I love my stroller

Napping while we are out.
North Carolina September 2011

I get stopped all the time when I go out. I don't mind that people want to wave at my babies or ask D if he is a "big help" or throw their hands up in mock distress and say, "I don't know how you do it." Sometimes, yes, I would rather run in and out of a store, but, honestly, even if people weren't stopping me, would that really happen heading out with three kids? I've gotten used to the "you have your hands full" conversations, but one thing I never tire of talking about is my stroller. People stop me all the time to comment on my stroller, either to tell me that they wish they had that stroller back when their kids were young or to find out what it is and where to get it.

Let me start at the beginning. When D was an infant we had two different Chicco strollers, the travel system and the Chicco $40 umbrella stroller. Neither was that exceptional, but they both served their purpose. When we found out we were having twins, I begin doing massive amounts of stroller research. I found fancy looking double strollers, fashionable side-by-sides, strange over-under designs (does the kid stuffed in the bottom of those actually enjoy the ride?), and, of course, the traditional tandem limousine. Having dealt with a stroller that wasn't that great, I knew having a stroller that actually met our needs would make a world of difference in how we functioned when we left the house. The snippets about these strollers online were less than helpful and I wondered what was overpriced and what was worth the money.

Using the car seat adaptors and glider board.
(D was 2 and a half when the babies were born.)
North Carolina May 2011

My dad always advised to me write down what I expect from a product when I am going to make a large purchase. So I sat down and wrote down what I want from our stroller. It had to be tall enough for my husband and I to push comfortably for long distances. Our Chicco strollers were too short, which made pushing the stroller on long walks obnoxious (lots of short steps). I wanted to buy one stroller to last from the time the babies were newborns until they are preschoolers-- very important to me. I wanted a stroller that was able to go where I do: the park, the mall, long walks, in the grass. Those were the most important things to me. The next category of wants involved the price range and maneuverability. I wanted it to be under $1000. I really felt from the beginning that I didn't want a side-by-side, knowing how hard they can be to maneuver with one hand (if I'm in a parking lot, I would need to hold D's hand as we walked into the building, leaving one hand to push the stroller). These were the deal breaking criteria. After that, I considered it would be nice if I could have a glider board and how heavy it would be to fold and lift into the van.

With my list in hand, I started researching. If I saw someone at a store with a stroller I liked, I stopped them and whipped out my notebook, practically interviewing them in the middle of the aisle. "I see you have a bag draped on the handle; does your stroller ever flip over backwards? How easy is it to fold? Do you have any other children?" When I first started asking around, I saw several people with the Contours double stroller and they all said great things about it (thank you, Mom-of-Two, at Target). But I still felt there was another stroller out there that had everything. If there are seven cup holders in my mini van just for the driver, there must be a stroller out there that fit my criteria.

At the pumpkin patch.
North Carolina October 2011

Doing a little online research, I stumbled across the Baby Jogger City Select stroller. I had to see it. I liked the way the Contours stroller looked and the City Select had a similar style, just more compact. I started calling around local stores to see if they had a floor model. A local baby boutique confirmed they had them in stock and a floor model, so I drove over to check it out. It was love at first sight. The stroller turned with the slightest bend of my wrist. I could whip that thing around with one hand. Feeling that I needed to be fair, I gave other doubles a chance. The boutique carried a lot of side-by-side floor models, such as the Bumbleride Indie Twin Stroller, the Baby Jogger City Mini Double Stroller, the Peg Perrego Aria Twin, as well as the Chicco Cortina Together. They had some over-under models, like the Phil and Ted's Classic Double, but I dismissed all of them because I couldn't imagine stuffing an infant down there and the bottom seat was in the way of my gait (remember my criteria?). The tandem stroller was also dismissed because it was much too heavy and cumbersome to push around the store while empty. Plus, being the Chicco, it wasn't any taller than our last Chicco travel system stroller, which was too short for long walks. As for the side-by-sides... I don't know. There may be a fabulous side-by-side out there. However, when I go to DC and visit the Smithsonians, I cringe watching moms having to collapse their side-by-sides just to get them through the metal detectors at the entrance to the museum. There was just to many "How would I...?" questions when I seriously considered side-by-sides. How would I push this through Nordstrom Rack? Or park it on an aisle in the grocery store? Or navigate a crowd? Or hold D's hand in a parking lot? Or push it through a field? Or follow after D at a playground layered with bark? Feeling like there were too many unknowns, I dismissed the side-by-sides.

Both facing forward while we wait at the pediatrician.
North Carolina September 2011

Leaving me with my precious Baby Jogger City Select. I spent an hour pushing that stroller around, disassembling it in the store, asking the sales rep questions. Feeling extremely excited with my choice, I rushed home to tell my husband about it. He hummed and hawed. "It costs too much. Is it worth it?" "Why can't we find something for around $200?" "I don't like the way it looks." (I think he made the last one up because he felt it cost too much.) But I insisted and dragged him to the baby boutique. I made him push it in the store and I could tell by his face he was impressed. Looking at the price on other strollers, he pushed them around, all the while commenting on their negative points, "This one is very hard to turn." "Man, could this weigh more when you fold it up?" "Would this fit through a doorway?" (Incidentally, one of the side-by-sides they were selling didn't fit through their store doorway.) Then we saw they sold the glider board for the City Select and the wheels started turning... We could push all three of our kids on one stroller.

The baby boutique we looked at offered a store loyalty program. Since Baby Jogger is one of the big name stroller brands, they are exempt from store promotions and coupons at large baby stores, like Babies'R'Us or Buy Buy Baby. With the baby boutique's customer loyalty program, we were able to save money on the stroller purchase-- spend $500, get $40 store credit. We split the stroller purchase up and applied the store credit on accessories. If you are interested in buying this stroller, I would recommend calling around and seeing if any baby boutiques near you offer a similar promotion. Otherwise, I have met some moms at parks who said they saved money buying it online, though I don't know which sites they used. When I go to buy accessories for it, I usually buy those through Amazon.

Out shopping with one baby-- only using one seat.
North Carolina November 2011

We bought a lot of accessories for our City Select, customizing it to what our needs were. Originally we purchased the stroller itself, which comes with the stroller frame and one seat. At the same time we bought the second seat kit that includes the mounting brackets to attach the second seat, and the seat itself. Shortly after, I bought the mommy console. We also decided that being able to drop the infant carriers on our stroller was important, so we bought the car seat adaptors for Chicco car seats. To attach the second car seat adaptor to the stroller, you need to have already bought the second seat kit for the mounting brackets. Once the babies came, my mom insisted on getting us the glider board. The glider board has proven to be extremely useful even when we aren't using it for our three-year old. I used it the other day to hold a large cooler when we spent the day at the park. When I'm shopping with all three boys by myself, sometimes I drop a shopping basket on it instead of dragging a cart behind me. Being able to push all three kids on my stroller is fabulous. With all the accessories, it added up to more than my original budget, though we didn't buy them all at once. When our family found we were having twins and asked what we needed for the babies, we told them we wanted this stroller, that's it. My grandmother bought us the stroller and the second seat. My parents bought us the glider board and car seat adaptors. We bought the mommy console, trays for the seats, and extra cup holder. 

How I usually arrange the seats.
North Carolina March 2012

Recently someone asked me if the City Select was worth the money. Without question, YES. This stroller gave me the confidence to get out of the house when the babies were so young. I could fit everything I needed in the large basket underneath (even my dog in his carrier). I walked to places over twenty minutes away from my home because I knew I could push all the boys back home if something went wrong, no carrying D and trying to push a stroller. The brake works if you park it on the side of a hill completely loaded down; I feel like I can trust that brake. I love how easily it maneuvers; I can push it with one hand with no problems. I've driven it over gravel, a trail in the woods for a bug themed park and rec class of D's, up grassy hills, at a pumpkin patch, and every time it handled the terrain with no issues. I can lay the babies down to nap, sit them up to eat, and put their seats in any position I can think of: both facing forward, both facing back, one facing forward and one facing back, one reclining forward and one sitting back, both recling facing back. I can put their feet up, feet down; a small adjustment, but if the feet are up, their blankets don't fall. If their feet are down, we are the size of a single stroller and I can easily go through a crowd or store. When I leave the house with one baby, I can use the same stroller, only putting in one seat, something you can't do with a side-by-side or a tandem. Last week at the park, I had a large cooler on the glider board, sunscreen and sanitizing wipes in the back of the seats, three McDonald's drinks in the mommy console, as well as a large diaper bag, my purse, a picnic blanket, and one of those collapsible chairs in the basket underneath. I was set to spend all day at the park with the boys.

Both seats reclining facing backwards (D making silly faces.)
North Carolina December 2011

At one point I was going to buy the "Hychair" attachments for our seats, converting them to clip on high chairs at a table. I changed my mind when I saw how messy the babies are when they eat and how often we go to restaurants that have four table legs instead of a center post (um, very infrequently). We just flew with our stroller, buying the Buy Buy Baby "Gate check" bag for $18. Our trip was last minute or I would have ordered the Baby Jogger travel bag. The gate check bag already has a hole in it, but it did work fine for checking the stroller at the gate. The TSA agents asked, "Did you spend a fortune on that stroller? You must have for it to collapse like that!" They were all impressed that we could easily get our double stroller through the scanner and just as easily reassemble it, popping the wheels back on, the mounting brackets, and seats. The Baby Jogger City Mini single stroller (a stroller I wish I had when D was a baby), folds with one hand. Literally. I myself have folded it with one hand holding a baby and put it in the trunk of a car. (Baby Jogger, do you ever cease to impress?) The City Select doesn't fold that easily. It took me a couple times of practice to figure out the best way for me to fold it. I take off the seats and stack them vertically in the back of my van. Then I stand to the right of the frame and lift up on the "fold" handles located on either side of the stroller. Holding the stroller by those handles, I place the stroller in my van with the front of the stroller going into the van first. That way when I lift the stroller out, the handle is facing me and I can put the parking brake on, drop my diaper bag in, and put the seats on.

When I'm out and someone stops to compliment me on my "fancy stroller," it takes everything in me not to tell them every single reason why I love it so much. Usually I will reply, "Oh, we love our stroller!" or "Best thing we bought for the babies!" My favorite is when an expecting mom stops to ask me if we like it and what makes it so special. I love gushing about my stroller. The hardest thing to put in words is just how easy it makes things, how easy it is to push, how easy it is to travel with... The best thing about my stroller is that it makes my life easier. For that, I will always love it.

For more pictures of the stroller, check out the Mommy Resources tab.