apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am seeking advice on alternatives to a traditional double stroller - ideally from urban parents or those space-constrained like myself. I am days away from having our second child and have a 3 1/2 year old son. I had investigated sit-and-stand strollers and settled upon a new model from One Step Ahead (which, it turns out, is made by Baby Trend). Upon receiving it, we realized that when folded it doesn't stand up - so, not much of a space-saver if it has to lie on the floor and take up half the kitchen. (It's being returned.) I've since read reviews which say that the Joovy also has this problem. I need some sort of solution to accomodate both my kids, and that fits into our lifestyle -we live downtown, have no car, and have a narrow rowhouse. Obviously our older son is capable of walking on his own - but there are always times when the distance or time constraints makes it necessary to have some sort of transportation for him. Any advice out there?

I suggest a baby carrier like a Moby Wrap (http://www.thegoodmama.com), pouch sling, or Mei Tai for your newborn, and just have a single stroller for your older child when he needs a rest from walking.

Thumbs up to exxon23. A Moby is my personal fave for a newborn.

I own the Joovy. I prop it next to my door most of the time. It doesn't stand in place folded, but stays together and doesn't fall over. It's been an excellent stroller, about the smallest thing for 2 I could find.

I have a nursery rocker question. I like the eames rocker, but my husband thinks that it will be horribly impractical for nursing and rocking the baby-to-be to sleep, because of the lack of padding and head support.

Has anyone here used (and would recommend) the eames rocker for a nursery? Would anyone recommend against it?

Thanks!

we have an eames rocker which i love. love. but let me do the pros and cons for you:

pros - its very light, you can hold baby in one hand and easily move rocker around apartment with the other. its compact, good for a small space. and its molded arms are exactly right to put baby at boob level.

cons - no head support, but the negative of that depends on your posture (some people sit in it and hate it, others don't mind). no padding, which is ok for your butt but if you were doing a marathon nursing session i imagine your arm on the armrest would not be happy.

for us that moveability is nice- rocking in the living room to all be together, or rocking in the bedroom for some peace and quiet, or moving it out of the way when people are over. once when the baby was sick, i had to run a hot shower to steam up the bathroom and decongest her and i moved it in there to rock her to sleep.

Thanks karey!

oh i forgot, other pro : its cat-proof.

and also, the baby likes to climb in it and roll her toys in it now that she's bigger.

RE: Eames Rocker -- Watch out for little crawlers' hands...or their feet when they grab onto the rocker to pull up and accidentally crush their feet.

RE: Stroller. Second the use of a sling or wrap for the newborn. (I swear our girl had shorter bouts of crying at bedtime the more time she spent in the sling during the day.) Another alternative: One of those running boards that attach to any stroller.

re: the rocker question: i have the nurseryworks sleepytime rocker and can't imagine not having padded arms, but i wouldn't worry as much about the no head support, as I have never been able to sleep in the rocking chair.

i have another question for city-dwelling parents out there -- we're going to san fran on our first vacation when my son will be almost 11 months old. we'll be staying downtown (union square) and my husband will need to work some of the time. how will i get around? cab, so i should bring a car seat? bus, so i should bring a umbrella stroller? if i bring the car seat for the cab, how do i wander with the huge bulky seat? i have a stroller base for it, but my son's not as happy strapped in the seat for such a long time anymore. can i take cabs without a car seat? is that crazy?

thanks!!

I'm not sure how it is in SF, but in NYC you have to *fold the stroller* to get on the bus, which is inconvenient to say the least. Do you have or have you thought about getting a carrier like an Ergo or a bEco? I would stick to public transport as much as you can.

thanks lb -- i have never looked at the ergo or beco until your reply. they look very cool! i like the idea of the ergo with the backpack option. thanks!

Thanks everyone for the stroller advice - I am going to go with the sling for the newborn and keep my McClaren for my older son - with the addition of one of those stroller frames that you snap the carseat into - I saw one at the playground the other day and it seemed like just the thing to get us through the initial 4-5 months with the new baby. Hopefully by the time #2 outgrows the sling and the infant car seat, #1 will have decided that he's way too old for the stroller.

Re: the SF trip and the 11-month old - ditto in Philly that you have to take your child out of the stroller and fold it to get on the bus. Not very convenient. Maybe a back or hip carrier?

Hi,

A while ago, someone had either posted pictures of, or linked to, a nursery in which the parents had these gorgeous wood-block type prints/posters hung above the changin table. I think one was of a woman breastfeeding, and I remember someone saying that particular print was out of print. I can't find or remember the name of the artist. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Thanks!
Kristen

SF: There will be plenty for you to do in downtown SF within walking distance. Bring a lightweight stroller you can fold to get on and off buses and streetcars (a pain in the ass, but do-able with one child) or a hip carrier.

You will need the carseat regardless if you are cabbing to and from the airport.

Kirbylou--The prints were Nikki McClure and you can order her stuff through buyolympia.com. The pics are actually paper-cuts made using an X-acto. Unfortunately, the breastfeeding one seems to be out of print, but she does have some gorgeous other ones, and a beautiful beautiful baby journal.
p.s.: if any finds the N. McC. breastfeeing print ("Examine the Food Chain") please post here! It was in her calendar a few years ago, but I can't find a poster version and would love one.

Thanks so much!!!! It was driving me crazy not being able to remeber the name or find the thread!

I'd just like to suggest the IKEA Poang Chair and foot stool for nursing. It's very comfortable and you can bounce in it to calm baby. Nice price and easy to move from room to rooom. We've had our for four years and it's held up great.

I'd strongly recommend trying the rocker out first before buying it. If you're going to nurse in it, you need to make sure the armrests and seat are at a comfortable height for you and that you can get adequate back support. You want to be comfortable when you're dealing with middle-of-the-night feeds! :-)

I love rocking my son in the Eames rocker. It definitely puts him to sleep. I don't know about using it for breastfeeding though. We had our rocker before our son was born so we didn't purcahse it with a baby in mind and I never really tried it.

My four year old likes to sit in it and look at books, etc. And every toddler that comes over seems to be attracted to it (they all like to sit in it).

re: stroller - Have you seen this? I just ran across it moments ago.
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001267.php