This past weekend, Greg and I took a trip to Marblehead, MA to check out Hip Baby Gear, a local boutique that carries all things baby. With my shower a month away, I still had a some key items that I needed to add to my registry but was hesitant to make decisions on some of the bigger pieces based on online reviews. While I do most of my shopping online versus in-store, sometimes you just need to see products in person before making a decision. It also doesn’t hurt to talk to an expert, which Jami the store owner of HBG, definitely is! As a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and a mother of one with one on the way, Jami’s insight was so helpful, especially for us as new parents.
When we arrived at the store, we wanted to focus on picking a stroller first. Jami sat us down and asked us questions about our day-to-day. We live in the city and do a lot of walking so space and mobility are key for us. Before heading to HBG, I had picked out the UPPAbaby Vista based on online reviews and recommendations from friends. After listening to our needs and what’s important to us, Jami recommended testing out the UPPAbaby Vista, the Bugaboo Donkey, and the Bugaboo Fox. I posted this in my stories, but if you didn’t catch it, HBG has weights that simulate an 11lb baby and 22lb baby that you can put in the stroller to get a ‘real life’ feel for the stroller and movement. We took out all three strollers and swapped the weights around and could start to see the pros and cons of each stroller. While you can’t go wrong with any of the three we tested, we ended up choosing the Bugaboo Fox. The Bugaboo Donkey was a close second but because of the size and lightweight mobility of the Bugaboo Fox, we felt this was the best choice for city living.
The winner! Bugaboo Fox
UPPAbaby Vista
The next big item we needed to decide on was a car seat system. Again, we would have just gone with the recommended car seat that went with the stroller we picked if we had shopped online, but after learning about the different types of car seats and safety features, we went a different route. Because we rarely drive and will be using our stroller / baby carrying options (Ergobaby and Solly Wrap), we decided to go with a convertible car seat instead of a standalone base with car seat attachment. As a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, Jami helped us narrow in on the Clek Foonf convertible carseat with infant insert that will take baby from from newborn to toddler. We loved that Clek is the only brands to disclose the results of their safety tests and they are rated at the top for safety features.
To close out our day we took some time perusing the store and adding stroller accessories and other items we were missing from our registry. While I had already registered on another site before visiting HBG, I created a second registry with MyRegistry.com since I could easily add items from the boutique right to my registry page. Just when you think you’ve thought of everything, visit a baby store and you’ll realize you weren’t even close. Below is a quick snapshot of some of the items we added directly from Hip Baby Gear. Check out the full list of items here.
So happy we were able to work with Hip Baby Gear. Makes us even more excited for our little guy to arrive in a few short months! If you’re in the Boston area or up for taking a little trip, Hip Baby Gear is located on Washington Street in Marblehead. They also have an online store and are able to link to MyRegistry so be sure to check them out.
*This is a sponsored post. All opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the participating companies.
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