AIBU to think buggy snobbery is alive and kicking!

[bumpandkind]

I'm the owner of a (2nd hand) bugaboo bee which we bought simply because it was the best for public transport, small and light. Since entering the world of babies we have received an unexpected amount of comment both snobby and reverse snobby (ooh a bugaboo, yummy mummy are we)! WTF! Anyone judge or judges in secret?

I used to know the make/model/specs/price range of almost every pram I saw when dd was younger as we went through loads of them - mainly mid price strollers/buggies from 50-100 quid - and I loved it.

By the time i had ds 6 years later I couldn't give a crap - his pram was a massive german thing from eBay which I loved even if it was nick named the monster truck he's had 3 strollers since then and hated them all. He does love his petite star bizzi which I got bnib off ebay for £50 instead of £130.

Dd2's pram is a chicco nunu rrp 330 I got it for 165 including delivery. The twin pram for ds and dd2 is a graco duosport rrp 180 I got it for 95 bnib.

I like nice prams/pushchairs but the most important part to me is that they suit what I need and for ds to have a bumper bar he loves his - once I've found what I want I bargain hunt for a while until I find a great deal/time 'runs out' and I have to buy.

I couldn't be arsed judging someone else's pram mine take too much of my mind up

This thread is such an eye opener, I had no idea. This must be a very modern thing-pram envy. Or I was too frazzled/tired/stressed in 1999 to notice it.

Thing is, buggies have only recently become interesting or desirable. I remember looking at some in the early nineties and thing how horrid they all were. Sort of grey / beige with cheap nasty looking fabrics. They looked like those grey shoes marketed to old people.

Earlier someone said what about P+Ts. As far as I can see that leads to a load of people who haven't had kids close in age judging you as you clearly don't value having your youngest being able to see up (I am planning to get one as I can't fit a side by side in the hallway).

I bought my Donkey new. It's the only new pushchair I have ever bought out of at least ten. Je ne regrette rien.

I "judge" on how practical it looks (eg huge wide thing I'll think that must be irritating to go shopping with) but not on price or brand.

I spend the most time judging mine atm as 9 m/o DD has piles of food wiped over it within about 5 seconds recently

My first pram was a Bugaboo Frog, £250 2nd hand with all the trimmings. Got it as I wanted something with big tyres practical for dog walking and wanted to look cool tbh

Got a 10 year old Maclaren Quest for £15 and sold the Bugaboo, used the Quest until the wheels fell off, literally.

Bought a P&T Sport which was great to do the shopping in as we didn't have a car.

Bought a 15 year old Maclaren Triumph in perfect nick for £30 which we use all the time.

Found an Out 'n' About Nipper next to a bin, one of the tyres was popped. Thrilled as I was pg again (MC in the end), replaced the tyre. Car broke again so was great for shopping. Great for when I look after DS's pals. Still use the Triumph as a main buggy.

So basically I have gone from yummy mummy to bin scrounger within a couple of years, and everything in between. That's the way to do it.

I unashamedly covet the most showy, ludicrously priced buggies on the market and didn't buy one only because dh wouldn't let me I am so sensible with money

I got the pram that was the best fit for my needs and desires (SC linear freeway). Still going strong for DS2. Bonus, I have a seat on top so can put DS1 up there when he's tired, yet still have DS2 laid down, parent facing and have a better view than the back of a seat. (DS1 is curious/blooming nosey, and DS2 is of the same mold. The more of the world they can observe, the happier they are.

I don't really care what people have as long as they pick something appropriate to their needs. I was trying to make small talk with a mum at BuggyFit- it was hard going, so as we had the same pram, I asked her what she thought of it. I unblocked a torrent of verbal diarhorea about how heavy and big it was and it didn't fit in her car and she had to keep borrowing her boyfriends car... Err, well, it's pretty obvious it's a big pram- that does tend to be one of the criteria people check first- does it fit in my car (or suitable for public transport), so sorry, no sympathy, more fool her. (It looked very new- not a random eBay bargain).

If I do see someone with an iCandy or Bugaboo I do try to have a nose at it as they're so expensive bought new, just because I was too scared to properly look at one in the shop when I was pregnant in case I really 'had to have it'!

I think they're very nice, and if you can afford one, why not?!

I like sleek ones like Quinnys that you can fit on buses without causing too many problems.

Unfortunately, I own a tank.

Dora.google Audi ad 90 s.
You will find that it is BMW s historically driven by twats....something this infamous advert for Audi made clear for ever.
Audis are driven by the discerning we are led to believe.

My Bugaboo Cameleon is still going strong with DC2, and we walk a lot.

It appealed to me as I liked the carrycot bit for when they were tiny, the adapters to fit the car seat on, and the parent facing/outward facing pushchair bit for when they're bigger.
It also reclines well for sleeps. The adjustable handle is handy too. My two year old still goes in it for longer trips

There is some inverted snobbery goes on with them, but I didn't care. It suited our needs perfectly and though was an expensive initial outlay it is still in such good condition well be able to pass/sell it on to somebody else.

Everyone ends up with a Maclaren in the end anyway.

Not everyone ends up with a mcclaren! Actually amongst mummy friends they are rare things, but then the only ones I know who bought one are mums who bought cheaper buggies to start with that didn't really last or suit their needs. Everyone I know with an iCandy or bugaboo just used that until their dc was walking without needing a buggy. I did end up having to buy a cheap umbrella fold for nursery run as they would only store buggies that folded in one piece, and I hated pushing it.

We very nearly bought a bugaboo after looking at it in depth at mothercare. After thinking about it we couldn't bring ourselves to buy one as I know what people would think of us if we did. I am a professional and work with many mothers that could afford numerous bugaboos if they wanted but not one has one! 3 wheelers, like baby jogger GT are more common. It is the science industry so not 'fashion' lead and maybe we just all like practicality over trendiness.

Bugaboos are good though and I was really tempted... Another buggy fitted the bill better though and just happened to be £400! Cheaper!

Oh my god, the day I could put my twins in a bashed up second hand maclaren was amazing. We could go on the tube and buses and everything. Awesome. I am a reverse snob, I find that people I know who've spent a fortune on a pram are also the ones who think the world is interested in every minute detail going on Facebook. Tedious and boring.

I have an uppababy vista which I love but unfortunately DS doesn't

Which of the bugaboo models is it that's really wide and has the basket next to the pram seat instead of under. Why why why would anyone WANT to make their pram wider. Surely it just makes navigating shops, doorways, narrow pavements more of a PITA??

I saw a girl the other day with an iCandy (not sure which fruit) yelling at her baby who was screaming that she 'can't fucking feed you til I get some money from somewhere'

Kafri, that's horrifying. How old was the baby.
My friends mil bought the bugaboo you describe. She didn't ask for it and my friend hates it :-( it's a really sought after colour too and she's finding buggy snobbery/envy is alive and well. Some rather nasty 'Kate Middleton' and money than sense comments.
She actually avoids using it alot, she can't even sell it
She bought it for her in early pregnancy when your still trying to even work everything out let alone thinking of prams.
When we go out I push hers and she takes mine.

While we are on this subject can I ask how you find doors? No one ever helps with doors do they? I always do with out fail. In the local shop they queue right by the door, yet no help, nor do they move so you can get by into the shop, because they are queuing!

I am actively avoiding buying a bugaboo because I think they're common. So there :o

What's the consensus on Stokke?

I have a 60 quid pushchair, it's fine. I live in a fairly affluent area (though I'm not affluent). My pushchair is noticeably shitter than everyone elses but I've never been judged on it. I've never judged anyone else either. It's a pushchair.

I have the Evo Graco. I absolutely adore it! I went to a giant mothercare when I was very pregnant and decided whichever travel system I could use easily while 8 months pregnant would be the one for me.

I never get the envious looks whilst walking around that icancy and bugaboo users get. That is, until they see me set it up or collapse it. I remember a woman looking down her nose and my lovely lovely Evo, as she tried to deconstruct her icandy. I walked 5 minutes up the road, got DD in the car, buggy down, in the car myself and drove past her while she was still struggling with it.

I really really try not to buy into the snobbery. Instead I just get extremely smug about how practical I am.

I am a self confessed pramaholic, but based more on design and practicality than on what people think of me (I really couldn't give a rats ass about that) I've had loads of different ones, currently a stokke owner as I love the look of it, love the high seat, love the easy pushing, and love the huge basket (its the crusi) I love that I don't need a highchair in cafes etc, and when she was smaller, eating out was always so easy as she never cried because she could always see everyone at the table because its so high up. I also love the fact that I can change the fabrics if I get bored of the colour and fancy a change, or there is a summer kit for really hot weather and a winter kit for really cold weather.
I also have the sheepskin liner which is lush and my baby always looks so comfy and cosy in there. Yes it was expensive, but I can afford it. Yes it's big folded but I have a big boot so its not a problem. The back wheels are fairly wide, but it still fits through a standard door.
I had a bugaboo for my second baby, which I liked but its so low down that I found with this baby she couldn't see me with the hood up, so she cried, and with the hood down the sun was in her eyes and she cried.

I don't judge other people's pushchairs (unless they are filthy dirty or unsuitable for the age of the baby, like that poor newborn I saw being pushed round town in an umberella type thing that didn't fully recline, poor baby was slumped sideways with its tiny precious head resting on the metal side of the pushchair screaming its head off, possibly because it couldn't see its mother, possibly because its head was hurting I don't know (or maybe it was just hungry or needing a nappy change, possibly nothing to do with the buggy). I know a lot of people can't afford expensive rear facing pushchairs but I would think that this woman with her hair extensions, 2" thick makeup and iPhone probably could afford something slightly more suitable, and anyway there are cheap umberella things that lie completely flat for tiny babies.