The Perfect Stroller

We got this stroller about 10 years ago, for our first baby.
I didn't know much about strollers then.
The wheels seemed to roll well, it was light, easy to collapse, had a basket, and seemed fine.
It only cost about $40.
Little did I know then, it is the stroller of all strollers!!!


Let me be clear, there is no such thing as a perfect stroller.
Having a perfect stroller means having at least 5 strollers; if not more.
If you are planning to be a parent of 1 child or more, keep in mind you will buy and own many strollers.
I think it's silly and ridiculous, but I think this is a fact of parenthood: owning more than 1 stroller.

There are newborn strollers, for putting newborn carseats on them.
There are jogger strollers for exercising.
There is the famous umbrella stroller for easy travel, and lightweight ease.
There are strollers for fitting 2 or more children on them.
There is the mall stroller.
There are strollers for bags and bags of stuff you must have with you when you are on excursions with children and babies.
The list could go on and on.

But the 1 stroller pictured above, by far, has covered all of the above on many occasions.
I have been known to run/jog with this stroller, but not for exercising purposes.

It is getting old, tired, dirty, and run down. I thought I would venture over to our local baby store and maybe get a new stroller for our new baby.  No such luck, no stroller even came close to what this one can accomplish. I even considered the way overpriced $300+ models; thinking if they cost this much they must be amazing. Nope, not even the expensive ones had all the things I needed in a stroller.

So our new baby, will be in this ugly, old, worn-out stroller that is 'practically perfect in every way'.

For fun, here are all the AMAZING things this stroller can do:


- It has a large, STURDY basket underneath.
This basket has been known to carry thousands of items a mother needs: for 5 min. walks that turn into 1 hour excursions, shopping trips, vacations, outings etc. It carries purses and bags (often other friends and mothers put their bags in this basket with mine).  It carries food and snacks- a years supply when needed, first aid kits, cameras, video cameras, school papers, back packs, shoes, clothing, rocks, pet bugs, large sticks, etc. You get the idea.
The BEST PART, the very BEST PART is: The basket is sturdy enough for 2 year olds, esp. whiny having a tantrum, rolling on the sidewalk ones who can't take another step, 2 yr olds. It carries 3 yr olds, 4 yr olds and up.
This basket has also carried 2 children at once.  AMAZING, really, what an AMAZING stroller.

-The wheels turn very easily.
They are sturdy and strong enough to handle all kinds of off-roading, rough terrain, mud, hills, etc.
The stroller is narrow, not bulky and big.
It can fit into tight places and weave in and out quickly and easily through large crowds or too narrow spaces in most stores,aisles, or buildings.

-This STURDY, plastic part on top of the stroller,
as you can see, was made for sippy cups.
Instead, it acts as a 2nd or 3rd seat for crying 2 yr. olds + to sit.
When toddlers become agitated and irritable, and you can no longer communicate or talk to them.
This top part becomes a much needed choice to get them on the stroller, and home as soon as possible, or to the car as soon as possible.  Sometimes when they are in their agitated condition, they don't want to sit in the stroller seat or in the basket below. Sitting on top of the world works nicely, close to mom, if needed, so they can hold onto her neck too tight.



-On this stroller everything is sooo easy to adjust, buckle, or collapse.
When I was at the baby store, testing out new strollers. I couldn't believe how hard it was to move seats, collapse strollers, buckle and unbuckle straps/seatbelts, adjust the top covers, put the wheels on lock etc.
I was yanking, tugging, pulling, asking for clerks to help, etc.
It was crazy, hard. I couldn't believe it.
This stroller is not like that. You pull a handle-it does what it's suppose to do. You buckle and unbuckle in a matter of seconds. (*Special note, the seat belts on this stroller are very effective- many of my children stretch as far as they can -reeeaaaaching for things and remain buckled and seated at all times.) The stroller can act quickly and efficiently and adjust in seconds without waking babies, or disturbing toddlers.  I can even collapse the stroller quickly, in mall parking lots at Christmas time, when angry people want my parking spot, and staring me down. Sometimes in those high pressure moments it's good to have this kind of stroller.

-One of my favorite features of this stroller is that the seat can lie flat.
It's perfect for newborns and babies.
Again, when looking at the new strollers, at the many, many strollers to choose from I can't remember one stroller that had this feature. Some would recline a little, but not all the way.

There you have it.
I was shocked at how all the new strollers only offered 1 or 2 of the features I mentioned above.
I'm ready to go into business making strollers for moms and families.

Thanks for reading - Katie