Analysis Paralysis

I hate shopping sometimes.

Ok, a lot of the time. I've never been one of those women who loved to go to the mall and shop til' you drop. I've enjoyed getting new things, but I can't spend hours wandering around trying to find the perfect purse to go with the perfect shoes for my new skirt. Yeah, that's about 2 steps too many for me. Hence when I look like a shlub most of the time. But, anyway....

One thing that came with having a baby was, surprisingly, a lot of shopping. Well, I guess it shouldn't have been much of a surprise if I had paid attention all of these year of friends having babies. I guess I never considered how much actually rides on all of the things that you get for your new baby. Is this something that will help my baby. Is it going to hurt them, even potentially kill them? Is this just a fad and a waste of money?

One thing I have enjoyed and been successful with has been researching and buying things on the internet. I would become obsessed with finding the best product to fill a need and at the best price. I would spend more time than is probably normal for a healthy adult to spend looking for, say a vacuum cleaner at a slamming price, or the perfect era lamp to go in the entryway of my 1924 house. It was fun, like a hobby that I would work on one at a time.

Then I got pregnant. Suddenly I had SO many decisions to make in a short period of time. Cribs, strollers, pack and plays, monitors, car seats, high chairs, the list goes on and on. And, like I've already said, suddenly the ante is upped because if these products suck, you could actually hurt your kid.

So, I researched. Heck, I had 9 whole months to do it (well, 6 really considering the horrible fatigue and morning sickness I had during the first 3 months). And at the end, I was completely overwhelmed.

So, thank god that's all over with now that Adam's here. Except it's not. Which convertible car seat do we get now that he's outgrowing his infant seat? Which toys would be both educational, fun AND easy on the pocketbook? Which sunscreen/lotion/soap is basically considered a bio hazard and which one is safe enough for your pumpkin's skin (California Baby is the way to go. The majority are filled with chemicals). Which cloth diaper will I love?

And the latest which is giving me analysis paralysis? Stroller. I can't stand anymore using the cheap snap-and-go that I used over the winter when we didn't do much walking. Now we are out every nice day and I plan on taking him out on some trails. Not to mention the amount of time we will be out on gravel and grassy fields with Jimi's baseball season here. So I need something that can give me an easy smooth ride.

So the research starts again. Only this time I'm running on human equivalent of the coconut radio the professor made on Gilligan's Island. In other words, I'm too tired and don't have the time to comb through tons of internet sites. So after some tiny bit of research I came up with 2 strollers that were a bit of opposite ends of the pricing spectrum. That taps into my cheap-ass personality flaw, which caused even more paralysis. Sigh. So, to get clarity, I posted a poll on my parenting message board with my 2 final choices. I was sure that the people I've come to know over the past year would be able to point me in the right decision (aka make my choice easy for me). I posted and then sat back in anticipation. I even showed Abe, something that I normally don't do since my addiction to The Bump message board is a source of a fair amount of shame for me. And after a full day of voting, the results were........

Pretty much an even tie.

Yeah, thanks, now I'm no where closer to a decision AND I'm the poster who posted a lame "Which stroller should I get" poll.

Abe wants me to get the one that I have been leaning toward, the BOB Revolution ($390). My frugal side wants me to just be happy with the less expensive one Kolcraft Contours ($150). The BOB is a guaranteed hit because of its smooth ride and suspension. But the price sucks rocks. Especially if we have anther baby next year and I'll be having to get double stroller. The Kolcraft rocks it in the price department, but I don't know how it rides since I can't seem to find it in a brick and mortar.

I asked my best friend Sandy what she thought. She pretty much told me that I was crazy to want to spend that much money on a stroller. Then she proceeded to tell me about her $900 swing set she got for her kids. Glass houses and all. Haha.

So, which do I choose? Agh. This is way I hate shopping. I bet the ladies on my Real Housewives of New York don't ever worry about this kind of thing. Heck, they are out shopping for $16,000 purses (no lie, that was on an episode), so a $400 stroller is so pedestrian.

Stay tuned to find out which stroller Adam's butt will be sitting in......!