Monday, May 4, 2009

Monday Mayhem: Stroller Shopping


15 Weeks! Lil' Pumpkin is the size of a Navel Orange!


We had a wonderful weekend! My parents came down on Saturday and we went out to lunch with them. They announced that they will be gifting us Lil' Pumpkin's crib! So as soon as we devoured our KFC, we headed over to Babies R' Us for some furniture shopping!


Husband, the fam and myself checked out every single crib floor model available! Research is still continuing on which style we'll go with (so if you have any tips/experiences, it would be GREATLY appreciated!)


We also checked out some rockers...

Did you know that these bad boys recline??? That's why they're $500...

Next we headed over to the stroller aisle. I've been very interested in the Chicco strollers, but wanted to do some comparisons between those and Graco. I've heard great things about both brands.

Well...who knew that figuring out how to fold and unfold a baby stroller could be close to impossible? It took 4 grown adults, one of which can take the entire Jeep engine apart and put it back together....to finally figure out how this thing works!

Our facial expressions pretty much explain it all...

As you can see in the picture below, we finally gave up on trying to unfold the darn thing (its on the right) and did some comparison shopping...

But the funny thing was that after spending all that time and trying out about 4 other strollers, we actually found that the Chicco was the best! Once we figured out how to close and open that thing, it actually was lighter and easier than any of our comparison testers.

And on a final note, my great friend an J. Leigh Designs recently posted a blog about Bebe Au Lait hooter hiders that they have a Mother's Day special going on...order any of their covers and get two free burp cloths! So my parents got me this super cute cover and free burp cloths!

Happy Monday!

36 lovely comments:

Amy Green @ Sweet Home Amy said...

Looks like a fun time! Love the "hooter hider"! Very cute.

Kelley said...

hooter hiders.....HILARIOUS! I'm totally going to be saying that all day....and will continue to laugh histerically!

mom said...

HAPPY MONDAY, INDEED! We had a Happy Saturday as well. As others in L-ville were sporting their derby hats and sipping on mint julips... the Potter/Parkers were racing around Babies R Us with our thinking caps on trying to make a multitude of correct decisions...speck so!
We had a blast!!! Thank you so much for having us for dinner... your hubby is a grill master...second to dad...of course... a tee hee hee! Have a wonderful day! Love, mom oxoxoxo

Amy said...

It is so cool to see and watch you grow. Fun times, enjoy it all!

Megan said...

Baby shopping is fun :-) I don't plan on being pregnant for a LONG time, but I do like "strolling" down the different aisles.

Meg said...

That stroller is amazing! Chicco is a great brand.

Isn't baby shopping fun? Don't forget to buy the lil pumpkin its first stuffed animal! That was my first purchase for my guy.

Mimi Elise said...

happy monday! :) thats really exciting about shopping for strollers and such! congrats!

Melinda said...

Ok-I have to comment today on your choices: a good comfy glider is a must as you will be rocking away the nights in it and I am pretty sure that the first pic. of Zack sitting in the khaki/tannish one is the one that we have and I really like it. We also have the Chicco stroller/car seat combo that you like and I have liked it a lot. The only drawback about it is that the seat is too big to put in the top part of the shopping cart (but I hear that is not very safe to do anyways) so if I had a lot of groceries to get I just wore Gracie in the front carrier or sling and she had a great time. I have a "Hooter Hider" cover too. I could only use mine until about 4 or 5 mos. or so though b/c she got too hot under there and didn't want to be covered up anymore. No crib recommendations though because we got a hand-me-down from family.

Claremont First Ward said...

CUUUUUUUUUUUTE nursing cover up. My sister loves her Chico. I'm a Maclaren lover, but I've never owned a Chico. Don't get one of those gliders. IF you are going to invest in a comfy chair, get a good recliner. That's just my two cents. :)

Melinda said...
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brittany said...

Hey girl...baby shopping is so fun! We have the Chicco combo that you were looking at in the same green color. We love it...even went to Singapore and back with me. Silas always loved that carseat and slept wonderfully in it during road trips. Good choice!

Melinda said...

P.S. The stroller is a breeze after a few practice runs and at least the car seat already comes in one piece! And to the above comment-I would still recommend a glider if you are going to be breastfeeding because the arms on a glider make for better positioning than a recliner. I have tried both.

Sweet Simplicity said...

How fun! I love the nursing cover. Fun pattern.

Heathahlee said...

You look so cute with your little baby bump! And HOOTER HIDERS? Oh, my! That is hilarious!

I remember having so much fun shopping for our baby stuff, ten years ago! Wow...don't blink, the years will FLY by.

Thanks for your comment on my giveaway post!

Kelly said...

I love these pictures! it all looks so fun!!! I'm glad you guys had a great time, and i really like your hooter hider! cute fabric! :D

Whitney said...

Aw, what special times with your family! :) I love it! And I love how you take a picture with your fruit each week. Such a great idea.

Jamie @ Bungalow Bee said...

A friend of mine just sent us the Chicco stroller - we haven't taken it out of the box because we're afraid it'll get messed up but we LOOOOOVE it!! Great choice!

As for furniture, we went with the Bassett Baby Southampton collection. It's not pure white but rather a very subtle off-white. It, too, has yet to come out of the boxes until the room is painted but hopefully soon :) Good luck on your choices!!

P.S. If you want to take a look at my registry for ideas on what to register for, feel free! I did that with my sisters and I've made sure almost everything on my registry got great reviews, so I've done research :)

Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques said...

I am really enjoying your photo journey through Babies R Us because we just did this last summer...

I have a Graco stroller and car seat set...and an extra stroller to keep in my trunk which is lighter. I figure I'd let Dear Hubs take care of the heavier one.

As far as cribs go...I changed my mind about the kind that turn into twin beds....but ours does turn into a toddler bed which should be cool. The whole raising and lowering the side didn't last very long...it would always wake her up. She is very jumpy! We just ended up placing her in there with it up. I should have lifted weights before I got pregnant but I didn't know this before hand!

Enjoy your time of shopping. You look great and I hope you are free of morning sickness. It. Was. Terrible.

Brandi said...

Isn't shopping for baby fun?!! I have to say, though, Babies-R-Us is very overwhelming!

We purchased a Graco travel system and we LOVE it! I too had trouble with the fold/unfold thing, but this system is so easy you can do it one-handed. As for furniture, we opted for one of the 4-in-one cribs that converts from a crib to toddler bed to daybed to headboard/footboard. The brand we chose was Babi Italia. It is very sturdy and has a matching dresser/changing table and Armoire. Have fun shopping!! :)

Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques said...
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Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques said...
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Jennifer Owens said...

Isn't shopping for this stuff so much fun?! Todd and I have been so excited that we've already registered even though my first shower isn't until the middle of June! Haha. I can't wait to see what all you pick out for your lil pumpkin. Babies r us has great cribs and furniture sets!

William, Megan and Avery said...

That's the stroller/carseat that we have! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! The ONLY downside I found was when you take out the headrest in the carseat, there's a line of piping that leaves a mark on avery's head... therefore, we're leaving the headrest in forever! :)

As for cribs, we ended up using a hand-me-down, but my advice is this: the convertible cribs are cool (crib, toddler bed, head/footboard), but that means you have to buy a new crib for the next baby, or you can't use it for the other purposes until your last child... therefore, keep it simple :)

Michele said...

Oh my how things have changed since I was preggo 20 years ago! You look so adorable! So does hubby!

Hugz,
Michele

Dawn Parsons Smith said...

Hooter hiders! I wish those were around when my kids were babies! I was giggling up a storm reading about the stroller set up! I remember those days!

I love the nickname Lil Pumpkin! I called my son Pumpkindoodle:) Still do much to his 12 year old dismay! lol!

Sarah Rose said...

We love the Chicco brand! The only thing I don't like is that it made shopping for a double stroller harder... Graco is more compatible for double strollers, if that's something you want to think about for down the road.

Anonymous said...

You are so cute!!!

Your stroller folding story reminds me of a time when hubby and I babysat our niece and nephew... We had their stoller with us and were being picked up by a shuttle to take us to our car and we could NOT for the life of us figure out how to close it up. Keep in mind to is was literraly -5 degrees! We ended up asking the poor guy in front of us for help! We were so embarassed we were going to hold up a whole line of very cold and tired people! haha

Glad you got it all figured out!

Ruby Red Slippers said...

The pictures of you are so sweet :)
This is such an exciting time for you-thanks for sharing-

Ashley said...

You are just the cutest little thing! I wish I had advice to give you, but Hubby and I haven't quite gotten there yet. I will be taking notes on your experiences, though!

Ashley said...

So fun! I found your blog through my friend Rachels! You are too cute! I am due in about 4 weeks, and have that Chico stroller you are looking at in the pictures.. it's amazing, and SOO easy to put together!! I look forward to more pics! =)

Naturally Caffeinated Family said...

you look soo cute!!!

we like the 3 in 1 convertible crib, you can change it into a toddler bed (or day bed) when they're ready=) and we liked how sturdy they are too, we never missed a drop down side (we actually chose one that didn't have it=)). (we are actually getting a toddler bed hand me down for babyboy and using the crib again for the next little one, but we still really like the convertible aspect and will start to convert him to the toddler bed using it before the next baby comes=))

So much fun and so exciting!!=)

2 Little Irish Boys said...

Looks like you all had a great time--first of many!!
I am partial to Peg Pergo-we have the infant carrier and stroller and have used the heck out of it for both boys.
As far as chairs/gliders go--I am telling ya-go with an upholstered chair. I think the one I have is called "Best Chair". I had a rocker and when Cillian came along I bought 2 of these chairs. One in baby blue seude like and one in yellow/chamois for Cash's room. Greatest thing I have done--should have done that when Cash was a baby. So comfy for nursing and hours n hours of rockin. The price point is pretty good too. I got mine (can chose your fabric) for $350-400. It is well worth it.

Mrs Anne said...

you are adorable!
your baby bump makes me smile!
you glow!

:) what a fun day of shopping!

i think hooter hiders are the smartest thing and fully intend on buying one someday! :)

tiarastantrums said...

You are so tiny!!!

Jennifer @ Mom Spotted said...

I have the Combo fold up version of that stroller in the same colors and LOVE it! 2 years later and I still LOVE it!

Nice nursing cover up! It looks fab on you ;)
~Jennifer

ps...I love how calm your hubby seems in a baby store LOL!

sassy stephanie said...

Babies R Us...watch out for that one! That place will drain your wallet faster than you can say 'burp cloth'!

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