Fixin' the Wheels

    So approximately half a month ago my beloved stroller broke. I wanted to cry, SO much thought and effort went into picking out this particular baby item. Hours poured over the computer, customer reviews and time in stores. I needed the perfect stroller for  my son and I that could fit our needs. I needed a stroller with big sturdy wheels (my sister had a stroller with flimsy wheels and at one point they began to fall of during stroller walks, I did NOT want to go through that). I wanted the wheels to be able to navigate in snow without getting stuck to often because I was going to go for walks each day. I NEEDED a stroller with a bassinet option. Maybe some people feel it is unnecessary but if your going to go for stroller walks your child needs to be able to sleep comfertably and a carseat is not good enough. I wanted it to be a cheerful colour.  HMMM what else did I want well obviously the carseat to be easy to install and have all the necessary safety features. I did NOT want to pay a ridiculous amount for a stroller...it is something used A LOT but it still should not cost in the price range of a CAR. After much looking around I decided a bassinet that CONVERTS into a regular seat is best rather then one that is removed. Also it had to be pretty compact. Oh and if the arm part can expand that is a plus since  we are both relatively tall.

     Finally I thought I found THE ONE, the Peg Perego Switch Four in this lovely tropical colour (forgot what it was called - lighter and brighter than the Boheme) but the colour was discontinued it seems and I was SO upset I didn't want another colour!!! So my search went on and I found the Twingo but it had no customer reviews and I really did not like that. Finally one day one of my weekly Babies R Us emails came and on sale was the Lamaze Wave. It had all the features I was looking for and looked great. Only problem was that they only had the Sticks N Stones design, which is black. Well... who cares? The colour is not so important when it has all the other features!!! Also.... (drum roll please)..... It was on sale. Not only was it on sale but with taxes the carseat and stroller would come out to $400 and change. WHAT? Thats It!?

     M comes home and me and my 8 month pregnant self begin yelling in excitement about how we NEEDED to go to Babies R Us. He could hardly understand what was going on and finally understoof I found the stroller but wanted to test it out first. We got there about an hour and a half before the store closed and FINALLY after like 30-49 minutes of waiting they found an associate who knew about this stroller at least a little bit (was not happy with the service at that Babies R Us). I tried it out, we pushed all the buttons and tried all the features and asked all the questions needed and decided that yes we do LOVE this stroller.

What I do not like about my final choice of stroller: 
1)That the carseat is heavy , this is a BIG negative it is a whole 5 pounds heavier than most others. ALTHOUGH this stroller does not have to be bought with the matching carseat it has an adapter for ---------------------- carseats, this is a BIG positive. (Also this carseat is not the easiest to install but I don't think any are extremely easy)
2) The  basket under the stroller is small so you can't put alot of stuff to be held there. Our family has a car so I do not go shopping by myself without the car so this is not so bad for me. Keep in mind some strollers I have seen don't have a basket, now THAT sucks. (where would I keep the weather shield?)
3) The Canadian Toys R Us stores only had the Sticks N Stones model which is mainly black with some white spot designs scattered on the inside. This is NOT a major issue and at least it wont look as dirty as it would if it was lighter coloured. Plus many people pay more for black strollers.
4) For those who want a cup holder this stroller doesnt have that or a child tray thing for snacks if you feel you need it but mist strollers do not have that included. (extra charge usually for these items) I don't think you can buy a snack tray for this stroller if you really need a stroller with one of these. I did not feel either of these are important to me.
UHMM I think that is all! Overall I LOVE my stroller and would choose it again, for sure over other strollers.

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   Well it's been 6 months maybe more since we bought the stroller and 5 months of using it and 2 things happen a few days apart. The people who are suppose to clear the snow didn't do a good job (Way to go Toronto *rolls eyes*) and I couldn't go around a pretty big snow bank and had to go through it (like 15 cm of snow) and one of the front wheels had since began to wobble a bit (NOT the wheels fault its great and manuevers wonderfully through 5cm snow as if there is no snow- this was just TOO much). The second problem was worse my husband accidently somehow when clickin g the bassinet part in had it crack. I wanted to cry and he was so frusterated. I began looking at replacement strollers when a friend and my dad said they have warranties call the company. So I did.

Lamaze/TOMY/First Years Customer Service
   The wait was not long at all when I called and I got through after about a minute. The service rep was nice and asked me various questions such as when I had bought the stroller and what was wrong with it. She then asked me to email he pictures of the damage. She then asked me by email the manufacture and item number etc. and my postal code and adress. I gave her these...the only problemn was that it took her some time to find the postal code (not sure why) which led to a day longer wait for me. Then she told me she sent out the replacements. Awesome! No charge and only 7-10 work days wait, which is reasonable. Well the box came after 8 work days. It had a new stroller frame and TWO front wheel replacements. I guess it sucks that the bassinet was just the frame but there was nothing wrong with the fabric part I had and how great is it to have 1 extra wheel lying around just in case. All in all the customer service was great and my beloved stroller is now fixed. I am very happy with this companies product and help when something went wrong!