Bob jogger for everyday stroller???

[christiancountrygal]

Has anyone else been struggling to decide what car seat, stroller, or travel system to get? My partner and I are pretty active. We were set on getting the Bob stroller, nuna pipa car seat, and nuna adapter for Bob (~$1000 investment). We wouldnt run with the baby until at least 8 months but we thought it would be easier just to invest in one jogging stroller that can also be a regular stroller when necessary at first. then my mom went on a tangent about how the child won’t be in the infant car seat long, how it’s better to spend the money on a convertible car seat since they will be in that for much longer, how the Bob will be too heavy and big for everyday use, and how we should just get a travel system for the cost and ease. Now I’m all conflicted because there are a few travel systems I like but I typically like the stroller but not the car seat (I.e., baby jogger, britax b-free) or the other way around (I.e., the nuna). I know Bobs hold their value so we could, in theory, get a used one at 8 months when baby is ready to go on runs. What have others decided on?? This is literally the last thing we need and we can’t decide!

 

[pauellcowl]

@christiancountrygal This really depends on your lifestyle, so someone else's answer probably isn't going to do too much for you. All you can really do is work through the pros and cons, try it out, and make adjustments if what you are doing isn't working.

I think the pros of your system are

1) Focus your money (and space) on the stroller you really want rather than having to buy more than one.

2) Jogging strollers are usually considered super comfortable to use with their big wheels and shocks. You can take them on all sorts of terrain and you'll be able to use it for many years to come (assuming you don't have another kid).

The cons are

1) It'll always be a bulky option, esp when you consider the car seat attachment. Jogging strollers are BIG. If space in the car/home is a big deal for you, or if you see yourself navigating tighter spaces with the stroller (lots of restaurants, shops, etc), it might not feel ideal.

2) You may not love having to keep the baby in their infant car seat all the time that they are in the stroller. Depending on how long you tend to stroll, some babies are uncomfortable in their car seats, or sleep better if they can lay flat rather than being scrunched up into their car seat. However, you may love keeping the baby in their car seat - it works great for some people.

I tend to disagree with your mom about the convertible car seat. If you are someone who thinks you want the convenience of clicking your infant car seat in and out, go for it. A lot of people highly value that functionality, and you don't typically get that with a convertible.

My DH and I decided that we'd go with a full sized stroller that will grow with the family in a hopes that it becomes "one stroller to rule them all!" (uppa baby vista) and have agreed that if we decided we need any other strollers we'll buy them 2nd hand at the moment that we need them. So that could be a jogging stroller or a travel stroller or whatever, but we're waiting on all those decisions until we'd actually use it.

 

[olufunke]

@pauellcowl I love the Uppababy Vista. It is so convenient and perfect for a family planning on growing. Preggo with number 2 and first one is 1.5 years old. He highly prefers the uppababy vista to the Thule jogger when he gets to choose. If we running or going anywhere with a rugged terrain, he does begrudgingly accept sitting in the jogger. It’s smart you’re waiting to buy the jogger! We did the same and got it for a ridiculously nice price

 

[evezee]

@olufunke Do you jog with the vista?

 

[olufunke]

@evezee I don’t but I think it would be safe to do some slow jogging on a flat sidewalk with it. It doesn’t have the giant tires and the shock impacts my Thule has but I don’t see how that would matter if I’m not going fast or on rougher ground. I’ve seen parents jog with their kiddos in the most basic strollers and the kids seem fine.

 

[sjtrask2013]

@christiancountrygal I just went through this too! I always envisioned myself with a pram style with a newborn (looking at mockingbird plus attachments) and then the Bob later on. However, where I live all the trails are gravel and I can’t see myself pushing a stroller on pavement anywhere except downtown. So I plan to wear baby/get the Bob with the infant seat attachment. I might eventually get a cheap umbrella stroller for travel/ease. Everyone says it is more convenient to have the click in click out infant car seat for the first year or so. I’m looking at Britax.

 

[keroogmil]

@christiancountrygal So I went through the exact same stroller/carseat struggles and I'll tell you what I learned! I bought a Thule jogging stroller, a Chicco car seat, and the Chicco adapter for the Thule (I imagine it was a similar investment). To your mom's point - yes they do grow out of that infant/bucket seat quickly, but the benefit is that those seats you can click in and out of the car so easily. So if baby falls asleep on the way to the grocery store, you can click out the carseat and click it in the stroller or pop it in the grocery cart. A convertible seat, while cheaper in the long run, does not give you this option. You will be taking baby out and waking them up. Looking back I would 100% still get the bucket seat because of how convenient it was for the time we used it, even if it wasn't a long time.

So the Thule (similar to the Bob) is "easy" to fold up but its bulky because its a jogging stroller. I took it in the car with me once before giving up on using it as an everyday stroller. I LOVE it for walks and jogs. It was and is worth the money to me for how great of a walking and jogging stroller it is. But because I didn't like traveling with it, I would either carry the infant bucket seat around in my arms (ouch) or take baby out and babywear depending on the outing. Looking back, I would buy one of those cheap little strollers off amazon that you can click your bucket seat into and folds up small in your car. I think that would've been worth the extra money and arm pain haha.

Now that my baby is almost 2, I still use the stroller for walking and jogging in my neighborhood all the time, but when we're out and about, he just walks or we carry him in a hiking backpack. I do have a cheap umbrella stroller but I rarely if ever use it.

That's my 2 cents, good luck with your decision!!

 

[insightsystem143]

@keroogmil Seconding all of this. We had a chicco bucket car seat and the chicco frame stroller (the cheap thing you can click the car seat into), and then we got a Bob used on Facebook marketplace. The frame stroller was easy to throw in the back of the car. The Bob lives by our front door. It’s big and bulky, so it doesn’t travel well, but we use it every day for walks/runs.

When baby outgrew the car seat/frame stroller setup, we got a Babyjogger Citymini on Facebook marketplace. Those things are incredible. It folds with the pull of a strap in the seat. I can fold it and load it in the car with one hand! That means I can be wrestling my daughter in one arm and load her stroller with the other. Makes me feel like Supermom. Also, the wheels pop off of the citymini really easily so it can fit through security X-ray at the airport! It’s a perfect travel stroller because it’s comfortable, can recline to nearly flat, is lightweight, and has decent storage capacity in the bottom. And, of course, it can go through security so you can use it in the airport/don’t have to baggage check it.

 

[olufunke]

@christiancountrygal We went with Thule Urban Glide 2 but I would not recommend it as a daily stroller. Jogging strollers are HUGE although if you guys do minimal traveling, it doesn’t really matter since you can always wear the baby. I did buy the car seat adapter for the Thule and started running with my first born quite early after receiving permission from his pediatrician so that part wasn’t a waste of money. I do have a separate stroller for when we go to the grocery store or travel. He’s 25 lbs and I’m 34 weeks pregnant lol I’m not wearing him anymore. It really depends on your lifestyle and budget. We have both an infant seat and a convertible seat too. It was worth it for us because we were planning two close in age anyway so the seats wouldn’t expire and can be used longer. If money was an issue and I wasn’t planning for two kids, I would only get one jogger, one convertible car seat, and one nice baby carrier (I highly recommend the BabyBjorn air mesh carrier). The extra stuff is nice but not necessary.

 

[katrina2017]

@christiancountrygal I sort of regret having a jogger as our main stroller. Like it’s fine but it has some draw backs. It’s bigger than a standard stroller so consider that when transporting it but the biggest thing for me was no snack tray. As my daughter got older not having the snack tray was a HUGE pain.

 

[esmerelda]

@katrina2017 The BOB had a snack tray!

 

[jayre]

@christiancountrygal I've used a BOB for both kids and will be using it with this one. I love the BOB!

It's an absolutely perfect everyday stroller for me! Great steering, fantastic for walks which I always took plenty of. Sturdy and strong enough to store whatever too, so good for errands (although alot of strollers are good for errands).

We have the adapter for our Graco seat, works great.

Also I would always recommend a bucket seat. It doesn't always make sense for people but for ME it always did/does. Getting baby ready and in seat before getting to car, making it to and from car in a single trip, and of course w the stroller click out, click in, and you're on your way, and in the case of bad weather - who wants to be doing multiple car trips? Convertible seats are totally fine - they can be cumbersome and sometimes you don't get the "full life" due to the kid growing like a weed, or, having a new kid and needing a second/new/bigger booster style seat for your eldest anyway.

Edit to add:. We have a big car so folding it was never a space issue. It might be for some.

 

[keroogmil]

@jayre Yes I forgot about the one point you made about the bucket seat - the ability to get baby ready, tucked into the bucket seat INSIDE your house, cover them with warm blankets if its cold, then take them to the car and snap them in is SO WORTH IT. I can't imagine going outside in frigid temps with my newborn to get them into the convertible seat.

 

[jayre]

@keroogmil We have winter for 4-5 solid months of the year, so it's essential (for me) here. And with other kids in tow? I couldn't do it any other way.

 

[esmerelda]

@christiancountrygal Hello from someone who only has a Bob! Ask me anything! Haha.

My mom (career nanny in the town we moved to just after baby was born) was ADAMANT we get a Bob and not waste our time with anything else.

Pros: we love it. Love it. It’s perfect for our neighborhood where there’s a steep gravel path to the playground and nearby stores. Everyone here has them. It rides so smooth and I loved the car seat adapter to keep car naps going when she was teeny tiny. It’s kept up incredibly well, has tons of storage underneath so though it’s huge I could do grocery runs with her in it.

Our model, babies can sit in it from 8 weeks without the seat adapter. From 6 months, we’ve loved using it for actual jogging / running.

The used market is pretty darn good! You could always go that route to cut down on initial costs.

If I did it again I’d get one of those click and go ones for doctors appointments/errands/travel when she was little. I don’t love baby wearing so that would have been preferred. We got a GLite travel stroller for free and have used that when traveling or taking her into the city to the aquarium.

Cons: It is HEAVY. And big. That was cumbersome when the world was open and we’d wanna stroller it up in doctors offices or out to eat or traveling. We keep ours in our car and I’m at the point where my husband gets it out for me now being pregnant.

We keep ours indoors and it’s in great shape so I imagine we’ll be able to sell it pretty high. We’ll be getting a battered old hand me down bob dualie for when there are two! Most places we’d go with the two when little little would be walking distance from our house / my parents and the double will be perfect. Probably do baby wearing / travel stroller for being out and about with them.

 

[intel2]

@christiancountrygal I’ve struggled with this too since I’d rather have a single all purpose stroller, but jogging strollers are just so big and unwieldy. Currently planning on the Thule Spring (a compact everyday stroller, not a jogger) with the infant car seat adapter if we need it in the first six months (or baby wear). If we end up wanting a jogger we’ll look for a used one locally, it’s easier with our current lifestyle to go out unencumbered by the stroller and run solo, taking turns.

 

[sshuttari]

@christiancountrygal We are getting a BOB stroller too that we will also use for our every day stroller. For the early infant months, before we can put her in the BOB, we are just going to get this universal infant stroller attachment that we can strap our carseat into. We are getting a convertible car seat for my car and an infant-40 lbs car seat for my husband’s car. We’re also getting two nice baby carriers (Ergo and more of the sling type) for when we need to navigate small spaces where we won’t want to take the jogging stroller.

 

[christiancountrygal]

@sshuttari Thank you! Have you decided what car seat you will get?

 

[sshuttari]

@christiancountrygal We are registered for the Graco 3in-1 convertible one, and we already received the Cisco Scenara infant seat as a gift. It wouldn’t have been my first choice but it looks like it has good reviews!

 

[cpetrainingo]

@sshuttari This link SAVED OUR LIFE thank you!