Wednesday, March 12, 2008

It's all about the accessories

In order to make up for the totally adequate yet mediocre all purpose stroller that I chose for Samson all those months ago, today I purchased an extra fancy jogging stroller. Because that's how I roll.

Funny thing about strollers and baby gear in general, you can get, again, totally adequate yet mediocre stuff that does the job but leaves you feeling decidedly un-fabulous, or you can shell out anywhere from a ridiculous amount of money to an obscene amount of money for increasingly upscale strollers, cribs, high chairs and what have you.

Once you filter out all the safety-wise unsuitable brands and models, you can spend anywhere from $100 to $1,000 (and more, I'm sure) on a stroller. And depending on your stroller-related activities, you could easily end up with four different models to suit different purposes. For example, we have the Graco Metrolite that fits nicely with our car seat, has abundant room for holding purchases, and the all important 2 cup holders. Not great for off-roading, but terrific for shopping, running errands, doctor's visits, restaurants, and--we're hoping--air travel. It's got pretty decent maneuverability, and it folds up fairly compactly to fit in a rental car trunk.

Then we have the umbrella stroller that lives at Grandma's house. It's not car seat friendly, but it doesn't need to be because it's primarily used to keep Samson entertained (he's a big fan of being upright) and it's just right for the occasional stroll around the block.

The new guy, now we're talking fancy. I got it to use at boot camp and for our longer walks by the bay, and this particular brand--Phil & Ted--has the extra bonus feature: it comes with an extra seat so that when Samson has a little sister, the two of them can ride inline in this sucker, in a variety of configurations. And who doesn't like multiple configurations? It's only a matter of time before I end up with one of those tetris-inspired minivans.

The extra super fantastic bonus: it's bright red.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Umbrella strollers are also excellent for moving folded laundry AND young child from room to room. At the same time. Talk about benefits!

The Moores said...

OH, P&T! We almost got one of those. FYI that extra seat is great for loading full of groceries, extra baby gear (when you fill up that nice bucket underneath) and all kinds of other stuff. Was our 2nd choice, even in RED! We are a two stroller family, too, and when it came up at a dinner party last week that we had 2 strollers a dating couple about our age (thinking about getting married and having kids) was aghast. *sigh* what do they know!?!!?

Deborah said...

I. Love. That. Stroller. Seriously, I'm thinking of making Max sleep on the sofa so I can cuddle with the stroller all night long.