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Confession of a Former Stroller Snob
Yes, I am a ministers wife. Yes, I am a cheapskate. Yes, I make fun of snooty people who buy overpriced things. You would think that a combinaton of these things would make me a pious woman who was grateful for every little blessing that came from the Lord. While I am grateful, there are times I find my inner snob showing its tiara clad head.
No place has this been more evident than in my stroller desires. When I began my research (before I was even preggers) I had concluded that the only way to get a decent stroller was to buy one that was at a minimum $700 (not including accessories). Before you laugh at me you must understand something. I live in NYC smack in the middle of Manhattan. To make matters worse I am on the Upper West Side. Do you know what that means? Well any New Yorker with her salt will tell you that is official stroller land. You can’t turn a corner without seeing a mother (or nanny) pushing around a little one.
While almost every toddler mom switches to a McLaren Umbrella (need one for nursery school), the infant moms push bassinet convertible prams. The most common are the Stokke Explorer, Bugaboo Camelion and Uppa Baby Vista. Although all of these strollers will end up running you a grand when you add up all the accesories and what not, they have become my “normal”. The thought of a travel system, or as I like to call them suburb strollers, was repugnant to me. I mean honestly I couldn’t be seen on Central Park West with one of those. Not only would it look terrible, but it wouldn’t survive these mean streets.
It was just that train of thought that had me go to an expensive baby store called Giggle. A onsie in this place is like $40. As I began browsing their stroller section and immediately turned my attention to the $1,000 and up section. Since I considered myself somewhat of a Stroller expert I began spouting out the cons and pros to the sales people. They seemed impressed with my knowledge and I felt validated in my justifications of such a big purchase. Suddenly a sales woman asked me if I had considered the Baby Jogger City Mini.
The what?
This one over here.
But its a jogging stroller.
That’s what everyone thinks but actually its just made to withstand shock better.
Hmmm….it’s not that cute.
Its our most popular one.
Really how much is it?
$229.
(GASP!) Well something that cheap would never survive in NY.
Not true. In fact it was built with an urban mom in mind. Let me show you.
She then proceeded to tell me all about its features. I was borderline impressed, but not sold on it. Then she did something I had never seen before. She reached in the middle of the thing and pulled a litte handle. The stroller folded completely flat. She sat it back down and pulled the handle bar and it came back to normal…just like a little Transformer. I was in shock.
Wow!!!
(She smiled and gave me an I told you so look.) See its great or a apartment living becasue you don’t need any storage for it. Plus it works great for the subway, bus and cabs. It why the owner of the store recommends this one the most.
Really?
Yup. Oh and suburban moms love it too. So if you move out the city it will work well too.
(She was reading my thoughts like a book.) Hmmm…interesting.
I was officially impressed. BUT, I wasn’t sold yet I mean it was so cheap. Something had to be wrong with it. I played with it awhile and left feeling very confused. I had my heart set on a stroller with interchangeable seats and accessories that I didn’t need, but liked to know were there.
How could she do this to me?!?
Dreams of pushing Peanut in a bassinet pram began to shatter. God forbid if Chris got hold of this info he would no doubt try to reason with me. I didn’t want reasoning…I wanted my dream stroller! (Whahhhh!!!) I needed someone who would validate those desires not tell me I was being spoiled and irrational. So I kept my new found info a secret. I needed time to come to grips and accept what was sure to become the inevitable: I would be a City Mini mom.
Ever since that day I have been fighting with my inner stroller snob. The secret battle has raged but alas, my better judgement and budget have won out. Coming this winter I will be strolling our little Peanut in a Baby Jogger. I actually have fallen in love with it. The more I looked at its features and compared it to the others, the decision has felt that much better. Now I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
Also, to my surprise its a big hit amongst celebrity parents (not that I EVER care what a celebrity does), but it speaks to the quality of the product since these people have endless amounts of money to buy what every their royal offspring desires.
I’m learning that when your having a baby you can’t be one yourself. You have to make decisions that are rational and not based on spoiled notions of entitlement or by what other people think. At the end of the day it’s whats best for your family. Now my only dilemma is whether to buy it online and get free shipping with no sales tax OR from a local store with my 20% off coupon with sales tax. At least the hard part is over.
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7 Responses
Think about all the clothes you can buy with that $700 that you wont spend on the stroller
“I’m learning that when you’re having a baby you can’t be one yourself!” lol
Melanie!!! The stroller hunt is over for you already??? It took me almost my entire pregnancy to decide and even then i changed my mind.
My original stroller was a Mutsy 4Rider and with all accessories cost me over $900.00. #EpicFail on my part i know! But now we’ve transferred to an umbrella stroller for use to and from daycare.
Now that we are planning number 2 i’m in love with this double jogger by easy walker but this time i promise to choose based on practicality and not how much i like with the color.
I’m due in 2 weeks and live in Harlem and can’t believe all the super pricey strollers we see even up here. DH and I went and tested all the expensive, fancy ones and were not impressed. We really wanted our baby to be able to face us, but needed something lightweight and that could handle DH’s 6’8″ height and stride.
In the end we got the $150 First Years Indigo stroller on Amazon as a registry gift and are extremely happy with it and will see how baby fares in it once she’s here. The reviews are fantastic and it’s a cinch to maneuver, reposition and collapse. We also knew we’d be having another baby in the next 2 years so didn’t want to break the bank. We’ll probably go for a Phil & Ted’s at that point. Good luck with your stroller!
Cute stroller. I live in a suburb so my take on strollers is a little different.
Two things I considered were:
(1) will it recline far enough for a newborn with no neck support? Most like this don’t and baby won’t be able to support their head even with those little head support thingys they sell.
(2) will it require you to have to take baby all the way out while baby is sleeping? Alot of times when I’m out with my little guy, he’ll fall asleep. I hated having to take him out of his car seat to move him to his stroller and then back again when I was on the go because it almost always woke him up. I ended up getting a stroller that could hold a car seat so I could just drop the car seat into the stroller and not have to wake up baby. To compliment the stroller, I bought a moby wrap to wear him around when I was in a position where I couldn’t use his car seat / stroller combo (i.e. in the city).
It’s definitely a hit, it’s the one that gets the most hits for its type.
Baby Jogger City Mini
LOL!! You are too funny Mel!!…but I love you! Personally, I think it’s cute! However, I just bought another stroller…The Jeep Transport and I absolutely LOVE that stroller (I even got the matching diaper bag!!). So, just for thought, if you ever decide to buy another one to defend the “mean” streets of NYC or the Suburbs, I recommend that one to you. It withstands any type of bump or shall I say POTHOLE imaginable!! Best Wishes!!