take a stroll with me

So I spent a good four to five hours online last night researching strollers. I have had so many recommendations from people, and I decided to get online and read reviews and start trying to figure out what I wanted. I know I don't want the "battering ram." That's what I call the extra large strollers with the huge wheels and the big old tray that the women who have them use to just push their way around the mall/stores/restaurants or whatever. If you don't know what I mean, go to Disney World and have *that* woman hit your heels a couple of times because she can't see the ground in front of her because of her huge damned stroller. NO THANK YOU.

Ideally, my "dream" stroller is the Bugaboo Cameleon. But at $900, Zach and I have agreed that it's much too expensive to seriously consider (the Bugaboo Frog is a little bit more reasonable... a very little bit, and every bit as impressive). The flexibility of this stroller is extraordinarily appealing- you can do just about anything with this thing. But, like I said, DREAM stroller. Especially since we're not planning on another child within a short time after this one comes, it seems really excessive to spend that much. However, it's just divine, you can go from baby facing you, to baby facing away, there's a bassinet that you can use for a newborn, you can go from enclosed with a cover to what you see above. You can switch the handlebar around so that the large "all terrain" wheels are on front or on back... AND you can take it down to a 2-wheel design if you're going hiking or into sand or snow. Oh.my.gosh. It's a dream. And I'l have to keep dreaming!

My *within reach* favorite brand I've found is Maclaren. Yes, I came across it because I was looking up McLaren and the computer asked me if I meant Maclaren. See, being a Formula 1 fan does pay off. It leads you to special little discoveries. I like that these strollers are so simplistic, they're on a metal frame, which I want and they don't have a lot of extra junk. I have said it before, and I'll say it again, I don't like strollers that become everyone's stash-all. I don't want cup holders, I don't want little cubbies for junk to get stashed. I'm used to not having those things, why start now? Anyway, the Maclaren above is a special "designer" one, it's the "Albert Thurston Ryder." The Ryder is one of their 'special' strollers that they give to designer brands to customize themselves. Lacoste has a Ryder, Juicy Couture has a Ryder, Kate Spade has a Ryder, Burberry has a Ryder... and so on and so forth. It's a nice stroller in that you can use it from birth to 55lbs. I just really liked the colors in this particular Ryder, however, Zach and I feel that plastering our poor baby with a name brand is just not something we really want to do, even though the Lacoste one is so cute with its itty bitty alligators- if only it didn't say "Lacoste" on it. If I COULD get a Ryder, I'm not sure I could pass up the Spitfire. That's right, aviation enthusiasts, the Maclaren founder was a member of the Spitfire design team and has produced a stroller to commemorate its 70th anniversary. I'm not so sure Brad wouldn't have been in one of these, either, had my dad spotted it! That gives the whole "airplane noises" with a baby new meaning... 

Here we have a viable option, above is the Maclaren Quest Sport stroller. I love the light weight of the stroller, the durability and the style. One of the complaints I've heard against the Maclaren strollers is the fact that they don't have the front tray for the baby to use. Zach and I actually like this. We were talking last night about how there's nothing nastier than a parent who has one of those trays and gives their kid a bag of goldfish crackers or animal crackers and water and then proceeds to allow said child to mash the two together all over the tray and themselves. Then they play in the mush and get themselves all dirty and gross. Just unappealing to us. Ew. I like the Sport quite a bit because it's so streamlined, but the only problem with it is that it is designed to be used from 3 months. What do I use until then?

Lastly, this is the Maclaren Techno XLR. This is the stroller I really, really want. This stroller will take you from birth to 65 lbs. It's a little heavier than the Quest Sport, and a bit more expensive, but the 4 point reclining seat is great for newborns and the padding inside the stroller is a bit nicer than that of the Quest Sport. There's a number of color options we both really like, the above Black and Champagne not being one of them. This stroller would last as long as the car seat we're coveting, which also goes from birth to 65 lbs. *sigh* I adore it... not quite as much as the Bugaboo, but I'm not unrealistic either.

I looked really heavily into the travel systems which are really popular with Graco and a few of the other companies right now, and was really leaning in that direction, but the complaints I've found are ones that I'm not really sure I want to deal with. I've heard they're great... for a while. But eventually, they needed a car seat and bought a less cumbersome stroller after the baby had outgrown the carrier, thus leaving them with a situation where they've bought a new stroller and a new car seat on top of their travel system. Zach and I don't want to end up with a lot of stuff that the baby has outgrown quickly, and we thought the best solution is finding a car seat to last as long as possible, and a stroller to do the same. 

So, in our quest to find the perfect car seat, we discovered Britax, and have fallen in love with their Convertible line. The above car seat will go, as the stroller we like, from birth to 65 lbs and gets great ratings. We were impressed by the padding, the side impact protection, and the degree to which the car seat gets strapped in. The car seat above is the "Marathon" and while I hate, hate, hate the "cowmooflague" print, there are some exceptionally acceptable options. And since we've decided that the car seat is going in the truck and the truck only, we feel that this really will offer all the protection we're looking for. 

Have you learned more about strollers from my POV than you ever wanted to? I thought so. I'm actually pretty proud of myself though, and I'm taking my pregnancy book's advice and really looking into what I want, as opposed to what everyone wants to buy, because as the book says, "while they pick up the tab, you are the one who has to use it every day." That and I didn't really think I'd have much of an opinion about one or the other until I actually started looking. Which means researching high chairs could be dangerous? No, only kidding. I see the stroller as on par with the flowers from my wedding. I know what I want and I will compromise in other places to make sure I get what I want here...

within reason.