We have the Chicco Cortina travel system and love it.  The carseat snaps right in the stroller facing toward you.  You also get the seat bases that are super easy to install in the car and the carseat snaps right into those.  My parents bought one to use in their car, so all we ever had to do was just hand over the carseat. The stroller collapses up really easy.  I could do it with one hand.  When your LO is out of the carseat it functions as a regular stroller as well.  The only thing I didn't like about it was that when you had the carseat in the stroller, you have to lay the seat all the way back and it blocks the basket underneath so you can't put much under there.  Have you considered buying a Baby Bargains book?  It rates all sorts of baby items.  Did you have fun registering yesterday?

goodgollie

GRKaters:

We had a Chicco infant seat and Trevi stroller. It was pretty cumbersome, though less so than the Chicco Cortina (and easier to use!). If we had to do it again, we'd probably do a Snap 'n' Go with a Graco infant seat.

I wouldn't spend $$$ on a jogging stroller, especially before 6mo (because you can't run with them 'til then anyway), unless you know for sure you're going to be using it a lot. Those suckers are *big* and, really, too much stroller if you're not going to be running with it.

You will definitely want the travel system with a regular stroller for when they are infants and for shopping.  However, if you like to walk or job I highly recommend registering for a jogging stroller, too, since they are rather expensive.  I've used ours so much I'm surprised it hasn't broken yet.  I would also recommend a lightweight umbrella stroller for later, although they are less expensive and you could buy one yourself, later.  Many people say you don't need all three, but we used them all equally.

TheWop

goodgollie:

We have the Chicco and love it.  The carseat snaps right in the stroller facing toward you.  You also get the seat bases that are super easy to install in the car and the carseat snaps right into those.  My parents bought one to use in their car, so all we ever had to do was just hand over the carseat. The stroller collapses up really easy.  I could do it with one hand.  When your LO is out of the carseat it functions as a regular stroller as well.  The only thing I didn't like about it was that when you had the carseat in the stroller, you have to lay the seat all the way back and it blocks the basket underneath so you can't put much under there.  Have you considered buying a Baby Bargains book?  It rates all sorts of baby items.  Did you have fun registering yesterday?

I've never seen the Baby Bargains book.  So far we've taken advice from parents IRL about what items are really needed/not needed, what worked for them, blah blah.  We've tried to be realistic about what we really need because I don't want a bunch of stuff that *might* be nice to have, but isn't really necessary.  

Registering was exhausting.  It was fun to pick and choose stuff, but doing that for 2 hours really gets to you.  LOL.  I'm really glad we took people with us who have been through it before.  It was nice to have some direction instead of registering blind. We probably would have ended up with a bunch of useless stuff if we hadn't taken them with us. 

 

 

GRKaters

goodgollie:

GRKaters:

We had a Chicco infant seat and Trevi stroller. It was pretty cumbersome, though less so than the Chicco Cortina (and easier to use!). If we had to do it again, we'd probably do a Snap 'n' Go with a Graco infant seat.

I wouldn't spend $$$ on a jogging stroller, especially before 6mo (because you can't run with them 'til then anyway), unless you know for sure you're going to be using it a lot. Those suckers are *big* and, really, too much stroller if you're not going to be running with it.

You will definitely want the travel system with a regular stroller for when they are infants and for shopping.  However, if you like to walk or job I highly recommend registering for a jogging stroller, too, since they are rather expensive.  I've used ours so much I'm surprised it hasn't broken yet.  I would also recommend a lightweight umbrella stroller for later, although they are less expensive and you could buy one yourself, later.  Many people say you don't need all three, but we used them all equally.

Oh, yes--we used umbrella strollers a lot once he was old enough! Those are great and super easy to travel with. 

gvsubride05

I am popping on real quick, so here is some basic advice

1) check out Baby Bargains-  you probably can get a copy from the library

2) Do your research on a stroller!  Be willing to go to a few stores to check them out. Don't get stuck on the main brands like Graco. And don't pick out based on what pattern is prettier. Buy Buy Baby has a good selection.

3) For sure get a stroller that you can attach an infant car seat to, but doesn't HAVE to be a travel system like Gracco or Chicco. The majority of the people I know stop using the stroller that comes with the travel system once their child grows out of the infant car seat because the stroller is heavy. You could probably find a snap and go on Craigslist, if you can find a stroller that you like that adapts to your infant car seat.

4) This is one item, that I would say be willing to spend extra on. $300-400 on a stroller may sound crazy - but if you are not happy with your stroller, you may end up getting an another (or two) to find one that suits your needs.  To this day, I still kick myself for not spending more on a nice doubler stroller from the start. We ended up buying two more double strollers to fit out needs.

TheWop

gvsubride05:

I am popping on real quick, so here is some basic advice

1) check out Baby Bargains-  you probably can get a copy from the library

2) Do your research on a stroller!  Be willing to go to a few stores to check them out. Don't get stuck on the main brands like Graco. And don't pick out based on what pattern is prettier. Buy Buy Baby has a good selection.

This made me LOL.  I'm totally not the type of person to pick out something based on pattern (well except for clothes).  I'm all about functionality, even if it's ugly. 

xDanniellex

I'm no help on this topic as our stroller was picked up at a garage sale by a friend, and we went with the convertible car seat from day 1.

I have a copy of Baby Bargains that you could use.  You could keep it longer than the library if you needed to.  It's not like we'll be needing it again.  

Mira06

Not a mom yet, but I thought I would chime in with what we chose.

We went with the City Mini and the Graco sung ride car seat.  There is an adapter kit so you can use the car seat with the stroller.  I like the Cty mini b/c it is small, light weight and really easy to fold. 

With my nanny jobs I was able to use a lot different strollers first hand and decide what works for me and not.  I really dislike the travel systems.  They were so bulky and hard for me to fold, get in out of my trunk, with a baby/kid in my arms.  The city mini is also really easy to travel with, which was important to use. 

TheWop

Mira06:

Not a mom yet, but I thought I would chime in with what we chose.

We went with the City Mini and the Graco sung ride car seat.  There is an adapter kit so you can use the car seat with the stroller.  I like the Cty mini b/c it is small, light weight and really easy to fold. 

With my nanny jobs I was able to use a lot different strollers first hand and decide what works for me and not.  I really dislike the travel systems.  They were so bulky and hard for me to fold, get in out of my trunk, with a baby/kid in my arms.  The city mini is also really easy to travel with, which was important to use. 

I kind of know what you mean.  When I was pushing them around the stores, the travel systems just seemed bulky, and they just didn't feel very manuverable or comfortable to me.  I do think I pushed around a City Mini stroller and it was one of my favorites. 

I'll have to give all the ones suggested above another look this weekend. 

gvsubride05

Brian thought I was crazy for all the research I was doing on strollers and thought I was getting caught up in things when I was looking at the more expensive strollers. Then we went to BRU and he pushed one of the travel systems around for a minute and then pushed the Peg Pergo I wanted and he conceeded that there was a difference.

I loved my Peg Perego until I knocked the wheels while putting it in the trunk and it hasn't pushed right since then. It was right before we switched to a double stroller, so the Perego was put away for a year or so. I wish we had adressed the issue right away.

I have heard good things about the city mini.  

I'm normally about being frugal and not spending a lot, but a stroller is one area I would tell people to spend a little more. I'm not saying people have to get $700 Bugaboos, but $200 - $300 us a good price range.

Desmond&MollyJones*

We hardly ever used our Graco travel system (the stroller part I mean, we used the car seat for about 7 months.)  We use the umbrella strollers more.  But mostly we just carry him.

Tigers

We had the Graco travel system and it worked fine for me.  Didn't really use it a ton to justify spending a ton of money or research.  I love the carrier that came with it though.  100% recommend those. 

MrsKerCo

Another Graco girl.  I bought the Snug Ride infant carrier car seat that snaps into the Graco MetroLite stroller.  I got them from diapers.com for a steal.  I still use both, and Violet is 9 months old.  The stroller is easy to use, pushes nicely, etc. It weighs 17 pounds, I think, so on the lighter side of strollers I found (unless you go with those snap in ones).  It does require two hands to fold it, but I just leave Violet in her carseat while I take it in and out of the trunk.  I'm just now starting to look for an umbrella stroller or something else to use, so we got our money's worth out of it.  I was never into jogging strollers, like the Bob brand.  They seemed huge.  I didn't like the way they maneuvered (sp?).  I also have never gone running with the baby, so it wasn't necessary for that either.  GL!  Registering can be overwhelming.  I too read Baby Bargains.  That book is all written based on parent reviews, and will tell you what is a waste, what's good for the money, etc.  It's definitely worth a looksie.