Monday, August 4, 2014

Mini Spray Pal 2.0's Review of the Joovy Cocoon


You can see in this picture how all of his cords can slip through the sides to the back compartment and all of his gear can be easily stored right behind him.

We've been using the Joovy Cocoon for a few months now, and I feel it is important to share this with our Spray Pal community, especially for those who have kids with special needs.  Our little guy LOVES this stroller, and for great reason.

Ryan was a micropreemie born at 25 weeks gestation weighing only 1lb 13oz.  He spent his first 7 months in the NICU before we were able to bring him home on oxygen and with a feeding tube.  That meant lots of logistics for taking him out of the house with all of his gear, and we are very much an “out of the house” kind of family.  We didn’t want his life experiences to be limited, so we adapted.  We would babywear him as much as possible with the oxygen tanks placed in a camelback pack on our backs, but there are many times when a stroller is necessary for him.  Namely, when he is on one of his gtube feeds because that’s a lot of gear to hang off a baby carrier (not to say that we haven’t done it a few times before). ;)

Can you see how excited he gets when we first put him in?! Helping #makeclothmainstream in his Grovia cloth diaper as well. ;)
For those times we needed a stroller, we were using one of the more expensive brand’s umbrella strollers because we wanted something convenient for travel but sturdy enough to carry all of his medical gear.  What we found was that while it was great for travel, it really wasn’t great for the gear.  I can’t tell you how many times I lifted my son out of his stroller just to have it tip backwards from the weight of all his equipment…which is especially dangerous when he’s hooked up to a feed and there is the potential to pull out his gtube Mic-key button if the stroller yanks his tube hard enough.

We were using said umbrella stroller during our road trip to MommyCon, and Pam from Joovy noticed our stuggles.  She asked if we had ever seen the Joovy Cocoon, and we honestly had not.  We are pretty frugal, so if we have something we think is working well enough, we just use it.  But man, do I wish I had done a little research!  This was one of those things you don’t really know how much 
you need it until you have it.

Another Zoolander look! Also known as the "Quit taking pictures, mom. I'm ready to go for a walk!" face. ;)
We’ve been using the Cocoon for a few months now, and it actually sits on our front patio because we use it daily.  It has been so nice to easily get Ryan out for walks each day.  There’s a huge compartment for him to sit in.  The straps and clips are the best we’ve used on any stroller (Mr. Spray Pal always comments on this and told me to be SURE to mention it in my review, lol).  The best part is that there’s a large compartment in the back which has openings that connect with the front seat compartment where we can put all of his medical equipment.  It easily fits an oxygen tank plus a spare, his feeding pump backpack, and my purse without any trouble.  We also have the handlebar cup holder storage thingy (sorry for that “official” term, I need to look it up, lol) and that combined with the back storage, there is definitely plenty of space to go around. 

The Joovy Cocoon in action.
Now this review is mostly done in terms of a special needs kid, but with that much space, you can tell how awesome it would be for a non-medical issue kiddo.  You will have space for DAYS.  And there are so many features that make this stroller worth the investment (retails for $499 HERE).  This stroller is very stylish and easy to use.  Our nurse takes Ryan for walks every day during her shift and loves it, and then we usually do a family walk/jog in the evening and it works great as a jogging stroller.  The ride is VERY smooth, which is great for our bumpy neighborhood sidewalks.  Ryan used to dread being put into his stroller (he’s a glutton for babywearing), but he doesn’t complain about this one.  I think he realizes a fun ride is about to occur when he gets in there.  I also love that there are huge clear “windows” on all sides so he can watch the world around him as he goes by.  He sits up so straight with his hands and face glued to those windows, it’s fantastic to see him enjoy a stroller so much. It also converts easily to a bike trailer, which will save you tons if you were planning on buying a separate stroller and bike trailer!

A couple of extras to consider if you go with the Joovy Cocoon:

1.  The Cocoon Parent Organizer:  This is that handlbar attachment thingy I mentioned earlier (I went and looked up what it was actually called, LOL).  This thing is really handy to have around when you’re walking with drinks, cell phones, etc.  Highly recommend.

2.  The Cocoon Bicycle Trailer Attachment: This is the part you will need if you want to use your Cocoon as a bike trailer in addition to a stroller.  Totally worth it if you like to ride bikes. And if you do ride bikes, you should also look into these Joovy Noodle helmets for the kiddos.

There is also a double stroller option available should you need the extra space called the CocoonX2.

As a huge THANK YOU to Joovy for introducing us to the Cocoon, we are going to give away a Spray Pal to one of you!  This may seem strange, but I'm not sure how else to thank them for being so awesome, lol.  It's our way of paying it forward.  Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: Joovy very generously gave us the Cocoon stroller after meeting 2.0 in person at MommyCon Austin after the Great Cloth Diaper Change in April. This review is my honest opinion after using it frequently for the past few months. None of the links are referral links, they are just there to help you find what you're looking for more easily!

6 comments:

  1. Wow I have never seen this stroller before! It's awesome! I love the huge windows! You little guy must love this stroller.

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  2. Finally a smooth ride with lots of compartment space!!!

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  3. I can't believe how much room there is in that stroller. I think my little girl would look like a princess being escorted by her attendants rather than a baby being pushed in a stroller! How luxurious! I also think it's really cool that you can get an attachment to make it a bike trailer. Talk about a multi-use design!

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  4. That's a wonderfully roomy stroller! Guess I need to keep my eye out for Joovy products...

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  5. I had never seen this stroller, I honestly had no idea anything about it until now:)

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