Baby gear: choosing (and loving) our stroller

The first baby item that we thoroughly researched when preparing for baby Yu's arrival was her stroller. We went to the huge warehouses that stock all kinds of baby gear, knowing that everything was probably going to be overpriced, but with the intention of looking, feeling and playing with the objects.

It was still in those early, vulnerable days, before 20 weeks, when we couldn't believe this was finally happening. I guess it has to do with the fact that we love to go on walks so much that a stroller was the first thing we went looking for (it could have been anything).

We knew we wanted an all-terrain kind of stroller, one that would take parks, paved streets, the dunes. I'm not gonna lie, when we first saw them (and after hearing a couple of recommendations), the Bugaboos called our attention. Oh, and the Joolz, with their pretty details and high-quality personalized finishings. But, they were completely out of our budget. Also, when we played around trying to fold a Bugaboo it did not seem so intuitive. We didn't like the Stokke as it seemed unstable, with all the weight falling on one diagonal, and it did not have much space for carrying stuff around.

Anyhow, one of the most decisive factors was the big wheels, and so, it was a matter of elimination before we found our stroller. I insisted on having 4 wheels (not 3), for stability, and we wanted a travel system (with a babycot, car seat and bigger-child seat) all clickable to the same frame. We wanted a stroller that was strong and that would last a while, a stroller that would endure city trips and be practical for travel. Our candidates were the Mutsy Evo, the Koelstra Binque and the Maxi-Cosi Mura 3 or 4. The Koelstra looked really good, and I loved that it was available in a pretty jade green, but it was really hard to fold and it looked a bit flimsy, so we eliminated it.

In the end we went for the Maxi-Cosi Mura 4, as it ticked all of our requirements. As soon as I touched it I was kind of in love with it, it is very, very easy to fold, in just one movement. I loved the huge wheels that are easily replaceable and the quality is really good, with the price being in the middle-range. We were *almost* ready to get it new, I had already found a good discount online, when we decided, just in case, to check if we could get it second-hand. And yes, we found an offer, at a really good price, of an older version of the same stroller, good as new, clean, and in a beautiful Royal blue (well the color is called Atlantic). So we made an appointment, just to have a look. Had we gotten it new, we were going to get it in either Red or Brown. At that moment we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl, but seeing how good of a deal it was and the great condition in which it had been kept, we decided to go for it. I specially love how some of the inside details are in a pretty turquoise blue.  And we really don't care about boy or girl colors... colors are for everyone.

We have been using it pretty much every day since Yu was allowed to see the world, and the more we use it, the more we love it.