SHARDAY ENGEL

View Original

our life on the go with bugaboo

We’ve been a Bugaboo family for over 4 years now... we’ve had a Cameleon, we’ve had a Bee and now we have a Fox. As time has passed, we've seen our lives change from year-to-year. From when we found out we were expecting baby #1, to preparing everything for bub's arrival, to welcoming Lily into the world and later seeing her grow up into the kind and beautiful girl that she is. Then we found out we were expecting a baby boy and felt so thankful when he joined our family. Through all these milestones we've made so many wonderful memories with both kids, with many of them being made with our Bugaboo in tow! 

Today I'm going to invite you on a trip down memory lane as I reminisce about all these moments out and about with my family. Taking it all the way back to 2015 when we were originally shopping for a stroller for baby #1... I was immediately drawn to Bugaboo’s design. Heck yes, I wanted to be a minimal, stylish mama walking around town. The sleek lines, monochromatic colour choices and simplistic design of the stroller grabbed my attention immediately.

Of course, as I looked into the details, I learnt that their strollers are super practical, built to last and very safe for your little one. 

My parents were extremely generous and purchased the stroller for us as a new baby gift (thanks Mum & Dad!). I remember having a conversation with my Mum before purchasing where she completely agreed that it’s worth investing in a quality stroller, as it’s something you'll use almost every single day for the first year of baby’s life. Well, she was right… aren’t mamas always right!?

So many wonderful memories were made in Lily’s first year. We went on long walks along the sea wall, explored parks, ran errands, strolled around Downtown - all with our trusty Cameleon. We lived in the West End back then and didn’t own a car, so I was literally walking everywhere or using public transportation as my options for getting around.

A funny memory I have of Lily in the stroller, was when she was about 10 months old and we were walking over the Burrard Bridge in the Summertime. She was facing outwards and we had given her some strawberries in her snack tray. Av and I were busy in conversation that we got to the other side of the bridge we looked down to check on Lily and she literally had strawberry smeared all over her face, head, top, legs etc. It was hilarious! Like she was caught red-handed (pardon the pun), right after murdering a strawberry LOL. After cleaning her up, I was dreading dealing with the stroller but it was actually pretty straight forward. I used a wet cloth and all of the smeared strawberries came straight off! Easy to clean fabric is EVERYTHING when it comes to having kids!

We have so many wonderful travel memories of bringing our Cameleon on trips to Australia and Israel. It was pretty straight forward to fold up before boarding our flights and would be waiting for us on the carousel as we got to our destination. 

Our stroller was always ready to navigate (almost) every terrain. All except one… when we visited the Old City of Jerusalem when Lily was around 8 months old. It became a team effort to carry the stroller up a huge set of stone stairs as there was literally no other way around it. I guess they weren’t thinking of stroller-friendly streets when they were building the Old City a couple of thousand years back haha.

When Lily turned two, we transitioned to the Bugaboo Bee5. It’s a really great travel stroller for toddlers which was ideal timing as we were about to visit Australia. It packs down to one light-weight piece making it ideal for long trips or packing in and out of the car. I found the Bee5 was a perfect ‘city stroller’ but wasn’t the best when you’d go off-road or down cobblestone streets. 

When we found out I was pregnant with baby #2, it was a perfect time to change to a bigger stroller that had a separate bassinet suited to newborns.

I remember fondly the day we built Eitan’s Bugaboo Fox stroller with Lily, which was one of the many ways we tried to prepare her new role as a big sister. She had so much fun pushing around her toy dolls in the stroller and loved the idea that she got to stand on the wheeled board on the back. It was as if the stroller was for both of them and not just baby!

The Fox stroller has been essential to our life as we try to avoid driving where possible. We live in such a great neighbourhood with close access to playgrounds, parks, beaches and the seawall. So why wouldn’t we want to take advantage of every single moment, being out and about in this beautiful city?

Also, I can’t be the only one that would prefer to put the kids in a stroller (baby buckled up, toddler on the back skateboard) compared to the tedious effort of getting both kids in car seats. Eitan has absolutely hated the car since birth and usually screams the entire ride, so I would rather choose the stroller over that ANY DAY!

We’ve made some special memories as a family since Eitan was born… like the time we were out on a Sunday stroll and it started to snow heavily. We made sure the canopy was fully covering Eitan and tried to book it for home before freezing our tooshes off.

I love my morning walks with Eitan along the greenway, after we’ve dropped off big sis at preschool. Or for trips to the local cafe after another rough night of minimal sleep! It’s actually crazy the number of compliments this stroller receives. To be honest, it's usually grandmas who are super impressed but it’s sleek design and say that they want to get the same thing for their grandchildren… how sweet! Or people usually say how smart the wheeled skateboard is on the back and how they wish they had the same for their kids when they were younger.

For those days when it’s rainy or we have to travel longer distances, it’s pretty straightforward to pack down and get in the car. We have a compact sedan and the Fox easily fits in the back with room for a few groceries to the side.

One of the most important things to me about Bugaboo is how it’s complimented our lives and always been a reliable option for us. We’ve never had a flat tire, parts break or things not work.

I know that when the time comes that we no longer need a stroller, we will either pass this one on to a friend or resell second-hand, to ensure that someone else will enjoy a second life with this stroller.

But in the meantime, I look forward to all the wonderful memories that we'll make.

Disclaimer: I was sent this stroller and accessories for the purposes of review. The fact I got them for free has not influenced the review in any way. All thoughts & opinions remain my own.