New wheels for Joseph

I finally got a new stroller for Joseph. It was time to retire his old hand-me-down one which was getting very wobbly and did not seem capable of withstanding Joseph's increasing weight (almost 12kg now!). Several weeks of research on the internet, a mother's forum and also asking around friends' opinions led me to decide on the Graco EDT citisport which has a price tag of RM599 at ToysRUs and SafeNSound (1Utama). But it was to my good fortune that when I visited Safe N Sound last night, the EDT citisport was out of stock. However, a more expensive model (which I saw for RM649 two weeks ago) was now selling for only RM459. It was the last unit. Take it or regret it. Not one to be fickle, I put Joseph in it and wheeled it out of the shop as Edwin took out his credit card to pay for it. Here's what I found out from all the stroller research. I wanted a stroller that was lightweight, compact when folded, one-handed open/close, has a reclinable seat, large storage basket and easy-clean cushions. Many umbrella strollers require you to squat to the floor when closing the stroller because the handles have to meet the front wheels. Others were so bulky and heavy that they would fill up the entire car boot. Hence it was down to either Combi or Graco for me. All other brands (Chicco, Peg Perego, Maclaren, Inglesina, Britax...) were either too expensive or too bulky. I also found out that you have to go to certain shops to buy certain brands of strollers. Combi - Combi shop in Midvalley, Toycity in 1Utama Graco - ToysRUs, SafeNSound, Bambino (limited model) Maclaren - Planet Enfant PegPerego - ToysRUs (limited choice), Planet Enfant Inglesina - ToysRUs, Hytex town (Ikano) Sweet Cherry - Jusco Anakku/Elego - Anakku boutiques, Parkson Graco had a large storage basket and easy one-hand open/close mechanism. Combi was more compact when folded because of the tri-fold. However this tri-fold makes it more flimsy. And the basket is lousy. So I finally decided on the Graco citisport, compromising on the not-so-compact folded size. It is still light enough to be carried over the shoulder and I believe it will fit in the overhead compartment of an aircraft cabin. See how happy Joseph is...he wouldn't let me take him out of it!