The much awaited Baby Jogger MINI!

I got a blue mini... they have so many fun colors to pick from! It's hard to pick! But the blue is really a great color.

When the baby jogger arrives, you sort of don't believe it's a stroller. Honestly - a bouncy baby seat has a bigger box... and it's so light! But it's in there!

In order to really give you a good idea of the size, I pulled out a Mountain Buggy Single and a Mia Moda Ceilo - it will give you a good idea of how small the fold is, and how big the stroller is when it's unfolded.


When unfolded, you can see there is not a huge amount of difference in size... at least head on. the Ceilo has an obviously short back.


Tons of head room - good for a larger child - but also has the full recline for a newborn



Folded - so you can see - the ceilo is a very small fold stroller - but the mini is not far behind.



You can really see the fold here... how small it is. Great for smaller SUV cargo spaces if you have a 3rd row.



and next to the ceilo - you can see the difference



As for suspension - there is no suspension in the back wheels



but the front wheel does have a slight bounce - it can go up and down about 1/2 inch - which will ease the ride



Access to the basket is fine - not a huge basket - but enough for essentials.



and handle height - it's pretty high - here is the Mountain buggy at tallest point:



and here at a lower point... you can see the baby jogger is closest to the tall point.



Now my thoughts: this is NOT a replacement for a jogger. What is excellent for (especially with the child tray accessory and other accessories available) is a great all around town stroller. It pushes very easily, the swivel front wheel is great. It does do fine over bumpy terrain - but I wouldn't want it to be purchased as a "trail" stroller. And it's obviously not a jogger. What it is, is a jogger style version of an umbrella stroller. And for $199, you can't beat the price - it's cheaper then the full featured maclarens. It does it all... and if you know someone who's looking for a good all around stroller to register for, this is definitely a contender!

Mutsy Update... what a cool ride!

So now that I've been playing with the Mutsy, I think it might be the single I end up keeping! I love this thing! The other day I used it with the pivot wheels... now - of course - I used it on the pavement around the block... so I used the big air tires in the mall and the little swivel ones on a walk... this is exactly opposite of what you are supposed to do. The swivel tires definitely make for a rougher ride around the block - not horrible - but the air tires are made for this type of terrain.

Now in the mall, I used the swivel tires... it's awesome. Gavin slept for 2 hours in this thing! He was all tucked in, laying flat!

But here's why I REALLY love this thing... check out this new accessory I received this week... it's called the FUN SEAT... and let me tell you - my boys are already fighting over it! It's basically a hard shell - almost like a bike seat, that attaches and has this HUGE basket off the back. It has a 5pt harness and the kiddos can "drive" while I shop! Now THAT is how I keep Gavin tied down for a little bit more without complaint! :)

The basket is awesome too... almost like a shopping cart. And I also got the beach bag, which will be awesome to pack if we have an outing where I need "stuff".

The ONLY reason Owen is tolerating letting his little brother ride - is that I also got the Mutsy toddler step. Now, I have two other toddler steps - the valco hitchhiker and the buggy board. Neither one can touch this thing in stability... it's awesome. And the fact that it has one wheel is awesome because you don't kick it.

So basically - this thing rocks. I would totally recommend this for anyone who wants a single stroller or even as a sit & stand. In fact - I haven't tried it - but I bet you could even use this step up with the bassinet attached... because of the telescoping handle.

Just a very cool stroller with lots of options! And it's solid.

Graco Quattro Tour Duo

Ok - so it is a beast. It's heavy and huge... BUT - I have to say - for just over $200, you do get a lot for your money. Don't even waste your time with the duoglider. At least this pushes well, and can move around a store with ease (just be careful not to run into anything... it is still very long!).

I know folks have complained that the front seat is small... and it is... but most kids don't mind. If they are bigger, chances are they are justing it as a jump seat - hence the missing belly bar... they jump in, they jump out. The back seat is very roomy - and the child has plenty of leg room.

I took it to Trader Joes and did all my grocery shopping with the two babies - they had cup holders for their sippys, and a snack spot for their treats.. and I have a HUGE basket below.

The funniest thing is, I can be pushing the $700 mutsy around... and no one comments... but with this dang thing, people can help it. It's so weird. I guess it's the handle bars and the lines on it are a bit unusual. And you can't buy one near me by walking into a store - so it is still not seen all over the place.

The fold is supper easy - and truly one handed - which you can't say for all doubles... but beware... bend with your knees... the thing is bulky and heavy to lift into a car. Technically it's a smaller fold.. but that's really only in length. What it looses in legth to the duoglider it gaines in bulk... so it's still a big double.

At the end of the day though, it's just over $200... vs. a double jogger at $400+. It fits the carseats which some people just can't live without and it folds easily. Just wish it wasn't so darn heavy! But then I guess it wouldn't be just over $200...

Mutsy Urban Rider

I just got this in. It comes to you in 3 boxes... the chassis, the seat and the bassinet. As I lift the boxes, I think - dang... this thing is HEAVY!

I open them up - the bassinet first. The fabric is beautiful. I have the charcoal black colored one - and it comes with a cream colored inside to the bassinet which is a nice contrast. It also comes with the Bassinet sheet- which is great and makes it super easy to clean. The bassinet has it's own hood and boot.

Upon putting together the stroller, I realized that Mutsy somehow forgot the extra set of swivel wheels. I contacted customer service and they got back to me in roughly 1 hour with a response that they would ship them out the next day. Great customer service.

The adjustable height handle is great. It's definitely a good stroller for a tall dad. The basket is very shallow - but I've heard they've corrected that partially for next year.

The hood has good coverage on the seat - and you can adjust the depth of the seat which is a nice function. The foot rest moves up or goes down and there is a metal plate for an older child's feet to rest on.

The seat can face you or away from you. You can fold the stroller with the seat facing either direction supposedly - but I had trouble with this - so i just took the seat off. I guess I need to just play with it a bit more.

Now - a first push and I LOVED the back swivel of the rear tires. This basically gives you a traditional pram feel without the lean down and pick up of the front tires to turn the pram. Now - the turn is not sharp - and the BIG pain is when you have to back up... it's like driving a boat trailer... you turn one direction, and the wheels go the other... so it's a little tough to use all 4 big air tires in a mall setting (which we did... and I regretted).

BUT - Mutsy fixes that - by including (most of the time!) these second set of 360 degree pivot wheels. This makes the Mutsy more "bug" like... you lock the back swivel and take off the big wheels and put on the smaller wheels. I imagine, once i get these small wheels, they will probably stay on the stroller. Walks around the block are awesome with the big wheels - but anywhere that you'd go from the car, you need those small wheels. I'll edit this posting when they come in to give feedback on the stroller with the new wheels.

As for accessories - the mutsy has them ALL! I did use a Lascal foot board - it was just too long. I think the Mutsy toddler board is the way to go with this one. Also it has this cool seat attachment you can get called a 'fun' seat. It really does look FUN! It creates almost a bike seat - like they would have on a tricycle. And it has a HUGE beach like bag off the back of it. Basically it creates a really fun seat for a toddler.

Another good accessory to get is the tray - it has a snap on tray similar to a high chair that you can put on the toddler seat - this would come in very handy for trips to the mall food court!

And they have the Mutsy Sitter - which is great! While your baby is an infant, you can use the bassinet on the stroller and use the mutsy seat inside the house!

At $699 - it is a hefty tag - but really - if you have your kids 3-4 years apart, you could almost use this and not use another stroller - if you buy the toddler board. It really has longevity. And the quality is top notch.

I like this one! ;)

New Baby joggers

Check out this movie on the new baby joggers for 2008! It's by Baby TV: http://www.babytv.com/videos/ABC-Baby-Jogger.aspx

Dreamer Design Park Avenue Single Stroller

I just got this in and at first look, I really like it. It's not refined like say a Mountain Buggy or a Baby jogger - but it definitly an awesome stroller for the price. First - it's adorable. I have the camo one - which is great. You always see cutesy girl prints, but never any boy prints - and I think this one will be a big hit in the boy department! The red & blue also have great prints.

To summarize - this stroller - which retails at $299 - comes with a chassis w/ a swivel or pivot wheel, an adjustable handle bar, a stroller seat that can reverse, it lays flat enough for a newborn, has a newborn insert, and a graco carseat adapter! That's a lot of bang for your buck!

Here are the photos: (my model - who was sick today with some weird viral bumps - was NOT too happy to be sitting in it... but I swear... it looks very comfy!)









Plenty of room for a child on a board even with it in full recline facing backwards!


Plenty of storage room


Carseat adapter! Included!


the fold is not small... but it would be smaller if I took the seat off, and turned the handle in more - but at least you don't have to take the seat off to fold it.


Now - knowing Dreamer Design - who also distributes the Fisher Price Infant to Toddler "bugabooish" stroller ($150 retail)- i'm sure they borrowed parts for this. The seat looks extremely similar - however I do think they increased the seat back height. I had the Fisher Price one back in January - when the little guy was like 8 months old - and he already looked too big for the FP one. He does have headroom growth - about 2-3" above his head. And the canopy is descent coverage. The seat is 21" tall and 8" deap. It's not huge - but my 26lb 1.5 year old fits nicely with room to grow.

The Bob & the Cielo

The Bob Dualie Revolution & The Mia Moda Cielo

These are two VERY different strollers - but in my line-up, they are used the most.

First - the Bob. The Dualie is a great piece of equipment. The fabric is easy to clean, the seats recline (new for 2007) and can be used with an infant (non-jogging until 6 months), the wheel can be fixed or swivel - but I generally keep it in swivel mode, it fits through all average doors, you can push it with 1 pinkie finger when there are two 30lb kids in it, it has an adjustable suspension that my husband is even impressed with, it's just an awesome stroller.

If I had to give it some negatives, it's that the seat backs are not as tall as I would like (my peanut of a 4 year old still fits under the hood - but barely. And that I wish it had an adjustable handle - now this may be some sort of requirement to satisfy it's 'jogging' stroller category - but it would be nice to be able to adjust it up and down.

But that's it - and I can even attach a Kiddyboard to the back of it... so when I have two little ones, and my big guy - everyone can hitch a ride. Beats a triple any day of the week!

To own this stroller you really do need an SUV, min van, or wagon. It folds very easily - but it is big. I have no problem in our Audi Wagon or our Saturn Outlook SUV - but my sister cannot get this in her passat sedan with taking off all three wheels - and even then it's a tight fit.

This is a great stroller if you plan on doing some trail walking - it handles it with ease.

You can add a carseat adapter - which doubles as a tray for either 1 or 2 kids. You can also add a Bob Dualie Console - which works nice - but won't work when you have a toddler step on the back of it.

You can check out all the bob equipment at http://www.bobgear.com/ - and of course, Baby On the Go At Home sells them! ;)

The next stroller in the photo is the Mia Moda Cielo. I love this stroller. It just stays in my car. it takes up a spot that's about 1.5' x 1.5' x 1' folded. In my Outlook - it fits PERFECT in the rear cargo area with the third row up - which is tough to do with a non-umbrella stroller.

The fold is a little tricky - and sometimes I feel like I'm going to break it when folding it - but it's meant to be handled that way. It feels sort of like you're folding a paper airplane when you're folding it up! Opening it up is easier - but you have to make sure the crotch strap is not in the way, and that you hear the click on both sides of the seat.

The Basket is a nice spot for a wallet/keys - but this stroller is not meant to be a big storage stroller. It pushes very easily - although it does feel a little "plasticy" - but I hear for 2008, they have added some sort of suspension or somehow tightened up that push feeling.

The seat looks very comfortable - kids seem to like the freedom it gives. The recline is nearly non-existent - although I have pushed my sleeping 1 year old in it for over an hour while shopping - and he didn't seem to mind one bit. I would NOT recommend this for a say 6 month baby - I think it just doesn't do everything that some of the reclining umbrellas do - but for a 1+, it's great. I've also heard for 2008 that they will be adding arm rests and increasing the recline - so hopefully this will improve a stroller that's already fantastic. The color choices are great too! You can check it out here: Mia Moda

I would highly recommend this for someone who wants to just keep a single in their car permanently. It's a great stroller for those quick trips in and out of stores (once you figure out the fold!)

Baby Blogging!

Not sure why I've been obsessed with what I've been pushing around or carrying my kiddos in... but I think it must come from some genetic link - my Dad was obsessed about cameras, watches, and jackets... somehow that transferred into strollers, car seats, and general baby gear for me!

I love trying out what's new, hearing the latest & greatest items soon to come to the market, and I most of all love helping folks out with information about the products I've tried. Because of this - I teamed up with Baby On the Go out of St. Joseph, MO - which is a boutique baby shop.

Now how you ask - How did she find a boutique baby store in St. Joseph? Well - my stroller obsession was sort of exasperated by a yahoo group called "Stroller Swap" and that is where I met Michelle - the owner of Baby On the Go.

With Michelle's amazing willingness to try something new, and after some talks with the manufacturers - she agreed to try this adventure called "Baby On The Go At Home." think "Avon" or "Creative Memories" - but baby gear. While the concept of a home "party" isn't really our main drive of sales - the Mom to Mom communication is.

I belong to a Mom's club locally - The Sandwich Moms Club - and us moms are always asking for advice from our fellow moms. After dishing out lots of information, I started thinking... gosh... I should be able to make a living doing this! ;) (I'm always teased about how much information I give out to the group...). I initially thought of starting something on my own - but frankly - the manufacturers just don't want any more "Internet" sales companies - they want brick & mortar companies.

So that's where Michelle came in. I emailed her my idea out of the blue - and she digged it. And that's how this journey all started.

So Baby On The Go At Home currently has 5 consultants around the US. I'm sure we'll add more as we continue along on this journey. We are basically Michelle's Mobil force of information givers. We are bringing the information we know, our personal stock of strollers ("samples") to other local moms, and we're helping other mom's sift through all the junk information out there regrading car seats, strollers, high chairs, baby carriers, and more... ;)

I hope this blog will be yet another way that I am able to show my fellow mom's some of the products Baby On The Go At Home can offer them. I'm sure I'll throw in other bits of information here and there. There will be lots of photos for sure. So stay tuned!