to just NOT get and in fact be slightly frightened of one particular area of MN??

[BunnyLebowski]

I've never ventured in there out of sheer fear but I've always wondered why there is an entire topic dedicated to......

Pushchairs???

With thread titles including such baffling words as Stokke and pramette and buggysnuggle? Oh and precisely who the hell are Phil and Ted?

It all sounds so elaborate and confusing and....well....utterly pointless.

Aren't they just vehicles in which to transport our loin-fruit from playgroup to Greggs or am I missing summat?

Don't people just buy whatever Travel System is on offer at the start and then (once they've wised up) grab whichever pushchair is 50% off in the Asda Baby Event? (or even better inherit one from a family member)

Or is it just me?

It's not pointless.

www.literacytrust.org.uk/talk_to_your_baby/resources/1555_whats_life_in_a_baby_buggy_like

I have less interest now than i did but i still have three ( 2 buggy using children) .
A pushchair ( silver cross ) for one year old
A loola with a carrycot for my 12 week old
And a double silver cross one for both together.

I might buy another well -
Just because i can

Sorry, just read OP.

No, defininately NBU, have often had a rant about this. I just dont get the whole obsession. I think its slightly funny. I dont go into those threads either (even when Im very pregnant) as I think they are a bit..well.. ridiculous. I dont get spending over ?1,000 on a pushchair when DH's first car cost that.

With dd we didnt buy one, someone gave us their old one I think. By the time ds came along, dd's was a bit wrecked so we bought a travel system (with all the bits car seat, carrycot etc..) for ?200. Took 20 mins to choose when we went into shop and its lovely. Am pregnant again and ds is only 9 months, am not bothering wasting money on a double so think I'll invest in a sling for new baby.

No. Dont get it. Each to their own I suppose!!

YANBU.

I reckon the pushchair-holics have babies that don't cry enough, therefore farrrrrr too much time on their hands. (bet they buy pink ones as well, ick ick ick)>

My perambulation history: Nice navy proper pram Martinelli brand. Dd slept in it for 6 weeks, then we used it for locomotion till she was well over 1. Kind, but misguided godparents bought us a bloody awful lumpy, heavy Peg perego (mamas and papas to the Brits) pushchair which I ebayed. Step-sis bequeathed me a Silver Cross pushchair - ditto heavy and unwieldy, Mum bought me a cheapish Maclaren buggy buggy which was fab.

It's no different to having several different bicycles if you're interested - personally I have a racing bike (for training/triathlon), a mountain bike (for off road, and soon lugging the baby trailer), and a folding commuting bike for getting around town and taking on the train. However I know some people who aren't that interested in cycling and, shock/horror, only have 1 bike that they perhaps didn't even research thoroughly before deciding on.

Buggy wise I have an all singing/all dancing jogging/bike trailer that was the only one DH and I knew would suit us (a Chariot) - doesn't look posh but they're not cheap, frankly it was the one thing we were glad to splash the cash on and everything else we have bought is second hand. I also bought a second hand maclaren folding thing on ebay for flying to see parents/taking on bus/throwing in the boot etc.

It really says more about you than it does about the owner of an expensive buggy if it irritates you when you see them...

Forgot to add 'YABU', in case that wasn't obvious!

Yabu and judgy.

But runningrach surely your bikes are going to get huge use for years and years? and its an interest/ hobby/ lifestyle for you? a buggy surely couldnt be a hobby?. I can definately see why someone would spend/ research their bicycle.

I know the arguement is going to be made that an expensive buggy can be used for years if you plan loads of children. I accept that. But realistically, how many people are really using one buggy for 5,6,7.... children?

Na. Still dont get it.

I personally think continuing to be interested in prams after you have made your initial purchase is the female equivalent of being a model railway enthusiast. Dull, pointless, spoddy and incomprehensible to most people but keeps a few people happy. So who am I to complain even if I just do not get it?

As an aside - coalition, you're wrong. Maclarens are bloody brilliant. Mine has done DS as his sole pram for 2.7 years and is still in good enough nick for 5 wk old DD now.

YANBU.

Does it fit in your car?
Will the baby fall out?
Can you live with the colour?
Will the wheels go round?

And then as your child gets bigger and heavier what is the cheapest thing you can get that you can still push without giving yourself a hernia?

Makes, models, fashion - all an irrelevancy.

With first child I bought what was on offer in Mammas & Pappas. Second child I researched doubles and tandems and bought a Phil & Teds tandem, not for any status symbol but because it was pure genius and exactly what I needed for new baby & toddler

Now I just have one needing a pushchair occasionally then it's back to the first method, - whatever was on offer.

Not difficult or scary.

Maybe you're thinking to much about a subject which doesn't concern you.

Baffles me. So I never bought a pram.

But my back is getting sore after carrying a 2 year for 4 hours on and off yesterday.

Having looked at that board, I have now found an even scarier one.

Changing Bags

I can understand taking a long time to choose your pushchair but why do people need to discuss changing bags? I just used the free one from Boots or a small back pack.

longchamps pliage does everything you need and can be washed when smoothie leaks, etc.

Aren't changing bags for bottle feeders?

Well I counted and have had 6 buggies/prams for 2 kid!

Finally got rid of last one last week, Sob!

As a nanny I have experienced all manner of push chairs..

All buggies are not built equally.

Bcause og this I was pretty adamant about which pram I would have and as pricewise it was more than I could afford we began shopping for it (stalking ebay) from about the conception.

I have got one now and it is lovley.

not saying which one!

No otchayaniye what about nappies/ wipes/ change of clothes/ teether/ dinner once solids start etc...

We have two. An all singing all dancing tank from Teutonia and a small, light Espirit pushchair. Both fab in their own ways.

The tank had a lot more thought put into it as it had to do more. Was quite funny when we bought it as we were buying a new car at the same time and the questions we were asked by the salesmen were almost identical. Interior material and colour, exterior colour, wheel type etc. We got it cheaper because it was last season's colours.

I don't think I would like to go through all those decisions time after time. The tank will hopefully last us through all our children.

Meg.

Just to be even-handed, there are sling users that have multiple slings. Same story?

I don't think anyone's being judgy, just admitting that they don't get the attraction. I see the sense of researching which pushchair is best for you, like whether it fits into the car boot or whatever, but if you've done that and chosen one, you don't need to buy several more after that. If you change it several times, that's clearly because you want to, not need to. That's the part that a lot of posters don't understand - women who collect prams like other people would have several bags or pairs of shoes.

I got given a second hand Bugaboo from my SIL.
I hated the damn heavy thing. Stopped being precious about having DD facing me and got a decent Maclaren. Best thing ever. Easy,light and DD is more comfortable as it reclines flat.

Stuff the travel systems.

Megonthemoon - The wheels on ours wore down in less than a year, and they have NO cushioning over bumpy pavements. A baby might not mind but my arms and hands certainly do. They are totally unsuited to the use case of being a primary buggy in a city for someone who walks a lot and uses it to help carry shopping.

If you drive most places and mainly use it on smooth seurfaces, might be different.

And THIS is why people spend a lof of time deciding on buggies - because they aren't all suitable for everyone.

I like pushchairs. Not as a status symbol, I just like fixing them and playing with them. I started when I had 2 DC under 2 and Easyjet broke my double, and I discoverd the joys of Ebay! I buy them cheap, generally sell for what I paid for, don't get hung up on them. I like slings, too. It's just a hobby. Doesn't hurt anyone.

To be fair though, I've never owned a new buggy, and very rarely spend actual money on them (only money made from the pushchairs themselves). I would find it very hard to justify spending vast sums on prams. Especially since a lot of the time, DS1 goes in his SN buggy and DS2 goes in the sling on my back.

It's just an interest, nothing wrong with that, is there? No different, IMO from an interest in cars/ bikes/ trainspotting. In fact, I do pram spotting when out and about, what an intensely exciting life I lead!

im not denying that people need to spend a lot of time researching buggies etc, but why buy a buggy. thren get another one. then another one. then another one. then sell two, just so yopu can buy three more.