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Pushchairs

I'm still confused - please tell me which pushchair to buy

17 replies

hester · 27/06/2010 00:03

I posted a few weeks back asking for buggy advice, and got some good suggestions. Basically, my criteria are:

  • I'm adopting a 10 month old baby, and have been advised that rear-facing option a good idea for bonding
  • obviously she doesn't need anything that's great for newborns; I'm looking for something to get us through next 2 years max
  • she doesn't like her buggy, wants to be carried all the time, so it will need to be very comfy to tempt her into it
  • I walk everywhere or get buses/trains, we don't have a car
  • good shopping basket high on would like list
  • I'm pretty broke, so anything over 300 quid would have to be amazing for me to justify it


OK, so the suggestions I've had are: Bugaboo Bee Plus, iCandy Cherry, Britax Vigour, Loola Up, M&P Urbo. I've taken a look at most of them and am just getting more confused and am now feeling paralysed. I don't know why, this isn't my first child, but with dd1 I just blithely bought the cheapest! So PLEASE, someone just tell me what to do.

Oh, and baby joins us in six weeks. Should I be ordering now, or are all buggies pretty instantly available?
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downbutnotout · 27/06/2010 00:06

I would strongly advise against the Britax Vigour - lots of reasons but mainly flimsy construction. Mine has just broken irreparably unfortunately just outside the one year warranty period

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downbutnotout · 27/06/2010 00:07

Will be posting review to that effect (when I get around to it)

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hester · 27/06/2010 00:11

Sorry to hear that, downbutnotout, but many thanks for helping slim down my shortlist.

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downbutnotout · 27/06/2010 00:16

Yw! Sorry to rant, i'm a wee bit pissed off.

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mummybear86 · 27/06/2010 01:14

Get the original/old bugaboo bee. You'll find some good ones on ebay going for around £200-£220. It's rear-facing, lightweight so good on buses and trains. Will probably get you through till 2 years of age. You can make it more cosy and comfortable by getting a custom-made padded seat liner/cosytoes for winter. HTH.

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Tweetinat · 27/06/2010 09:55

Another vote for a Bee either the original or plus (if your budget could stretch )

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faddle · 27/06/2010 21:44

how about a bugaboo frog? they are lovely for walking, very comfy, lovely big seat, and you can get a good one for about £150. They still push really well even with a larger toddler in them.

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thisisyesterday · 27/06/2010 21:48

if she likes being carried then why not invest in a really good sling, and a basic buggy for when you want to pop her down>?

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BeehiveBaby · 27/06/2010 21:49

A vote for either Bee or a second hand Frog here too if you are using wheel-on buses. A trip to a www.SlingMeet.co.uk might be an idea too if you'd like to experiment with carrying your new DD?

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hester · 27/06/2010 22:03

OK ladies, ebay it is for a bugaboo. Thanks so much and wish my bank balance luck!

Thanks for that suggestion, thisisyesterday and BeehiveBaby. I think that carrying a toddler in a sling might just kill me, but I'll keep an open mind and go look at that website!

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raindroprhyme · 28/06/2010 10:59

if you know she likes to be carried i would invest in a good sling. nothing worse than trying to strap as protesting baby into a buggy.
from my experience it will take a while for you to suss each other out and going with her wants will most probably speed this up.
investing in a good sling will make carrying her alot easier.
have a snoop on the sling board and ask some advice. It want necesssarily mean you have to carry her for ever but till everyone is settled in it will make life alot less stressful and save your back.

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Celery · 28/06/2010 11:04

Carrying her in a sling would be a wonderful thing for both of you. It is entirely possible to carry larger babies and toddlers, providing you have the right sling and the right advice. www.thebabywearer.com is a really good site. The forum is excellent.

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Spirael · 28/06/2010 11:07

Just to defend Britax a bit... The Vigour is an older model, the new version is the B-Smart which came out in February this year.

I got a B-Smart 4 after hearing lots of good things about the Vigour from various friends with one, and the mods to the B-Smart all seemed to be really good.

It doesn't seem flimsy at all to me, but my LO hasn't quite arrived yet so I can't say how it'll cope once that happens!

I've not had any problems in my dealings with Britax thus far when I was testing their products. Not had to contact them for any problems however.

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downbutnotout · 28/06/2010 12:48

My complaint around the flimsiness of the Britax Vigour is to do with the seat unit. If you take off the cover and have a look it is made of cardboard nailed together (I exaggerate, but not by much), and it was this part that broke on mine. I also found it heavy and sometimes difficult to manoeuvre, but that was a secondary matter. A major annoyance was that the rain cover was made of the thickest, most unwieldy material - it was really difficult to put on, and with it in the shopping basket there wasn't room for anything else.

Maybe the new version does not have these failings, but I would be tempted to get down and dirty with any new pram I was thinking of buying and whip at least part of the cover off to have a look underneath to see what it's made of (good advice for choosing dh/dp too?!!) Oh, and check out the rain cover too to see how easy it is to put on and store. I would go to a shop and have a good look at any model you're thinking of buying before taking the plunge on ebay. Good luck!

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downbutnotout · 28/06/2010 12:51

Oh and I also vote for sling wearing at least part of the time (not too much fun in this hot weather!), it's hard to beat physical closeness between you and the baby to promote bonding.

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akatwinkle · 29/06/2010 18:53

Be careful when buying second hand as
a - you have no warranty so if it breaks you have to pay to replace.
b - it may already be damaged as pictures can be made to mask damage.
c - Stolen
d - it is against the trading standards to sell second hand without the fire retardant logo attached to pushchair.

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mamatomany · 29/06/2010 23:16

Ebay generally guards against all of those problems though akawinkle, as does paying by paypal.

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