In my earlier post I talked about saving money on furnishing and decorating the nursery. In this post I’ll be talking about picking the right stroller.

In my opinion, an every day stroller is not a thing to buy at the garage sale. Since it has a few nuts and bolts, moving parts, folding mechanism, you want these things to be sturdy, last a while and work well. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be using your stroller a lot. I use it to go on the walks in the neighborhood, shopping, play dates, adventure parks, etc.

Before purchasing I would strongly recommend to physically check out the item at the store, if available. You will get to try it out, see how it works and get a good idea of what it would be like to own it.

If this option or is not available or even if it is, second best thing is to look at the product’s reviews. This will give you an overview of its durability and expected problems down the road. Amazon.com and Babies’r'us are couple of popular sites to check out. I usually go with a product that has at least 15 reviews. This way I know that the product is not brand new, it’s been tried by others, and I get to find out how well it works from real people. Even if a product has a good rating, still browse through some poor reviews. If you see a certain complaint repeats itself, you know what to expect, and whether that particular feature is important enough to you to make a “move on” or “no big deal” decision.

If you’re planning on more than one child, going with neutral colors is one of the way to economize.

We chose to go with Graco Passage Travel System that included the car seat and the stroller together. This type of set up can be used from the time they’re newborn and up to about 5 years of age or 50 pounds in weight. Even though this stroller is on the less expensive side, under $200, it’s surprisingly sturdy. My kid is over 2 years old now, but the stroller barely has a scratch on it. I am not exactly the most smooth operator either, I do tend to bump it into things at times and it seems to take the “abuse” fairly well. Here are some other features that I like:

• The folding mechanism, I can do with one hand.
• The fabric is spill proof. Spills can be wiped off easily without having to throw the whole thing into the wash. I actually haven’t washed anything yet (besides the car seat cover) and it looks just like new!
• It has a generous size canopy, perfect for Florida’s glaring sun.
• It’s fairly easy to maneuver.
• Big storage basket underneath. It easily fits a diaper bag, my purse and the jackets for me, husband and baby.
• The price is under $200.
• 4.5 out 5 stars rating on Amazon.com, which is not bad compared to other strollers.

Here are couple of cons for me:

• I wish the stroller were a little lighter (it’s about 27 pounds). Even though I don’t ever think about it when I’m actually using it, I do feel it when I have to get it in and out of the car.
• The car seat is heavy as well. Not sure how much it weighs, but I do feel it when I get it in and out of the car.

Overall though, it’s a good stroller for the money.

In the travel system, car seat usually comes with the base for the car and also fits comfortably on top of the stroller. Another advantage of the travel system is the portability of the car seat. You can take it with you anywhere without disturbing your baby, if he happens to be napping at the time. And babies nap a lot! This way you don’t have to worry about how you’re planning on carrying your baby around without the car seat. For example, if you’re going shopping, you can place the car seat over the front part of most shopping carts, leaving you hands-free from carrying your baby.

One of the disadvantages of buying travel system is that you can only use the car seat for up for to about 12-14 months of age or 20 pounds. Then you have to invest in a new car seat. Usually they will accommodate a child starting from the newborn to up to 40-50 pounds. They are also bulky and non-portable. Even though I call myself a minimalista, I decided to invest in a more expensive (for me) Evenflo Symphony 65 with Surelatch All In One Car Seat.

Here are some of the positives of this car seat that I care about:

• It reclines into four different positions. If we happen to travel during her nap time, I recline the seat into the least steep angle position ahead of time. This way her head doesn’t drop on her chest and she doesn’t look like she’s getting a big pain in the neck, LOL!
• This seat comes with additional head support and protection on the sides. So in case of an accident, the head doesn’t jerk too much to either side.
• The straps are very easy to adjust from up front. I use this feature all the time, because of what she’s wearing or when I get her in and out of the car.
• The head support adjusts easily, without having to unbuckle the seat. I don’t use this feature much, but it’s still convenient.
• It comes with an optional cup holder for the child.
• The seat seems to be extremely comfortable, lots of padding!
• It’s rating is 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com.

Honestly, I haven’t found any negatives about this car sit yet. And I had for over a year now.

You can get a child’s car seat as inexpensively as $40 and the most expensive ones that I’ve seen are almost $300. As a tip, if you’re planning on purchasing from Babies-R-Us, you can usually find a coupon for $20 off travel system ether online or in their flier.

Some of you might want to purchase a stroller, which is a combination between an every day stroller and a jogging stroller. In my next post I’m planning to talk about jogging strollers, so stay tuned!