Movers & Shakers -mini blog

Expecting your first child is overwhelming, but perusing the aisles of Babies 'R' Us to register for your own baby shower can cause a mini panic attack. Given that Sean had never changed a diaper before Pumpkin's arrival, his presence there became the inverse of me shopping at Circuit City without an agenda, forced entry followed by aimless wandering.

After an extended period of debating which newborn diapers to start with, I hurried to finish so I could go home. I'd fought off the need to piddle for nearly 30 minutes instead of the measly 5 minutes I grew accustomed to. In my haste, I began scanning items that didn't serve a purpose while other things like changing pad covers and Desitin should have been in a quantity of 38 instead of a polite 2. Also, if it looked cute, it made the registry, including Pumpkin's first car seat/stroller.

I recently upgraded our stroller from the one we had selected for our baby registry almost four years ago. I brought it along every place we went mainly to save time because it seemed I arrived late everywhere. Expecting a newly walking child to commute from car seat to entry way from a parking spot in practically China could add an estimated 5-7 minutes of tardiness. I'd also seen enough rushed Mommies urging their tiny tots along, practically pulling a little arm from its shoulder socket, sometimes unaware their child has ceased to walk for the last few feet and may require knee patches and Neosporin at home.

The old stroller traveled countless times in and out of doctor's offices and exam rooms that barely fit the patient let alone the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado sized child-portation I pushed, sometimes shoved around. It even needed an actual kick to jump-start it into motion sometimes. No quick, graceful departure exists with a stroller either. Leaving usually involved straightening up the slouched child, removing toys from the tray cups and situating a sippy with a side of goldfish until I'm finally off with a "Humpf!"

The rear wheels would lock on their own at the worst possible times. When the locks finally functioned as expected, the front swiveling wheels would shudder at any speed greater than 1 mile per hour like choosing the unlucky shopping cart at Target. Unfortunately, people don't expect that kind of wheel wiggle and noisy, erratic shaking outdoors around 10am with a concerned looking child white knuckling a "nice walk at the park."

This time I consulted Consumer Reports and shopped around like the frugal Mom that I am nowadays. The new stroller has mini-bike wheels with chrome spokes and best of all, a much smoother ride for Pumpkin. Welcome back, daily walks. Welcome back.