Pram pushchair advice please

musical_norwich

I have to say that in our experience Ebay really is your friend when it comes to prams and pushchairs.

For instance, we wanted a small and really light pushchair for our little one to use alongside our three wheeler.

The combi dash was about £150 in boots, and weighed less than 5kg. We bought it brand new on ebay for £60 including delivery. You can still buy them damned cheap on ebay.

We wanted a phil'n'ted e3 twin when the second baby came along. Bought one second hand with all the bits, great condition, for £200. Price new with all the bits we got was over £450.

Have a look in the shops, find what you want, then go to ebay.

maplegirl2011

what about the mamas and papas luna.this is meant to fold up very small and can also be a travel system

http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/range.php?id=119

Savvy_Sue

I'm completely out of touch with the modern systems, 'travel systems' were just coming in when DS3 was born. If they'd been available for DS2 I'd have been tempted, but they were SOOO pricey, and of course none available second hand then, and DS3 was definitely going to be my last baby.

But some pointers to how you choose:

1. Think how you'll use it. If you're going to do a lot of taking baby somewhere in the car, then getting them out and wheeling them around, a travel system may be helpful, because you don't disturb baby so much if you can lift the seat rather than them.

2. Don't expect one buggy / pram / pushchair will do everything you need it to. I had a big carrycot on pram wheels for birth (when I didn't really drive anywhere much), and babies slept in that during the day until they outgrew it - it lived in the hall (we had a big one). To go with that I had a pram seat for a toddler, though I never felt particularly secure using it. Then I had a biggish pushchair which lived in the hall, it weighed a ton for getting in and out of the car. But it had a big flat shopping tray. And we also had an umbrella fold buggy which lived in the boot of the car. That also had a big flat tray, although you had to take it off before you could fold the buggy up ... I got a carrycot bit for that, and at one stage I also had a double buggy of the same make, and the carrycot fitted that too. But the double was too wide to be practical, hated it! Better to make the older one walk ...

3. Do you have to have new? Baby won't know ... I've seen ebay mentioned, but there are also secondhand nursery shops in some areas, and cards in newsagents windows, and NCT sales. They all have the great advantage over ebay that you can see what you're getting beforehand. Not to mention Freecycle! Of course if you want the car seat option you'd probably want to buy it new, but if you can get the rest of it cheap or free, why not?

4. 3 wheels, 4 wheels, swivel wheels, fixed wheels ... again it's down to how and where you'll use them. 3 wheelers are after my time, but I thought they were designed for you to push while you jogged through the park: if you're not planning to do that, then they may not suit! I believe swivel and fixed wheels are meant to be better for rough or not so rough ground - I never got the hang of swivel wheels, mine were all fixed wheel and when I borrowed my friend's buggy I had to 'fix' the wheels or I couldn't go anywhere! :rotfl:

5. More important to me than anything else was the height of the handles! I'm quite tall, and I preferered the small light buggy to the one I kept at home. But the doting grandparents had bought the larger buggy (second hand, I'm pleased to say) so I didn't feel I could get rid of it!

6. I wouldn't personally be seduced by all the bells and whistles I see on pushchairs these days. A 'shelf' by the handle with a recess for the baby's bottle? That's only going to work with bottles of the right size, and the child will probably be using the buggy long after they're having bottles - if they ever have one! Matching cosytoes and changing bag - nice, but at what price? Especially as the changing bag might not be all you wanted (that's another subject, of course ...) Head support cushion and special cover for the car seat bit? You know a rolled up terry nappy and a blanket will do the same job ...

And definitely, if you've got a small car, check that it all fits in the boot ...

Rachie_B

Justie wrote: »

can I crash the thread and ask for the ideas for the same thing but where the baby faces the pusher rather than forwards. ta

what about an M&P Pliko pramette http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/range.php?id=1965

Try ebay http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=pliko+pramette

helend

If you like the M&P Pliko, but worried about the size - it is huge - have a look at the Inglesina Zippy - folds down really small and you can do it one-handed. I bought one and rtd it because my feet kept catching on the back wheels so I bought a Pliko and have exactly the same problem - huge waste of money but hubby wouldn't let me return another pram! Hubby says I walk like a duck and since I've never heard of anyone else having this problem he must be right but I would suggest walking up and down with pram in shop before you buy because once you've used pram outside you can't return it unless its an actual fault.

As someone else said Maclaren Techno is excellent - you can now get this as a travel system now but I think it is pricey - if I was starting over I think I would have bought this first and saved a fortune on all the others I've bought!

Justie

thanks for all the pointers, it's such a minefield!

ellawood

yes thanks for all the advice I will have a good look around the shops and then try ebay :money: I will try and walk more with the baby but you know how tempting it is to jump in the car when its wet but the walk would do me good

pattycake

My daughter is 5 months pregnant and going crazy looking at prams etc. Things are so different from 30 years ago when everyone bought a Silver Cross pram and was proud and happy.

Anyway, my daughter had decided on the Loola (sp?) but before buying took her car to the retailers. She has a new Toyota Yaris. Disaster, the car seat would not work in her car. It was too loose owing to the position of the seat belts. The sales assistant said this was a common problem. They tried all manner of seats in the car and the only one to fit was a Buggaboo. The whole thing costs £600 but she has ordered it. Sounds like a lot of money to me but it is supposed to last until the child is walking and they will not need to buy anything else.

The Buggaboo also holds its value well on re-sale. That's what she's hoping anyway!!

Savvy_Sue

You've reminded me of another thinking point, which hadn't occurred to me because I didn't use buses when mine were young - it was easier to walk, plus where I was going buses didn't! But if you ARE using public transport, you need something which is light and folds quickly and easily, and as said with just one hand! Even if you have the new RORO buses (Roll On Roll Off without folding up) they have limited space, and you can be asked to fold it if there's already one or two buggies on the bus. Plus sometimes they put old buses out.

Even if that's not your 'main' buggy, by the time baby weighs a ton, you'll really appreciate a lightweight buggy as you struggle on and off the bus ...

Rachie_B

pattycake wrote: »

My daughter is 5 months pregnant and going crazy looking at prams etc. Things are so different from 30 years ago when everyone bought a Silver Cross pram and was proud and happy.

Anyway, my daughter had decided on the Loola (sp?) but before buying took her car to the retailers. She has a new Toyota Yaris. Disaster, the car seat would not work in her car. It was too loose owing to the position of the seat belts. The sales assistant said this was a common problem. They tried all manner of seats in the car and the only one to fit was a Buggaboo. The whole thing costs £600 but she has ordered it. Sounds like a lot of money to me but it is supposed to last until the child is walking and they will not need to buy anything else.

The Buggaboo also holds its value well on re-sale. That's what she's hoping anyway!!

she could have just gone for the loola pushchair, but had a different infant carrier / rearward facing carseat...

you dont have to have the matching infant carrier but it does make life easier sometimes

after all babies are only in the infant car seat for 6 - 9 months ........