baby rocks.

The Great Urban Stroller Debacle

Living in NYC, I had some very specific stroller needs when we originally chose a stroller. My main reasons were to go with the lightest, most compact, and easiest to travel with one. And of course, I wanted it to be cute, too. So after a ton of research, I went with the Quinny Zapp stroller and attachable Maxi Cosi car seat.

I really loved it. It was easy to use, easy to get around, easy to squeeze into tight spaces around the city, and it fit snuggly in the corner of his nursery, folded up into a neat 12 x 24 inch bundle (minus the car seat, of course).

But after he came, I realized I had some other needs that weren’t being met with this cute little travel package. First off, I hadn’t anticipated my baby being in the 90th percentile for height and weight, so he quickly outgrew his infant seat. Now, any infant seat would have done this, but my main reason for getting this particular stroller, was to use the infant seat with it until I was either ready to upgrade to a double (with a second kid) or we were ready to move (which we originally thought would only be a year later). But since neither of these ended up being the reason, being too big (and too hot to stroller around stuffed in a car seat in the NYC heat), I was forced to pull off the car seat and attach the stroller piece, which basically turns it into a glorified umbrella stroller and was ultimately the beef I had with it. …It didn’t do anything! And by that I mean, it didn’t recline or have any features or flexibility. Something I knew before choosing it, but not something I considered since I assumed we would never use the stroller part. So now when we were out and my baby fell asleep, his poor little head would be just hanging to the side (still against the back; it wasn’t hanging forward, but it was still sad), and for him being so young still, regardless of his size, he was simply too small to be strolled around like that. I hated it.

Luckily my sister in law had given us her jogging stroller, which did recline, so we’ve been using that a lot, and he loves it but it’s extremely big and clunky and the front wheel is locked for jogging, so maneuvering around a crowded sidewalk is basically impossible with it. It is, however, a really smooth ride, and my baby loves it, but ultimately I decided it was time to upgrade to something else. Plus, now I realize how important having really good wheels are. It makes it so much nicer, for both the baby and the mama. [Note to people who know me and our dog Bella: no that second dog is not a new dog, we were puppy-sitting] :)

So I’ve been doing a ton of research on strollers. Again. And for those of you who don’t live in a giant pedestrian city, Srollers to Urban Moms is like a Car to an L.A. Commuter… ESSENTIAL and important in every way. Because Colton is so much bigger nowadays, unless we’re going into the city, I’ll take the stroller with us around the neighborhood instead of wearing him. He stays cooler in the stroller than when I wear him, and he loves the view. So because I was using the stroller so much more frequently, I hadn’t been folding it up and taking it upstairs with us after every trip. I would simply leave it folded downstairs in the foyer of our rowhouse, which gave me a new set of criteria… I wanted it to fold ultra easily. Weight and space is still a factor, but it’s been majorly bummed on the list. What I wanted now was something comfy for him, with various levels of adjustment and comfortability, and easy to push for me and fold.

My initial reaction was to get the City Mini. It’s a kinda “jogging stroller meets umbrella stroller.” I thought, hands down, it’s cozy, it reclines, it’s still fairly compact, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to push and even easier to fold. In fact, the folding mechanism on this thing is incredible. You literally take the baby out, grab the soft flat handle that’s in the crevice of the seat, and lift, and the stroller simply collapses in half. It’s genius. You have to click the link and watch the video. Also, it’s been given tons of awards, I see it everywhere… I figure it will be perfect. And of course, it’s still cute.

But then I realize they have another stroller… the City Select. Technically considered a double stroller because it’s actually a single that converts, I decided to look into it anyway. Plus its look is intriguingly cool.

So back to researching… after only visiting a few sites, I quickly realized the City Select is the top rated double stroller out there. It’s THEE stroller to get if you have two. Now, although we don’t have two, and aren’t expecting number two, it got me thinking. If only after six months of our previous Quinny stroller and already ready to upgrade, why get another stroller for just another year and then have to upgrade yet again? You lose so much money on it, and it’s a hassle. I figured it may just be good sense to go straight for the convertible double now, I mean, why not. And then I learned more about it, and I was sold.

Number one reason it’s amazing: using it’s convertibility, it transforms into SIXTEEN different combinations using the various positions and seats (regular seat, car seat, bassinet). Sixteen!

That is the most incredible thing in itself. 

Number two: it still works with my Maxi Cosi car seat. Plus, it can fit TWO car seats at the same time, making it a travel system still, which is a huge deal, considering we travel so much. Three: the fact that each seat can face forward and back is killer, and each way they can recline into four different positions. Plus, if you just have the one seat on, that means there are three different levels / points on the stroller frame to connect it (low, medium, high up). Loving it. Four: the fold isn’t quite as simple as the Mini, requiring two hands instead of one, but all you do is pull up on the two side levers and it still just collapses in half. Of course it’s not as compact as the Quinny (nothing is!), but for a double stroller, it’s still nice and neat. Other great features: the double long sun canopy, the extra large storage basket, the hand break, the extended push handle, and even the footrests are adjustable into different positions. I’m completely in love and completely sold. Yes it’s a bit pricier, but I still figure that at some point I’m going to need a double stroller, may as well do it now. Go big or go home, right? 

NOTE: The Quinny now has a new Zapp on the market, the Zapp Xtra, which now has a removable seat that in fact does recline AND is forward and rear facing. I can’t find any information on how it folds, so not sure if it gets as tidy and compact as its predecessor, but otherwise it seems identical, and for practically the same price. I really wish it was available when we registered for ours. Oh well. Onward and upward.

1. kerlinquallb liked this
2. kassaundra liked this
3. babyrocks posted this