Stroller Search: SOLVED!

A few weeks back I posted the dilemma of choosing the right car for my baby. Being a first-time mom, I didn't know much about good strollers, for example in terms of weight, folding options and reclining positions. All I know are the basic things and make sure everything is all pretty. Hahaha typical me!

After reading feedback and hearing some suggestions from other people, especially experienced parents, I have narrowed down my search and my choice of stroller must firstly, fit my Myvi car bonnet. Myvi is known to have a compact bonnet thus when I went out the other day to buy the stroller, I drove my car to make sure it compels to the limited space.

Secondly, the stroller must be easy to fold and unfold, especially by me when it comes to events where I'm alone with the baby with no helping hands. My choice of folding position is umbrella fold, so it's compact and easy to handle without having to dismantle any parts.

Thirdly, it should be reasonably lightweight and not exceeding 10kg, or at least can be lifted by me without much pressure and panting for breath. I have a fear for a very light stroller thinking that it could easily collapse when you put your shopping bag/diaper bag by the handle. Yes, I saw one incident like that before and thank God no baby was harmed during that time.

Fourth and finally, the stroller must be easy to manoeuvre and it has approved safety characteristics, this include belt, folding parts, brakes, handles and tyres, just to name a few. The stroller should be just nice for me and husband to handle, and not too big until it blocks my front view. It should have a fully reclining position too, which is suitable to use from birth.

After stating those details, I went ahead and begun my search for the appropriate stroller that meets my core requirements. And after much sweat and tedious search, I finally made up my mind and came home with a Techno XLR from Maclaren.

I bought this stroller at Isetan One Utama. The retail price is rm1600 but currently they have a 40% discount  on most Maclaren models so I got to buy my dream car at RM959 only. Thank God it's still within the budget and doesn't exceed 1k. Still, it can't beat what Nadya and Syima grabbed during the baby carnival at a much cheaper price. They don't have much colors available in store (my fave are purple or pink!). What's left are black & champagne, brown & soft blue and persian red. Red is a total turn off and I never really fancy red strollers whilst the black & champagne color combo is plain dull and not attractive at all. So I opted for the soft blue since it's not too girly and still acceptable by both genders.

The stroller comes with a personal tag, plastic rain cover, quilted removable/washable padded lining and headrest in matching color. The SA was really helpful and taught me a lot about the stroller including its safety mechanism. I spent quite some time learning how to fold and unfold the stroller, what this and that do, test drive the stroller (yes!) including the brakes and all, adjusting handles, removing the covers and so on. And so far, I am satisfied with my purchase because I've been eyeing this stroller for some time and was lucky to be able to grab this during sales period.

On the cons, this stroller isn't really lightweight but it's not that heavy too. I guess it's just an average, weighing at 7kg, I can still lift it up slowly even when I'm heavily 8 months pregnant now. It takes up most of the space in my Myvi bonnet, ngam ngam je muat (I have to throw the packaging box in order to fit the stroller) but you can still stash in 5 shopping bags altogether and place them on top of the stroller so it's no biggie. Apart from this two, I can't really fault this stroller as so far, it's the best.

Now, let's just hope my baby will like the stroller as much as I do!