I never had stroller envy until I moved to Germany

A couple years about when I was about to enter motherhood for the very first time I started to hear and read things about "stroller envy." Apparently, not matter how much research you do to pick out your stroller, mothers have a nak for never being satisfied with their choice and always see another stroller that is better than theirs when they are out and about. Well, I can honestly say I was never affected by this. Sure there were things that I didn't like about my stroller, and for some people's lifestyles I didn't recommend it, but over all, I was happy.

When it came time to pick out a double stroller, knowing that I was moving overseas, I gave it much more thought and consideration than with my first child. I finally saw the one I wanted out on the streets and found it in the store. I felt that had selected a pretty cool stroller, one that Mason could sit and ride in the front while Tristan's car seat hooked in behind him so he could be close to me as I pushed them. When Tristan was old enough to sit in the front, there was a stand and ride place in the back when the car seat wasn't hooked in. It was just a little bit longer than our single stroller and I thought I was being pretty smart, and considerate, by buying the longer one instead of the wider one since I knew sidewalks and streets in Europe weren't as wide as those in the United States.

However, now that have been walking around pushing my "18 wheeler" (as Andy likes to call it) around the streets of Germany and getting on and off the train for the past 3 weeks, I have gotten a good "lay of the stroller land" and I live in the ghetto. In Germany (and many other places in Europe I am guessing), the pram is where its at. I have seen all kinds of cool "prams" that have been completely evolved from those stereotypical British black buggies with the little sun visor. These new prams are pretty high tech and look really comfortable too, to be compared to a lazy boy recliner. There are ones where the child can lay down comfortably, then sit up in the deep bed style lay down mode, or it can be converted to a more upright chair. And the wheels, don't get me started on the wheels. Obviously they knew more about the lack of "wheelchair" sidewalk slants that I am so used to in the US. Their strollers glide with ease over the curbs when crossing a street, whereas I, struggle to push and have to tip back the stroller or get help from Andy or Alisa to make the curb when crossing the street. Now some might say in my defense, "but it sounds like those are all single strollers and you have to have a double." Thanks guys for the support, but yesterday I saw the awesome single pram with a fold out side car attachment that one woman had for her 3 year old daughter.

And then there are the accessories. The most common (and possibly required by law and I just have been lucky enough to not run into a police officer) is the sleeping bag. There are these quit comfy looking stroller sleeping bags that ALL children are bundled up in and then sat inside of their strollers. There are ones for when the child is sitting up and then there are zip around ones for the full pram. Most are lined with lamb fur. I however, do not have one of these, and am scrutinized daily for this great offense. My poor child, just sits in the stroller, with his poor CLOTHED legs exposed to these harsh elements (mind you it is no colder than a typical Seattle December, maybe around 40 degrees) I have started putting a fluffy blanket on Mason's lap and wrap it a little around his legs to see if that helps ward off the stares that I get. But, as other mothers, grandmothers, or nannies walk by pushing their little bundled up Eskimo, they glance unapprovingly at my child, then look down at theirs and smile as to say "wow, with all of my faults, at least MY child is bundled up properly unlike that unfit mother making her poor child ride around in the cold in that awfully uncomfortable stroller." Again, let me stress that in addition to it NOT being 40 degrees below 0 (Celsius or Fahrenheit, take your pick), Mason has pants on, an undershirt, a sweater or sweatshirt, and then a jacket topped off with a warm hat that covers his ears and gloves, and now a blanket on his lap. But that is not enough by German standards. Did I mention that the children are also often in snow suits and THEN put inside the sleeping bag?

This year's winter in Koln has been said to be one of the harshest and coldest they have seen in decades. And yes, we have had a total of 7 days of snow in 3 weeks. But nothing more to us than what we've been used to the past 3 years in Seattle, except in Germany, it snows at night then warms up during the day. But the Germans walk around like we have now uprooted the country and set it down again in the Arctic. After seeing how bundled up the children are, I am convinced that adult Germans are so cold because as children, their bodies were never able to learn how to self regulate changes in temperatures.

So in conclusion, I am jealous of German strollers and their comfy sleeping bags. Not that I would put Mason in a snow suit and then the sleeping bag, but I'm sure I could put him in regular clothes, then put him in the sleeping bag so that when we went inside to someplace warm, I didn't have to peel so many layers off him. As for the stroller situation, I am now of the opinion that I should just strap Tristan to me in the baby Bjorn, hook the umbrella stroller on my arm and make Mason walk until he gets tired and then whip out the little stroller. Unless it is grocery shopping day. Then we break out the 18 wheeler because man can you put a lot of grocery bags on that thing!