When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?
Is this the one you have?
http://www.gifts.com/search/product/Graco-Metro-Lite-Stoller?ideaID=1127&prodID=76676
I have this one. We got it because we wanted one that we could put the carseat in. We live in NYC and do not own a car, so carrying that fucking monstrosity is kind of a nonstarter. I prefer taking her out in the Bjorn and will probably stick with the Bjorn for as long as I can get away with it. She’s really small now, so it’s easy.
As far as the doublewides, I ask myself the same thing all the time. You see them less often here because people have to deal with subways and are a bit more conscious of the utility. Ours has a nice little luggage rack underneath so I don’t know why you’d need another seat to carry your crap. If you do, you are bringing way too much stuff.
Ours is huge and we call it an SUV, but it is nice to have those big wheels when you find a patch of sidewalk that hasn’t been worked on since the 60s. Those $ 700 strollers are ridiculous. I know which one’s you are talking about. They aren’t even that great, and supposedly they are really heavy.
Look at this one notice how small the thingie that holds the baby’s head up is compared to the size of the stroller.
When my oldest was little we had a standard size stroller. (NOT as large as the ones they sell now) then someone gave us a cheap umbrella stroller similar to this one.. Once we tried it the standard stroller never came out again. When our youngest was born, we never bothered with the standard stroller. We gave it away.
The umbrella unit was great. Park the car, grab the kid, open the trunk with one hand, grab the stroller, shake and it was unfolded and ready to go. Nothing could be easier.
Hmm, I am beginning to notice a significant cultural divide between people who live amongst suburban car culture, and us city dwellers who have to walk everywhere we go.
How much stuff do you carry with you? How often are you away from the car for more than 5 hours at a clip? The umbrella unit would be nice, but it has no capacity to hold the rest of the stuff the baby needs. As it is, I don’t much like the big stroller and would love another solution, but I don’t know that those umbrella strollers would really cut it here.
The one you showed above is precisely the one we own, as I said above, because of the ability to lock in the carseat.
You have to be kidding me. That’s just a bug standard double stroller.
Tell me something - what do you think parents with two little children should use for transporting them around?
A pole, some rope and two five-gallon buckets. With spikes on the end.
I’m terrible with the big stroller, but the umbrellas are crap to push, crap to steer and look mighty uncomfy.
I rarely bring out the beast, but when I do, I’m usually out for the day when you have to prepare for anything.
Can I do a little mini-rant for all those people (Hi Mother-in-law) who think it is easier for me to load up a toddler, pack enough for an entire day, drive an hour each way timed appropriately, than it is for her to grab her purse and come by whenever she wants? Here’s a clue what I need for a day at grandmas: Bottle or two, sippy cup, appropriate snacks , a thermos of whole milk (she’s too young for wine), some juice, a change of clothes or two, at least 8 diapers, a pack of wipes, sunscreen, bug spray, a few toys and books, a baby gate, a playpen.
You see, when you go out for a day with a kid, you pretty much have to be prepared for anything. They don’t understand waiting 30 minutes until you get to a store, or we are almost there, just relax or don’t fall off the bed, don’t go up the stairs.
But my MIL can’t find one day in 3 weeks to stop by to see her grandchild she misses SOOOOO much, yet we who have one car, two jobs and opposite schedules are expected to go to her.
Carry on with the big-ass-stroller debate, until you are stuck at the zoo with a toddler without your “bug out pack.” 
Then can I at least curse out the “ladies” who don’t learn to steer them, or even to look where they are going?
After having something not far off this get rammed full-tilt into my leg by a woman while I was standing in a bus queue, and then having to hear the mother whining that “I woke her baby” while I was examining the three toenails she removed and the blood on the pavement coming out of the slice through my shoe, I could do with a good swear.
Yes, one of the other people in the queue laid into her over it (I was a bit preoccupied) - apparently she’d been on her cellphone and staring at the shop windows without bothering to look where she was pushing her juggernaut/buggy. I can only wonder what she’d have said if she’d slammed it into a lamp post instead of me.
As a city dweller, I was almost with you until you posted that. That is NOT a monster stroller. That is essentially a double umbrella, and probably the smallest thing you can fit two kids in.
VC03, believe it or not, other people don’t actually exist to piss you off. Mostly, people are simply going about their lives, without giving you any thought at all. Now, I realize that this is precisely what pisses you off, but if you’re bitching about THAT particular stroller, you’re not giving their needs much consideration either.
You know, I’m as bad with the urban impatience as anyone. I’m the kind of person who ungently reminds others that the left lane of the escalator is for passing and smashes through sidewalk-wide people-chains with extreme prejudice. But to quote a friend of mine, you need yoga, or valium, or Jesus, or something, because if *everyone * you meet is an asshole, the problem is most likely you.
Dude, that’s the special insert that comes with it for preemies! Our carseats had those, they’re really great for the first 2 months if you have a wee little little 'un.
It’s no excuse for running people over or anything, but I swear, this mommy business is HARD. Give the gals a break! Take a minute and smell the tulips or something.
Bwahahahahaha. good one.
Ya, I’ve got twins and the Graco system. Sheesh just bringing the stroller through customs was a pain.
My 2 cents. don’t get a side by side as it won’t fit a lot of places. Test to make sure your double long can fit in the car, 'cause it is massive and you don’t want to be taking out a seat. I think most parents buy too much stroller up front, and later go for the umbrella.
I think you need the bigger stroller, though, instead of the umbrella, with an infant. A baby who doesn’t have a lot of trunk control can’t sit in an umbrella stroller - they’re isn’t enough recline and they can’t sit without slumping into a little lump. We graduated to the umbrella when my son was sitting up well by himself, and then only when we weren’t going somewhere where we needed the extra storage space (and cup holders!! Gotta have the cup holders!).
mswas, when your baby graduates from the Baby Bjorn, try the Ergo. You can strap a kid up to 60 lbs on your back and it’s actually very comfortable. I have back issues and the Bjorn killed me, but the Ergo distributes the weight better. We never used a double stroller…I either carried the baby in a carrier while the bigger one sat in the stroller or the baby was in the stroller and the big one walked. I’m not a good enough driver to be trusted with a double.
My rant: why the hell do they make the spaces in the children’s clothing stores too small to get a frickin’ stroller through!?!?!
Actually, I’m beginning to think pissing VCO3 is a noble idea and a good way to plan my life.
From now on, I may start to ask myself “What would VCO3 think” before engaging in something. If the answer is “collapse in a spittle flecked spasming ball of anger”, then it’s probably a good thing.
On this basis I will now buy a bigger double stroller. And use it in the shops. A lot.
I don’t have kids, don’t plan on having kids, and generally tend to avoid areas with so many baby strollers that I get smacked in the shins and ankles by the inattentive mothers that frequent those venues. Part of it is really that I don’t like a lot of background noise while I’m shopping, and when there’s lots of moms with big baby strollers that they have trouble steering, there’s usually at least a handful of parents with kids who’ve never learned “indoor voice” or impulse control and a loud, emotional meltdown bound to happen while I’m shopping. Kids can be really cool, but it seems like south Palm Beach County and north Broward County attract parents who won’t set boundaries or be aware of cues that their kid needs a break/food/sleep until well after they’ve had a screaming meltdown in the middle of the store; of course, many of them seem to be ignoring the kid for half an hour or more until the kid is either so hoarse it can’t scream anymore or so tired from throwing a fit that it falls asleep. :eek: 
There are the handful of well-behaved kids that happily surprise me when I see them, but they’re few and far between here in comparison to where I’m about to move.
There are a handful of strollers in here that were perfectly fine for regular use. In fact, those jogging strollers seem to be ideal; they’re wide enough for 1 or 2 kids, can encapsulate them so that the “drop things out of the stroller every 3 feet” thing can be prevented at least temporarily, and the slimline design seems to be enough to cart supplies and a kid and still be able to maneuver through the aisles. But, well, the only time I see the joggers are when the mom is out exercising.
In fact, I see more doggy strollers than I do people strollers at this point, and those pet owners can’t seem to use them effectively either. :dubious: Strange.
Without even any kids!
But though he is loud-mouthed and and obnoxious often, sometimes he is also right.
That’s what we did.
:dubious: yourself.
It isn’t “keeping tabs”; my first thought when I read the title of this thread was, “oh look, it’s the Sidewalk Fascist again.”
Like it or not, it’s what you’re becoming known for.
Nope, I misspoke. Mistyped. Whatever - I was wrong. Turns out it was the Graco that I re-freecycled 'cause it was SO big and heavy, and it looked nothing like his Graco. In fact what I have now is an Evenflo that looks very much like this one, although it’s a much older model.
I think I’m going to get a couple sets of stroller connectors and three matching $10 umbrella strollers. That will leave me with much more flexibility for much less investment. Since they’re not all my everyday kids, I don’t need the best stroller, just a way to move them around once or twice a week.
We have the Mosaic, which is fairly similar to the Metrolite, and I think even smaller. It’s still too big for me. I tend to travel light, though, so I can pack a diaper bag with everything we need for the day (we did pretty well at the zoo a few weekends ago), and it fits in the little storage basket of our umbrella stroller, or just hanging from the handles. The only reason my diaper bag gets stuffed with crap is because I forget to clean it out sometimes - not because we need all of those items for every trip :D.
mswas, I’m just going to second the Ergo that C3 suggested or a Beco. I can carry my nearly 23 lb 8 1/2 month old in the Beco with ease - we’ve walked around for several hours in it, and I don’t even feel it. They’re expensive, but well-made and well worth it. The Bjorn would absolutely kill me now - plus, the Ergo and the Beco are made to distribute the baby’s weight and not hang them by their crotch, so it’s much better for the baby’s spine as they get bigger.
Regardless of the size of strollers, some people are gonna get pissed no matter what you do. I figure as long as I’m being polite and trying not to infringe on others, I really don’t give a shit if they get bent out of shape over nothing.
E.
Sounds like a good plan of action to me.
Yeah, can I apologize to you right now because I’ll be in Palm Beach County in August?
E.