How I stroll with my Baby Jogger City Go

I absolutely love living right by the beach in Brighton, but logistics of getting out and about in a busy city with a baby have been a little tricky recently. As it’s the height of summer our city has been flooded with tourists, which is fab as there is always something going on but when you have to get from A to B quickly it can be a bit stressful. Where we live is a popular beach spot so there is absolutely no parking and when we go out we are often going against the flow – dodging families heading to the beach, inflatable crocodile under one arm, ice cream in the other – so finding ways to get Violet out of the house and into the car quickly and easily has been an absolutely lifesaver.

Baby Jogger have teamed up with travel expert and mother of two, Laura Hamilton (who you will recognise if you watch ‘A Place in the Sun‘ on Channel 4 – my maternity leave guilty binge watch program!) as part of their ‘How I Stroll‘ guide for new and expectant parents. The guide is a handy set of tips on how to make the most of being out and about with your baby.

As part of the project I’ve been trying out the Baby Jogger City GO car seat. I have to say I wouldn’t usually associate ‘strolling’ with a car seat, but this has helped to change my perspective. I’m pretty sure before I tried the City GO, my car seat ‘stroll’ looked more like a penguin waddle as they can be so awkward to carry, but the City GO is so lightweight and easy to handle that walking with the car seat is a breeze. This is absolutely essential for where we live as our car is usually parked quite a way from home. I also absolutely love the chic black design with tan interior padding and that it has a large UV hood that is SPF 50+ too.

Laura Hamilton is a huge fan of the Baby Jogger City Go too, she loves that it can be fixed quickly and easily into the car using an ISOFIX base, and she recommends getting someone to check that it’s all installed correctly before using it. Shops that sell the City GO would be more than happy to check it over for you and safety for your little one is paramount. I remember when we brought Violet home from the hospital, she was just so tiny in her car seat – I sat in the back as we didn’t want to to take our eyes of her, so I can wholeheartedly agree with that too.

Another great thing about the City GO is that it’s compatible with many of the Baby Jogger Strollers too, like the City Mini GT (which I’ve had my eye on for a while!) Now Violet is 6 months old we’ll be looking for a stroller soon so it’s good to know we’ll be able to use the products together to make getting out and about even more of a breeze!

Lastly, as part of the ‘How I Stroll‘ guide, Laura Hamilton also gave me lots of tips on life with a newborn which I thought I’d share. I hope you find them helpful, I was certainly nodding along:

• Don’t stress about your newborn’s bedroom being ready or buying a cot, they won’t be in one for a while. A moses basket or a little crib will be okay.
• Even though it’s tempting, try not to find out if you are having a boy or a girl. You don’t get
  many real surprises in life.
• Try not to tell anyone your due date or get fixated about it. It gets boring people always
  asking you close to the date ‘any news yet’.
• Don’t tell anyone your baby name choices – people always have an opinion.
• Buy the Gro Egg to monitor the temperature in your new baby’s room (when they are ready
  to sleep in their own room). It changes colour to indicate when it’s too hot for them.
• One of the best things you can do is a baby first aid course to give you some knowledge of
  what to do in an emergency.

We have been really impressed with our Baby Jogger City GO and have been whizzing all over Brighton in the last few weeks with Violet safely and comfortably in the back –  as someone who at first struggled to get out of the house with a baby it’s these little things that make all the difference and as Laura Hamilton says “Just because you’re a parent, it doesn’t mean your life needs to slow down” and I couldn’t agree more.