"What do you use?"

Recently, a friend asked about a specific baby item on Facebook. She wanted people's feedback about strollers. What brand/style etc. When I posted my response, I realized that this might be info that you might like too. So here's my personal take on strollers. (We're on child #2 in this house, so we've got some experience.)

For the most part, I've always liked the Graco Travel Systems. I like that it's a one stop solution for carrying/moving an infant around. You put the base in the car and leave it there. The actual carrier can be lifted out of the car, put into the stroller, or just carried into the mall. (Or wherever you're going) All that without having to strap the baby in, then un-strap the baby, then strap, then...Well you get the idea. Put your little darling in the carrier once, and you're good for an entire outing. Now the drawback to the Graco is the size of the actual stroller. I'll admit it. It's a beast. If you drive a sub-compact car, it'll be a trick-and-a-half to get it in. Having said that, the stroller lasts a L-O-N-G time. Once baby grows out of the carrier (21lbs or so, I believe) you can still use the stroller normally. The seatback has an adjustable angle for sitting up or lying down, or somewhere in-between. The carry basket underneath gives you plenty of storage. (We get the diaper bag and the older kid's stuff all in there!) The handles are sturdy, if you'd like to hang a bag off them. Ours came with a tray that had 2 drink holders, a lidded tray and a small hard-case "pouch" for stuff. (Like my wallet at the zoo) The bigger wheels made it great in tougher terrain. I'm not talking about off-roading with the baby. (Although we've done that. Hiking with the "beast" is OK.) We get snow here. Sometimes lots. And we live in a new sub-division. Lots of un-finished sidewalks, paths. Means lots of mud. The Graco handles pretty well.

Sometimes, though, you don't need the big stroller. For example, when I go to get our oldest from school, I just plop the baby in a Peg Perego that's lasted us since the oldest was born. I'm not hauling a lot of stuff back and forth to school with us. Just the baby. (Well, sometimes I have to haul the oldest. ;) ) For those occasions, the "little" stroller works fine. If we lived downtown, I might recommend it for city sidewalks with less room. But it's really, for us anyways, the "back-up" stroller. When we go for a day-trip, we don't generally pack it in the mini-van. It doesn't hold enough for everyone. Between a diaper bag, a purse, coats (maybe), changes of clothes, snacks/lunch and whatever we might buy (Stuffed zoo toy, anyone?) we just need more space.

Ultimately, the choice should be yours, of course. Don't let anyone tell you what's best for your needs. Only you know how much effort it takes to move you all around. And only you can decide how much you want to spend on accessories. I will say this, though; Spend what you can. The brands might cost more, but they do last. As I said, ours are on their second go-around. But the final choice is up to you. Get what you think works best for your needs. I won't judge. (Wait, I take that back. I can't ever recommend those $10 umbrella strollers. Ever.)


Jeremy

Plugging along...

Well,

No one's died yet. No trips to the hospital. Great. And now March Break is upon us. What's the plan for the break? Dump the kids at the in-laws and run off for two nights! Weeee!

Oh yeah. Our first getaway since the youngest was born! It's funny, by the time the oldest was 10mths, we figure we'd done 2 or 3 overnights. This time aorund...None yet. I guess it's because now we're dropping 2 kids off, not just 1. It's a bit more work, so we needed the youngest to be at least a little more self reliant. (Not that a 10mth old can fend for herself...)

So there's a playdate on Monday. Tuesday will be some family stuff. Wednesday, we drop them off and run away. We might have altered the timeline a bit, but the in-laws are in Mexico. Lucky folks. Sun, sand and swimming. What's not to envy?

Hmmm...I hear naptime ending. I guess that's it for this post. I speak again later.

J

Settling In

OK then.

I've been at this about a week-and-a-half now. The baby and I seem to be settling into each other nicely. (Funny though how Mom's not allowed to put her down once she gets home.)
As I type this on the laptop, my littlest girl is wondering around the living room, trying to see what she can kill herself with. (I kid you not, I had to physically move her away from the TV plug 3times yesterday. And I just "Nah-ah!'d her now) My brother put it extremely well when we spoke yesterday. "Your first child tricks you into thinking that you're ready for your second." So true. Whoops! There goes the basket with the oldest's books. Back in a moment...OK, note to self...Random acts of vandalism may mean poopy bum. Sure. For my wife the baby would just come over, tug her leg, look up at her...and smell. For me...WHAM! Drop a bunch of books and when Daddy comes over, watch his face turn that funny look when the scent hits him.
But back to what I started with. I vacuum every day now. Every day. And still, the baby finds something to put in her mouth that she shouldn't. Our first wasn't like this. She was absolutely not a "divide the world in two; Fits in mouth/doesn't fit in mouth" baby. This one? Every five minutes..."What the hell have you got now? A sticker? Where in the hell did that come from?" I seriously couldn't figure out where the stickers were coming from until today when I saw her peel it off her excersaucer. Now at least I know.
We're getting there though. We get up, get the oldest off to wherever for the day, (School or Daycare) come back home and play. Then we have a snack/bottle and go for nap. I try to get a little bit of work done, then she's up again for her lunch. And then we play around some more until it's either time to go get the oldest, or Mommy gets home.
So far, it's worked pretty well. I'm already sleeping better. I see more daylight. I even went on a field trip with the JK class yesterday. Speaking of....
OMG! We went to the "Safety Village" yesterday. Know what that is? Think about the lecture you got in the school gym that was followed by bike/pedestrian safety practice outside with pylons. Now, lose the pylons and replace them with a pint-sized town. There you have it! It's even the same video! They started the tape (yes, it was VHS) and there's Jiminy Cricket and he starts singing...
"I'm no fool! No siree! I'm gonna live to be 83!" It all came flooding back to me! I'd seen this video in my own school days! (To be fair, we saw the "updated" version...with live action footage from the 80's instead of the 60's original) Ahh, what memories.
Well, that about sums up the events so far.
Until next time.

J

PS- For my Canadian readers....
www.themommynetwork.ca
A GREAT nation-wide list of baby and mom events and sales.