Back when I did the post on baby carriers, commenter bellegourmande asked if I could also do a post on strollers, since the world of baby-pushing devices is hard to navigate. Unfortunately, my knowledge of strollers is divided into two categories: “the one that came with my car seat” and “ones I can’t afford”. Pretty much every stroller worth buying falls into that second category. Or at least they did until last week when I found my AWESOME NEW STROLLER on Craigslist.

Before my AWESOME NEW STROLLER, I was using my Chicco Cortina Travel System stroller at Stroller Strides and it was…meh. The Chicco is really more for mall walking/shopping/casual strolling* than for pushing a baby around trails covered in leaves and pine cones so I’ve been keeping my eye on Craigslist for a jogger. Not that I plan to do any actual jogging (I’ve never been much of the jogging type, and even less so now that I’m in danger of giving myself a black eye at every bounce), but the rugged style of a jogger is more suited to the park. And then the stars aligned, the heavens smiled down and my AWESOME NEW STROLLER appeared on The List as if by magic.

BEHOLD:

It's a Quinny Freestyle, bought in Canada as a gift for a nice mommy down in Niantic a couple years ago and hardly used. It has amazing shocks, great steering, and is easy to push even though it's ginormous. My favorite part is the baby can face in towards me...OR...

...out towards the world! Baby Evan loves both directions, but having him face in is especially nice when I know he's going to take a nap.

As you can clearly see, Baby Evan likes it. The padding is very comfy - especially the pillow. It's basically a giant, squishy recliner. I wish someone would push me around in one of these all day.

Total cost? $80 plus $4 for a Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte. (The Starbucks was RIGHT THERE next to their condo complex! And I was ten minutes early! I needed to stall!) Original cost? Over $300, and the super fancy Quinny’s they sell in the U.S. go for $600 or more. I luuuuurve it. Lurve.

Ok, here are the negatives of my AWESOME NEW STROLLER: It weighs a ton, doesn’t fold up very small and takes up the whole back of my Jeep. I doubt it would fit in the trunk of a smaller car. I can’t switch the direction the baby is facing while he’s in it. It doesn’t have cup holders or a snack tray. None of those end up being real negatives for my strolling needs, so my lurve continues.

*Quick review of my Chicco: Very easy to fold, light enough for me to get in and out of the car no problem, Baby Evan likes it, basket can hold my whole diaper bag plus more, cup holders. Negatives: too big for shopping in some stores (women’s section at Target, Gymboree), no really suspension, steering isn’t great at faster speeds or with one hand.

And while I’m at it, here’s the review of my $7 consignment store umbrella stroller (Babies R Us brand, you can buy them for $20): Best $7 I’ve spent on the baby so far. Tiny, light, fits in even the smallest, most crowded clearance sections of the outlet stores, Baby Evan loves it and didn’t make a peep during three hours of shopping. Negatives: doesn’t recline, no basket for storage (although it does have a bag that hands on the back I can keep a burp cloth or a blanket it), no cup holders, probably not tall enough for E to push comfortably.

So right there is everything I know about strollers. Which one do you use? Do you like it?

Baby Evan is suffering from his first real illness, although unless there’s a medical term for “buckets of snot coming from the nose” it’s not something we could have vaccinated against. I think it’s due to a combination of  the weather change, teething, and maybe a tiny head cold. Unfortunately, his cold came at exactly the same moment he learned to army crawl at an alarming speed, so now he’s dragging himself around the house, leaving slimy trails of snot and booger-filled spit everywhere he goes. He’s the world’s cutest snail.

For the most part, Baby Evan doesn’t seem to care his nose is dripping everywhere, and refuses to allow anyone to do anything about it. He fights tissues, cloths or baby wipes anywhere near his face. Yesterday we held him down and got a few saline drops up his nose, but the level of EVIL WOMAN CHILD ABUSE TORTURE SOMEBODY HELP ME screaming and struggling hardly seemed worth it. I tried to squirt some milk in his nostrils but most of it ended up in his eye. Unless he gets sicker or starts spiking a fever, we’re going to just wait out the booger machine. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean waiting for warmer April May June weather, when the neighbors become concerned and break in to find all of us stuck to the floor, encased in slime, a horrible tableau serving as a warning to lazy parents everywhere.