When I found out I was pregnant I took my husband and ran to Babies R Us to start browsing around. I was so excited running up and down the aisles pointing out everything I wanted. I saw the perfect travel system and knew I had to have it. Of course it cost an arm and a leg but I didn’t care. It was an absolute must purchase. Well, after my son was born 9 months later I couldn’t wait to use the travel system. But to my surprise and frustration it was a pain in the neck.
It was way too big! I couldn’t bring it into the stores. I mean I could but it was in the way. Oh and I forgot mention so heavy to push around. My son ended up growing so fast that I stopped using the carrier after 3months. At this point I figured why not stop using this ridiculous travel system and switch to something more efficient. I started my research. Well, maybe not enough.
I ended up purchasing the Britax stroller from Babies R Us thinking that it would be a great lightweight stroller instead of that heavy travel system. The sales lady was great and she really took her time with me. I opened and close almost every lightweight stroller in the store. It was a good thing the store was empty. I am quick to make decisions and I didn’t want to mess this decision up. Strollers are not cheap and the travel system I already had was so expensive. So after an hour or so I was satisfied that I was making the right decision. The Britax had a great name and a great reputation from what I knew. It seemed light weight and easy to open and close. It had a nice basket and a bar in the front so my son wouldn’t fall out and could rest his feet on it. The color was a greyish black so it wouldn’t get too dirty.
My joy did not last long with this stroller. I first noticed that I hated this stroller was when my son and I were in the parking lot of the bank and I could not get it to close for the life of me. It was the summer and about 90 degrees outside. I was panicking. I had to call my husband so he could talk me through closing it. How terrible. That was just the beginning. Every time I closed this stroller I would pinch my fingers. I was so upset. I wouldn’t admit that I made a mistake. I kept saying that I loved the stroller and it was something I was doing wrong. But it wasn’t. Even my husband had a hard time closing it. And you know what else I found out that it wasn’t so lightweight either. Once my son started really growing and getting heavier it wa really hard to push him whether it was in a store on pavement. It didn’t matter. How frustrating!
Another thing that I realized I did not like about this stroller was the fact that my son could not sit upright all the way. He would always be in the reclining position. It had a few different positions to change it to but he never see,ed to sit up all the way. It just didn’t go all the way up. How strange. Again I thought it was something that I was doing wrong. But no my husband tried and he had the same awful results. That is the design of this particular stroller I guess. I don’t understand why though. My son likes to look around and see his surroundings so that annoyed him as well as me. Maybe if my son was still a newborn that would have been ok but I wouldn’t have felt safe with a newborn in this stroller. It just doesn’t seem as sturdy as the travel system I already owned.
In describing this stroller I would say that the front of the stroller has just a bar. No cup tray or snack tray for him to put anything on. The bar was ok to keep him in but that’s about it. He liked to pull the velcro off and on the bar. The kept him busy for a while. The harness was also something that I did not like. It didn’t expand enough to fit around my son comfortably. I always felt that he was squished in their. Yes my son was big but why don’t they account for the fact that some babies are bigger than others. My son is not tremendous but I felt he was whenever I tried to buckle the straps. I do find this similar problems with a lot of products I buy not just Britax. I don’t understand why companies don’t make straps to expand enough for bigger babies. Would it really cost that much more money to produce? I wold gladly pay the extra for my son to be comfortable.
What can I sat about the basket. There is sufficient room to put your diaper bag, bottle bag, keys and a couple of small packages. I don’t really have anything bad to say about the basket.
I bought this stroller thinking it was going to be great and it wasn’t. I was very disappointed. Please do not buy this stroller if you are still shopping around. The best thing to do is bring your child to the store and try out all of the strollers with them in it. If the sales people get annoyed that’s too bad. This is a very expensive purchase and you want to make sure you are purchasing the correct one that will suit your needs. Another thing I would like to mention keep all receipts. Babies R Us has a 90 day return policy with receipt. Toy R Us will only accept return with a receipt. Target will only accept returns with a receipt as well. They will allow you two returns a year without a receipt but there are conditions to that. You should find out the store’s return policy before you make this big purchase. The stores are starting to get very strict.
I have heard great things about the MaClaren. I haven’t tried it myself just yet but I hope to in the future. I hope it is better than this one. I will follow my own adice on my next purchase. Oh and just in case you were wondering what happened to my Britax, ….I sold it on EBAY!!
