Baby Stroller

I never wanted to go the "travel system" route - too big and bulky. I loved my snap-n-go because it took up so much less space, was easy enough to fold up and set up one-handed, still had the basket underneath, and FIT WELL IN THE STORE AISLES! Those poor women with the expensive travel systems who couldn't make it between the clothing racks in the store... the snap-n-go was so compact that it manouvered well. I would recommend it to anyone. I used it for both of my kids and never regretted not getting something bigger. Also, you'll only be using this for the first year anyway, as long as the child is in the car-seat carrier, so not worth spending so much. Hope this helps.

First piece of advice: Do your research! There's a great resource on the web called rated by mom (if you google search the phrase, I think you'll find that it's the top result)... The lady's name is Holly Schults, and I think she may have an online store as well... the greatest thing is that she does stroller demos that you can watch.

The next piece of advice: Buy the best one you can afford, that has all of the bells and whistles you want. This is like buying a new car... you're going to live in it just as much, and you don't want to get frustrated and have to go out and buy a second (or like me, a third or a fourth) stroller - you'd be better served to drop some serious cash once than letting this nickel and dime you to death. I have spent like $700 on strollers and I'm still not completely happy - wish I'd done the research before buying the first one, because I could have saved myself some money!

The last piece of advice: Think about yourself too... if you are tall, you want a stroller with a telescoping handle... if you like to have your water available at all times, you want a stroller with a cup holder... your instinct is to think of your baby's needs, but the truth is if your needs aren't met as well, you won't use the stroller.
Good luck!
-H

I think you have gotten some great advice here so far! I also find that using my jogging stroller as my "everyday stroller" (we live in Center City and walk around the city A LOT in addition to jogging a lot with it) AND having a folding umbrella stroller to keep in the car is what works/ed best for us. I would never want to use the umbrella stroller to walk around the city.

I DID also have a Snap n Go but that only worked for us until our daughter grew out of her infant car seat at 8 months old. AND, the snap n go we really only used in airports and shopping trips/when we were using the car. SO basically, we used the jogger + snap n go for months 0 - 8, and now, the jogger + umbrella for months 9 - now (18 months). We love our jogger (BOB) and the umbrella is okay (Maclaren).

good luck!

Jogging stroller for running, and a Snap n Go for everyday use !!! I had the big travel systems with my 1st 2 and what a pain.... im on #3 and got a snap n go !!! Congrats !

What Heather H said!!!

My last stroller purchase was a "baby jogger" brand. Very very sturdy, expensive, heavy but I wish I had bought it first. I wasted so much money prior because I didn't want to buy an expensive stroller - ugh.

For the quick trips most umbrella strollers will do the trick. If you want to jog, really look at reviews because jogging with a stroller is a PIA if the front wheel whobbles!

Hello A.,

A Snap and Go stroller is very convenient, but will only work for you until your baby is too big to be in the infant carrier car seat.

I love my Graco travel system for errands and WISH I would have also bought a jogging stroller!

The snap and go is a great option to have but I recommend buying one used. Once baby is out of the carrier you can no longer use it. I purchased a Liteway Chicco stoller that is fabulous for everything other than long walk and jogging which I use my jogging stroller for.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=408952...
This stroller can be opened and closed with one hand and fully reclines. It is liteweight, compact and great for travel as well.

We had a snap and go for the first few months and it was nice, but I don't really think it was worth it. For convenience-running to the store, etc I would go with a lightweight stroller that has a canopy and a full recline. MacLaren's are wonderful strollers, though a bit pricey. If you can afford one that's what I would recommend. I also really like our chicco lightway (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4089527). The basket is about as big as you can ask for with a stoller that is so lightweight. The handle height works well for me (5' 2") and my husband (5' 9"), but might be a problem for someone 6' tall.

If you are going to run with your stroller I would definitely get a BOB. Its the only way to go. Pricey, but well worth every penny. I have a single bob & now a double b/c I have 2 kids. I used to run in HS & was planning to get back to it. I've run with the bob a few times & it was very nice. I don't run very often due to lack of motivation, but the times I did I was glad I had the bob. You get what you pay for.

I had a snap & go & loved it with my first kid. It was easy & convenient. With my second I just used the double bob for everything. It was so easy to push, could hold both kids and hold my stuff.

The down side to the snap & go is that you can only use it with the snap in car seat. This means that it will only be used for a year at most. My son was so big (90th percentile) that by 6 months he was to heavy for me to carry around in the carseat, so I stopped using it & switched to a regular stroller. Which I then had to purchase. I bought a maclaren umbrella stroller. Again, a pricey choice, but well worth it. You can push it one handed, which is very useful at times. One reason I had to get the maclaren is b/c I am 5' 10" tall. Most of the other stollers had lower handles, so I had to bend over or walk funny to use them. I personally like umbrella strollers b/c they take up very little room in your car, so you never have to remove them.

If money is no object...get a BOB for running, a snap & go for the first year, and a maclaren (or other nice compact/umbrella stroller) for use after the first year.

If money is an issue...invest in the BOB. You can use it all the time. You can buy a car seat attachment bar, so you can clip the carseat to it, just like a snap and go. Or the seat does recline and you can use it like a regular stroller. If you think you might use the BOB as more than just a jogging stroller, make sure you buy the Revolution model. It has a front swivel wheel which you can lock (for running) or unlock for everything else).

Good luck with your decision

a snap n go is the best when they are infants. If you can afford it, a jogging stroller is wonderful when they can sit up. We have a mountain buggy which is expensive but so much easier to control than the BOB which it seems everyone esle has. You can check out albeebaby,com. they have some good deals on older models which are just as good.