P&T E3 Appropriate as All-Purpose Stroller for Newborn?

[jbradc]

As a new and very excited first time parent-to-be, I had been overwhelmed by the options and intricacies involved with stroller purchasing--until I found you all! Thanks to you, I think I've narrowed down my choice, but I was wondering what you all thought:

Our first baby is due in May and we are hoping to have another within two years. With that future in mind, the Phil and Ted's E3 seems like a perfect investment: we can use it for our first child now and then buy the add-on later without ever having to switch or buy a second stroller.

I get the impression, though, that people usually don't buy the E3 until the second child is on the way and that people often have multiple strollers on hand for different purposes. Should I be considering a different brand/style of stroller for our newborn? If so, which models would your recommend? Am I kidding myself to think that we'll get away with only ever having one stroller? (go ahead and be honest :))

A bit about our intended uses: we plan to do a fair amount of pavement and park walking (inevitably the stroller will see quite a few malls as well)--plus, when we visit my family in Northern California, we'd like to use it on (relatively smooth) trails. Anyone traveled cross-country with the E3? Or should I really have a back-up travel stroller (the Quinny Zapp is looking awfully tempting...)

Thanks!

Brad

[kec2003]

I love my E3, and I've had it for one child for about a year and in about three weeks, will use it for both. However, I would also get the Kolcraft Universal Car Seat Carrier -- it's only $50 and will make your carseat into a very handy, lightweight travel system. When your first is about a year old, you may also want to get an umbrella stroller, like the Mac Volo or Silver Cross Micro.

HTH,

Katharine, Mummy to:
Christopher Finlay 9/6/02
his little sister, arriving 3/4/05

[jbradc]

>When your first is about a year
>old, you may also want to get an umbrella stroller, like the
>Mac Volo or Silver Cross Micro.

Thanks so much for your reply Katharine. Just one question (and I know I must be exposing some ignorance here): does the E3 have room for an umbrella attachment? Or is it always just a good idea to have a separate umbrella stroller on hand?

Thanks!

Brad

[HoneymoonBaby]

An umbrella stroller is a type of stroller named for the handle shape (like an umbrella's handle) and compact fold -- it has nothing to do with actual umbrellas. The umbrella attachment I think you're talking about is usually called a parasol. I don't know if you can put one on an E3, but I would definitely look into it since the toddler seat is so exposed.