I’ll start this post on a positive note. All children are precious gifts from God and it is truly a blessing to be gifted with not one, but three sweet girls.
However, every time we add another child to our family, our simple, zippy little life becomes a bit more…frumpy. Does anyone feel me on this?
With one baby, you have your cute little diaper bag, your baby in your arms, and a stylish stroller to get around town in. With a second baby, that diaper bag gets a bit more necessary- it basically functions as a traveling refrigerator full of snacks and drinks for both kids, you have a kid in the stroller and possibly one in your arms, and your spare arm is juggling their blankets or stuffed animals they can’t possibly leave home without. Then there’s three kids. How does one even accomplish this?
I’m out of arms. I’m out of room for car seats in my cute, zippy car. And my diaper bag? Does that turn into a rolling suit case?
We’ve now bit the bullet and got ourselves a mini van. To be completely honest, I thought I was going to hate it. Even the thought of it made me a bit nauseous. But now that we have it, it’s pretty much the best thing ever. No, it’s not zippy. And I DEFINITELY feel like a soccer mom in it. There’s no denying it. But it makes our life a million times easier. Look at all the room in this thing!! And there’s a whole other row and huge trunk not pictured!
Now that we’ve got a bigger car, we need a bigger stroller for these babies. And the frumpiness continues…
The Double Stroller Shopping Experience
When we were pregnant with our first baby, I remember my mom and I heading to Buy Buy Baby and trying out every stroller they had. We played for what felt like hours and had a ball, figuring out which one we liked the best. We didn’t purchase a double stroller when we had our second child because Riley was four-years-old and mostly liked walking with us anyway. But now pregnant with our third, our two youngest will be 19 months apart, and while Logan likes to walk and wander even more than Riley, when it comes to longer walks or adventures, I will need a seat for both of them.
My mom and I again got so excited for our stroller shopping trip. I decided to bring the girls with us so I could really test out the strollers with kids. In hindsight, not the best idea. They basically wanted to play in the toy aisle the whole time. And in addition to dealing with them, the stroller shopping part wasn’t even fun! It was hard! Everything was heavy and hard to fold! Nothing was zippy. Nothing! I just felt like my life was getting more and more complex and I started to panic in the middle of Buy Buy Baby! (Full disclosure, I was six-and-a-half months pregnant and fat at the time. So folding and lifting anything is kind of annoying). But still, this double stroller thing did not pack the punch that my single stroller shopping experience did.
My Favorite Single Stroller: Uppa Baby Vista
This is the best stroller out there in my humble opinion. We got ours when my first was born and 6 years later, we still use it all the time. They’ve since come out with new models that are even better and easier to use than my 2013 version. Because of these newer models though, I can’t get the “Rumble Seat” attachment to add a second seat to mine without getting a whole new stroller. And these things aren’t cheap. Once you add a second seat, they’re also pretty heavy. This stroller is SO versatile though, and very easy to use. One of the best features about the UppaBaby Vista is the storage space underneath the stroller. Everyone raves about this. And the more kids you have, the more you appreciate that HUGE basket. Check out this page to see all the different configurations for families with multiple children.
Since buying a new one of these is currently out of the question financially, here are my thoughts on the other strollers we tried out that day:
Bugaboo Donkey
This is another pricey stroller. I must say, it is pretty. And super smooth to push. It also has a ton of versatility (watch video below for all the different configurations and features). I however, was totally inept at folding this thing. I felt like it was really cumbersome. If I never had to fold it, and I just used it for walks around the neighborhood, I would recommend this double stroller. It’s beautifully made and has a lot of the same changeable positions as the UppaBaby. There’s just a lot of clicking and moving and “mechanics” that I don’t really feel like dealing with when I have three kids to manage.
Contours Curve Double Stroller
I was excited about this one before getting to the store, but when I actually tried using it myself, it confused the crap out of me. Super intimidating with all the features and curves and 6 wheels! It’s SO big. And when folded, it’s still huge. This is definitely one you need to watch the video for, or at least have a salesperson show you how to use in the store. I would imagine it takes some practice to make folding this thing look easy. It’s pretty, but not for me.
Joovy ScooterX2 Double Stroller
Coming in at least expensive double stroller on this list, this one really wasn’t bad. I was pleasantly surprised. Handled great, smooth ride, and definitely more affordable than the other strollers listed. I didn’t love how there was just one belly bar across both kids, or how you need to recline both seats before you fold it up. But this would work as a practical double stroller for sure.
The Bob Double Stroller
For all you joggers out there, you can’t do much better than a Bob. They push great and make running with kids, small or big, easy. My sister-in-law has this stroller for her two boys and they love it. They also bring it on the beach every summer and run with it. It’s got great sun protection so they can nap safe and sound in there as well. For someone like me who isn’t a runner, this stroller isn’t as practical for me. It’s also pretty large and bulky.
Baby Jogger Citi Mini GT Double Stroller
This is ultimately the stroller we decided on. It handles so smoothly and can turn on a dime. The girls loved sitting next to each other rather than front-to-back. And the thing that really sold me is that this stroller is the lightest to pick up and the easiest to fold. It has two big handles on the seats that say “Pull to Fold.” You pull on them, and the whole stroller folds up easily. No clicking, no breaking, just one swift move. We rented a single Citi Mini when we were in Disney World a few years ago so I had a few days of using this to really explore the features. Bottom line? This stroller is easy. And that brings me joy.
This stroller can adapt to a carseat as well, although it clearly does not have as many configurations as some of the other strollers we looked at. I’ll still use my UppaBaby as a pram for the baby if I’m just walking her around the neighborhood for a nap. But for traveling purposes, I think the Citi Mini will be our best option.
While there are certainly plenty of other double strollers out there, these are some of the big names that we tried out on our shopping adventure. For those of you that have a double stroller, what do you use? And what do you like about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments below. You might just sell me on another brand!