Stroller love.

I have a confession - I am a stroller addict. ::hangs head in shame::

In the past two years we have purchased seven strollers. Uh, yes, seven. Three of those strollers have been resold on Craigs.list, but we currently own four (though we are debating which one will go to Craigs.list next since we really don't need all of them. I think we might even be able to part with two of them). I know this should be enough, but I still occasionally see another stroller and think, "Ooo...I like that one!"

Different strollers are kind of like shoes - they serve different purposes and work better for certain types of outings. I do like my strollers, but I still feel like I'm yet to find that "perfect" stroller. When I'm out at the mall, the park, or the zoo, I find myself glancing at every stroller we pass to see if it may be "the one." If only my current strollers knew how non-committal I am with them.

The strollers we currently own are:

1. The Britax B Ready. This is our double stroller. I keep it in my car and we use it for most outings where we won't be using a shopping cart or the Beco carrier and I need to have both the kids restrained. It's a great double stroller and I do like it for many reasons, but over time using it I do have a few complaints about certain design flaws. Also, despite being an in-line (stacked) stroller, it is quite large. The second seat can be removed making it a single stroller, but it's still quite bulky with only one seat.

2. The Maclaren Volo. We have used this thing a lot - we bought it last spring and it was our everyday stroller last summer and fall up until we got the Britax double. We now keep this one on our front porch for walks around the neighborhood, or for the babysitter to use when she is here with the kids.

3. The Maclaren Triumph. It is the same frame as the Volo, but nicer. The seat on this one is padded and it reclines. I keep this one in my car for outings where I only have one kid with me, or if we will be going somewhere that has tight spaces that will make it harder to maneuver the larger double stroller. As M2 has become a little easier to contain I will sometimes use this stroller for P5 and let M2 walk.

4. The Joovy Caboose Ultralight. We just ordered this one for our upcoming trip. It's kind of a hybrid stroller so I am hoping it will suit our travelling needs. It's light for a double (21 lbs!) and in addition to the standard seat, it has a sit and stand platform/seat on the back. It gets really good reviews online and looks smaller than most doubles.

The strollers we previously owned but sold:

1. Baby Trend snap n' go frame. This was the first one we had when M2 was a baby. It fit the infant car seat carrier great and was really easy to use. It was nice for those first few months, but it didn't have any shocks and was rough to push. Also, the handlebar was pretty low which Mr.P didn't like since he is so tall he had to lean down a lot to push it. We bought it for $50 at BRU, and sold it on Craigs.list for $25. In hindsight I should have sold it for more, within an hour of posting the ad I had 5 people begging to buy it from me!

2. The BOB. Everyone seems to love the BOB. At least in this town - seriously, about 35% of the strollers I see are BOB's. It is a super nice stroller, it pushes awesome. Actually, I think of all the strollers we've had it had the smoothest ride. But M2 hated to ride in it (the seat in the BOB doesn't sit up all the way) and I think she hated the recline position. It was also quite bulky, taking up almost the whole back of my SUV. Another thing I didn't like were the air filled tires. We got a flat once which was super annoying. We bought it on sale with a coupon discount and bing cash back, making it only $330. We sold it for $300 on Craigs.list.

3. The Maclaren Twin Triumph. I found one new online that was a discontinued color on closeout for $199. We actually bought and sold this within a week....we got it for our Europe trip thinking a side by side double umbrella was the way to go. Then after we received it we read on travel sites that the cities we planned to visit were not well suited for side by side doubles due to the narrow sidewalks. Rather than return it and have to hassle with return shipping, we sold it on Craigs.list for $200, $1 more than we paid for it. It still had the tags on it and had never been used outside, so we really had no problem unloading it.

M2 was never really a stroller kid from an early age, but so far P5 seems to enjoy just riding along and checking things out. As he gets older and more mobile that could change. I know I'll definitely keep one of the Maclaren's as our last stroller because it is the most versatile, lightweight and compact of all the single strollers we've used. I'm hoping that the Joovy Caboose Lightweight will work out well. I may even be ready to move to it as our main stroller for my car and sell the Britax. I also hope that the Joovy Caboose will be "it" and I will no longer be searching for the perfect stroller.