Author: marga (Page 150 of 158)

Before Camila was born I thought I might be able to get away without buying a new stroller to accomodate my two children. We already had two stroller and a third one seemed overkill. Mika can walk quite well, and our Peg Perego Pliko has a very small platform that would allow her to ride standing up if the need be.
Things didn’t turn out as planned. The platform in the Pliko is almost useless when the sit is reclined all the way, you can ride on it, but only by leaning back a great ammount. Moreover, Mika immediately declared that this was her stroller, and that she wanted to sit on it. I figured she already had enough displacement issues as it was, and it probably wouldn’t help her much to be literally displaced from her stroller.
But even when I could convince Mika to let Camila ride while she woke, the logistics didn’t work well. Michaela is three and convinced she must explore every single thing in her environment, from each and every parking meter and tree, to every leaf and piece of garbage in the floor, to every vegetable, animal or mineral that chances upon her path. Walking with her is a painfully slow affair, made even more miserable by Camila’s general discomfort with stroller-riding and the likelihood of having her scream at the top of her lungs if we stop at all.
So by the time Camila was a few weeks old we realized we did need to get a double stroller. Several people, including my sister Kathy, recommended the sit n’ stand, as a smaller, lighter alternative. The reviews of it at epenions and other websites were mixed, but I figured I’d buy a used one off craigslist and if it didn’t work out, I’d sell it. So far it has been working out.
We got a pretty basic model for $45. It didn’t come with the bottom basket which I’ve read is inaccesible when the front seat is down (as it must be to accomodate an infant seat) anyway. This is inconvenient, but we take a couple of sturdy empty bags (Mike has gotten many of these at computer conferences) that we can use to carry groceries and what-have-you. This stroller, unlike newer models, does not have the attachment to lock a carseat – but ours fits quite well, and while it’s not locked in, it seems quite secure in the seat. A final problem is that the sun cover is meant for a second rider sitting down – it would be nice if it was taller and would cover Michaela while she rides standing up.
But other than that it has worked great for us. Michaela is happy to ride standing up, while when I picked her up in her own stroller she always insisted in walking part of the time, now she’s happy to just ride which makes trips back and forth much quicker. It’s true that in that position she can’t fall asleep, and generally by the time we’re headed home she’s really tired, but as I say to her, it’s better than having to walk.
I particularly like how easy the sit n’ stroll is to steer. It’s much easier than all the other strollers I’ve had, and I can even steer it with one hand if I have to. It does feel quite light as well, obviously less so when Michaela is on it. I’ve had no problems getting it over the curb and up and dow the steps at home, though I do have to face these steps straight on and make sure Camila is secured to the car seat, lest she fall down at that angle.
All this said, one of my friends has a new model (they look pretty similar) which she uses as a double stroller and she doesn’t like it at all. The stroller veers towards one side and she finds it very hard to steer. Even with the two seats in the vertical position, the basket is hard to access.
So obviously this is not a product that will work for everyone, I’m happy that so far it works for me.
As for the picture, that’s what Mika does just as soon as Camila shows signs of starting to cry.