Stroller Mama Blog

It’s going to be an exciting event when President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office this January but it may be tricky for some parents that are bringing their little ones since a “no stroller” rule has been put into place along the parade route for the event for security reasons.  And it’s not just strollers prohibited along the parade route, it also includes a prohibition on all chairs- period (so make sure you wear your comfy tennis shoes!) 

And if you are one of the lucky 240,000 ticket holders sitting close on the West Front of the Capital, you can also leave your backpacks, diaper bags, umbrellas, signs and coolers at home.  It is sure to be a historic day for our country, but it may leave our parents with very tired arms from carrying their little ones! 

If you want to be a part of the experience with your family and just can’t part with your Bugaboo or Phil & Teds for the day, head over to the National Mall where you don’t need a ticket and where the restrictions on strollers won’t be in place.  Of course, you’ll have to see everything on the Jumbotrons, but you’ll still be close by and should be able to feel the vibe of being there on such a historic day!

If you are looking for some innovative, excellent quality stroller accessories, now is the perfect time to check out the Carry You stroller accessories for a limited-time holiday sale.  For a short time only, prices are marked down 25-50% off regular prices.  The Siena Snack Tray and Piccolo Snack tray are both terrific for strollers that have a front bumper bar but not a child tray or cupholder.  Many of our parents are looking for a place for their kids to put a sippy cup and a snack since many of our upscale strollers don’t have the typical “american” child snack tray.  The Siena and Piccolo are the perfect solution! The Siena Snack Tray is for larger strollers and the Piccolo Snack Tray works for smaller strollers. 

The Demi Milan, Sicily and Torino organizers are all great options for parent storage and parent cupholders.  The Torino Horizontal organizer is best for jogger style strollers, the Sicily works with side-by-side double strollers and the Demi Milan works with many single strollers.  They all give parents a place to put their bottle of water, keys and blackberry.  The Pescara side saddle bags are great for additional storage on many different models of strollers . 

The Carry You products are durable and innovative.  They provide lots of additional storage and give parents and kids a place to keep a drink (No Starbucks, of course!  Just cold drinks!)  If you have any questions about which Carry You product is the best fit for your stroller, just let us know and we can point you in the right direction!  Grab some now at 25-50% off until January 10th!

So, by now you all know that I use or have used lots of strollers.  It is, by far, my favorite part of being an owner of StrollerMama!  So, I recently decided to take a Pink Bugaboo Bee.  I was a bit hestitant because my just-turned-two year old daughter has become a bit of a stroller snob (wonder where she got that…..) and seems to be super fussy and squirmy when taking other rides I have other than her Bugaboo Cameleon. 

I wasn’t sure if she would fuss about not having a front bumper bar (she likes to sit up and hold on to it).  I was hemming and hawing about whether or not to try it and then I was in Palm Springs, Florida for a long weekend (can you say beautiful?) and it was Bee central!  I’ve never seen so many Bugaboo Bees!  So, that was the straw the broke the camels back and I took one to use when I got home.

The verdict is that it is a hit!  My daughter was well behaved and happy in her new Bugaboo Bee.  I was happy that I still had my pink Bugaboo canopy (I loved my pink canopy on my Cameleon) and it pushed like a dream!  The four wheel independent suspension really did the trick.  And the best part was the fold.  Super quick and easy with the seat on!  Not that the fold is difficult on the Cameleon- just more steps and the chassis and the seat take up more room in the back of my minivan. 

So, I’m glad it tried it.  Honestly, I was always a bit on the fence about the Bee before I personally tried it but now it is definitely my new favorite stroller!

So, I know everyone is trying to save their pennies to buy holiday gifts this season.  The folks at Dorel, who distribute the Quinny strollers here in the U.S., know this and have created a special offer for our customers.  For a limited time (11/28/08-12/31/08), when you purchase a 2009 Quinny Buzz stroller, you can receive a $50 Visa gift card directly from Dorel.  All you need to do is mail in your StrollerMama receipt, UPC code from the stroller box and the order form and you’ll receive your $50 Visa gift card in the mail.  This is a great opportunity to get a great stroller and get a little money back at the same time!

Britax has taken their car seats to the next level of safety.  Known by parents as one of the best car seats on the market, Britax introduces the new Boulevard Click & Safe.  This car seat takes the Boulevard and adds a new safety feature for parents designed to help make sure parents properly buckle in their kids.  In order to provide optimal safety, the harness must be fit snugly and properly on the child.  The Click & Safe takes the guess work out of that for parents.  Parents just need to pull on the straps to tighten and once they hear the audible clicking noise, they know it is tight.  You can buy the safest car seat on the market, but unless it is used properly, it won’t be safe.  This solves the common mistake that parents make of inadequately tighting the harness straps.  Britax always seems to be one step ahead of the game with innovative safety features for their car seats and the Boulevard CS is the perfect example of that.  Four great new colors are now in stock!

For all of you parents out there whose toddlers are obsessed with buckles and straps, we have finally found the perfect product.  Meet BuckleyBoo! Co-created by a child psychologist and a grandma, BuckleyBoo encourages cognitive development.  First, a small baby can use the brightly patterned ribbons for matching.  Then, around fifteen months, they can start playing with the buckles (with the help of a parent) and then as they grow up BuckleyCat, BuckleyDog and BuckleyBear can be used in imaginative play. 

My 23 month old daughter loves her BuckleyCat (as you can see above)!  She can’t do and undo the buckles herself so we sit down on the rug and play together.  Once she is done with that, BuckleyCat usually gets taken for a walk in her Valco Mini Marathon stroller around the house!  BuckleyBoo is a terrific baby shower gift, present for a new baby or big brother/big sister gift!

So, you love the great push and ability to use a Valco Trimode Twin, Bob Duallie or Mountain Buggy Urban Double outdoors but want something like a Maclaren Twin Triumph to throw in the back of your vehicle so what do you do?  Now there are a few new options of what we consider “hybrid” strollers that are a cross between and all-terrain and an umbrella.  Two great options to consider are the Valco Twin Latitude and the Baby Jogger City Mini Double.  Today I’m talking about the double versions, but both models come in a single model, Valco Latitude and Baby Jogger City Mini as well. 

The Valco Twin Latitude is a gorgeous double stroller.  It weighs in at about 29 lbs. and has two independent seats and canopies.  It can take a Graco or Peg carseat (adapter purchased separately) on one side (although it is a bit tight and you need to take the canopies off and attach a small canopy on the toddler side).  The stroller has a full recline so it is suitable from birth.  The storage basket is very generous.  It has an adjustable telescopic handlebar great for taller parents and comes fully loaded with a raincover, bumper bar and coordinating boot that covers both seats.  The quality is true to Valco style. Not for jogging but can handle more than the mall- the Valco Twin Latitude is a great new option for parents. 

Another great option is the Baby Jogger City Mini Double.  The Baby Jogger City Mini Double has a 100 lb. total weight limit and a terrific push.  It fits through a standard doorway and has that great Baby Jogger “quick fold” that they are famous for.  It weighs in at only 23 lbs. and is suitable from birth.   We liked this stroller so much that we recently added it to our store because we heard such great things about it from our parents.  Now we love it, too!

Both strollers have 8″ wheels that allow them to handle outdoor walking better than a traditional umbrella/lightweight twin stroller.  So, if you need a bit more than a lightweight, but don’t have the space for an all-terrain, these two strollers might be a great fit for your family.

When the boys at Grand Touring Baby decided to phase out the Rock Star Baby Stroller to introduce the I’coo Targo, we thought it was bittersweet.  While Amy and I love the smooth push and refined look of the I’coo Targo, we (and our customers) missed the edginess of the Rock Star Baby Stroller.  We passed that feedback on to the makers and they decided to bring back the Rock Star Baby Stroller in a new and exciting way - this time as an I’coo Targo!

Shipping January 2009 and now available for pre-order on StrollerMama, the Rock Star Baby Limited Edition I’coo Targo has the best of both worlds.   This Limited Edition Rock Star Baby Targo has all of the great features of the regular I’coo Targo but adds the ultimate in style.  Classic jet black fabric is adorned with Swarvoski crystals with an edgy skull and crossbones design.  This is not a buggy for every baby - just for those whose parents want something hip and different.  The functionality is unbeatable and the look is cutting edge.

Both the seat and the bassinet fabrics have the sparkling embellishments and rock star logos.  Jon Bon Jovi and Tico Torres have done it again bringing a super cool look to an already amazing stroller.  This one won’t be around forever as it will be a limited run so if you want one, grab one while you can.  We can’t wait for them to get here!

After months of anticipation, the Phil & Teds Dash Buggy has finally arrived!  We saw it in Las Vegas last September and Amy and I were skeptical.  How does the Dash fit into the P&T line of strollers?  Months later and after attending Phil & Teds University in Atlanta this past May, we figured it out.  The Dash is the Active Urban Inline.  Once we got our hands on the Dash, there was no turning back.  I always had a love affair with my e3 but after seeing the Dash it was finally time for me to upgrade!

The Dash uses the Sport Buggy frame as its base but beyond that, there are many differences and improvements.  The fabric is upscale - heavy duty but soft.  The seat has a wonderful plush seat liner (that is removable).  The colors are black (which is black with charcoal and a slight bit of khaki on the backside fabric of the liner) and red (true red with the liner being a slightly different but very similar shade of red). 

The Dash functions in the same way as the other Phil & Teds inline buggies.  You can use it in newborn/toddler position with the baby lying flat or in toddler/toddler position.  The Dash has a plastic footwell which makes cleaning a snap.  The biggest improvement with the Dash is the intelligent handle hand brake.  No more fighting with the foot brake with your flip flops on like you have to with your Sport Buggy.  To engage the brake, just pull the handlebar down to the lowest position.  It is as simple as that.  The other great feature is the easy trigger fold mechanism.  Unlike the Sport Buggy where you have to bend down to fold the stroller at the seat, you just pull on the trigger on the handlebar to fold the Dash.

The Dash also has a small pocket on the back of the seat.  The frame of the doubles kit is covered in fabric (similar to the Vibe and unlike the Sport Buggy).  All of these things are small improvements designed to make the parent’s life easier.

To celebrate the long awaited debut of the Dash, we are running a special and very limited time offer of DOUBLE YOUR BUGGY FOR FREE.  Purchase a single Dash buggy and receive the doubles kit ($99.95 value) for free.  We have a very limited number, so if you were on the fence about which P&T inline to go for, this would be the time to jump on the Dash!  The Double Your Buggy For Free promotion is for a limited time only and while supplies last.  Enjoy!

So, this is a little break from my stroller reviews and just a real life story from last night.  All of my kids have food allergies and we have been dealing with them since my oldest daughter was seven months old.  My four year old son who is severly allergic to dairy, sesame seeds, peanuts and tree nuts, got a few bites of oatmeal last night that had milk as an ingredient and two seconds later he started crying that his throat hurt.  This was pretty old hat for me and I immediately knew it was a reaction.  I gave him Benadryl, had my mom over within minutes to watch my girls and hopped in the car to drive to the ER which was a few minutes away (with my Epi Pen literally in my hand). 

My poor little thing fell fast asleep in the car (who wouldn’t after a full day of camp followed by swimming lessons and a big dose of Benadryl?)  My stroller tie in here is that I then squished him into my Quinny Buzz (which my 19 month old uses) to roll him into the ER.  Not a great fit for him but, hey, it did the job!

After some monitoring, a dose of oral steroids and several long hours, a very exhausted toddler (and parents) made their way back home.  Food allergies can be overwhelming at times so I thought I would just give a shout out to all of you parents out there that deal with them like we do.  Also, I thought I would pass along some information for those parents who would like to learn more.  Here is a fantastic Newsweek article about food allergies in the classroom that actually featured my daughter and our family (quite an honor for us!) as well as a link to the Food Allergy Network which has tons of information about food allergies.