Tales of Stroller Whore

Picture it. Babies 'R Us, 2004.

While registering for my first child, I am convinced by the powers that be, that I NEED a travel system. Ah, consumerism at it's finest.

It's this snappy “little” number that holds the carrier carseat, so you never have to wake the baby! What grrrrrreat idea! So my baby is born and I get to experience what is known as said travel system. Ok, so I don't have a huge baby, but I still can't make it longer than 4 months carrying this car seat around. Summer comes around, I no longer have the nice cushion of my winter coat and suddenly I get to experience huge bruises on my arms carrying the seat around. Ok, that's cool, we move on to the convertible car seat and I can once again show my arms in all their pasty-white glory. Cool. Soooooo, now I have this humongoid stroller and this itty, bitty 4 month old baby. I buy a set of the head bolsters and add them to the straps, so he's nice and snug in there as I cruise the mean streets of Cockeysville, MD. So, here we are, the middle of the hot summer and I'm pushing around this huge stroller. There has to be a better option, so I find this:

Ok, it has all the nice features of the travel system stroller, but it's smaller. Nice parent tray for my coffee, nice basket for my goodies, a tray for my son who has started to shovel Gerber puffs into his mouth like there's no tomorrow. Cool, I've found my stroller. Eh, not so much. Ben gets a little bigger and he can ride in the shopping cart, so the basket isn't a huge selling point anymore. Even when he uses the stroller, he can hold the snack cup, so the tray becomes a cumbersome accessory every time he wants to climb in and out. Sooooo, we're off to store, yet again. I do my research this time and find a nice Chicco umbrella stroller.

It's nice and sturdy, AND it comes with a handy dandy rain cover. (because apparently, it's better that your child suffocate rather than get a little wet). Alright, it's pretty nice........for awhile. The seat is unsupported, so it cups his little tush, which is nice, but seems a little hot and uncomfortable for him after awhile. Instead of a bar along the bottom, it has this flexible strap, which comes close to snapping every time he needs to step on it to climb in the stroller. The handles are comfortable, but steering with one hand is next to impossible. I have trouble manuevering through doors in stores or holding anything while pushing the thing. Forget my husband pushing it either, because his freakishly long legs kick the back every time he takes a stride. The sun canopy is pretty much none existent and I am now convinced that manufacturers just feel obligated to add certain features to their strollers just to look good in the bright lights of baby superstores. Once again, I scour the stroller market to find my perfect stroller. I come across this Combi and I really thought I had it nailed. I really did.

The stroller folds up in thirds inward, so not only does it take up miniscule amounts of space in my trunk, BUT I can add a snazzy little bag on the back for added storage and not have to take it off every time I fold the stroller. Excellent. I actually was happy with this stroller, despite it lacking nice cup holders, until the wheels started to stick. Now, had I paid attention to the reviews from people that had used the stroller for awhile, instead of just the reviews that people wrote the day they got their shiny new strollers, I would have known this. Lesson learned. ALWAYS pay attention to the reviews from people that have actually USED the item for a decent amount of time. I tried everything I could to get those damn wheels to do their job, including replacements. Eh, not so much. So we come to an important crossroad. Do I get another stroller, since Ben really doesn't like it unless it's for somewhere like Hershey Park? Do I just suck it up? Can I revert back to one of my older strollers? Decisions, decisions. I end up digging the Chicco stroller out of storage (where it was still packed in a box from our move) and I can deal with it's shortcomings until I'm finished with strollers. The stroller frustration ends, but it's only temporary, because.......TIME FOR #2. OMG, can I do this again? You know, the stroller thing.... :::eyes dart back and forth::: This time around, I'm older and wiser. I snag a sweet Kolcraft Snap 'n Go at Baby Depot for $15 on clearance.

Sheer awesomeness. Gone are the memories of using the travel system stroller as a glorified car seat frame with wheels. I pop that car seat on and off that stroller like it's no one's business. I'm juggling two kids with the stealth precision of a well-oiled machine. I'm am HOT. My excitement is shortlived however. I quickly realize that my daughter is growing at an astounding rate, never seen before in the Pacifico household. She's got 2 pounds on her older brother at the same age and coat-less weather is fast approaching. Those familiar, “I look like a drug addict” arm bruises are rearing their ugly greenish-brown head and I am once again confronted with the stroller dilemma. These strollers, seriously, they have become the bane of my existence. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!! Now, when I first became pregnant with #2, I had lusted after a Joovy Ultralight Caboose. This fantastic, compact, light-weight stand and go stroller that several of my friends had been using was a dream. I had planned on purchasing the stroller once summer rolled around, because Ben would be out of preschool and would start coming with us for shopping again. I really thought it was the perfect solution. Well, in the 5 months between Christmas and the end of school, my son completely grew out of needing a stroller. Even in his most exhausted state, he could still manage to walk back to the car without me carrying his 35-pound body. I start Googling strollers, YET AGAIN, and decide to check out the Joovy site. Just for shits and giggles. Lo and behold, they have added to their arsenal and now have two different umbrella strollers. Ladies, these are impressive. The first one I look at resembles the typical umbrella stroller, but get this, it has TWO, yes TWO sets of canopies and seat cushions. So if you want pink for a girl and then you have a boy, you can just pop on the black and you have a whole new stroller. In addition to this, the seat is reversible depending on the weather. I'm sold. This.is.AWESOME!!! So I start to move my mouse over to my Ebay tab (because I like to torture my husband by keeping at LEAST 8 tabs open on FireFox at all times), and I stop. Hmmmm, there's another stroller on here. Click. Folks, this is where the heavens above me opened up, light shown down on my computer screen, and I heard sweet angels sing.

:::AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:::

Who needs post partum sex ladies, this stroller is purely orgasmic. After going back and forth on the color, I finally threw caution to the wind and picked the bold, blind me from reflected sun, yellow/gold color. I IZ IN LOOOOOVVVEE!!!

I managed to snatch this bad boy on Ebay for $130 with shipping and it is all my stroller fantasies realized. It has it all, a HUGE canopy, 5-pt harness, seat that adjusts from almost flat to upright, soft handles, easy to push, pockets for drink bottles, a nice seat with mesh pockets, sturdy frame that won't tip over, completely adequate basket.......... The only slight inconvenience is the lack of a tray or adult cup holders. I've learned that the kid tray is not really necessary, as long as you have a snack cup and link-a-doos. And I found a nice add-on parent tray that actually works better than any of the other plastic attached ones that I had on the other strollers. Finally, FINALLY, I am at peace with the world of strollers. Trips to Babies 'R Us are quite amusing now, as I confidently stroll down the stroller aisles.

Four years and 6 strollers later, I have finally mastered the fine art of munchkin transportation.