Foot Muff a Necessity? What accessories to get?

[Mirnada]

I live in Boston, so will probably be taking the baby for walks on some cold days. I'm wondering how useful a foot muff really is and how old/big of a child can fit in it. Does it have a short lifespan of usefulness?

(We're probably getting a Bumbleride Indie).

My father is going to get our stroller for us. I want to be selective about the accessories we ask for, because I'm sure how much he's going to spring for. I'm guessing we need the carseat adapter (that's not included now, right?), and the rain shield. In a dream world, I'd get the carry cot, too (it's our first - and long struggled for - baby, after all). Doubt I could get him to get that AND the foot muff, too, though.

What would you prioritize?

[crl]

I have never had a carry cot. I think the Bumbleride indie (which I had and loved) would be nice and cozy without it since it has full recline, an adjustable footrest and a huge canopy. I'd get a snuzzler for the newborn stage and some kind of foot muff, though it doesn't have to be the Bumbleride one.

I have never used a car seat adaptor or snap n go. Walking is my main form of transportation and I just didn't find it necessary. I wanted to avoid a lot of time in the infant car seat anyway (studies show they restrict breathing). And I was lucky and dd always went straight back to sleep when I moved her from the car seat to the stroller or from the car seat to my carrier (pikkolo). Personally, I would skip the car seat adaptor, though ymmv.

A rain cover is important for me since I do use the stroller every day for transportation. Again, ymmv, depending on how much you rely on the stroller.

Catherine

[poohbear]

I am a big fan of footmuffs. Love them, but I'm in Chicago where it gets VERY cold! I don't think you need to get brand specific ones. My favorite footmuff is the icandy apple one that I use on my vista. I'm going to see if it will work on the bee because it's so cozy. Depending on the footmuff, it can last forever. My 3 year old will fit in the icandy footmuff, the brookspond, the 7am pookie poncho and the bugaboo footmuff. (I have a lot of footmuffs). You can usually find a good deal on a footmuff on strollerswap too - if you post an ISO - maybe even a bumbleride one. In Chicago I find the carseat adapter to be a good thing to have, mainly for those quick in and outs - DD was born in Feb, so I didn't always want to fumble with getting her in and out of the bucket when I could just use the adapter for a quick run into walgreens...
I did use a the bassinet in the Vista more than I thought I would, but I don't thnk it's a must have. Though diapers.com has carrycots for indies on sale right now (I think they're like half price)...

[Kaylee31]

The 2010 Indie carrycots include a stroller footmuff and liner and are compatible with all Indie models. You can still find them for sale if you look online. The 2011/12 carrycots no longer include the footmuff and will only work with the 2011/12 Indies. Kind of confusing...
I think a footmuff is a necessity for cold weather. I like the toddler sized bundlemes, and they are reasonably priced. I would also get a rain cover & the carseat adapter. The carrycot is nice to have the first few months, but not necessary.

[new_mom_mry]

We have used Indie from birth without a carrycot despite having purchased one. I think two factors may determine whether or not you want to buy the carrycot: 1) if you really want to have your baby face you (the Indie is not reversible, but if you use it with the carrycot, then the baby will be facing you), and 2) whether your baby will agree to lie flat without any incline. DS was a November baby, and after putting him in the Indie without the carrycot and seeing how amazingly comfortable he looked, I never even bothered to use the carrycot. My DS also didn't like to lie flat when he was a newborn and loved having a slight incline. We didn't use the snuzzler btw either.

As for your question about the footmuff, we used the JJ Cole Bundle Me Urban. Since you are in Boston, you could look into the JJ Cole Arctic Bundle Me or other footmuffs recommended by PP. The Bundle Me Urban was really soft inside, and that's probably why we didn't even need the snuzzler.

P.S. The footmuff/liner that came with the Indie carrycot (we have the 2010 model of the carrycot) didn't look comfortable at all compared to the bundle me. I was concerned about ventilation and softness for the baby, and it lacked both of those parameters.