Baby wheels.

For the past few months I've been obsessing over strollers. After having bought 3 strollers in less than a year I wanted to make sure to find the perfect double stroller to suit our needs. We started M2 with a Snap n' Go stroller frame for the carseat. I actually really liked that it was cheap and functional ($49). We used that early on when she was small, but we also learned early on that with a cheap stroller you get what you pay for. It handled horribly on our rough city sidewalks. On the plus side, it was cost effective and lightweight. We next moved onto the BOB Revolution which I previously blogged about how M2 hated it even though it pushed great and had excellent shocks. We sold it on Craigslist and moved onto a Maclaren umbrella stroller.

The Maclaren has been great this summer. It's super light (8 lbs) and takes up hardly any room in the back of my car. M2 has enjoyed riding in it, and we've definitely gotten our money's worth out of it. My only real complaint about this stroller is that the fabric is a dirt magnet - ours is a lime green color and even immediately after washing it, the fabric will show dirt spots.

To begin my double stroller research I did some looking online, followed by a trip to Babies R Us. Pretty much all the double strollers I saw at BRU were $300 or less. They had plenty of options - side by side models and tandem front/back models. I pushed several around the store and just didn't really like the way any of them handled even on the smooth store floor, and they all felt really heavy to fold/lift. At that point I was pretty sure I would prefer a side by side over a tandem, the tandem ones just felt way too long and harder to push. A few days later I was at the lake and saw the most incredible double stroller - one seat was tucked under another so it had a similar length/width of a single stroller, but with two seats. Later that day I researched online and found more info about that stroller (it was the Phil and Ted Explorer). I gasped at the price ($500+) and did some further research. Since I liked our Maclaren so much, I did some looking into their double options. I found the Twin Techno was around $300 and seemed like a good option. On the Maclaren website I found a local store that carried that model, and later that week I stopped by to test push the stroller myself. The Maclaren double was out of stock, so while I was there looking around I found something else: the Britax B Ready. It was like the Phil and Ted, except it had 14 different seat configurations as either a single or double stroller.

I pushed the B Ready around and fell in love. I knew this was the stroller for me. It is lightweight (16 lbs as a single stroller, 22 lbs as a double). It pushes so smooth I can maneuver it around corners with one hand (which is key so I can still hold my coffee with the other hand!) I also really love that the main seat on it can be fwd or rear facing. I left the store feeling a little defeated and depressed about the price ($499 for the single unit and $149 additional for the second seat attachment). But in talking to Mr.P about it he said that if it's what I really want, to go for it (I love that man!) He made the analogy that we spend twice that on a laptop computer we use for a few years, why not spend the money for the double stroller we'll really use? Again, I love that man!

I went back to the store another time to do another test push and learn more about it's various features. While the sales clerk was helping me (this is a small boutique store) a man came in and asked the clerk where the BOB strollers were. She got a bit of a snotty tone and said, "We don't sell BOB strollers, go to REI." After the guy left, I told her that we had owned one but sold it because our daughter did not like it. She laughed and said that she won't carry it in the store because she doesn't believe in the product, she says it offers poor neck/head support for babies and that really babies under 1 should not be riding in it. People in our city love their BOB's though - you see a lot of BOB strollers everywhere.

So I finally convinced Mr.P that we should get the B Ready stroller now (at least the single unit) to start using with M2, and we can buy the carseat adapter in December for P5 to ride in the second seat spot below. Next spring/summer when he is sitting up good on his own, we'll buy the second seat to attach. I'm super excited for our new stroller to arrive next week, and I hope it lives up to my expectations. I know for myself, a double stroller equals freedom. We live in the city, and I need a good stroller that will handle well on the uneven old sidewalks, and will allow both children to be restrained in their own seats.