Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Push chair/pram/stroller

We have finally decided upon a stroller (pram/push-chair for the British folk). We happened upon it a long time ago, and liked it for two reasons. First, it takes a maxi cosi car-seat, which has a super safety record. it's a top brand in Europe and Europe, from the reading I've done, apparently has higher safety standards than the US. The other reason we liked it is that the seat adjusts so that the baby/toddler faces you as you push them. In academic geek mode, I happened upon some research which indicated that the babe feels both more secure and is good for their development. It's also very stylish :)

SO, here is our Maxi Cosi Foray... We got it for a little less on ebay. New... we still have to buy the car seat.



11 comments:

  1. it looks gorgeous! v. stylish. it is interesting about the safety standards. australia has higher car seat safety standards than the US too (i wanted to use my US car seats back here but couldn't ... our infant capsules/car seats are all bolted into the car rather than just being tethered by a seat belt). i find it surprising that there are such differences...

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  2. hmmmm... i just found this interesting bit of info: "All child restraints used in Australia must comply with current Australian standards - one of the main features of which is the use of a rear strap to an anchor point. Australian child restraint standards are some of the most stringent in the world and most overseas child restraints do not comply with these standards and cannot legally be used in Australia - this includes restraints from countries such as the UK and USA. It is advisable to hire a child restraint in Australia from a reputable hire service (see section above) rather than bringing your own from overseas."

    can you tell that i am also the geeky academic type?

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  3. so I might be way overconcerned about attachment and feelings of safety, but it always wigs me out to see a teeny tiny baby facing forward in a stroller. since when would baby be the person blazing the trail? eesh, makes me nervous thinking about that level of stimulation!

    ash

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  4. Oh, it's great! So stylish, indeed! Looks very high-tech, too. We didn't have one so fancy, but we also did the carseat-into-stroller frame thing. Makes way more sense.

    And I totally agree about having the babe facing you. Doing it any other way seems to make absolutely no sense.

    It's because you're an academic geek that we love you so!

    Love,
    Jen

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  5. oh it's great! and I'm intrigued by the idea of having the baby facing you. it seems so obvious when you think about it . . .

    *adds to list of things to discuss in therapy*

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  6. Wow, em, I had no idea about Australia... The US seems to have such low standards on everything. I was listening to NPR yesterday about chemicals in baby products, and how many things are banned in Europe but not here; mostly because the EPA has no legal teeth nowadays, and they have to factor in a cost-benefit-analysis to any of their recommendations. I.e how much concern to give to safety over profit. It's horrifying.

    And now I am stressing about chemicals in baby products :)

    Oh, Ash, we are so on the same page. I thought you might understand these reasons :) I plan to carry/wear the baby as much as possible, too, on the basis of fostering that security. The power of physical closeness is pretty astonishing, as we both know. xo.

    Thanks, Jen! isn't it stylish :) I loved the facing seat adjustment. I think it's a great feature. It's even meant to increase the kiddo's vocab :)

    But i am really excited to use the slings you've mentioned. In WF on Saturday I saw a lovely little baby curled up asleep in his mum's sling. Very cosy!

    And thank you for appreciating the geekiness!! You know that this little fellow will be such a geek.. it's why we can't possibly send him to the local school!!

    Aw, Sarah, we'll probably all need a little bit more therapy when we think about these things!

    Today, for the first real time, my appetite really picked up. It felt good to feel food actually digesting and my body wanting more as opposed to it sitting there, deciding to go down or not (sorry, tmi?). I was also tired all day. I mean bone tired. I've been getting some really severe headaches, too.. I'm hoping it's a passing phase.

    I did go to a guided imagery session with my integrated medicine MD, today. We were doing some deep relaxation imagery and the little boy was having none of it... he is quite the acrobat!!

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  7. Very stylish wheels! Looks very similar to ours (iCandy Cherry) which also takes the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix seat. It got the top rating by Which? which sealed the deal for us.

    We have upgraded to a Phil & Teds for when bambino #2 arrives though and I love it! It's not rear facing, but double buggies which do that are rare as hen's teeth...

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  8. P.S. How are your iron levels Alex? I suddenly got REALLY tired but put it down to being 7 months pregnant/working/dealing with a toddler. Turns out my iron levels had plummeted and I'm feeling much better after a few days on supplements :-)

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  9. Hi Alice! I was about to drop you an email! thanks for stopping by... You're so close to your due date!! Really glad to hear that you discovered the iron levels were low... I have been feeling super tired this week, but have put it down to a busy work. After the gym today, though, I almost fell asleep en route home. I see my Dr. tomorrow and I'm curious about what tests they might do.

    My sister just upgraded to the Phil and Teds, too!!! And so we VERY VERY nearly invested in one, thinking that we might have a second kiddo before too long. My sis got the 'sport' edition as it's the only one that would fit in their narrow hallway! You'll have to give me an update on how you find it.

    Love, A

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  10. I use a Phil and Ted's with Edy and Ascher and I LOVE IT.
    It's the "classic", whatever the name would be. The snazzy neon green. It's no jogger, at least not w/ a 3-yr-old and 1.5-yr-old in it. But it does well in snow, goes through narrow doorways, and ok... it's really cool-looking :)

    With just the one kid, no double-kit, it's got good storage, but as a double it's really hard (actually totally not worth the effort) to use the storage bin underneath.

    Haha, it's the stroller review, nanny version.
    Love you, buddy - be so careful driving while they figure this out, ok?
    xo
    fia

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  11. Hi Fi!

    Thanks for the nanny review :) I think my sis has that model... maybe it's the 'sport' model, or something like that. I was very close to getting it.. it was the reverse position seat that edged the maxi into first place!!

    Congrats on your new job, my friend. You will be so wonderful!!
    Love, A

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