"My Qua-trio Inglesina Aptica": the opinion of the blogger La Zitella Acida!
I still remember when I launched a poll on Instagram in May asking for advice on which stroller was best for me.
It took me at least 24 hours to process all the messages. I immediately understood that, as with pregnancy, everyone has an opinion about diapers and strollers, a bit like the national football team! However this is inevitable: I myself, who have only 6-8 weeks on my shoulders, feel I can speak like I was a veteran. First of all, an amateur mistake: we don't say stroller. It says TRIO. In my pre-birth ignorance, the stroller / pram were the same thing, but now I know very well that they are different means.
But let's go in order: the options on the market are billions and after months in which I literally (I swear) followed mothers and couples on the street with the most interesting strollers, I have compiled a list of the elements that would have been essential for me.
It is true, the "trio" is one of those purchases that one is forced to make before birth, when you still do not know what saint to vote for, you are lucid from your 7 hours of sleep and you cannot imagine how many things you will learn to hold in your hand at the same time . But it is needed immediately and by "immediately" I really mean that you can't get out of the hospital without the egg. And once you get home you have no idea where to put it down if you don't have at least the carrycot. From the first weeks we have therefore been using the Quattro Aptica dell'Inglesina system: it is called the Quattro system because in addition to the classic triplet (stroller, carrycot, carrycot) it also has a support to be able to use the carrycot (or egg) as a cradle at home. separating it from the frame.
The basic support (the 4th point in addition to the classic trio) is the salvation for parents who want to avoid the so-called "Ninja Move": that VERY DANGEROUS move for which you try (in vain) to transfer the newborn, so laboriously asleep during the walk, from the pram (or car seat) to the cradle in the house. The support acts as a savior because instead of picking up the child with the risk of triggering the siren, the seat is directly attached to the support, without disturbing the little infant's sleep in the least.
You have to understand me, I have never picked up a wheelchair in my life before October 22, the day of discharge from the hospital. We didn't even go to the stores to try others or to "get an idea" and my research, as with everything, was limited to the vastness of online opinions. The instructions were used to assemble the various pieces but everything else, as good millennials, learned directly on the road.
In chronological order, the egg was the first to be tested by the new family and I will explain to you in what scenario the "baptism" took place: after 6 days in the hospital, they finally give me the ok for discharge, Fagiolino has done the phototherapy and he is fine, I am still sore but full of adrenaline at the idea of going home and Diego ... well, after 6 days in which the little one and I were in the safe hands of the hospital, now he had to take care of us .
It will be the tension, it will be the fear of breaking it (Leonardo, not the egg), but believe me: that first and necessary operation took us almost an hour. When we were able to finally hear the "click" of the seat belts we were sweaty. "Oh my God but is it so complicated?" No, it is not and in fact now we do it all the time, in a few seconds and always during a crying fit. However, at that moment, fastening the Fagiolino to the seat of the egg, making sure it was in the correct position and protected from shocks was the first parenting operation we did. The first. We were tense like violin strings, we seemed on hot coals, in a hurry to leave the room and (at least for me) to breathe some fresh air after those days so full and excited.
The undersigned very nervous ("I made a human being in 9 months, you COULD READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AT LEAST") and Diego panicked as he was looking for a tutorial on You Tube. Now that both Diego and I have calmed down, it is the support we use most frequently: partly because it is the most immediate and practical (having to move by car is essential), partly because being the first with which we have become familiar it is the one we are most familiar with. We don't use it when we go for long walks, but certainly when we have to go out for short errands it is ideal. It is easily released (I swear) using a lever on the back of the backrest and can be hooked both to the frame, to the support in the house and to the optional base for the car. It is approved according to the European regulations for group 0+ (from 0 to 13 kg in weight) and the position in the car is only in the opposite direction to the direction of travel. It weighs around 4 kg and is equipped with a side impact protection system that makes it the safest place for little ones to travel by car with us.
Together with the egg, we inexperienced parents immediately tried our hand at the frame: my favorite piece in all of Ambaradan. Because? Because he quickly became my walking companion, making my life simple when I thought that walking around Milan's sidewalks with a pram, coat, bag and the optional umbrella was complicated. It's my favorite piece because it drives with one hand and having one hand free and a sleeping baby makes you OMNIPOTENT: you can make a phone call, you can scroll through the Instagram feed, you can even make stories! All while continuing to drive up and down the park and without interfering with the beloved nap. The structure is in aluminum and the wheels are all cushioned like a 4x4 pandino and in fact even in the park it turns smoothly which is a pleasure. With the hinged opening I can open and close it with one hand and another important thing for me is that once folded, the handle does not touch the ground, ensuring greater hygiene when I interact with Leonardo. The entire opening operation / closing takes something like 8 seconds and without help from the public: a record I experienced on a rainy day in front of a helpless taxi driver who limited himself to opening the door and handing me the closed frame.
The spacecraft, I admit, has always put me in a bit of awe. Maybe I saw it as such a bulky object, at first I was a bit reluctant to try it on the road. With the first cold weather, however, I had to try my hand, also because I wanted to take some walks longer than 20 minutes. I have personally tested the handling of the wheelchair around Tiger's narrow passages and can confirm that not only did I not drag a shelf of bowls and bells along as I passed, but I also didn't bump into anyone and Leo didn't wake up.
The first thing that thrilled me is that in my lift, which is certainly not huge, there are me, Fagiolino, the assembled spacecraft and even Diego if necessary. The cradle is large (79x37) and guarantees space even for the winter saccottino. An interesting detail is then the possibility of raising the backrest allowing the child to look outside but, if I have to speak from personal experience, Leonardo always sleeps so tastefully lying in his nest that, of what happens outside, he doesn't want to miss it. know! All the upholstery is washable and the bamboo mattress is breathable but air recirculation is also ensured by the two air intakes: one on the hood and one on the front panel of the carrycot. Finally, one thing that I found very useful is the double panel cover: it not only covers the legs of the Fagiolino, but there is a second panel which, attached to the snaps, raises a vertical "barrier" and protects the interior from the wind and from the cold air. If desired, the carrycot can also travel by car as it is approved for group 0 (from 0 to 10 kg, according to the European regulation ECE 44/04 with the use of the corresponding Maxi car kit.
Finally, the stroller will be the victory of the coming months: usable up to 22 kg is the part of the system that I have not yet tested but there are those 2-3 sgamo points that have already won me over: first of all it opens and closes with the stroller seat already assembled which, allow me, after a good few months attaching and detaching eggs and spacecraft, will be a great luxury.Then, the possibility of reclining it in 7 positions, being able to also have the seat completely horizontal for great naps. The seat belts are 5-point and adjustable in height to follow the child as he grows.
Finally, an indispensable detail that I initially underestimated but which I reconsidered after the shampoo taken by the midwife in the clinic ("BUT HOW? Didn't she bring a diaper change?"): The changing bag.
I had thought about the possibility of throwing two diapers in the bag with a packet of wipes but then: and the cream? And a towel? What about the replacement body if it gets dirty? And the bottle?
The dual bag saved me not only from the judgmental gaze of the midwife (at least on this one, instead she continues to judge me for how I hold my arms while breastfeeding) but also from having to drag 4 kg of extra stuff into the bag on one shoulder. There are two pockets with thermal lining to carry baby bottles around, there is a completely detachable compartment complete with a travel mat for changes where there is no changing mat and a thousand pockets to put everything you need. All coordinated with the color of the wheelchair! What more could you ask for !?
