Sunday, July 23, 2006

Help me, Internets!

My lowercase is getting bigger. He now weighs somewhere between 17 and 20 lbs...not sure exactly as we don't have a baby scale and I weighed him on the regular bathroom scale.

Obviously, he is very soon to leave the infant car seat. Which means he can no longer use the snap'n'go as his stroller.

We have a full-size stroller that works for Mr. W's car. But we do not have one that works for my car. For I am stupid. And I drive a Volkswagen New Beetle. It is a really great car...turbo...fun to drive...nice and zippy. But with a trunk that sucks rocks.

The trunk is, obviously, rounded and oddly shaped. I have tried every stroller in BRU and NONE of them fit in it. Correction...one of them fits, but I HATE it. The Combi something or other fits. But it feels flimsy to me, makes my son look like a monstrously large boy (and he is still small for chronological age) and generally just blows.

I have tried the Peg Pliko P3 and the Aria MT. I have tried various Chiccos. I have tried the Maclaren Volo and Triumph. And not a damn one of them fit in my trunk. I even tried the cheap-ass $10 umbrella strollers and none of them fit in -- all too long.

Here's where you come in, oh Interweb. Do you have a Beetle? Do you know someone who does? Have you EVER seen a stroller that fits? And no, I do not want the stroller to ride in the passenger area with us (seriously...hit a bump, stroller falls over and whacks baby in head? I think not). I want a compact stroller that is of good quality (note our first choices were the Pegs or the Maclarens). I want one that is rated for high weights as I don't want to go through this again when he's a couple years old. I'm not opposed to spending up to $300, but really don't think Mr. W will allow me to spend any more than that.

I've seen that Britax has a new lightweight stroller...the Preview something or other...but cannot seem to find dimensions for it anywhere. Also wondering about any other European stroller companies since they tend to drive smaller cars and I might be more likely to find one that will fit.

(Also, if you have any preferences on carseats tell me about them. What seat do you like and what's so great about it?)

[ posted @ 9:43 PM ] [ Post a Comment ] [ View Comments (6) ]
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Comments about my post, "Help me, Internets!":

can't help you with strollers, but as far as car seats go, britax seats are the best. the great safety ratings, easy installation and straps that won't twist all up on you make it worth the hefty price tag.

[ Permalink ] posted by Anonymous : 9:13 AM

The dimensions for the Britax stroller is: 7”H x 12”W x 49”L

We had to replace our snap and go which fit snug, but fit, in the trunk of our Civic. I replaced the snap and go with the Chicco stroller and absolutely love it. I don't use it for long days but it is great for quit trips.

As far as carseats, we just went through that to. Britax out weighs everyone. Graco's Comfort sport coming in second. I have a Britax and borrowed a Graco for a trip. I could definitely tell the difference and was missing my Britax by the end. Plus, all other carseats only go to 40lbs. 40 inches where the Britax models (except the Roundabout) go to 65lbs. and 49 inches! That gives you and extra couple years!!

[ Permalink ] posted by Anonymous : 3:47 PM

Being an SUV and Perego P3 owner, I've got nothing on the stroller side that'll help you--plus, it sounds like you've really done your homework. Hope you find something that you like and that fits!

As for the car seat, after J outgrew the SnugRide, we went with a Britax Roundabout, good to 40 lbs. It's got the great safety ratings, easy installation, plush fabric in some cool patterns (I've got the hawaiian print in my car--pink, yellow, blue, green--while A has a subdued grey swirly pattern in his man-mobile). They were $199 each, we got ours at Target, where they're a little less than BRU or online merchants. The Roundabout is rated to 65 lbs. but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it since J is a bit of a 'petite flower' so we've got a good amount of time.

FYI, when we fly, we brought the Britax with us and it was a tight fit but it made it into the seat. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you ever need to/decide to fly with the lowercase and he has his own seat.

Good luck!

[ Permalink ] posted by Dee : 4:00 PM

Sorry, I meant to say the Britax Marathon is rated to 65 lbs., not the Roundabout!

[ Permalink ] posted by Dee : 4:01 PM

Hello I am a lurker on your blog..lol

I have the Eddie Bauer Alpha Omega 3 in 1 carseat for my son it goes from 5 to 80 or is it 100 pounds, he loves it he has been in it since he was 5 months old he is 10.5months now and only 17.5 pounds.

[ Permalink ] posted by Yvette A : 12:41 AM

The aria fits in my new beetle trunk with the cd changer!

Also the inglesina espresso should fit.

[ Permalink ] posted by Anonymous : 11:29 PM