I've known 'forever' that we need a stroller for when the baby comes. What I didn't know was what kind of stroller I would want. There are so many different models, with different features and prices to choose from. I was lost! (Sort of like I still am with cloth diapers. Ugh.) From the beginning, I did have a rough idea of what I wanted:
- 4 big wheels (not tiny ones like in the travel strollers) because I will need it in the winter with snow,
- no pink,
- combined bassinet (baby) & seat (older child),
- not too heavy (it's relative, I know),
- can fit into the trunk of our car and
- less than 350€ (some of these can cost up to 1 000€ and more!!!).
Some co-workers and friends added that having an adjustable push-handle bar for my height and also to move it out of the aisle in the bus is very handy. And being able to flip the push bar in both directions is great, but not absolutely necessary.
Fact about strollers and buses in Finland: One adult with a child in a stroller can ride the bus for free in my town and maybe even all of Finland.
When I finally started seriously looking for strollers about 3 months ago, I put the word out to friends and some co-workers (who have young kids) letting them know I was looking. One co-worker helped me navigate some of the websites in Finnish and also gave me her opinion on what was good and what was from her own experience. She helped me quite a bit! My SIL gave me some websites with actual brick and mortar stores I could go check out. I did look at the websites, a tiny bit, but I never made it to the stores. Mr Siili and I went to one baby store, where I quickly rushed to look at stuff because Mr Siili was tired of going through stores (we had been to several furniture stores already that day). I also looked on a local FB group where used clothes and baby items are sold. Since I didn't look at the page every 2 minutes, all the ones I liked and that were decently priced were already reserved.
Then two co-workers let me know that they had strollers to sell. The first stroller I looked at was in the style I wanted and of nice colors (dark blue and dark green). But the fabric was faded, one of the tires was flat, it was old and not what I was looking for. Even if it was only 50€.
The second stroller I have not seen, except for the website (with detailed description only in Finnish and pictures) where my co-worker and his wife bought it from, some pictures and one piece of fabric of the stroller. (The guy lives an hour train ride away from where we work/my town.) But, knowing my co-worker and what he says of his wife, I can only imagine how immaculate of a condition the stroller has been kept. His wife said the price is 150€, but my co-worker said we can discuss it. I'm happy either way, because 1) it is lower than my personal set price and 2) that is 200€ cheaper than a new stroller of this exact brand and type, which just happens to be my upper limit for stroller price.
My co-worker was on holiday all of July and we had agreed that when he got back to work in August he'd bring it to work and thus my town. It's not as if I needed before then, so it worked perfectly in my opinion. Just this morning my co-worker sent me a text message to let me know the stroller is in town and I can pick it up!
Without further ado, here's our new-to-us stroller! (At the bottom of the post, because I'm remote blogging.)
And that is is the sweetest thing anyone did for me today!
NaBloPoMo prompt: What is the sweetest thing someone did for you today?
