Mama's & Papa's or an alternative?

CopperPlate_2

Dormouse wrote:

Guess it depends on how much money you want to spend. Personally, I resented paying in excess of £500 for something that would only be used for a few months, so we went for a cheaper alternative.

Hmmm. 500 quid - not that I'd mind spending that amount of money on my child I suppose - but is it REALLY going to be that much better than one half the price? As you say, the cheaper alternative is just as good usually.

CP

CopperPlate_2

garyclay wrote:

We bought it online from the Glasgow Pram centre

https://www.glasgowpramcentre.co.uk

We did go and look at it in our M&P shop first though!! And folded/converted it etc to make sure we were happy with it.

Another plus is it looks pretty cool too!

Hope this helps

Will probably go down here as well - know that M&P have shops in Edinburgh and Glasgow so will pay them a visit as well. Just never thought that it would be THIS DIFFICULT to choose one. It's easier choosing a car...:D

CP

CopperPlate_2

sunshinegirl wrote:

A subject close to my heart as we're also 4 months away from our little bundle of joy.

Congratulations!

We found the array totally overwhelming at first but once we'd narrowed down what we wanted from a pram/travel system/pushchair it made it easier. There is no alternative to trecking round the shops though, what you see on the web is great but unless you've tried putting them up/down it's difficult to decide.

We found John Lewis good for a small selection, we tried M&P and a small local nursery shop who were fab and let us take prams to the car to see what fitted.

We've decided on a Bebe Confort Loola with a Windoo carrycot as it fitted most of our spec. Compact umberella folding, carrycot for when the baby is small, a pushchair seat which faces both ways, light and most importantly I can fold it myself and don't need my husband's help. Some of them I could have imagined asking passers by for help folding as they were so tricky!

Good luck and happy shopping

btw most people I know who have M&P are disapointed after a while as the build quality isn't fantastic.[/QUOTE]


I've seen a few comments about the M&P build of cots, etc. It worries me that I'd pay the money they're asking for it and then find out that it's not great quality/build. But having NO experience of buying this sort of thing before, we're both a bit up in the air. We've got family who all have different brands and they're no help because they all like their own ones

Thanks for the info

CP

CopperPlate_2

sooz wrote:

try finding a large shopping centre...somewhere like brent cross with john lewis, mothercare, mamas and papas [opeining soon] and toys r us nearby. then you can try lots without too much trecking

also, measure your car boot, and space within house to store buggy/travel system. do you want it blocking the hall, or have a convenient buggy cupboard/shed/garage.

folded measurements and your space requirements should help reduce your wide choice.


but then yes, you do need to try them, fold them, recline them

also, if you have a few more months, how about the baby show at olympia [on soon]. they have a buggy testing ground.....

Will do. Forgot to think about the boot space. And where do we keep all the extra bits of a travel system???

CopperPlate_2

gooismeid wrote:

Having also had 2 kids and several bad experiences with prams/pushchairs, let me boil it down to the essentials:
1. DON'T spend huge amounts on a pram, or anything for your firstborn, before it is born - you'll only find out as you go along what you consider to be important and useful, and it's not essential you have everything before the baby arrives, it won't notice if it sleeps in a drawer for the first couple of weeks.
2. DO buy the best and safest carseat you can find, and learn how to fit it into your car properly.
3. If the carseat fits on the pram frame, so much the better (but not essential - babies aren't supposed to spend more than 2 hours a day in a carseat)
4. Once they are anywhere near sitting up, get a Maclaren or similar buggy, as lightweight as you can find. Ours cost about 20 quid and lasted 5 years and 2 children.
5. On any pram, weight and having wheels that can move around like the ones on shopping trolleys rather than ones that are fixed forward,are the only 2 factors to go for.

Sounds like good advice and a voice of experience...:D

But is there anywhere online that you can compare each brand of pushchair (excuse my ignorance but to me - just now anyway - they are all pushchairs. I know that there are travel systems, buggies, pushchairs, prams, etc.....:D but it leaves me completely at sea if I try and think about it all too much )

Pauls

We've got 2 kids, and 4 pushchairs (OH got carried away!) We own an M&P freestyler, 1*single m&p aria, 1*double m&p aria & 1 * cheap & nasty unbranded thing.

Personally I'd recommend the M&P freestyler. OK, it's not the cheapest/smallest/lightest thing in the world, and you will need loads of boot space but It's sooooooo much nicer to push than the others. We fall out over who's pushing it!

I have also shoved a graco, and I'll say no more on the fact :eek:

sunshinegirl_3

CopperPlate wrote:

It's easier choosing a car...:D

CP

That's exactly what my Husband said but it's not nearly as much fun because the test drive only takes you around the shop!

For comparisons, the Glasgow Pram Centre website is good, but testing and trying is the best way, find a smaller shop if you can and try things in your car.

Counting_Pennies_2

I really object to M&P. I had a bad experience with their customer service when one of their items injured my son (not funny when it is your precious child hurt by poor manufacturing!).

I own a M&P cot, pram, car seat, high chair and nearly everything has either fallen apart or looks very dated when I look at it.

Personally if I had my time again I would buy the Bugaboo frog it looks lovely and many of my friends have them and love them.

Katinkka

I find completely the opposite counting_pennies. I also have most things M&P and have been very happy. THe cot still looks brand new and is all set up for third baby. Has been in use now for 5 years. I got the prima pappa highchair with leather seat and it still looks fantastic.

What happened to your son?

Baby_A

Hi I have the M&P P3, its a really good travel system. I wanted a buggy which folded up as a stroller style because of boot space so decided on this one. Overall I was happy with it, as I bought ex display I got a extra discount. They give you 6 months manufacturers warranty with it (some people like McLaren give 12 months). However they start this warranty from the babies DOB.

The car seat I got for half price from Boots, youll see alot of places do them for half price when they are discontinuing the colour (mainly Boots and Argos). I wasnt fussed if it didnt match the pushchair as it saved me £50.

When the 5th month was approaching I sent mine to mamas and papas as I felt the handles were loose, they service it for you while its there free of charge (check the brakes, fluff it etc). I choose to have it collected and delivered to my house as I couldnt get to the store (only down side is you dont get a loan pushchair when you have it collected), the courier service lost it on the way back to my house so they gave me a new one which obviously came with a 6 months warranty again.

Again when the 5th month was approaching on the new pushchair they collected it and lost it again, so I got a new one. I have put that away for the next baby now and bought the pulse stroller by M&P as my daughter is older now and stroller is more convienent.

I like the Mamas and Papas brand, i think its a designer name but I also think the quality stands. I dont mind paying the extra if its money well spent.

Basically I found the customer service to be quite helpful, they are useless at returning calls but overall are nice. They have a landline number instead of the 0870 number, if anyone wnats it PM me. When I complained how I wasnt getting called back regarding my lost pushcair and obviously the amount of time Id been without a pushcair they sent some goodies to my daughter worth about £40.

I wouldnt just buy from them because of the name, also the item matters. Foe example I wasnt keen on the high chair from M&P and bought the Chicco one.

Its worth going instore and seeing the product, having a demo and comparing it.

Thumbs up from me!