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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

OMG I think I just spent £1100 on a pushchair!

68 replies

leeloo1 · 25/08/2010 14:34

:( Or I'm not quite sure... possible both!!!

I just bought an ABC triple - a single pushchair, top reclining toddler seat and front static seat, as its the only 'triple' that'll fit through my door! At a bargain price of £900 including p&p and with an estimated £200 in import duty... eeek! Lets hope its fantastic and easy to use when it arrives!

I feel like I need a stiff drink (but can't as mindees are sleeping) so please reassure me that this is actually an astute business purchase and not a big waste of money! :)

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dobby2001 · 27/10/2010 22:44

mmm thanks for that. I am seriously in need of something as I am going to be having 3 under 2s myself 4 days a week - already have one day a week. I like the look of the single with the 2 seats but worry about the weight and manoverability. I also need to be able to get into the back of my Zafira once in a while - realise removing wheels/handlebar may be required but if thats quick to redo thats ok.

Thinking I might be better off with the side by side, t3 jogger or my friedn has got a bibi stroller thing she uses - newer version has a higher seat so might be ok - have tried buggy board but all LOs too small

Original poster

leeloo1 · 27/10/2010 21:53

Hi dobby2001 - its good, but I am finding it heavy. I haven't used it in the rain yet, but I have a double raincover that I'm going to hang from the back of the top seat so it completely covers the 2 front seats ~(the top one has its own cover). :)

isw sorry, the company just posted it over - I think it was around £150-£200 shipping though, so not that cheap. :(

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SillyMillysMummy · 27/10/2010 18:03

I use a rain poncho for my toddler seat

dobby2001 · 26/10/2010 23:33

Hi again Leeloo, i wondered how you were managing using it 4 days a week? And can i ask about using it in the rain? have you got differant rain covers for the toddler seats?

isw · 18/10/2010 21:49

Slight thread hijack, can I ask how you arranged shipping? I am trying to get some special needs equipment from the US and have been quoted silly, silly prices and import duty
TIA

Chica1912 · 14/10/2010 19:10

I've got the ABC side by side with toddler seat on top and it's brilliant! It comes apart so easily and with practice can go back together pretty fast- essential on the school run when trying to get 3 under 2's into/ out of it in the pouring rain! I've got a shogun so have a big boot anyway but it still needs dismantling if Ive got the back seats down. I used to have a side by side mountain buggy and it's about the same size as that. It's really easy to steer and the children love sitting in the top seat - it's even manageable if like me you sometimes have to carry a screaming child who doesnt want to walk while pushing it! I'd recommend it wholeheartedly :)

Original poster

leeloo1 · 14/10/2010 14:29

Hey stringerbell, glad you weren't too busy drugdealing to take your kids out liked your ABC too, it does seem v well made. . Oh and yes I can offset it against tax - hurray! :) Makes it a bit less painful to buy.

I don't think its heavier than other triples, thisisyesterday & it is pretty light to push without kids in... its just with the 3 chunky toddlers it gets a bit heavy - not so bad once you get going though. :)

Dobby I don't put mine in the car but... I think it'd be easier to put in a big car unfolded with all the seats on (possibly except top seat as it'd be about 130cm tall), then take it apart to put in. At the moment its folded under the stairs and I found if I took the front wheels off it was much easier to store (front swivelly wheels at the bottom kept trying to wander off on their own! well not literally but it made it hard to push in...) but then again I'm not hugely tall/strong and am trying to cram it into a very small space... if I can remember where I saw the tape measure I can measure it folded for you if you want? I know its only 63cm side to side if thats any help?

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thisisyesterday · 14/10/2010 13:57

how are you getting on with it leeloo?

abc buggies are fantastic. excellent quality, and should be much easier than pushing a one in front of the other triple

did you check ebay tho? they occasionally come up on there!

stringerbell · 14/10/2010 13:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dobby2001 · 13/10/2010 23:00

lol Leeloo the amount of time I have put shopping in the bottom of my pushchair only to recline it!! Nothing more annoying than waking a grumpy child by manhandling a packet of biscuits out from under their head!!

Can I asked about your "bulky when folded" comment? How big would you say it was? And whats it like for getting in the car? I had previously looked at a side by side ABC with toddler seat on ebay but was shocked to find it was a whole 10 cms longer/taller folded than the out and about nipper. That would make it tricky to fit into my Zafira (I currently put nipper in space where 7th seat would be, standing up if that makes sense)

MonsterseyeofNewtPunch · 13/10/2010 16:37

All good discoveries then, handy that rain won't make the basket unusable.

Original poster

leeloo1 · 13/10/2010 15:00

Thanks. :) I used it again yesterday Dobby and I found out that its really useful that the storage basket unclips - as otherwise its harder to get a big lunchbox out while the baby is sleeping in the main seat...

...and also that the storage basket is waterproof, as my waterbottle emptied a litre of water into it and I was able to unclip it and empty it into the sink without it dripping anywhere! :) It also dried quickly on the radiator.

Other than that it all went well. :)

OP posts:

MonsterseyeofNewtPunch · 13/10/2010 03:02

Glad it arrived, didn't cost as much as you expected and it working out well.

Blondeshavemorefun · 12/10/2010 11:44

Red is good and def buggy is tax deductable :)

dobby2001 · 11/10/2010 22:35

this has been really helpful leeloo. let us know how you get on with it over 4 days as i am thinking very seriously now. I currently have a nipper 360 which i love but cannot get through tiny front door and a bertini with toddler seat and buggy board which i can just fit through but the board is not always suitable for smaller children and makes pushing harder with them needing to jump on and off everytime we cross roads etc.

Original poster

leeloo1 · 11/10/2010 22:20

Thanks Blondeshavemorefun I think so too. Such a relief when it all arrived safe and sound. On and its really happy too, cos I got the red (with black trim) and it seems so cheerful. [shallow emoticon]

TotorosOcarina Can't see one like mine on ebay for £99 - there are some around that are a twin with a single seat om top... or there's one on for £300 thats a single with a (ripped) double seat on top. Neither of which would fit through my door.

I did see one for £575 before I ordered mine that was a single with 2 static seats, but I wanted a reclining seat on top (can't use raincovers with top static seats), so worth (IMHO) paying the extra money for that.

Also, I don't feel pushchairs usually age that well, so I wanted to get a new shiny one. I can take it off my expenses, so can 'reclaim' some of the cost that way...

OP posts:

TotorosOcarina · 11/10/2010 20:20

Theres one of these near me on ebay, at £99 lol.

Blondeshavemorefun · 11/10/2010 20:17

glad you like the beast buggy :)

i think the good points def out weight the bad points

Original poster

leeloo1 · 11/10/2010 16:26

Hello all, thanks for the bump, I'd almost forgotten about this post! :) Pushchair has arrived and so far its all going well.

Good points:
Well, the 1st good news was that the import duty wasn't as much as I'd expected - ended up being £40, so it cost about £950 all in! Bargain!

It is very very good. Very sturdy and quite easy to push (once you get going and wheels are going the right way - if you have a pushchair with a swivel front wheel you'll know what I mean). Although it is a bit heavy, esp with 3 kids in - I feel like I'll get a workout pushing it.

Its smaller than my Phil and Teds and sits very neatly in the hallway.

All 3 children have (so far) been happy sitting in it.

I've had nothing but positive comments about how good it looks. (With the buggypod I had a lot of negative comments! :( )

Bad points:
The middle seat isn't ideal, but I either put the smallest baby, or the one most likely to sleep in it and that way its been fine.

It isn't easy to get the child into the middle seat with the front seat on, but the front seat pops off easily (2 metal snibs allow it to slide off) and its also very easy to reattach once the middle child is in.

Its big and a bit clumsy to store when folded - but not impossible.

I think thats the main things... I don't think its quite as easy a single/double as the Phil and Teds (raincovers more fiddly for a start), although the storage is far better... but as a triple its as good as it gets I think.

I've only needed it 1 day per week so far, so have been using my P&Ts the other days, but from next week I'll need it 4 days pw, and I have the feeling that once I start using it more I'll probably use it all the time (through laziness if nothing else!) :).

Any other questions let me know though. :)

OP posts:

karen2010 · 10/10/2010 21:53

i glad this is bump up cos i saw one of these yesterday

and it look very good
but it was either triplets or 2 big babies and littler one on top
a man was pushing this quite fast so i did not stop to have a chat and i walking my dog and so was he

i am also wondering how it going on

dobby2001 · 10/10/2010 21:35

Hi Leeloo
Am bumping this back up as I am wondering if the buggy has arrived yet andhow you are getting on with it? Have been seriously looking at these myself - might be costly but i could get rid of my 3 other buggies just for this one and be able to have 3 non walkers -at present i have a double with buggy board but like you, current charges are not quite old enough to use board meaning we are restricted to car once a week :0/

So hows it going???

mranchovy · 29/08/2010 23:46

If you are going to use this for childminding bear in mind that it won't be CE marked so how are you going to make Ofsted and your insurers (and of course you and your customers) happy that it is safe?

It seems to me that this style of pushchair may not pass the 'topple test' that is required to meet the UK/European standard and that could be why you can't get it here.

SillyMillysMummy · 29/08/2010 21:20

Yeah it's not amazing height wise, if you ask the company about it they will just say recline the seat slightly, I find leg length slightly more difficult really than height, as feet often get shoved over the side. In all though, wouldn't be without it for 3 little ones, I do also have a phil and teds that is my main buggy as I rarely have 3 who are unable to walk where I need them too for now. Am keeping abc though as will have 2 one year old siblings starting in a couple months plus my current 2 little ones, so will likely need the 3 seats. Am sure you will love it!

Original poster

leeloo1 · 29/08/2010 21:04

Oh should also ask you SillyMillysMummy - do you find that the bigger kids are too tall for the seats - I didn't think the hoods seemed very high (I guess they can't be or it'd all be too tall) ... just wondering how you got on with that?

OP posts:

Original poster

leeloo1 · 29/08/2010 21:02

Annoyingly the twin seat on top is also 74cm wide, so also wouldn't fit through our front door! (I have thought loooong and hard about it all and almost bought that as an 'extra' seat, but couldn't justify the extra £240).

Lol at Misdee - I worried about that, but have tried out a double with the seat on top and didn't find it hard to see over - and my DS just loved being in the top seat! :)

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