We’ve loved our Uppababy Cruz stroller since 2018. It’s seen us through two babies and has transitioned really well as our family has grown, not to mention it’s held up amazingly well for the near-constant use it’s gotten.

There are a lot of considerations that go into deciding which stroller to get. Since I like to think of myself as your Internet Mom Friend, I wanted to share why we opted for the Uppababy Cruz, some tips on how to use a single stroller with two kids, plus some feelings about all of it.

Why We Chose the Uppababy Cruz

Let’s flashback to 2018. We were living in the heart of downtown Sacramento, I walked basically everywhere, and I knew that I wanted a stroller that would last.

We went to a store and tested out several strollers, but the Uppababy Cruz turned out to be my favorite. I liked that it handled smoothly and easily, even one-handed. I liked the one-foot brake vs. having to set one brake on each wheel. It was sturdy but not too heavy, and of course, it looked really nice too.

It also folded down pretty compactly for a full-size stroller (like small enough to fit into the trunk of my hatchback car).

My heart was set on this stroller and we were beyond blessed to have our friends and family give us gift card after Amazon gift card at our baby shower for Isaac. We used those gift cards to buy the Uppababy Cruz. To this day, we refer to the stroller as the gift our community gave us.

Which leads me to one of the big reasons we opted for the Cruz over the Vista (the double stroller option): budget.

Frankly speaking, we weren’t in a place to drop the cash on the Vista. But the other main reason we went with the Cruz was based on the age gap we planned on for our kids.

I feel like this should go without saying, but obviously planned age gaps aren’t guaranteed. Still, in our pre-parenthood naivete, we felt like we wouldn’t absolutely need a double stroller with the ~2.5 year age gap we were planning.

And honestly? We were kind of right.

Single Stroller, Two Kids

I got a lot of questions about whether we would upgrade to a double stroller when I announced I was pregnant with Luna in 2020.

The truth is, we considered it, but with the pandemic lockdowns in full swing, we were barely using our stroller. Most of the day was spent at home or in the car for contactless order pickups or drive-thru coffee runs — a very different life from the one we were living before we moved out of downtown.

We decided to see how the Cruz worked for us all the while keeping an open mind about getting a Vista.

I’m happy to say that we’ve made the Cruz work really well for our family of four!

The two things that made the Uppababy Cruz work for our growing family were the Uppbaby Piggyback board and a baby carrier.

The Piggyback board is a genius invention. It connects to the back of the stroller and allows an older kiddo to ride along while leaving the main stroller seat open for the younger one.

Izzy wasn’t super into sitting in the stroller when Luna was born, so this was the perfect way to give him some freedom without having to chase after him.

Luna is almost 1.5 and this set up still works well for us! If Izzy ever gets tired, we simply switch them out. Luna either goes in the ring sling or gets a chance to toddle around while Izzy gets to rest his feet.

Final Thoughts

If I could go back to 2018, I would buy the Uppababy Cruz every time. It’s a great stroller that is easy to clean, easy to use, and that truly lasts.

If you plan on spacing your kids out by a couple of years and/or if you plan on only having one or two kids, the Cruz is definitely an amazing option!