I bought my first stroller when I was pregnant, before I knew that I was having a little boy and before I did much research at all. I found a great price on a Silver Cross - an iconic British brand - Linear Freeway. This stroller is one that my husband and I refer to as the Cadillac. It is a huge, huge stroller. Until I got my current favorite (to be revealed later in this post) this was the stroller I chose for long outings. It makes into a big, soft, cozy bassinet, has a huge chassis that glides across the floor, can be set up to face baby towards or away from you, and has a nice adjustable handle bar. I bought it without my husbands approval and (fortunately) was able to sell him on it once he saw it. I have to mention that my husband is 6'8" tall, so finding a stroller that suits him as well as average sized me can be quite a challenge. I will say that this is a great stroller, but it does have some "buts"... First of all, out of all 6 strollers I have owned - and my son is only 10 months old! - this is a keeper for now. I guess it is hard to let go of because it is not a very popular one that you see everywhere you go and I admit that I do have an affection for many things British. I have decided that I need to keep it as a "walking stroller" so that I don't have to take my Favorite out of the car when I want to go for a walk in the neighborhood and the others just aren't as fun to push while exercising. This stroller does push so nice and smoothly and is surprisingly light to push despite it's size. The Silver Cross is in a pattern that I probably wouldn't choose again - it's called Pistachio which is black with light "pistachio" green. However, the fabric is very nice - soft and padded enough for Baby to enjoy for long outings and it comes with a boot and bundle sack that is so, so cozy and soft for Winter. It also came with a matching diaper bag that I've honestly never used - it can't compete with my well loved diaper bag collection. It's drawbacks are as follows. As I said earlier, this is a HUGE stroller. The chassis is enormous and while it does fold flat, it does not fold compactly - you need a huge trunk to take it anywhere - and it is not fun to try to maneuver through shops - a necessity for a shopping Mommy! It also takes up plenty of floor space while in the house waiting to go for walks. The seat is also pretty large which is really nice for Baby, but again, not so friendly for car. Lastly, there are no cup holders or trays for Mommy or Baby - which really doesn't bother me, though I do appreciate them on my strollers that do have them. So, all in all, if you live in a huge home, have a huge trunk and shop only at huge stores, then this may be a great stroller for you. Or, it can sit around and wait for walks - which is nice if you need a stroller exclusively for walks.
