Stroller Suggestions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ignore the bassinet feature. I bought my stroller based on what would work with my infant carseat, which was a rookie mistake. In those early days, you can either carry your baby in a sling/wrap/bjorn or stick your infant carseat in a snap-and-go. Buy a stroller that will work better for you in the long haul. (Turning ease? sturdiness? lightness? carrying compartments? cupholders? fit in trunk? height? etc.)

PP, you hit the nail in the head. Bassinets and other infant-friendly features are great, but you really need other features when the baby is too old to realistically carry or sling -- like having to grocery shop with your 23 pound, non-walking 12 month old in a pre-snowstorm crazed Safeway.

The availability of rain covers and boots that are designed specifically for the stroller is something that I'd consider, if you're a non-driving family. The generic after-market versions have been less than satisfactory, in my experience.

[Anonymous]

We bought the Bugaboo and only used the bassinet for occasional naps (0-12 weeks, maybe?)
on the first floor when I was lucky enough to sit by DD and read or watch TV.
I never trusted taking the bassinet out of the house for a walk on sidewalks,
even when I would add the foam thinging to stabilize her from rolling around.
I think I also slept with her in the bassinet on our bed in between my DH and I the first month on occasion.
Even though we had a great bassinet.

Bugaboo was a lot of $$$ and my bar broke...still ended up buying the Bob and got a MacLaren as a gift.
I found each of these strollers useful at different times.
Now my kid won't go near the stroller(s)!

[Anonymous]

Also try Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg for Stroller Shopping...they have some brands that BBB does not carry.

[Anonymous]

We used our bugaboo bassinet a lot in the first three months ... naps in the house, walks to the park, etc. I found it easier for napping on the first floor than the pack and play bassinet. We did go ahead and get the attachment for the snugride for when we traveled and when DD was more alert and wanted to "see" the world. (From 3-6 months or so and then we used the regular seat). Look on craig's list for a stroller - we got ours nearly new for half the price

[Anonymous]

Speaking of European strollers, we got the Silver Cross Linear Freeway Stroller. It is really popular in England. It retails for like $600 but it is currently on Overstock for $200, no tax and free shipping. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it. It has a great bassinet feature, which we used for the first 4 months for walking, naps in the house and on the deck, even rolling through the house when baby was fussy. Now that that baby is a little older, the stroller itself is fantastic. Easy to manuever and a great ride. Unfortunately there is nowhere around here that carries it for you to test, but you can google it and read all the great reviews. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I guess everyone is different. We have the Bugaboo and used the bassinet all the time. We had our first in the winter months, so it was perfect to bundle the baby up and go for a long walk. We live in the city, so we used this more than the car seat attachment. Although we did get that too and used it, worked great, very easy, but just not as much as the bassinet. Our baby also had many naps and I think some nights sleeping in the bassinet because it was so cozy. Oh, and it also has the handle bar extension for taller people.

[Anonymous]

Jacardi in Tysons Galleria sells the UPPA Baby vista.
Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg carries all the other high end brands (quinny, stocke, bugaboo, peg perego skate)
I know they sell the UPPA baby online too but don't remember seeing it at the store.
BuyBuyBaby also has Quinny, Bugaboo, Peg Perego, Britax, Orbitz.
I know they sell the UPPA baby online too but don't remember seeing it at the store.
I love the Quinny, but i went with my cousin's 2.5 year old to the store, and he could barely fit in it!!!! And he is not a big kid.... so I decided to go with the UPPA Baby Vista.
You can get it online with free shipping and no tax at:
http://www.greatbeginningsonline.com/

[Anonymous]

Save yourself 700 bucks and buy a 50 dollar stroller frame to begin with. It has a huge basket (for when you have a big diaper bag when you don't know what you need). It is light-weight and easy-to-use. You just simply put the car seat into the frame and just go. When the baby gets a ltitle older, you will have a much better idea of what you want.

As for us, we bought a Zooper Waltz when DD was a bit older. Love it. Very large basket, fairly light-weight, and easy-to-use. We also own a BOB Revolution for jogging - great.

All of my strollers (and also an umbrella stroller that I bought for a trip) were far less than a Bugaboo or some of the other crazy expensive strollers.

[Anonymous]

One issue I didn't see raised in this thread is future use like if you are planning on having another baby. If you spend $800 dollars on a stroller for #1 which isn't practical beyond the first 8 months, you find you have to buy another. My friend got a bugaboo because she lived in Georgetown. She used the bassinet a lot around the house and strolling in the first couple of month but after that, she never used the bassinet again. At 4 months, she bought a Maclaren because the bugaboo was too much work for traveling. She ended up selling her bugaboo for less than half of what she originally spent 1 year later. She decided it wasn't worth keeping around for her second baby who is just a few months now.

I went another route. I got a travel system, which we are still using now. #1 is 15 months. We decided to spend a little more on the double stroller we just bought. We went with the Baby Jogger City Mini Double.

The other option we considered was the Phil & Ted because it expands. You can use it for 1 or 2 babies, toddlers, etc. We also considered getting a Maclaren double.

Anyway, we are about to have another baby. For a while we researched because I was tired of the old graco travel system stroller but I really didn't find anything other than the Phil & Ted's that expands with the family, is light weight, etc.

In retrospect, I wish I had gotten the Maclaren single and a snap N go for #1.