New Ride

Our baby girl's due date, July 31st, seemed so far in the future...but now that it's nearing the end of April, time is definitely flying by. We took action and put our beloved Bumbleride Indie stroller up for sale on craigslist, knowing we wanted something that could work well with two kids. Harper definitely loves to do his own walking, but there are plenty of occasions for long walks around the lakes or to the park or simply when he tires of walking. There was even a day last week while running a "couple errands," as Harper says, where he fell asleep in the car and I successfully transferred him into the stroller and ran our last errand with him sleeping peacefully. It had been a long time since that has happened, but shows it is still possible.

We debated, and I agonized, over which double stroller to choose. Okay, agonized is too strong of a word, but it's seriously difficult to weed through the many many choices and pick and choose which options and features are most important while staying in budget. Although we never had a bad stroller experience, I can imagine a difficult stroller could easily make outings not so much fun. 

Here are the criteria we set for the must haves of our double stroller:

*inline, not double-wide *easily compatible for a toddler and baby *easy adjustable handlebar height *plenty of sun shade cover *five-point harness *not too bulky or heavy *great maneuverability

The couple of things we weren't sure if we wanted were:

 *three vs. four wheel (we loved the three-wheeled Bumbleride) *jogging stroller *air-filled vs. foam-filled tires

After lots of internet research, reading tons of reviews, asking friends for advice, and visiting a baby store, we decided to purchase the Britax B-Ready stroller. Baby Grand, a local baby store, was running a special on the 2011 model and put their price the same or lower than any online retailer, and we're always happy to support a local, small business. So this afternoon we went stroller shopping and brought home this guy:

Without listing all of its features, since you can read them online for yourself if you wish, here are the things we love about it:

*both kids have plenty of space with space leftover in the storage basket for diaper bag or other items *flexibility of seat positions and reclines *works great as both a single and double stroller *super easy to use, fold, maneuver *well made, sturdy, durable *awesome sun shades *came with nice extras (cup holder, organizer for keys/phone/etc., rain cover) *even though bigger and heavier than the Bumblride Indie, it isn't overly so and is definitely not cumbersome

Harper had a fun time playing with the doll-sized strollers, scooter airplane, and other toys while at the store, but once home with the stroller assembled, he wanted to go for a walk in his new ride. We took a short walk around our neighborhood and were given Harper's approval. I can't wait to hit the city streets and trails, and soon with two kiddos!