Stroller Recommendation

Hooray! One of my dear friends is pregnant, and I am over-the-moon excited for her. Honestly, I didn't even feel a twinge of sadness about the fact that she is pregnant and I'm not. It's definitely because some time has passed since my miscarriage, but it's also because I'm in such a good place right now. Another Purposeful Conception class just ended, and I've had such a good time connecting with kindreds and generating next steps for myself. As I've already mentioned recently (but want to mention again because I'm so proud of myself!), I've lost four pounds via Weight Watchers and have been running three days a week (and walking a fourth). I've been doing a good yoga stretch before bed each night, and I have a list of things to take care of before we try to conceive again. 

My dear friend asked me some logistical questions (she's a fellow planner), and I wanted to answer them here in case they are helpful to anyone else:

Would you recommend the Bob? And did you have a secondary stroller at all or just get by with the one?

Matt's parents immediately offered to buy us a high-quality stroller as a Happy Baby gift, so we requested the stroller that had been recommend to us over and over: The BOB Revolution. They also got us the bar that helps it hold an infant car seat before the child turns six months, the rain cover, and the canvass console that can hold cups, keys, etc. (I know; they are extremely generous!)

We decided not to get another stroller because a) we lived in a 1,000 square-foot bungalow and didn't want to store it 2) didn't want to be overwhelmed with "stuff." I read Kristina's post about strollers and figured that the BOB would be sufficient. I also thought that if we needed another stroller, it would probably be one of those cheapy umbrella ones. I figured that if we needed one down the line, it would be easy to order it via Amazon and get it in two days (P.S. If you buy a lot of baby products on Amazon, you can qualify for free Prime through Amazon Mom). 

I have loved, loved, loved the BOB and have not regretted having only one stroller. I mainly use the stroller for walks on gravel trails, so the BOB has been perfect. It's comfortable for Henry, it has great shocks, the handle bar falls at the perfect height for me, etc. I have also used it other places, such as at the Farmers' Market. 

However, I have to confess that Matt and I are not big shoppers. If we liked to go antique shopping every weekend or spent a lot of time at the mall, then we might need a smaller, more maneuverable stroller. For us, we mainly used the Moby Wrap and the Ergo carrier in those environments (including the grocery store until Henry was big enough to sit in the cart). Now if we go somewhere like that, we let Henry walk. So for us, a second stroller was never necessary. 

I definitely suggest that you go through your day-to-day life and normal weekend activities and think about when you might want to use a stroller. Each family has to figure out what works for them. I usually tried to err on the side of less and then add more if necessary.

I actually think the newborn stage goes by really fast and that we should not just build our baby registries with only that stage in mind. As a general tip, I recommend requesting registry stuff to get you through the first year of life (or at least until Christmas, if you celebrate it). Some big ticket items I recommend for the first year are the BOB stroller, Tripp Trapp high chair, wooden walker wagon, weaning table and chair, and floor bed crib mattress. At Henry's one year mark, we asked for the Learning Tower.

But take or leave my advice! Only you and your family can know what will work for you. Matt and I used a folded towel on the bathroom counter as a "changing table" for Henry (still do), and we never had a swing or even a rocker/glider in the nursery. Have the courage to forge your own path!

Wishing you the very best!

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