First of all…sorry for the lack of posts lately. My morning all day sickness has really taken its toll on me. I’m now 16 weeks and I’m hoping I am inching towards the end of feeling miserable.
So with the new baby coming in February, I am in the market for a new double stroller and a new infant seat. With my first 2 kids I had Graco Snugrides with a matching stroller. So I already have a Graco Duoglider, but I want something a little more compact and easier to get around. With my youngest son I had a Britax Companion and matching Preview stroller. I loved the Companion, my little guy hated it…I think it may have been the inflatable head rest he hated.
So I went to Buy Buy Baby yesterday to see what they had in the store and here are some of my findings.
My first stop was to look at the Britax Chaperone infant seat.
Britax has made some great changes to the their infant seat and has replaced the Companion with the Chaperone. No more inflatable head rest! It was replaced with some great SIP head wings. They also got rid of the flimsy “paper-clip” style chest clip and replaced it with a sturdy chest clip that releases with the push of a button. A redesigned ergonomic handle makes it easier to carry the infant seat on your arm. The handle can also be left in the up position in the car which will save you some time and give you some extra space behind the car seat. I also like the canopy much better on the Chaperone. The base still has the anti-rebound bar and the size and weight of the Chaperone and the base is very similar to the Companion.
For comparison:
The Companion
I also checked out the Chaperone stroller. It is so much better than the Preview. It has sturdier wheels, a parent and a child tray, and a huge basket (so big my toddler could probably fit in it…no I wouldn’t put him in it but the thought is tempting 
), plus it looks more attractive and manuevers so much better than the Preview. The Chaperone Stroller reminds me a lot of the Chicco Cortina stroller. If I didn’t need a double I would just buy the Chaperone infant seat and stroller and call it a day. **Don’t forget Britax is offering a $100 rebate when you buy both the Chaperone infant seat and the stroller**
In case you are wondering, my favorite favorite color for the Chaperone is Red Mill, followed by Savannah. The Cow Moo has some yellowish cream color running through it that I don’t really like.
So after I checked out the Chaperone, I wanted to see which double strollers would work with it. I tried it with the Joovy Ultralight Caboose which is a sit and stand stroller.
The Chaperone fit on the Joovy just fine with the car seat adapter and safety strap. However, when a car seat is attached there is barely enough room for an older child to sit in the back. My little guy will just barely be 2 when the baby comes so he won’t be able to stand and I just don’t think there was enough room for him to sit comfortably with the car seat attached.
So next we looked at the Peg Perego Aria 60/40 Twin side by side double stroller.
I love these videos from strollerdepot.com They are so helpful! Thanks Stroller Depot!
Anyway, I liked the Aria 60/40 Twin. It handled well, was easy to push, and I like that a Primo Viaggo car seat snaps in very securely to the 60 (larger) side…so securely if you try to pick up the infant seat when it is snapped into place, you lift the entire stroller. It is definitely in the running for our purchase, but if we get this stroller I will have to forego the Chaperone and get a Primo Viaggo car seat. I would be fine with that because I believe the Peg Primo Viaggo is also a great infant seat. I love the SIP and the look and feel of the seat. The only thing I would miss is the anti-rebound bar on the base that the Chaperone has and the Viaggo does not.
Some other double options I have come across on the internet are the Zooper Tango and the Jogging Baby City Mini Double.
The Zooper Tango is also a side by side double. I emailed Zooper’s customer service and found out that it is compatible with the Britax Companion so it very well may be compatible with the Chaperone as well. The only problem is most stores don’t carry it so I would have to order it online and hope for the best. Check out the video from Strollerdepot.com
The Baby Jogger City Mini Double also looks like a great stroller and I have read many great reviews about it. It appears its car seat adapter is also compatible with the Britax Companion so hopefully the same goes for the Chaperone. They had this at Buy Buy Baby but I didn’t really get a chance to play with it much. I will be making another trip to the store after my “big” ultrasound on the 25th so I will play with it more then and write an update post.
My other options are to just get whatever infant seat I want (probably the Chaperone) and just use a sling/carrier and put my toddler in his Maclaren. I would love to just get a Britax Boulevard and use a sling/Maclaren combo but I know from past experience the Boulevard and Marathon do not fit an infant well until about 3 to 4 months old.
Let me here your thoughts and opinions. Leave me a comment!
