Most commonly asked question...who makes that stroller? Orbit Baby Stroller Review

Hardly a day goes by without someone stopping me to ask about our stroller. And to be honest, I have no problem gushing about it. It has fit seamlessly into our life, fulfilling the majority of strollering needs. I say majority because there is never a single stroller that can do absolutely everything, but the Orbit comes close. For those of you who don't live in an urban area a luxury stroller may not be a necessity, but in NYC babies spend more time in their strollers than they are ever likely to spend in a car during the early years of their life.

So what's so special about the Orbit? The biggest thing is that it is an incredibly simple travel system. Pooka's car seat IS the stroller. It is attached and detached from the stroller base using a simple lever, and the base can be fold in half and stowed in the car with one hand. It still takes up a bit of the cargo space, but less than many of its competitors such as the Bugaboo and Uppa Baby. The car seat/simple fold of the Orbit would also make it a great choice for the burbs, because it only takes two minutes to pop the base open and put the car seat on. We take it with us to CT on the weekends and use it out there as well. In fact, the stroller base stays in the car all weekend so we are ready for a walk wherever we end up during the day.

The other cool feature is the round base which allows the car seat to spin on both the stroller base and car base. This innovative round base is where the Orbit gets its name. Peoples' eyes nearly pop out of their head when I demonstrate this feature, even people who don't have kids. I have found three great advantages to this system. First, it greatly eases putting the car seat in and taking it out of the car. Unlike a traditional car seat that must be placed in rear facing, the Orbit can be placed in with the seat facing you as you get the baby situated, and then spun and locked into the rear facing position. And all this is accomplished with pulling a simple lever incorporated into the seat's handles. This spin feature is also useful in two other situations: restaurants and sun/wind exposure. In restaurants, we are able to park the stroller next to the table and spin it so Pooka can face the us. In sunny or windy conditions, we have rotated the seat to face away from the exposure and keep her protected.

Other features we love are the ample sunshade (we haven't needed one of those extra-large sunscreens you see added to many strollers) and the paparazzi shield. My husband found the shield particularly useful when Pooka was very little to keep curious people from sticking their heads or hands into the stroller to see the baby. Anyone who lives in an elevator building will appreciate this feature. It is also a UV shield, which can be useful when the sun can't be avoided.

Alright, enough gushing for now. Strollers are a very personal choice, as every family has different needs. If you are like us, and spend the week walking in the city and the weekend driving in the country it is hard to imagine a better choice. The Orbit has been worth every penny! By the way, did I mention the two built-in cupholders? Oh, and the system grows with you, so you can graduate to the Toddler stroller and car seat when the time comes, and there is a bassinet for the early days (which we didn't get). And there are many more great features that I won't list, so check the Orbit website!