Before I begin, no I’m not being paid to advertise for the Uppababy brand or products, but I do feel compelled to write about them!
First off, I’m not going to lie and tell you that the products are cheap because they are most definitely not! It is one heck of a brand and worth the investment that’s for sure, for more than one reason as well. Secondly, they have items/products for newborns to pretty good size toddlers and yes newborns even include the premises. My parent’s did help me in purchasing the stroller set in 2016 (which was close to $700+ and that wasn’t even including the tax) and at the time it was pretty expensive but now I believe it’s more. I’ll have to google and check that out by the time I finish this blog.
My ex-husband knew it was the brand I was also more comfortable with for the car seat and safety (he gave his own approval as well at the time) so we purchased the car base and car seat. The car seat works as an attachment to the actual stroller which is convenient and SO its lightweight/functional to use, not only for a first time mom but also for a mom in recovery from post-delivery. I won’t also won’t lie by saying there are no other strollers that can compare, because there are but there aren’t. It depends on the use and purpose of your baby equipment and if you’re asking yourself what I mean, allow me to explain. There are some other lightweight strollers, strollers that can be easily “folded” to accommodate a mom not being able to carry/lift heavy things outside of their baby; then there’s the strollers that are large and bulky but functional for everything to be stored in it but not small enough to fit anywhere in a vehicle. Whereas you have some interesting combo strollers that are actually part of the car seat, you just have to wait until you detach the car seat from it’s base so that it transforms into the portable stroller. The reason why I highly recommend the lighter and fully functional Uppababy stroller (because they are) is because of what I envisioned my use of it. Many of you moms or soon to be mom’s will understand what I mean when you start or have gone stroller and car seat shopping. See I found that the lighter in weight you go with a stroller you loose the solid control, functionality, and sturdiness of the stroller to be able to use it with confidence and security for the safety of your child. I knew I wanted a stroller that had a semi-universal use (aka-meaning that if I didn’t buy, more like couldn’t afford the Uppababy car seat) any car seat brand would be able to attach the (whatever brand) stroller I was/would be buying. I knew I wanted my stroller to have enough “cargo” space for anything I was carrying for the baby (future baby’s) but that I wouldn’t have to worry so much about tipping over if too heavy, or when ever I move the baby/s around. I also knew I wanted to have the possibility of a dual function stroller should there ever be twins in my future or the possibility of close aged children to where the stroller could handle and have more than one child’s seat attached. Don’t get me wrong there are some nice ones out there but the ease and functionality of the multiple seats and the use of those seat locations is wonderful on the Uppababy stroller. The stroller needed to also not be so bulky for the ease of traveling whether by care or flights, but most especially when it came to sitting in a restaurant. Have you never paid attention to how annoying some of those strollers can be when you’re having lunch/dinner in a restaurant (its even more annoying when you’re passing a large party). I also mainly wanted to ensure that the stroller purchase could be an investment to be used (if taken care of correctly) for more children in the future.
You may be asking then why do their stroller cost so much? Simply put, because it includes more than just the stroller that’s why. It folds down to a nice size, with an attachment stroller seat, and a bassinet. Don’t worry I’ll do a break down of the items with their pros and cons, especially since I used them all for both my kids.
The car seat:
This is unfortunately not part of the stroller purchase and is a separate item. The car seat is secured into the base that has both the two latched to attach to the car seat “handles” that are usually hidden at the transition from the back of the seat to the actual seat of the back row. Then you are supposed to “snap lock” in place as well, the vehicles seat belt. The base has a special “lock” function for safety for the baby being in the car seat. It’s rear facing and has breathable (but a little warm for the TX heat) fabric lining. When you “unlock” the car seat it connects to the stroller. It’s not without some effort but because of how secure the car seat “locks” onto the stroller I was perfectly alright with a little effort being put into the placement of the car seat on the stroller. The best part was depending on the circumstance you can easily rotate the car seat to go from rear facing to forward facing on the stroller itself.
The stroller seat attachment:
AKA-this is known as the “toddler seat” for the Uppababy product line. This comes with the stroller purchase and also has the special “locking” mechanisms to secure the seat on the stroller. This item can also be forward or rear facing when attached to the stroller. There’s also a unique attachment (not included that will requires to be purchased separately to use) to adjust the “height location” of where the placement of the seat is on the stroller; another-wards, if there is a need for the seat to be higher to accommodate more cargo at the bottom of the stroller, this is one way to adjust it’s location. If you aren’t wanting to attach car seats and only use this seat on the stroller (because you can keep this seat attached on the stroller and have it still “fold” easily) then you would purchase separately the “inserts” for the premie baby and/or the newborn “insert”. One of the best parts of this piece on the stroller is that it can have the baby/toddler sitting up right with their legs at a perfect 90degree angle from their torso or they could be at almost a complete horizontal position for if the baby/toddler fell asleep. So imagine more peaceful and longer walks or adventures and outings where you wouldn’t have to concern yourself with if the baby/toddler was ok and comfortable and they rested with ease.
The bassinet attachment:
I have to admit when my mom and sister were explaining to me that the bassinet would help, all I saw (more like foresaw) was that I was going to have double work on the exiting and entering of the vehicle with the baby. Well looking back even to this day it’s still one of the best purchases I ever made. The bassinet “locks” into the stroller just like the toddler seat ad car seat mentioned above. Also with the same capabilities of the other two attachment items, you could have the bassinet facing forward or rear-facing from where the stroller handle bar is located. Believe me, I was in a similar disbelief of how convenient and how much of a life save this little item was as a first time mother. Why do you ask? Let me see if I can paint you a picture…
Imagine that you feel confidant in the routine you and your baby have accomplished and you’re feeling a little adventurous into going out. Perhaps its a nice evening dinner with either your family or significant other/husband/fiancé/baby daddy is in order or maybe its both altogether. Anyone would simply just keep the baby in the car seat and have the car seat taking up a chair space at the table, whether by placing the car seat on the reverse end of a high chair or if the restaurant has the car seat sling or you’re simply putting the car seat on one of the table chairs and have the baby facing you. The fact remains that after a while the baby is going to get either hungry (in turn wanting to be adjusted in the seat or want out to be breastfed) or fussy because they’ve been in the car seat for too long. If you’re not wanting the baby to get used to being arm held all the time then it could cause some anxiety especially in the restaurant where all eyes and ears are at attention to your baby crying/fussing or point blank you’re wanting to just have an adult moment while having your child with you and eat in a somewhat peaceful manner. Another aspect of all this is that you can’t just lug around the car seat to change the baby’s diaper-especially when they’re deep asleep and you realize while you’re eating that they need changing! So hopefully I’ve painted somewhat of a setting and circumstantial outing. Now take all that information/scenario and incorporate the Uppababy stroller with the bassinet; here comes my personal story.
This is exactly what I would do and I enjoyed all outings, dinners, and events with my child/children in tow. I would carry over the baby into the bassinet in two different manners: 1)if it was nice weather I would simply have or have someone else already have the bassinet attached to the stroller forward facing (to make it easier to carry out of the car seat in the car to have the baby layout in the bassinet or 2)if it was cooler or cold weather/raining outside then I would ask someone to give me the bassinet, which I would then place in my lap, then transfer the baby over from the car seat to the bassinet and make sure that they were covered as well as as nice and snuggled so that the cold air wouldn’t hit them directly. Side note, the lining of the bassinet is wonderfully made to be breathable and yet especially warm for the cold temperatures. Back to my story now. Stroll into the establishment for the meal/event and if it’s a restaurant then I make sure to inform the host that they can remove one chair from the table because the stroller will take up the same amount of room that the chair they’re removing did. I remember getting so many looks of disbelief but they would still do as asked. If I entered the establishment with the bassinet opening facing the stroller handle bar then once I would be seated somewhere I would rotate (with baby still inside) the bassinet to have it forward facing. Then simply check on the baby and adjust if necessary, then push in the bassinet underneath the table (again as if it was a chair being pushed to the table). Keeping the baby around the noise of family members voices and sounds; this was especially nice when the baby was older and trying to sit up/sitting up already, because I felt secure in their area always being clean and they could easily entertain themselves with toys in their bassinet while still being a part of the table and not in those uncomfortable high chairs or having to deal with all the additional pieces of putting on the high chair for the comfort and entertainment of the baby. My favorite part (as odd as these two next parts sound) was never having to leave the table unless it was literally to use the restroom myself because yes there’s that much possible privacy in changing your baby in the bassinet as well as having them nap right after feeding! So you wouldn’t have to ruin the meal/event and feel pressured to hurry up and get out because of the baby. In turn, allowing you to still feel like a human being :p or an adult who is enjoying motherhood.
Granted some maneuvering and getting used to the products was in order, but for me personally, after about two weeks of use it came in stride and I enjoyed every minute out when I was out. Reselling has it’s value to if you would like to know…So that’s my schpeel and hope this helps in your future children plan/budgeting.
Sincerely,
A Distinct Female
