So, I know it has been quite a while....since September I believe, since I have written. Sorry, about that; life just got hectic and in the way. To update I am a full-time Masters student, full-time mom, full-time wife, and very crafty person....so I'm insanely busy. Always.
My husband and I just found out yesterday that we are expecting a baby Girl! Girl number 2! We're very excited, and somewhat surprised since this pregnancy went so differently from our first -- we kind of thought "different pregnancy maybe equals different sex" nope! Just a different, unique, healthy (thank goodness HEALTHY) baby girl. We are thrilled, and we are keeping the name a secret from all of our pressuring family members.
One of the great things about having a second child is using the cute items you had from the first pregnancy that you didn't get a chance to fully appreciate the first time around. Like slings, side-along co-sleepers, nursing tops, and cute outfits!
I do have to say that I have one "I wish I had thought about this the first time around..." item. Strollers. I really wish that I had thought "hmmm, we are planning on having a second child and fairly soon...maybe we should look into a double stroller or a stroller that has a bench in the back (a sit and stand type) so that we can walk with both kids"....now that we are having our second I am in the situation where I will have a two, almost three, year old who won't want to physically walk as far as I would like to walk and an infant who will need to be pushed in a stroller...which means that I really need a different stroller combination - I cannot push TWO strollers at once -- which means we need to buy a new stroller. Gah! And it isn't as if strollers are cheap! Especially ones that allow for two children.
After much research (much, much research) and asking around I am going to go with the Joovy Caboose Stroller. It is like the sit-and-stand brand strollers in that there is a seat in the front and a bench to stand or sit on (with handles) in the back. HOWEVER, what really sold me is that I can attach the bucket car seat so that the infant faces me and put my older child in the front facing the world and ALL of the padding is removable and WASHABLE! I didn't think of that the first time around...yeah, all of those fun padded strollers have very difficult to wash seats. With this one I can buy (fairly cheaply) replacement seat covers (padded) and all of them are machine washable. What a wonderful concept!! The stroller also has a lot of accessories like UV shades, wind/rain shades, umbrellas for the bench seat....etc. I like the variety and that accessories that often break, tear, need to be washed, get lost, etc are replaceable at any time. It isn't the cheapest stroller (it runs about 300-350), but it isn't the most expensive stroller either (Phil and Ted double jogger - with all the attachments - runs around 900-1000). It has very good ratings, and the tires are rated as one of the best for mobility and traction.
You think maybe some kid companies should offer to let me test and try their stuff? Because I have a lot of cool baby items that I have mentioned over the last couple of years! This is one of them!
