All things strollers...

Hey everyone, I wanted to start this post by saying a huge THANK YOU to everyone who responded to my IG story about double strollers! I got soo many messages and can't wait to go check out the two strollers I'm considering in person.  Since this was such a popular topic, I thought it would be fun to do a post all about strollers.

I wanted to start by sharing my favorite SINGLE stroller, the Bugaboo Cameleon, and then follow it up with all of the awesome input I got from my readers about the double strollers and all of the considerations for both the Uppababy Vista and the City Select Lux. Update: After shopping for both of these, I have added one additional option to the mix - the Silver Cross - which I was told the Royal Family just bought. It's so stylish!

Also - Both the Bugaboo Cameleon Single and the City Select Lux are on MAJOR sale for the Nordstrom anniversary sale right now! So if you are considering either one, I would urge you to go for it now, this is the cheapest I've ever seen the Bugaboo!

SINGLE STROLLER
I absolutely fell in LOVE with the Bugaboo Cameleon, a European stroller, when I was shopping around while pregnant. I have been SO happy with our decision to buy this stroller and plan on keeping it for as long as possible. 
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My favorite features:
- The sleek, flexible design - with lots of customizable options and colors.
- Light weight and folds down easily. It's literally a 1-2 step breakdown process depending on which mode you are using it in. Loads/unloads into my SUV so easily!
- All terrain, rubber tires - NOT plastic ones
- Three modes - Bassinet, Car Seat, or Toddler seat with a variety of configurations in each mode.
- Handlebars that adjust for both my height (5'1") and my husbands (6'5"). 
- Super easy to travel with.
- Removable sun canopy (the sun canopy is also extendable so you can basically cover the whole stroller). 
- You can also remove the basket from underneath the stroller

With the Maxi Cosi Car Seat (also on sale right now!) I was easily able to pop it right into the stroller base when P was an infant.  You need two adapters that are easy to pop on and take in and out.  I will say that when I was with all of my Amma Mama friends, and we would go walking with our new babies, my stroller/car seat combo was easily the most compact and easy to maneuver. 

HANDLE BAR AND SEAT CONFIGURATION FLEXIBILITY
One of the cool features about this stroller is that you can flip the handle bars from front to back. In this picture on the beach, you can see that the handle bar is over the small wheels, but in the other pictures, you can see that it's over the big wheels. THIS FEATURE IS SO NICE!! We never could've walked on the beach with the small wheels in front, so we flipped directions and were able to take it on the sand with the big wheels in front. I'm sure you can't do this with a lot of strollers.  This is also really nice when you are on walks and the sun is in a tough spot and you want to flip around the stroller so the suns not on baby, or you just want to look at them. :)  

The other amazing feature here is that the seat has three positions - completely laid back so kiddos can nap, middle recline (which P is here in the beach picture), or straight up - and you can face them out or toward you. So with the toddler seat there are 6 configurations.

The bassinet looks so cute on this stroller too! I miss those days and am excited to put P's little brother in the bassinet feature soon!

Another added bonus, these strollers keep their value for either trade in or re-sale, so when it's time to move on (if you choose) you can still get a nice pay back. :)

The only downside about this stroller is that it doesn't convert to a double stroller and the basket below is kind of small so it doesn't always fit my big bags that easily, I kind of have to cram them in there.

​On to DOUBLE STROLLERS! 

There were so many great messages that I received about these two strollers and you can pretty much say that people love their strollers! I've summarized the feedback I received on these below, and actually went to Baby Grand, a local store, to play around with these strollers and have added in some of my thoughts, too, and also a new stroller option to consider and what we're thinking. 

UPPABABY VISTA DOUBLE
Pros

• Overall, lots of people LOVE this stroller! And I'm in love with how it looks.
• Love the oversized large basket below
• Easy to transport/travel with
• Not super bulky and heavy
• People love the skateboard option on this
• Maneuvers really well
• Lots of customizable options
• Easy to use as a single or double stroller

Cons/Considerations

• Front seat/rumble seat only goes to 30 lbs
• The stroller gets front loaded when the toddler is down in the rumble seat and baby is on top, which can be challenging when walking on side walks, etc.
• There's very little room between the two seats
• When I went to Baby Grand, a local store that is a great resource for stroller shopping, they don't even have the rumble seat for this because they don't recommend it as a double stroller to their customers

Verdict: If I were looking for an amazing single stroller, I would definitely look at this one because people love it so much and it can grow with your family into a double stroller. However, as only a double stroller, I don't think this one will work for us due to the low weight limit on the rumble seat and how cramped the space is of both the toddler seats. 

City Select LUX
Pros

• Overall, a lot of positive feedback about this stroller, too!
• Folds down pretty compact and easily
• Rumble seat accommodates higher weight limit than UB - up to 50 lbs!
• Variety of configurations, including both kiddos facing one another
• Nice, big under basket
• Lots of customizable options
• Includes a sit & stand option, which is perfect for kiddos as they age!
• Easy to use as a single or double stroller
• Most spacious of all options reviewed when two toddler seats are on and both facing forward

Cons/Considerations

• Can be heavy to load in & out of the car. 
• Compare the Lux with the regular City Select, because all of the upgrades are not necessarily worth the price in one readers opinion. (Ex: location of the brake & nuances with adjusting the handlebars each time they were putting the car seat in.)  In reviewing the Lux to the regular option, I preferred the Lux, mostly because of the sit/stand option, but I also didn't like the location of the brake.
• Doesn't come with the bassinet like UB does.
• Didn't like the clasp/safety straps in comparison to the UB. This didn't bother me, I actually prefer the straps on the CS over the UB. 
• Not as aesthetically pleasing as other models - since I love design, this is somewhat important to me, but not over functionality.

Verdict: My number one pick right now. Although I wish it looked a little nicer from a design perspective, I think it hits all the points I am looking for from a functionality perspective, and it's a top selling double stroller. I love that it has the most space and has a sit/stand option and comes in a pretty gray.

Lastly, when I was at Baby Grand, I saw this Silver Cross stroller that I was unfamiliar with. From a design perspective, this is absolutely my number one pick! I really loved it, but it doesn't fold down very small, so it's better designed for city folks vs. those that need to fold it up and take it in/out of the car.  Also, it's REALLY heavy, like WAY heavier than the City Select Lux.  The gal at Baby Grand was telling me the royal family just bought this one, and I can see why, it's beautiful.  I suppose this would be a good option if you are also going to have another side by side stroller for walking or a more compact umbrella stroller to load/unload in the car, too. 

Another reader suggested the Austlen Entourage, which looks interesting too! I like the sit/stand option on this. 

Since the Nordstrom Anni Sale starts tomorrow for non-cardholders, aka ME, I'm hoping to make a final decision soon. This is a tough one, in my opinion, there's no perfect double stroller. I wish I could design one that would expand to side-by-side like the Bugaboo Donkey, or convert to a single and go front & back. 

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