There are a lot of things I would have done differently had I planned for my second child when I had my first.
For instance, I might have made Mazzy's room more gender neutral instead of the girliest room alive (I lucked out with that one). I wouldn't have given my mother piles of baby clothes to store without sorting and labeling them by size. And I wouldn't have bought a huge single dresser instead of leaving room for two.
But the biggest mistake I made was buying a ridiculously expensive single stroller (I'll leave the price up to your imagination) that couldn't eventually accomodate my second.
Thankfully, I have this blog, and nice people sometimes give me stuff for free. After Harlow was born, Britax kindly sent me their basic B-Ready stroller complete with all the components to turn it into a double. (Before you get jealous, know that I am up at 1am writing this post while you are fast asleep.)
The Britax B-Ready is a modular single stroller that can also accommodate an infant carseat (or two if you have twins), a bassinet and a second seat in over 14 different configurations— the mind boggles, doesn't it?
For the urban dweller, like myself, it has large foam wheels for navigating snowy sidewalks or dirt paths in Central Park, a large amount of storage underneath the seat, perfect for shoplifting diapers at Whole Foods, and most importantly, an easily collapsible frame so you can quickly break it down and stick it in the trunk of a taxi without making a harried mom spectacle of yourself while stopping traffic.
I've been using it for a few weeks now and it handles way better than my single stroller— I barely have to use any arm strength to push both kids. And the components are super easy to interchange, and this is coming from someone who usually asks her husband to do this sort of thing for her.
Look, here's me, traveling all the way to the Upper East Side by myself to meet a friend at the Met. With my old stroller, I never ventured outside of walking distance.
And here's Mazzy looking pleased as punch in the second seat:
To commemorate the Mommy Shorts Facebook Fanpage reaching 10,000 fans, Britax has agreed to give a B-Ready Stroller ($500), in the color of your choice, to one lucky reader. Just to be clear— that's the basic single stroller— the additional components come separately and you can purchase to add-on when necessary. For instance, the second seat costs $150.
I wish I could give you all strollers to thank you for reading my stories and sharing your own over the past two plus years, but alas, I am not Oprah.
Only 7,990,016 fans to go.
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GIVEAWAY RULES
1) You must be a Mommy Shorts Facebook Fan to enter. If you are not one already, you can become one by clicking here. Then answer the following self-serving/ego-inflating question in the comment section below:
What is your favorite Mommy Shorts post of all time? Leave the title and link.
2) For a second entry, tweet about the giveaway. Then leave a second comment that you did so. Example tweet:
I entered to win a $500 @Britax B-Ready Stroller from @MommyShorts http://bit.ly/TpEXH9 #giveaway
3) For a third entry, follow Mommy Shorts on Pinterest and pin this post using the top graphic. Then leave a third comment saying you did so.
Winner will be announced Friday, February 8th.
GOOD LUCK!!!
Totally just pinned it. Love this blog!
Favorite post so far? THE NEW YEAR’S EVE NEWBORN PARENT DRINKING GAME (SECOND KID EDITION)! https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/12/the-new-years-eve-newborn-parent-drinking-game-second-kid-edition.html
Baby Shaming is the New Dog Shaming: https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/09/baby-shaming-is-the-new-dog-shaming.html
This was the first post I ever read and still my favorite.
I follow on Facebook and pinterest and I tweeted it. I like the cake fails post.
I would have to say “Evil Babies Go Global” is my favorite because it is the one that brought me to your site!
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/10/evil-babies-go-global-and-show-their-good-side.html
Stranger knows best https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/06/stranger-knows-best.html
Is my favorite post of all time!
I tweeted !
Followed and pinned this page on Pinerest as well
While I loved Hurricane Schmuricane and Mike’s comments mixed in with Mayor Bloomberg’s tweets, I think I became a true fan to Mommy Shorts after Grandpa’s Baby Death Trap in the Hamptons.
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2010/08/grandpas-baby-deathtrap-in-the-hamptons.html
I love all your posts and have spent way too much time on your website. I think my favorite though is lies you tell your children.
Following on pinterest.
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/10/lies-i-tell-my-kid.html
I found this post and have been reading your blog religiously since! Than we had babies within weeks of each other and our older ones are so close in age — I can relate to everything you write! Love, love, love your blog!
Tweeted about the contest!!! (@MegsieS)
Pinned!!! And now I follow you on Pinterest — fun!
My favorite post is:
NEWBORNS ARE A PIECE OF CAKE (KNOCK ON WOOD)
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/11/newborns-are-a-piece-of-cake-knock-on-wood.html
Just pinned it.
And now tweeted. I’m doing this backwards, will do #1 tomorrow.
I seriously love all your posts! The most recent one that hit home was “Newborns are a Piece of Cake (Knock on Wood).” I don’t know if it’s the hormones from pregnancy #2 or the anxiety of having to deal with two kids 24/7, but I actually cried from this post! I started crying after reading comments left by your readers. The consensus was that going from 1 to 2 kids is difficult, but after 2 it gets easier! I think it caused me to panic and freak out about the fact that I was actually pregnant AGAIN! I now have 7 months to get a grip and try to prepare as much as I can to handle 2 kids, 25 months apart!
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/11/newborns-are-a-piece-of-cake-knock-on-wood.html#more
The day Mazzy was born
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/12/birth-story.html
I still chuckle when I think about the coffee part.
Hamptons baby death trap post. Captions for the pics are priceless!!! Bit too many awesome posts to list all faves!
What People Say to a Pregnant Woman vs. What a Pregnant Woman Hears. Priceless!
Disregard my first comment! I forgot to link it!
My favorite is What People Say to a Pregnant Woman vs. What a Pregnant Woman Hears.
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/09/what-you-say-to-a-pregnant-woman-vs-what-a-pregnant-woman-hears.html
Pinned!
http://pinterest.com/pin/51791464436847700/
Twitter: @ErikaKoch88
https://twitter.com/ErikaKoch88/status/294647636038918144
Pinned it! 🙂
http://pinterest.com/pin/209628557627252075/
I couldnt stop laughing at selling poop https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/05/how-to-sell-poop-in-a-box.html
https://twitter.com/aahaft/status/294672318595207169
http://pinterest.com/pin/177821885259061197/
This post makes me giggle. It is ‘Dear Rachel Zoe’s Baby.’
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/08/i-die-for-skylers-gucci-bomber.html
I’ve been looking for more mommy blogs to read (especially while breastfeeding) and you are exactly what I’ve been looking for! I love the comedy in your writing.
My favorite I can think of was Mazzy’s Birth Story
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/12/birth-story.html
If my little girl hadn’t gone a week past her due date, I’m sure a very similar situation/conversation would have happened in my house. (Harlow’s story was great too!)
My all time favorite was your guest blog ‘oh the places new moms won’t go’ https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/03/oh-the-places-new-moms-wont-go.html I forwarded that to every mom I knew! It was hilarious!! 🙂
what a great stroller!! it would be great to store in my house since I have no storage room.
okay I think I pinned this right!
My favorite is The Day Mazzy Was Born!
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/12/birth-story.html
Favorite story (although there are many) is this one. I will be a second-time mom in a few months…
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/12/10-differences-between-first-and-second-time-moms.html
Tweeted (momma needs a new stroller!)
I was already following you on Pinterest (and Twitter), but pinned the stroller giveaway. Thanks for such a great contest!!
My favorite and one of the first ones I read was Grandpa’s Baby Death Trap in the Hamptons
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2010/08/grandpas-baby-deathtrap-in-the-hamptons.html
Robyn
robynflem [at] gmail [dot] com
I like the one about how you came up with Harlow’s name.
I tweeted about the stroller 😀
TWEETED!!! @mccallme
I am a FB fan! (Alaine Elise)
I love the post “Should I Break Up with My Toddler?”
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/08/should-i-break-up-with-my-toddler.html
family74014 at gmail dot com
Hard to pick a favorite. . . loved Mazzy and Harlow’s birth stories, the Whose Kid Made the Biggest Mess contest- literally laughed out loud at that one. But I must have been in a similar place when you wrote The Saturday That Broke Me. https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/04/the-saturday-that-broke-me.html because that one sticks out in my head. Oh yeah, and your letter to Gisele Bundchen https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/06/dear-gisele-bundchen.html#more
I follow you on fb
So picking A favorite seems impossible, so I pick ONE of my favorites…the one post I have sent to sevreal other friends and read many times myself: The Day Mazzy Was Born:
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/12/birth-story.html
Parts about Mike kill me every time. And I love love love the end beacuse it it so similar to my own birth story. My daughter was born and my husband announced her name to the room…it was a moment I will never forget.
(want that stroller to be mine!)
And my favorite post is Parenthood Quantified! So funny!
Love following you on Pinterest…Pinned the contest!
https://twitter.com/jednc2/status/294834799305162752
I follow you on pinterest
Facebook follower!
Favorite post is “Evil Baby Glare Off”
I followed you on pinterest!
Well since I’m new, this post is my favorite post!
Tweeted
Pinned
I LOVED the post about loving your post baby body. As hard as it is to accept the new me after my baby – stretch marks and new curves…it’s good to know I’m not alone. Awesome & real post:) helps us mommies with out a kardashian body feel a little better 🙂
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2013/01/why-a-post-baby-body-is-better-than-the-body-i-had-in-college.html#more
Tweeted @victoriajoell, liked on Facebook, pinned.
Just found you but after going through some of your post I really like Lies I tell my kids!
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/10/lies-i-tell-my-kid.html
I tweeted!!
https://twitter.com/monstersmom0212/status/294876873501077504
following you on pinterest under the name Kelli Wood!
I also pinned this!
http://pinterest.com/pin/50384089553229387/
I have so many favorites! One that I refer to quite often is this one about “How and When to Use a Time-Out”
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/07/how-and-when-to-use-a-time-out.html
I liked you on facebook
I love your post 9 Things I Already Know About My Baby Girl, I can totally relate to it!
facebook fan entry:
My favorite – Lies I Tell My Toddler
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/10/lies-i-tell-my-kid.html
I also loved the toddler and husband shaming too. I think this is revealing a lot about me as a person…
Kris D.
Pinned it.
Facebook fan. The post that is most memorable to me is “Lies I Tell My Toddler” : https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/10/lies-i-tell-my-kid.html
Found it so funny I sent it to my sister.
One of my favorite posts is ‘Mom is in the little things’. As someone who doesn’t have her mom close by, I try and incorporate as many things from my childhood that I can to pass down to my boys. https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/05/the-little-things.html
Tweeted! https://twitter.com/whitespots/status/294952362248912896
Pinned! Thanks for the chance!
I love MANY of your posts, but I think my favorite is your compilation video or Mazzy’s first year… it made me happy-teary. It’s really beautiful. The post is called: Still here? Me, too. https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/01/still-here-me-too.html#comments
I also pinned the post!
Don’t have a twitter account or it would be tweeted, too! 🙂
Without a doubt, my favorite post is:
lies I tell my kid
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/10/lies-i-tell-my-kid.html
But choosing a favorite is like choosing a favorite child. I love ’em all!
Tweet Tweet!
https://twitter.com/HeintzAlison/status/294995250076844033
Pinned!
the series on shaming but this one in particular… https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/09/baby-shaming-is-the-new-dog-shaming.html
tweeted! https://twitter.com/miprip/status/294998324644298752
Newborns are a piece of cake
https://www.facebook.com/robyn.r.galloway/posts/574581419237961
I tweeted
https://twitter.com/rrgallowaym23/status/295027683346219009
I pinned
http://pinterest.com/pin/225320787578977258/
unsexy parenting is my favorite!
ps i tweeted for a 2nd entry:)
pinned on pinterest too for a 3rd entry.
My all time fave: The Bare Essentials Baby Registry
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/09/what-do-i-need-for-baby.html#more
I actually followed it to a TEE prepping for the arrival of our baby. The shower wasn;t until after because we didn’t find out what we were having but I still needed to nest and be prepared!
Pinned here: http://pinterest.com/sarahbear55/tinytoes/
And no tweet because I don’t have one. But I did woof it on woofer. 😉 And dogs eat cats which eat birds…? So thats something?
I am a FB fan and my favorite post is 10 Lessons in Preschool Pack Mentality. Its best part is the hilarious story at the very end.
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/07/5-lessons-learned-this-weekend.html
Pinned: http://pinterest.com/pin/274649277247403020/
Tweet: @hilarystraus
FB: Hilary Straus
My favorite post is this one! ( I am new to your posts and have been reading laughing out loud, definitely going on my bookmark bar ) I have been looking at this stroller for months. I have a year and half old son and am due with a girl in April. With that, I think a nice double stroller is the only way I am going to be able to leave the house looking put together for a cool year.
Thank you!
Hilary
“How to appreciate your post baby body” is so far my favorite article, six months later i am still learning how to do this and each day is getting easier. thanks for being funny, i love being able to giggle about and not take myself too serious. https://www.mommyshorts.com/2013/01/why-a-post-baby-body-is-better-than-the-body-i-had-in-college.html
pinned!!
Tweeted! and the underwear info graph was freaking hilarious.
also the grover and shades of gray. that was a good one.
Hi, I am a new Facebook Fan and a first time mother, to a sweet 8 month old baby boy. My favorite post is 10 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND TIME MOMS, while reading this, I smiled and laughed, it sounds so much like the way I am, but some of the 2nd time moms things, are also some of the things that I do, like the same 3 outfits…it’s so funny, that we all do that! lol! I really enjoyed reading that, it made me not feel so alone in the new mothering. Thanks for posting! 😀
Following you on Twitter @mollydoo2 and Tweeted – https://twitter.com/Mollydoo2/status/295332981873180674
Following you on Pinterest and Pinned – http://pinterest.com/pin/49469295878843499/
My favorite post is Porn for Moms of Toddlers
Can beat eye candy
FATHERHOOD 101 (IF TAUGHT BY MY HUSBAND:
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/02/fatherhood-101-1.html
Cheers!
https://twitter.com/tweetyscute/status/295428245581615104
I follow and pinned
http://pinterest.com/pin/47710077274628678/
My current fav –
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2013/01/babies-in-buckets-and-baskets.html
I pinned and really really wanna win!!! 🙂
http://pinterest.com/pin/249105423110981194/
https://www.mommyshorts.com/2012/02/ryan-gosling-porn-for-moms-of-toddlers.html
This is my favorite post for very obvious reasons!
https://twitter.com/Stoneyville1/status/295558117738024960
tweeted