the Funky Logic of C++: a little bit stroller-crazy

when in was in UK, i was amazed at the massive stroller usage there. people were pushing all kinds of strollers everywhere - onto the train, in the park, on buses, in shopping complexes.

ok fineeee, i can't really compare to Malaysia because of the crazy hot weather - babies would melt like ice cream in an instant. not to mention the putra putri lilins pushing the strollers, hahahah.

imagine all the babywearing i'd have done if i had brought Dira along (ahhh, my poor abandoned wraps). during my trip, i only saw one wrapping mama during a ride on the tube. the others were mostly SSC carriers. in London their sidewalks are so wide you could hold a 3-stroller race and still have room for pedestrians to pass by. everything was designed to be stroller-friendly that you didn't have to think twice whether to bring or not to bring a stroller for a lovely day out with the kids.

so anyway since the only stroller we have is the ever stiff Quinny Zapp (our version is the one before the existence of the newly improved Xtra), we decided to get one in UK. in my opinion the Zapp isn't infant-friendly, i remember the times when Dayana looked so uncomfortable slouched down whenever she dozed off in the stroller because the seat wasn't able to recline. Significant Other mentioned getting the Zapp extra but i didn't want to get the same stroller twice. we decided to take a look at Mothercare to see what brands they carried.

their collection of rompers are crazy cheap compared to how much they're selling it in Malaysia, btw. i bought one set for Dira at half price =D. she grows quickly, this one.

since it was almost closing time when we got to Mothercare (darn those UK closing times), we were only able to have a quick look-see - the available brands at MC included Bugaboo, Graco, Silver Cross, Britax, to name a few. not to waste any time, i simply grabbed the nearest stroller pamphlet and shoved it into Significant Other's hands - the Bugaboo Buffalo, the all-terrain stroller. bahahahahhah seriously who would want to push their kid in their stroller everywhere, as in every possible place in the world? is it because a certain Kate Middleton is a user that makes this brand soo hyped up? for just a stroller, i will pass, thank you.

then Dad brought us to Kiddicare, where they also had a massive amount of stroller choices, from those lightweight ones to the double stroller ones to the travel system ones, depending on what you're looking for. i saw a bunch of double stroller users in UK, but most of their owners chose to carry their kid in their arms and decided to fill the bottom seat with their shopping spree hauls, lol.

Significant Other wanted to get an Oyster. no, not the Oyster card. yeah i didn't even know such brand existed. they were having some sort of promotion at Kiddicare. i wasn't really impressed with it because of the silver chassis. i think Significant Other was smitten with it because the handles were made of leather T_T. i'm judging that Oyster is a well known brand in UK. i know, because i've been oogling every single stroller that passes us just to find out what brand it was, haha. in UK because of the weather, their strollers are snugly padded accordingly, up to the point that you don't really notice there's a baby in there unless you really peeked. but you don't really need all those thick padding in Malaysia, do you?

oooh. oysters img source: google.com

my choice? after much looking i wanted to get Silver Cross, particularly the Silver Cross 3D Pram and Pushchair. the 3D is sorta like a pram + pushchair system combined. most strollers come with an optional carrycot that you have to buy separately, but for the 3D, the seat unit can actually be positioned to lie flat, making it the perfect newborn baby pram. then once your baby is able to discover the world, you can just remove the pram liner and lift the seat back to create the 3D forward facing pushchair (so they say). the seat back has a multi-position recline so you can lay your baby down for a snooze at any time. cool, eh??? =P~~~

img source: mothercare.com

Mothercare in Malaysia carries the Silver Cross Surf, btw. my friend has it. just in case anyone asks.

but on our way out the door, they haaaaaad to park Quinny Buzz at the exit, just because they had a promotion for the Buzz in Rebel Red colorway. they were also having an extra 15% off on their store items that made the Buzz offer so incredibly exciting. heck the total cost if you buy it that weekend would make the stroller a whole lot cheaper than if you buy it new from Malaysia.

sale!!!!!

so... we bought one. bahahahahahaha. i like how you can interchange the seat from forward to backward facing, aaaand the seat is reclinable. yay! i put Dira in the seat while i was trying to figure out how to assemble the whole thing, and i think she kinda approved. phew.

i wonder if anyone could tell me why the Buzz cost a whole lot more than the Zapp Xtra. also, why does Quinny Moood cost a whole lot more than the other two combined? they look the same to me *iisblind*.

another brand we saw that was also well-used in the UK was the iCandy, but i didn't really read the reviews about it. there were a bunch of them models on display at John Lewis, but decided to shy away mainly because of its super hebat price, almost like the range of Bugaboo, hahahah. oooh and Stokke too. crazy expensive stuff. it's like a mini automobile for kids @_@.

back in Malaysia, i had the opportunity to assemble the stroller myself while Significant Other was still 'stuck' abroad. the freaking stroller took up more than half of my allocated check-in allowance, i was already overweight as it is T_T. i didn't like that we had to inflate the rear tires ourselves though. the elder kids were super excited to push their little sister around. Dinara never had the opportunity to be a stoller-baby because Dayana would always conquer the stroller no matter how many times we tried to tell her she's old enough to walk (her legs were already dangling out of the stroller T_T) so i usually end up babywearing the younger one. not anymore though. 10.5kg is too heavy for 41kg-ish me.

the humungous box i lugged back from UK

quinny buzz, version 3

almost assembled!

i might sound a little nuts, but i couldn't wait to try out the stroller and see if the little one would want to sit still in it. i'm amazed with the kids in UK because they always seem to behave in strollers, mainly infants who would usually prefer to be carried than being dumped into them. they don't fuss, they simply sit there quietly staring back at their moms, even for long periods of time. my only theory is that a) the weather makes them too lazy to kick up a fuss, and b) they're too comfy in between layers and layers of clothing to even think about moving around.

we had the opportunity to try it out last week: one to park the baby while we had dinner, the other for a spin around a shopping mall.

the wrap will never be left behind, btw =D.