New Stroller

When I was pregnant, I felt so overwhelmed by all the baby products one must buy that I rather impulsively bought a Graco travel system because the car seat was top-rated, and that way the stroller would be compatible.

However, this turned out to be a bad idea for the following reasons:
1. We live in an apartment up three flights of stairs, with no elevator, and the stroller is really, really heavy (I can barely lift it).
2. It is a very bulky stroller. Even when folded, it only fits in the trunk of my Honda Civic in one special position, and only if the trunk is completely empty.
3. Because the stroller is so heavy, it is hard to maneuver along the sidewalks and hills of San Francisco.
4. It is rather difficult to fold and unfold (unfolding it takes two hands while bending over, meaning I can't unfold it if I am with little R by myself).
5. It is ugly. I don't like the pattern, or all the cheap-looking plastic add-ons (baby food holder, parent cup holder, etc).
I think it might be good for someone who lives in the suburbs with an SUV (and maybe is a bigger, stronger person too: I'm only 5'2"). Given that I live in SF now, and am moving to Singapore in a month (where we won't even have a car), it was a bad match.

So today I broke down and bought a new stroller after a lot of vacillating (it seemed like such a waste, since after all my current stroller works perfectly). I purchased the Baby Jogger City Mini and I'm in love! I wish I had just bought this one to start with, instead of wasting money on a stroller I dislike.

Things I love:
1. It is so easy to use (it folds and unfolds just by pulling a strap), and is truly one-handed (unlike many other stroller which claim this: the Graco one, for instance). The wheels are really easy to remove too, important since I will be flying a lot.
2. It's pretty light (16 pounds) so I can lift and carry it in one hand (while holding little R) and is very easy to maneuver.
3. The five-point harness is really simple to put on (the Graco one had many little parts and required a fair amount of concentration: often little R would start fussing partway through). It also has padded shoulder straps, which is nice.
4. Its sun canopy is really big and well-made: important in tropical Singapore.
5. I like the colors and design: it looks good!

The only thing that is not great is the storage basket: it's hard to access and rather small.