Stoller for My 2Year Old and Infant

I have a 3 yr old and a baby due..well NOW. LOL Anyway, I went around a few months ago and tried all the strollers. I would push them through the stores, fold them up, etc. The one I found to be the best and take up the least space is the Joovy Caboose Ultralight. It is a bit more expensive than some of the other ones, but is well worth it. I wanted a sitdown stand up one because my son is really too old to be riding all the time in a stroller, and Idid not want to make him feel confined. But I like the fact that he can sit down comfortably when he wants too, or stand and ride facing out so he can see where we are going. There are different types of Joovy strollers, the little extra you pay for the Ultralight makes up for it, the difference in weight is amazing.

T.

I have four kids ranging in age from 14 to 2, plus an ongoing daycare. Let's just say I have purchased my share of strollers. I LOVE the new quattro double stroller. It has many of the necessary features. I have a single quattro for my daughter now and it is by far my favorite stroller ever, Even the pricey ones just don't have features american women prefer. It is ergonomically designed so tall people like me, and at least your husband can comfortably push it around. The option of an open seat in the front makes a 2-3-4 yr old feel like it's his "lazy boy" seat and not a strapped in stroller. Many kids after about 2 1/2 don't like to be put under a "bar" because it reminds them of being babies. It is a big stroller, it is bulkier than a lightweight combi, but if you have the room and don't mind using your muscles for just a few minutes each day, this one is great. the infant seat fits really nicely and, being the car-seat guru I am, the Graco Safe seat is one of the best infant seats you can buy because it is deeper and allows for an infant to reach 30 pounds and still remain rear-facing. I can't remember the height, but it is a whole lot better than most of the others. We have always been told to forward face our kids at 20 pounds and a year, but that is dead wrong, your child will always be MUCH safer rear-facing as long as possible, so when choosing a car seat, make sure it has a high weight and height limit for rear-facing. I babysit 4 2 yr olds, includin my old, they range in size from 22-34 pounds and they are ALL rear-facing. I dred the day I HAVE to turn them around. Hench another reason to love this stroller. Check craigslist, I see them all the time, rarely used for about $150...sometimes with the matching seat. Some smaller framed women complain that it's too bulky or they didn't check to make sure it fit well in their cars, so they sell them for up to $100 off.
I recently saw a new stroller, it was red and had adjustable seats like the really expensive ones, i don't know what it was called, but if you search babiesrus.com, and click on the double stroller link, it's the first one on the page. It is WAY cool. I haven't driven it, but saw a woman with it at a festival and she was about 9 months pregnant with a 2 yr old in the front. It had a bar to attach your car seat and could also use the second seat. She manuvered it with easeup hills and through sandy patches of dirt, it was HUGE though.
Good Luck, and rememberm you little one will insist on getting out of that stroller and walking and even though you may want to let him stretch his legs and walk with you, you will find yourself chasing a two year old while trying to drive a double stroller with a screaming infant inside, always decide before you start walking where your older child is going to be, walking or riding, then stick with it no matter what sort of fight he puts up. I recommend some walks around the neighborhood to reinforce to him that regardless of the fit he throws, he IS going to ride when you say so, that way when you are in public, he will be past trying to thrown a fit. good Luck

Target sells a sit and stand stroller for about $120. It's wonderful. It's less bulky than than other double strollers and maneuvers a lot better than the other ones do too. It has an attachment for the infant carrier that works well too. My girls are 2 and 3 and I took the snack tray off the front so that whoever is sitting in the front can climb easily in and out (The kid in the back can easily climb in and out too). It works perfect for places like the zoo where they want to get out and look.

I have the Graco and love it! When I first had my son we had an Evenflo and it was awful. The Graco is light when you are picking it up and I LOVE the way it folds (into itself, not collapsing to the ground like the Evenflo). I have a few friends who have the Graco and love it as well. I like that it sits up. I mean they all sit up but the Graco sits up pretty much straight and that was a big problem with Evenflo. Evenflo didn't really sit up at all. My sister in law bought the tandem when she first had her daughter (she has an older child-4) and they barely used it. The wheel was defective and when they replaced the part she said the kids didn't like it and she didn't because it was a "load". Good luck

My kids are 25 months apart and we LOVE the sit n' stand stroller. It has a bar attachemnt for the car seat and allows the older child the option to sit and be strapped down or stand up and hold on. My older one loves it as well. Good luck!

Hi M.,
I have the 05 or 06 model of the graco duo. I love it!!! I haven't had any problems with it at all. I have three boys and the older two are pretty rough and it's still holding up great. I have no complaints here.
R.

I love my Graco Duo Stroller. And the infant car seat snaps right in. (I got matching Graco car seat in black/silver colors.) You'll have your little girl in the front seat and you can snap your baby in the infant carrier in the back seat/facing you...it's perfect...and sturdy. I bought ours online for less than what Babies R Us sells it for ~I think it was about $150...Good luck and God Bless. Love, B. ~ mommy of twins...

M.,

I have one of those Sit-N-Stand strollers. I have absolutely love it!! My daughter had just turned 2 when my sone was born and she loved riding backwards on the "big girl" seat. She did eventually learn that she could stand safely as well, but once she hit that stage, she prefered to walk beside us holding on the the stroller anyway.

If this is something you think would work for you, we no longer use ours and it has TONS of life left in it. You can have it, just let me know. Oh, the car seat attachment works great with it, too.

Everyone has different features that are most important to them. My advice is to go to the stores, Babies R Us, Baby Depot in the Burlington Coat Factory, etc and try them out yourself. Practice opening and folding them down. See which one pushes easiest for you. Almost all will fit the infant carrier.
We have the Graco one and love it. But we "test drove" just about every model there was available. Good luck!

I have the Kolkraft Stroller and I love it. It maneuvers really well in malls, shopping, etc. My son is 18 months and loves to sit and ride in it. If he happens to fall asleep, you can recline the seat. The infact attachment works very well. Once your baby is old enough to sit in the seat, it easily comes off and you click the chair in its place. Its a little heavy and wide so you will need space in the back of your car but worth how easy it moves and its appearance.