stroller vs. the mall

I've taken Cam to the mall twice now. The first time I tried out this light "snap-and-go" stroller a friend let me borrow. It seemed so easy and convenient in theory. It's basically just a frame that you snap your car seat in. I thought it would be heaven! Not so much. I decided against switching out our Chicco car seat and instead just used the Graco seat just as a stroller infant seat. Bad move and admittedly, not the stroller's fault. Cam frequently falls asleep in the car so waking him during transfer from car seat to infant seat aint so smart. That was the day he had his crying fit partly due to being overtired. Lesson learned!

But while this stroller is light, my big qualm about it is that there's no other convenience factor other than it being light. Once the infant seat is in, it's difficult to fit anything in the basket underneath, i.e. your diaper bag, shopping bags, jackets, blankets etc. Not a great design for mall shopping. Stroller vs. mall fight #1, mall wins.

The second trip, I stuck with my Chicco stroller. I've been resisting the urge to snap the car seat into the stroller (which you can do) for fear that Cam will get a flat head. "They" say that these new convenient snap-the-car-seat-in strollers contribute to the increase in babies with flat heads cause basically the baby doesn't leave the seat, sometimes for hours. Brian and I are constantly worried about flat head! All the time Camden spends sleeping on his back plus any time we put him down...we feel like we're just asking for flat head syndrome! That's why I try to carry Cam during naps until he has better head control and can sit up more. But I digress.

I've realized that if I ever want to go out and have somewhat of a normal life, snapping that car seat in is inevitable. So, I did just that and he slept through my shopping! Just two hours there and back so he wasn't in there too long. The other upside of the snap-in method is that the baby faces you. Good for baby if he's awake and good for mommy to know what baby's up to at all times. The Chicco stroller is bigger, which is both good and bad. Bigger means more convenient features -- a cup holder, adjustable handle, easy access basket underneath. But it's also heavier and my biggest complaint about it is that it doesn't turn easily. The front wheels get stuck and you have to tilt the stroller up a bit to make a sharp turn.

Then there are two other things I noticed about being at the mall with a stroller:

1) Opening and getting through doors is extremely challenging. The major department stores have handicap doors where you push a button and it opens. That rocks. But all the other doors (at Alderwood there's an outside part of the mall with doors to every store) you have to hold open, then figure out how to use your butt or your leg or something to hold it open and then pull/push/wish your stroller through the door. Point for the mall.

2) Why oh why do department stores insist on putting their children's sections on the 2nd floor? How much sense does this make? I had to search for an elevator at Macy's to get up there with my stroller along with two other moms and their strollers. How annoying! Another point for the mall.

But, with the Chicco stroller I did successfully get some Christmas shopping done. So all in all, the stroller held up well against the mall. Stroller vs. mall fight #2, stroller wins!