| Dad's Diary |
| Archived Journal |
| Week 24 The Health Update Erika is currently pretty sick. Friday she started coughing a little bit and had some congestion. Saturday she seemed better but overnight she got much worse. Now she's laid up in bed, hacking and wheezing. Luckily her parents are around, too, to be caregivers when I'm working. The benefits of having the in-laws next door are already showing. I'm sure she'll be fine, but we all hope she gets better soon. Shopping for strollers So, last weekend we went shopping for strollers, baby carriages, car seats and the like. I'd done some reading on this, but it didn't prepare me for what we found out there. Take car seats, for example. The materials that I read basically said that we had a choice between a combo car seat (one that can handle infants and toddlers) or buying separate infant and toddler models. True, but there are so many more options out there. Do you get one that can fit directly into a stroller? Do you get one that has a plastic, see-through top or an opaque covering? Do you get one made out of plastic that looks kind of cheap or the more substantial kind (how long do they need to last anyway). Then, there are strollers. There are strollers that fold up with one hand (called umbrella strollers) easily. But, there seem like they won't last very long. Then, there are bigger bulkier strollers with nice tires that look like they give a good ride for the baby. Of course, they don't fold up as easy and seem near impossible to fold up while holding a baby in one hand. But, how important is this? If you buy the car seat/stroller combo it doesn't seem that important, but if you don't maybe it is. I need to interview a 2-year old to see what they thought of their stroller experiences. Then, there are mobile bassinets and jogger strollers. I am realizing that parenthood is one big shopping spree. Too bad I don't like to shop! Regardless, we didn't buy anything last weekend. But, we did learn a lot and now we are asking our friends about their experiences before we purchase. So, if anybody has any advice on strollers, etc., we'd love to hear it. Also, our friend Bonnie Leer advised us to check out the Consumer Products Safety Commission web site to see if there were any product recalls we should know about. Good advice. Next week: Spring training |