subways, strollers, and going places

SJC and I went to the National Building Museum today in downtown DC. Now that we're close to being parents, it seems that all we notice when I go into the city is the number of stollers, babies, and toddlers. They seem to be everywhere. On the subway. On the street. Running around the museum. I don't remember ever thinking that before we were expecting a baby, except at the zoo. That has always been baby central in my mind. But not the rest of the city. That's a new phenomenon.

Strangely, none of them ever seem to be crying. I guess that's a good thing.

We've also become quite alert to the various accoutrements that accompanies a baby wherever it goes. Since we've recently registered for a stroller, but really have no idea if we picked the right one ( Chicco Cortina), we are constantly evaluating the ones we see. Of course, we don't even know what we're evaluating. So we end up saying things like "that kid looks happy in that stroller" or "that mom doesn't seem to be breaking her back pushing that bulldozer."

I think our main concern is the subway. Pretty much any stroller will do just fine on a walk around the neighborhood. At least in comparison. When the subway is crowded, sometimes you see these poor moms trying to wedge or lift or navigate these SUV-size strollers on and off the train, and it just looks like a nightmare. Then there's the subway announcements. Although the DC subway system is generally very good, one constant problem is that the elevators at certain stations are occasionally not working. That's no big deal if your just a regular adult --- the normal in/out mode is an escalator --- but it's a huge problem for the stroller crew when the escalator is three stories high and average modern stroller is the size of grocery cart. So you see these parents either straining to hear the whisper-level announcements on the train about whether their stop has a broken elevator, or you spot them standing at the broken elevator at your stop, trying to figure out how to get their Escalade up the escalator. Not that's it's any great treat if you do hear the announcement, since the alternative method they provide you is to get off one stop early and take a free shuttle to your stop. What a nightmare.

At any rate, it seems like the best strategy for us is going to be to just take the child out of the stroller, carry them in the infant basket, and collapse the stroller up and have one of us carry it on the escalator. That only leaves the small problem of the diaper bag, the food snacks, and --- oh yes --- how the hell do you do this if you're alone?

Maybe we'll just stick to the local parks.