lovely lovely little belly!

1. We first bought a Maclaren Techno XT. A year later I rallied to add a volo to the mix. Now that #2 is coming, we also we’re just given by my mom a Phil and Teds. We use the XT the most. The volo is good for public transportation. The Phil and Teds is still in the box in my foyer.

2. We registered for a Britax Decatholon. If I were buying it myself, I’d get a Marathon. Same difference, pretty much, a little less money. The Britax has very high safety ratings, it is comfy, and easy(ish) to use. Worth the money, I think.

We got the cheapest Graco Snugride for when he was teeny tiny. It worked well, but it was not comfortable enough, thus our car rides were pretty hellish… what with the screams and protests from Mr. Newborn.

3. Everyone I know who buys a travel system regrets it. They are very very heavy and tricky to fold, especially with a newborn in one hand while you’re trying to recover from giving birth. We just got the $50 Snap and Go and the Snugride and the whole she-bang was around 100 bucks. When baby number two grows out of the infant car seat, I expect to sell the Snap and Go for $25.

That’s just my humble opinion. Keep in mind that we live in NYC, where you use a stroller so often that a little more of a financial investment is in order.

Happy shopping!

We did a lot of research online and in books before going to look at strollers in person – perhaps TOO much. You should read a bit so you know the different options and features, but don’t get stuck on one brand or model before you see them. We chose a Maclaren – and it has been fabulous, we really have no complaints – but now that we are more than halfway to the second installment, I am wishing I’d looked more at Peg Peregos because they have the little step on the back for an older kid to ride on. Small detail we probably wouldn’t have factored in three years ago – but the more important part is we never even test drove PPs because of all the reading we’d done about Macs.

My mom gave us a travel system without asking what we wanted. The carseat turned out to be excellent but we gave the stroller back to her, telling her we wanted her to have one at her house. Truth is, I hated it. It was a big behemoth and took up all the space in our car. We used a Snap & Go while she was in the baby bucket and switched to the Maclaren once she was in the convertible seat.

The Chicco Keyft is a great infant seat. If we were buying one new, that would be a top contender. Britax still makes the best convertible seats, IMO. If you or your donor are large, don’t get the smaller Britax seats (Roundabout or Diplomat) – go for the Marathon or Boulevard). They really do fit in the backseat of most cars, even small ones, and are the best buy because they will last a long time even with a huge kid.

Luckily we don’t have to worry about circumcision, since we’re having a girl. You haven’t posted about finding out the gender, though, to my knowledge, have you? Are you going to find out?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/82971/circumcised_vs_uncircumcised.html?page=2

Looking forward to meeting you two this weekend!