The Best Stroller Recommendations from a Mother of 7

My garage is a stroller grave yard and that doesn’t include the strollers I have sold or donated throughout the years. With seven children, including a newborn, three toddlers and a first grader who still gets tired on long days, I have spent a good portion of a college fund at Buy Buy Baby on strollers. In an effort to save other parents time and money, here are my top picks in each stroller category with direct links to purchase the strollers. Be sure to see my "real life" photos of how I used the strollers at the bottom of the post. If you have questions, comment below.

Best Infant Travel System - Britax B-Agile and B-Safe Travel System

Britax makes my favorite brand of infant and toddler car seats so I was thrilled that they came out with the B-Agile 2017 travel system. At only 19 pounds, this is a light weight, full sized stroller that folds easily with one hand. I love the large sun canopy and roomy storage basket underneath. The Click n Go system allows you to move the car seat from the car to the stroller in under a minute and adapters are available for other infant seat manufacturers. Don't worry if you happen to see a recall on the car seat adapter. This was corrected and replaced on current models moving forward. Britax is highly regarded as one of the safest car seats in the industry which is why they are always my personal favorite. This seat retails for around $480.

Best Back Up Infant Travel System - Baby Trend Snap n Go

While most books and new mom lists focus on the importance of a higher end travel system, let me tell you why this $49.00 stroller will be your new best friend. The Snap N Go is my go to, easy stroller for any occasion. The biggest benefit of this stroller is that you can fit ANY infant seat in it, ANY one without an adapter…from your expensive Britax to the hand me down your mom may use when she cares for the baby. This is a huge asset if you have multiple car seats in your home. It also has a HUGE storage pouch underneath, much bigger than the storage areas of my most expensive stroller. You can fold it flat with one hand and its only 14 pounds. As the wife of a pro athlete, I have spent the last nine years flying around the country and these are my preferred travel strollers. I have had my expensive strollers lost and broken during air travel and not only is the easiest to carry and manage, if it is damaged or lost, it’s not going to hurt as much as the higher end strollers. Baby Trend also makes the Snap n Go double for twin car seats ($61) and the $120 Sit and Stand for an infant seat and a toddler.  I HIGHLY recommend these for new moms, even if just for back up or for your care takers.

Best Single Stroller- CIty Mini GT Single

I love the City Mini GT Single ($279) stroller so much that I have purchased three over the last several years. These strollers continue to top the list of mom favorites for so many reasons. I love that this stroller folds with just a one-handed pull of a strap and then folds completely flat. The recliner lays almost totally horizontal like a bed so your children can nap and the sun canopy is huge. I live in Florida so I know a thing or two about the best strollers for sun protection. The pouch underneath is moderate but it’s enough for a baby bag. City Mini has a wide range of stroller accessories, like the Baby Jogger Glider Board , that can really add every bell and whistle you could need. The added bonus is that this busy and often tired mom can sit in this stroller! It is wide enough and sturdy enough for my body. I have actually used this as a chair to nurse my baby in the corner of Yankee Stadium.

Best Double Side by Side Stroller -  City Mini Baby Jogger Double

Again, nothing tops Baby Jogger and the City Mini Double and City Mini GT Double. These sister strollers have all of the same features of the single with two side by side seats and a much larger storage basket underneath. There are car seat adapters you can buy for this but if you need a car seat, the next stroller listed would be your pick. This has great stroller accessories, including our beloved COOLER attachment, useful for both parents and children and the Baby Jogger Glider Board. I have had both models and I prefer the GT Double more. In a nutshell, the wheels are better, there is more padding to the seats, the brake is easier to access and there is an extra inch to the headroom and legroom. This costs about $100 more but this is my husband’s favorite because he loves how easy it is to fold (two strap fold), says it’s easy to push and at 6’4”, loves that he can adjust the handle. (You cannot adjust the handle in the non GT version.) The double sun canopy is also a great spot for purses, stuffed animals and whatever other junk my kids throw at me. At only 28 pounds, this is on the lighter end of double strollers. We are on our second one of these and in the seven years we’ve had them, we’ve never had one break or fall apart. I have found these strollers to be cheapest on Amazon (I linked both above)  with GT at $579 and the non-GT link, at $314,  is the absolute lowest I have ever seen it.

Mom Hack: Sometimes one or two of my other children will sit in the bottom foot rest and lift their feet while we stroll. I am sure Baby Jogger doesn't recommend. I'm just trying to get from Point A to Point B in peace.

Best Double Stroller with Infant Seat- Baby Jogger City Select

The infant seat can be replaced with another toddler seat and they can be arranged to face each other or apart.

I swear I’m not paid by Baby Jogger when I recommend their City Select Double (tandem/not side by side.) This stroller is my favorite when you need to have an infant and a toddler ride together. The infant seat fits into an adapter in the top and the toddler rides in the lower, but roomy, second seat. I love this stroller because once you are out of the infant seat stage, there is an identical second seat that you can purchase so both of your children can ride together. They can both face forward or they can both face inward for playing (or fighting.) When you’re ready to fold, the seats pop out in less than 5 seconds and the stroller folds flat. Very easy to lift and manage. For this stroller, you can buy the City Select frame with the single seat (roughly $480) and add on the second seat ($170) or adapters. I chose to buy the double stroller as a whole and just bought the adapter for my car seat (Some of the limited colors, like granite, may cost more.) 

Best Umbrella Stroller - MacLaren Volo

The MacLaren Volo is a lightweight and simple stroller for families on the go. With a breathable mesh seat, perfect for warm weather, this stroller is great for kids transitioning out of their toddler years. I like it for the older toddlers who really don’t require full diaper bags anymore because the storage isn’t oversized. At only 10 pounds, this is a perfect stroller to toss in the back of your car when you know you’ll be in for a long day of walking. I have seen most of these available for $110 or less.

Best Compact Stroller - Baby Trend Tri Fold Mini

The Baby Trend Tri Fold Mini is like the Transformer of strollers because it folds into a little square that you then can carry over your shoulder. This is great for small cars, small spaces or even airplanes because they fit into the overhead compartment. The Tri Fold Mini is the perfect solution if you are on the fence about bringing a stroller on your travels. There’s a large sun canopy with peekaboo window, three position adjustable seat and adjustable footrest. Again, I’d recommend this stroller for older toddlers and those who don’t really fight being strapped in. I have only found this $99 stroller at Target so try there if you cannot locate it elsewhere.

The Mother of All Double Strollers - Bugaboo Donkey

If you’re looking for the Lamborghini of strollers and DON’T travel a lot, the Bugaboo Donkey is for you. Bugaboo is famous for premium modular strollers that grow with your family. The donkey converts from a single stroller with a side luggage pouch, to a double with an infant seat to a double for two toddlers…..and you can add the wheelie board for the third child to make this a triple stroller (see photos below!) This is the stroller I used for my infant, one and three-year-old. You can purchase whatever kind of configuration works for your family…from the bassinet to two toddler seats. The seats recline into three positions and the sun canopies are huge. The basket underneath is great and the handles adjust to any length you need them to be. The only con to this stroller is that with so many moving parts, it is not the easiest to travel by air with. For me, it was simply just too much to break down with kids hanging off me and people waiting behind me. If you don’t travel much and can afford the $1400 price tag, then this is an excellent option because it will grow with your family.  Make sure if you are buying an older or used model, you are able to locate the specific pieces you need as the newer components are not compatible with the older models. ( I learned that the hard way.)

Real Life pregnant mother, three toddlers, lost luggage and sitting in my City Mini Double. I can actually fit all the way in comfortably when not pregnant.

Real Life air travel with 4 children in need of strollers. One City Mini Double and one Baby Trend Sit n Stand with the the infant seat positioned in front.

My all time favorite strollers....the Baby Jogger City Mini Single and Double Strollers. If you can't decide, go with these models.

The Bugaboo Donkey with infant seat, toddler seat and wheelie board for my third child to stand on. Good, but expensive option for a triple stroller.

Notice in this picture, I changed the infant seat to a second toddler seat and the same child is still able to stand on the wheelie board.