Strollerama

Bode is at the age where he wants to do everything by himself. "I DO IT MYSELF!" he shrieks, whenever Bob or I try to do something for him.  We go for a walk about once a day.  Bode has been insisting on walking, and not riding in the stroller.  We learned the hard way, a few times, that Bode can not walk by himself for the entire walk.  Bob usually ends up carrying 30+ lbs of a very, very cranky Bode, up hill, back home. So then we would push the (empty) stroller along with us on the walk. As soon as Bode exhibited signs of fatigue, we would pop him into the stroller (and usually against his will).

I have been carrying Gianna in the Baby Bjorn this whole time. And while the lovely G is lovely, and very petite, she is 16 lbs. Carrying that kind of weight, as lovely as that weight is, makes my back and shoulders hurt.  So last week, when Bode insisted that he was walking on his own two little feet, I took the opportunity to free my back and shoulders.  I put Gianna in the stroller.

Well. You can imagine what happened.   I mean, really, need I say write more?

Yes. As soon as I strapped Gianna into the stroller, Bode decided, no, insisted, that he must ride in the stroller.

So last week, we found ourselves in the Big Box Baby Store looking at double strollers. We've been discussing this purchase for a long time.  Bob wanted to get one almost immediately ("immediately" being as soon as I got the positive pregnancy test).  I thought that we had time.  So we waited.  And that time, my friends, has come.

Rolling the Joovy Caboose around.

Before we went to the store, I read many articles about what the "best" stroller is, how much a good stroller costs, what brands to avoid, what brands to buy, etc. The plus is,  you can get any kind of double stroller, with many different options. The minus is, you can get any kind of double stroller, with many different options.  It is mind-boggling.  The easy way out is to just decide that you need to purchase at least five different strollers, one for each need.  No, really! No, really.

Gianna, and all the stroller manufacturers, laugh at us.

We decided that we need an all-terrain stroller for our walks, an umbrella stroller for travel, and an all-purpose stroller for my outings with the babies.  Note: we do not intend to have three strollers! After browsing, folding, unfolding, putting babies into and out of strollers, we finally narrowed it down to four strollers.  We knew we liked the BOB for our all-terrain stroller, because we have the single BOB at home. We tried the Baby Jogger City Mini. It's not quite all-terrain, more like a beefed up umbrella. But we knew that the BOB was the right one for us, so we kind of bypassed all other all-terrain strollers. For umbrella-types, we liked the Maclaren Twin Triumph because of its reputation and because it is lightweight. We thought it would be a good airport/errand stroller. There's nothing spectacular about it. Its reputation is all I know. Bob and I liked the Combi  Twin Sport, too. I liked that I could unfold the Combi with one hand while I held Gianna in my arms. Thank God I didn't have to make a decision right then, because I would have bought it on the spot. It was that easy! Folding the Combi was easy, too.  But I felt like it was a little too "plastic" and wobbly feeling while I test-drove it. And I could only imagine how much more wobbly it would get after being thrown into the back of my car day after day. I liked the Joovy Caboose Ultralight because it is narrow and Bode can sit and stand on it (perfect for a toddler!). Bode liked it, too (the standing part, especially).  The seats seem a bit stiff and hard, so this would not be a comfortable ride. I did not like it folded because there didn't seem to be a designated handle and you just grasped the metal frame to carry it (awkward). It felt heavier than the others, too. It was also a bit longer than the other strollers, but still fit into the back of the Honda. But despite these negatives, I really was tempted to get it because it was so narrow and for the stand factor. As Bob pointed out, it fills a niche.

Bode and Gianna checking out the Joovy.

We test-drove the strollers* with the babies many times, and left even more confused (and exhausted). 



Exhausted babies in the Maclaren Twin Triumph



After letting everything roll around in my head for a few hours, I told Bob that we need to get the BOB for our all-terrain stroller (really, this was already decided) and the Maclaren Triumph for our umbrella airport/mall/errand stroller.  [But after viewing the above photo, I wonder if Bode will fit into it? The Maclaren is supposed to hold up to 45 lbs, but the packaging makes no mention of holding Big Giant Boys.]

This week, we got the BOB Revolution Duallie for our all-terrain stroller.  We got this first because of need: our daily walks.  I love, love, love it. I think Bode and Gianna love it, too.

Priscilla is happy that we're happy, because it means more walks for her!

*More strollers than mentioned here. Ask me about the Britax, the Phil & Teds, Peg Perego, etc. etc.!