So my first sharing is about one of the most important baby gear (at least for me), STROLLER. I spent quite some time doing survey and study about this when I was pregnant 2 years back. and I would proudly say, it is really worth my time and effort because my son loves his stroller until today and we still use it almost every weekend.
Here are some tips of choosing a STROLLER for your baby.
1) Know your target.
First is ARE YOU GONNA USE IT? most most important. Some parents prefer babywearing so stroller is the last option. Some people are not going anywhere for a year, so why bother? haha Some parents are lovely and strong enough to carry their baby all the time.
If yes, like me, please proceed below:
How frequent you might use it and where (depends on lifestyle), you want to use it from baby until what age? for everyday use or travelling (by flight, by car)? who's gonna handle it most of the time? These are important so you can narrow down your options later.
My target is clear. As my husband is away most of the time, I might need to handle it alone, by myself with my baby. And I want to use it weekly (during weekend to be exact). Cita cita nak pakai sampai anak bongsu (tak tau berapa) so must be highly durable and only one stroller from birth until at least 3/4 years.
2) List down all the criteria and prioritize the criteria based on your target above. I will share all the criteria below with my priority from the top. No problem, thanks me later ok.
a) Weight and Dimension - Trust me every year you will see more and more lightweight stroller being introduced to the market. Why? Because 'light' is easy especially if you travel by flight (must be <7 kg). Dimension is important as well because some strollers are so bulky that it can't even fit a compact car like Myvi.
b) Brand and Price - Totally depends on your budget and target. You can easily get the simple umbrella folded stroller as cheap as RM100 but the price can also go as high as the sky. You get what you pay.
c) Duration of usage - Some strollers can be used as early as newborn but some are more suitable for 6 months and above (see criteria d) below). On average most strollers can be used up until 20 kg.
d) Recline and Facing - Some strollers can recline flat (or nearly flat). This type can be used from newborn. Some strollers cannot fully recline but associated with travel system, can attach with carseat with additional adapter. Not many strollers offer both front and rear facing. Mostly are front facing. But I personally think rear-facing (facing parents) is not an important criteria because normally by the time (age) we bring our baby to public area, baby is big enough to prefer front facing.
e) Folding - I likeee this. One of the reason I choose my current stroller is because of this feature as well. One hand folding is way to go. I am bias but I totally reject stroller with complicated folding. One of my friends totally regret buying the complicated folding stroller. There was one time we traveled with her without her husband, so while she was carrying her baby, we helped her to fold her stroller but after soo many instructions given we still failed and gave up. Some strollers, you even need to detach the body frame and the seat to fold like whattt? Maybe because I need to handle it myself so it is such a hassle. No No.
f) Safety point - If you don't buy random brand and super cheap stroller I could guarantee the safety part mostly has been taken care of. Just double check to make sure. But there was one incident happened in front of me at the mall, a baby fell down with her stroller while going down the escalator. Luckily her father was quick enough to catch her.. Not because of the harness because the baby was still attached with her stroller but for some reason, suddenly, the seat was nearly detached from the body frame, like a swing hanging. I wish I know what stroller it was, unfortunately I didn't. But one clue I think it must be the type yang boleh attach detach the frame and seat.
g) Accessories - Canopy Peekaboo, air circulation and basket size. Not so important criteria but I really loveee my stroller air ventilation mesh. One of the great feature to look at so your baby can sleep comfortably. Canopy -I love my canopy too! Super big can cover my baby completely when he's sleeping. less distraction and stare from people. I never see any other strollers with the canopy as big as mine haha! Oh but mine doesn't come with the peekboo window, minus point but I don't care because the ventilation mesh is just enough to peek my baby. Basket - big basket means can put more shopping bag, your handbag, baby bag and etc. basically I love most of the features of my stroller. kahkah
Other criteria you can consider - Tyres (3 or 4), Adjustable footrest and handle, easy to wash the seat padding, suspension, color
With all the criteria and target above, I had 5 strollers in my survey list. I plan to use it regularly from newborn and I believe in hand-me-downs concept so nak guna sampai anak bongsu kononnya. And bajet tak banyak sangat sampai ribu riban, so my final survey budget is around RM1k to RM2k, which is the average range of good to high quality stroller in Malaysia.
These are the final 5 strollers I had in my list and the reason why I didn't buy them.
1) Quinny Zap Extra 2- 8 kg, newborn until 15 kg
Pro- Front and Rear facing.
Cons - I don't like the folding system. Bye
2) Babyzen Yoyo - 5.8 kg, newborn until 15 kg
Pro - Lightweight, cabin size (very good for traveling), easy folding
Cons - Almost burst my budget, quite pricey. So many 1 to 1 copy of Yoyo-like in the market (different brands) which you can easily get as low as RM300. I even bought the cheap one for travel but my son doesn't like it. When I was traveling overseas early this year, I could say only 1 out of 10 use the original Babyzen Yoyo, another 9 use the Yoyo-like but not Yoyo haha.
3) Recaro Easylife - 5.7 kg
Pro - Lightweight, cabin size
Cons - I dont like the design. so plain. haha
4) Mountain Buggy Nano - 5.9kg, newborn until 20kg (this one share almost similar features like mine, almost ended up buying this one)
Pro - Lightweight but can use up until 20kg.
Cons - No ventilation mesh
5) Baby Jogger City Mini Zip YAY! I love love my stroller. 7.3 kg, newborn until 25 kg weyy!
WARNING! Bias review detected. kahkah
Pro - One hand folding woot woot! super easy I can handle it myself even with my another hand carrying my baby. A bit heavy compare to the other stroller but I like the compact folding. Never try to bring inside the plane, but I think if you keep it properly inside the bag, inshAllah boleh lepas because it doesn't look bulky at all. SPACIOUS! Anak boleh berguling2 atas tu haha can still fit my 4 years old niece comfortably. Ventilation mesh and big canopy - super love. Flat recline.
Cons - I love everything about it but let's just be real, nothing is perfect. I wish the padding is a bit thicker buttt i've found a solution for that, buy a stroller padding from Lazada. so no Cons for my Baby Jogger City Mini Zip.
The retail price (2016) was RM 1790 but I got a super nice deal during Baby Expo at RM 1390 + free bag.
See my baby sleeps on his stroller comfortably until now.
Even my 4 years old niece doesn't look outgrown on it.
If I was given a choice to buy another Stroller, I would definitely go with the new Baby Jogger haha. Been eyeing the Baby Jogger City Tour since released 2 years ago (just a few weeks after I bought my City Mini Zip *sigh*)
p/s: This is solely based on personal opinion and experience. Most of the information was taken from my 2016 survey so might not be the most updated one.
Any questions? So happy to help! No bias review. Promise. hihi
