Monday, July 23, 2007

BOB's Your Uncle!

Oh my my! Let's talk about strollers, shall we? When I was about 2 months pregnant, my generous and thoughtful mother-in-law offered to buy me the stroller of my choice. Now of course, the first thing that popped into my head was Bugaboo! Bugaboo! I want a Bugaboo! With Green and Blue and the bassinet feature and, and, and... But, I didn't say any of that. I knew just how spendy that ole' Bugaboo was ($749!), and so I opted for the prim and practical Maclaren. Well, the Kate Spade designed Maclaren that is. Ya know, the one in navy with the little white polka dots on it. We girls love our polka dots.


I was so excited when it arrived! I envisioned long, leisurely strolls with my precious bundle cooing at every corner. I couldn't wait! Of course, this was B.PZ, and before I read all those Dr. Sears books about wearing you baby. By the time A.PZ rolled along, I couldn't bring myself to put my tiny baby in the stroller, polka dots or no. So out came the Baby Bjorn and the Maclaren was relegated into a door stop for my front door.

This lasted about 6 months until PZ's feet started pressing down on my knees when I took the stairs. Worn out, and concerned about the hump forming on my back, I realized it was time to take the stroller for a test drive. What a disaster! Prim turned out to mean tiny bordering on painful, practical apparently meant completely lacking in much needed amenities (i.e. cup holder, pockets, roomy insides, carrying space underneath, breaks, shocks, etc.), and polka dotted...well, that part was still fantastic. Disappointed, I shoved the stroller back into the hole behind the door and went sling shopping.

I continued wearing PZ relatively happily for the next 9 months rain or shine, cold or hot, fussy or content. I hauled 20+ pounds of baby with grocery bags, diaper bag, while I walked the dogs. Finally she started walking and on the advise of a very astute massage therapist who reported that my body was "ANGRY" I agreed to switch back to a stroller.

So I blew the dust off of it, tried to bend the shade back into a somewhat shade-like shape, and trotted PZ out in it ready to pretend we were all old pals. All it took was one bumpy, jumpy, jarring ride across the lawn at the Sewallcrest Park with PZ howling and frantically trying to escape and I knew the Maclaren was no friend of mine. Several of my mommy friends had jogging strollers and I'd seen their kids ride along without distress. I had convinced myself for all those months that PZ having been worn for so long couldn't possibly enjoy a stroller now. We'd missed our window, right?

Wrong!


After hearing my friend Anne rave about her new stroller exercise class and checking in with my still puffy waistline, I decided to go to Segal's For Children and see what they had in stock. I had done a little on-line and local mommy research and knew that I was interested in the BOB, the Phil&Ted, and the Schwinn jogger. Well, pink and brown (new for the season), long, tall, with plenty of pockets and jacked up with shocks, the BOB won by a mile. And after only one trip around the store in the BOB, PZ didn't want to get out! I was sold.

We love our BOB! Its part of the family. The stroller practically glides its so smooth and I can fit most of my groceries underneath. PZ has two pockets of her own inside the stroller and I bought the cup holder accessory so I've got room for 2 bottle of water and a pocket for my keys, wallet, and cell. Yeah! If they were cheaper(they run about $350 new) I'd give them as baby shower gifts. Okay, a LOT cheaper, but you know what I mean.

We're going to Chicago soon and I was tempted to leave the stroller at home since my mother-in-law is apparently bringing an umbrella stroller up from Cleveland. But like I said, BOB's part of the family. Look out Chicago, here we come!