How to survive in China with two kids and no car

I miss my car.

I shouldn't, because we sold it, so it's not technically my car anymore, anyways...but I miss having A car. I miss the independence it provided. I miss being able to make a change of plans midway through a shopping trip, and make an impromptu stop at target to stock up on a bunch of not-really-necessary-necessities. 

I love our driver. He is Sal's homeboy. He helps me with grocery shopping, and car seat installation. Can I just say that installing car seats, while easy enough...is a pain in the butt to do each and every time I want to go somewhere? Multiply that by two, and I'll be carrying almost 40 lbs of car seats up and down the elevator every time I take the car. I'm gonna have some strong arms at the end of this stint.

Since using the driver is sometimes more work than it's worth, we've invested in a few items that make life in China a bit more bearable. I love walking when the pollution levels are lower. It feels like freedom to load up my stroller and just walk wherever my heart desires. No translator needed. Just me and my feet, walking without help from anyone. It's an extra bonus when both kids rack out midway through a walk so I can enjoy the peace and quiet of honking horns and screeching brakes on the city streets. 

[ babyjogger city select, Quinny footmuff, chicco keyfit, PPB swaddle, Ella Vickers tote, Ergo]

Obviously, having two little people to tote around changes things a bit, but we fell in love with the babyjogger city select stroller after seeing its narrower wheelbase (versus the standard side by side doubles) and stadium seating. Side by sides are less than ideal here, as sidewalks are not of uniform width, nor are grocery store checkout lanes wide enough. It met all my must haves. Large foam filled tires, easy folding for storage, car seat carrier compatible, and both seats are reversible and recline with large sunshades.  Oh....and the best part? A huuuuge storage compartment for my grocery hauls. 

It's still winter here (despite today being 75 degrees), so we have continued to use the Quinny footmuff that we purchased last year for our old quinny buzz stroller. It's super cozy and keeps Sal warm without needing to layer up on the clothing underneath. My kid haaaates jackets, so the footmuff has been a life saver. Added bonus? The Chinese grandmas approve and tend to stay out of my hair about my baby not being warm enough when I've got the footmuff on. I highly recommend this bunting bag to anyone shopping for one. Sal is 32.6" tall and still fits in it, however, I think he will have to pass it on to Carla after this winter. 

We use the chicco keyfit 30 carrier for Carla when we use the car. We left the base in the states, but it is quite easy to install with just the lap/shoulder belt. It also fits into my baby jogger city select by way of a universal car seat adapter. Most people in China do not use carseat carriers, and have no idea what they are staring at when I walk by with Carla loaded up in it (and covered with a anti-grabby McGraberson canopy cover made by my friend, Liz) so they keep their mitts off of her. I had problems with people reaching in my old stroller when Sal was little, so I'm relieved to see that the canopy cover really does work to deter curious hands.

Both of our kids enjoy a good swaddle. I swaddled Sal well into his 4th month, until he became the master roller, and the he switched to sleeping in a halo sleepsack. Our favorite swaddle blankets come from petunia picklebottom. We received one as a gift when Sal was born, and love the stretch and softness and perfect swaddling size of the blankets. I went ahead and found one on eBay before Carla was born for a steal of a deal. I usually swaddle her before sticking her in her carrier (unless we are going in the car-in that case, we buckle up appropriately) for extra warmth and snuggliness before we head out walking.

My diaper bag carries everything from sippy cups to passports to extra hats and matchbox cars. I'm partial to the Ella Vickers line of recycled sailcloth totes, because of their ability to withstand a beating. They are waterproof, which is extra helpful when it comes to leaking bottles and sippy cups, and have a nice large main compartment with three smaller pockets on each side. For me, that's just enough pockets. Give me any more pockets and I won't be able to find anything for a month of Sundays.

And lastly, my ERGO carrier. I freaking love this thing. I didn't invest in it (a whopping $16 on a Chinese website) until Sal was 15 months old, but it has been money well spent. I back carried Sal all around downtown Wuxi when my sister visited last Spring, and it also got us through our Bali trip when I was first pregnant with Carla. Now that she has arrived, I use my ERGO daily. She often takes one of her naps in it while snuggled up against me, so that I can have my hands free to do activites with Sal. It's definitely a must have item for me. I'm thankful to have found one for a fraction of what they cost in the USA. 

So much gear, but all so worth it for the ounce of freedom it provides us. 

What's your must have baby item?

Road Ready

Sal got some new wheels!

We sold our Quinny Buzz and traded up for a stroller with a little more oomph. the Buzz served us well, but it was time to move on. I'm a bit of a stroller fanatic. I love to research strollers and figure out which one has the most "pros" vs "cons" for our unique living situation. After moooonths (just ask my husband), of going back and forth between the Britax B ready, Uppababy and baby jogger city select, I decided the BJCS was the best option for life in China. 

My stroller is essentially my car.

I depend on it daily. I travel on foot almost everywhere I go, which requires a comfortable ride for Sal since he spends at least an hour to two hours in it per day. The streets in Wuxi are a mix of concrete with sink holes, blacktop and cobblestone walkways...which, in my opinion require large tires for the best ride. The city select had the most substantial rear tires of the three strollers. 

I do most of my grocery getting in my stroller, and the Quinny Buzz had a small storage basket (smallest, ev-er!). I usually ended up carrying bags back using a mommy hook on the handlebar. I knew that my next stroller needed to have substantial storage space. The city select has a HUGE basket, as well as a pocket on the back of the seat for items like cellphones and keys. I also like that if we use it as a double stroller, dangling feet won't affect the storage space or muck up whatever is down below as many of the inline doubles with a jump seat do. It has an easy two handed, one step fold with the main seat still attached. I am not sure that the city select has the easiest or most compact fold of the three. In fact, it barely fits in the trunk of my rental car (Chevy cruze) width wise. However, the size while folded is not a big issue for us, because we rarely fold and transport our stroller by car. We have an umbrella stroller for travel. Our daily use stroller usually stays opened and lives in our office.

My only concern was the weight, since we often have to lift our strollers over barricades. The  weight as a single is 28 lbs, but I compared it to my Buzz, and there's only a 1lb difference. The uppababy vista and britax B ready weighed less (approx 26 lbs) but the necessity for tires outweighed any weight concerns I had.

So far, I'm loving it.

Granted, we're still in California where doorways are standard width, sidewalks all have ramps, and the pavement is smooth. I'm interested to see how it will do when we hit the streets of China again.

The best thing about the BJCS is all 16 configurations, including the option to add an additional carseat carrier, bassinet or fullsize seat to make it a double if we're fortunate to have another baby Zentil in the future.

Anyone else have this stroller? What kind of Rain cover have you used? Did you purchase accessories? Share!