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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that prams have got out of hand?

198 replies

Pandora2016 · 31/03/2016 18:06

I'm current up duffed with my first, so will need to buy a pram.

I naively thought it wasn't much more than a small bed/chair on wheels business.

No. They are now called 'travel systems' and can cost almost as much as our car.

What fresh hell is this and how the bloody hell do you choose one??? Babies don't vary that much surely??

Thinking that a lot of this is sales spin......

OP posts:
NeedACleverNN · 01/04/2016 08:28

We use the hood on my out and about for my toddler as it has a metal bar just under it to support her weight. If I sit her on the foot plate, ds just kicks her in the back

GrandmaJosephine · 01/04/2016 09:49

Another thing to think about is the size of your house. My friend had a bugaboo chameleon which barely fit in her/our hall (small terraces). When baby is young it's a faff to keep folding them down.

With baby 2 I got a mcclaren from birth partly for that reason. Our bugaboo bee though was given to my sister who didn't mind it clogging her hall and it is 6 years old and still just about going (sister walks a lot).

Girliefriendlikesflowers · 01/04/2016 09:58

I panic bought a pram when I had dd, she was early and I been working full time up till the point I went into hospital! It was a complete waste of money and a complete PITA to put up or down.

I then got a MacClaren and never looked back, was very easy, practical and you could hand the shopping on the handles Wink dd loved it as well and it lasted until she was 4yo!

BikeRunSki · 01/04/2016 10:21

If you are likley to use public transport a lot, then look at the Baby Jogger City Mini. Folds do quickly and easily, even the grumpiest bus driver had been known to raise s smile. I used mine with a Phil and Ted's Cocoon for DD's first few months.

DrCoconut · 01/04/2016 11:24

I decided I would buy a sling......I have just bought a storage unit for my stash Grin I use our silver cross sleepover pram too but I love the convenience of going hands free and being able to do stairs or small spaces! It's a personal thing and depends on your preference and lifestyle.

FinallyFreeFromitAll · 01/04/2016 11:41

OP you can buy a lie flat one for as little as £25 (might even have been £20), in the aldi baby event. Its very basic but is fine if you don't have the money for the more expensive ones or want a spare/one for grandparents.

If you want all singing, all dancing without the designer price tag, of things like the icandy, bugaboo, etc, then you need a Mamas and Papas Sola (or they now do one called the armadillo? aswell). Its circa £300, can be a travel system to put car seat onto. The seat is fully lie flat, so you don't need to waste money on an additional carrycot either. I also found it was better to stear and push than the designer ones (have spinal issues that make many too difficult for me). Also they come in normal, practical colours and although they do have a pattern inside the hood both of my DC have loved looking at it. I seriously love my Sola and highly recommend them.

grannytomine · 01/04/2016 11:43

I think my Marmet navy blue pram was £25 in 1975. It had a tray underneath for the shopping and I could put a seat on it for the toddler. It was beautiful and I wish I had the room to keep it.

I had a white broderie anglaise sun shade for sunny days, 1975 was a lovely summer so it got lots of use.

I didn't have a car and you couldn't take it on the bus so walked everywhere, when he was a bit bigger I had a Mothercare pushchair that cost £4 and folded down so you could go on the bus.

Happy days.

ProfessorPickles · 01/04/2016 11:50

I had the silver cross wayfarer and can't recommend it more, I love the way it looks and it was lovely to push! Never had any problems with it.
I'd buy another if I have more children in future

BertieBotts · 01/04/2016 11:51

OMG, that techno self folding buggy is great! I think DH would instantly want it. I don't think the seat looks very cosy though and there is no bumper bar which I like them to have when facing forward.

MrsKoala · 01/04/2016 12:08

If you are tall you also have to think about how high the handles go up and how comfortable you are going to feel pushing it for hours. Both me and dh are tall so went for the highest one (which is i suppose why they call it the vista - the boys get a really good view of what's going on - they hated the mountain buggy duet because it was so low to the ground and they could only fit in it sitting sideway with their legs dragging on the floor - shoes got ruined - and arms hanging out and whacking into people/doorways etc - big parents make big children!).

We bought a cheap umbrella buggy for a holiday once and it was such a mistake. It wasn't comfy and didn't recline far so ds1 wouldn't ever sleep in it, meaning a ratty grizzly toddler all day. The handles were low so dh just couldn't push it without hurting his back. Which meant i had to, but still got a sore back and it was such a heavy effort to push in the heat.There was no room for the necessary child stuff you would need for a whole day out so dh was carrying a hold all too. It really made that holiday shit. Everyone else at the airport had just brought their travel systems. Which is what we will do from now on.

TheOddity · 01/04/2016 12:15

YADNBU! Prams are like birth plans; something to keep you occupied in late pregnancy. I guarantee you'll own a McClaren umbrella style within a year and never look back! Put my two month old in it this morning to do school run (laid completely flat with a foot muff), absolutely fine. Most of time I use a sling, as I've yet to have a baby that doesn't cry in a pram.

weeonion · 01/04/2016 12:35

OP - how do you pick???

Someone I know searched to find the most expensive option available, did a further search for any options for designer fabrics and went for that. she said it cost £4000 altogether.

This is the same person who thinks anything 2nd hand for kids / babies is akin to child abuse.

I guess it takes all sorts........

Autumn2014 · 01/04/2016 12:41

My advice is to go to a family friendly location like a shopping centre, park, zoo, or theme park and sir on a bench and people watch. You'll soon spot a pattern of common designs and brands, the age of babies and children in them etc. For example most people start off with the big travel system but by the time the child is 2 they are in an umbrella fold buggy.
Best buggy website is also a great website for independent reviews.

NerrSnerr · 01/04/2016 12:42

I have an 18 month old and go to baby groups with toddlers of a similar age and I don't know anyone who has McLaren. We all use a mixture of travel systems or the Jolie (is that how is spelled?) buggy that was on offer recently.

Everyone is different. Our travel system was worth it's money (£300 in the sale) and has been used pretty much every day for 18 months. We have a cheap buggy for the car.

Klaptrap · 01/04/2016 14:32

I may be a mug, but I enjoyed shopping for our perambulator.

I did a lot of research, read numerous reviews, then looked at my shortlist of models in the shops... we ended up with an iCandy All Terrain. Not cheap, but it does exactly what we wanted and ticked all of the boxes for us.

I haven't actually started using it yet, as our PFB doesn't arrive until June!

AugustaFinkNottle · 01/04/2016 14:36

Back in the dark ages I had a pram with a detachable carry cot, and an extremely cheap umbrella fold pushchair. Total cost for both of them around £50. It would have positively hurt me to faff around with "travel systems".

OP, charity shops and EBay are your friends.

MrsKoala · 01/04/2016 18:35

I don't understand why travel systems are a faff. It's not like a swiss army knife where you have all the attachments with you constantly. The basinet is used while baby is 0-6months, the seat is used 6mo - well, 3.7 years so far. and the car seat just slots in when you go on a car trip.

I know people who ended up buying so many buggies that were all shit and nor suited to their needs that they ended up spending more than they would have if they had just bought a more expensive one. I don't know anyone with a Maclaren.

fragsjones · 02/04/2016 17:06

I have had 6 at one point, not all new - many off relatives and some because I'm plainly addicted like blokes and cars ;)

I have less now. Expecting Baby no.4 and I have a project Silvercross Balmoral that has a 40 inch body so huge but not the largest vintage style pram out there...I only use this for walks locally as the wheel are fantastic for all terrains and the ride for the child is amazing and comfy - my toddler climbs into it just to sit and play with her toys! lol!
I have others for different needs and also because I like to clean up and renovate any pram given the chance!

DinosaursRoar · 02/04/2016 17:50

Agree that this "everyone has a Maclaren" mindset does seem to be people who live in flat places with smooth pavements and walk less than a mile a day... They are hideous to push, take real effort to push one handed, tip over backwards if your toddler gets out to walk and you've hung anything on the handles, and seem very pricey for what they are. They do fold small very easily, and take up very little storage space, which pretty much all they have going for them.

DinosaursRoar · 02/04/2016 17:53

MrsKoala - agreed again with you, they seem less faff to me, if you do'nt have a travel system, if you just pop somewhere in the car for half an hour, you have to transfer your baby out of the carseat or lug it about (car seats are heavy, even before they have a chubby baby in them), if you have a travel system, you just take the frame and click the car seat in.

dairymilkmonster · 02/04/2016 21:00

Generally agree...but...we got a bugaboo bee after much consideration - well, it was a gift from parents - used it daily til ds1 was 3ish and went to preschool. Now use daily for ds2. It is small, light and nippy. Love it. If we couldn't have afforded it i would have got a maclaren you can use from birth. Avoid big carrycots as they don't get much use.

WhoKnowsWhereTheT1meGoes · 02/04/2016 21:10

I loved my Maclaren for DC1, but I do live somewhere very flat with good pavements and agree you couldn't push it one handed but I never really needed to. Plenty of room for shopping in the basket and I found it very easy to push (certainly more than a mile was not a problem).

hookiewookie29 · 03/04/2016 00:10

I bought a lie back pushchair that was suitable from birth and a seperate car seat. Both items together were about £150. The pushchair lasted until DD grew out of it then I used it for child number two.
I hate seeing tiny babies all scrunched up in car seats/travel systems and would much rather take them out of it and lie them down in a pushchair or pram.

Mamachim · 03/04/2016 00:19

Also been a bugbear of mine. Mainly because I felt bad we were on a really tight budget but bought an albeit fairly bulky silvercross travel system including crib, car seat and pram & it's been brill. I'm sure there are things out there that would be a bit newer or bit quicker to pack away but at 18 months dd hasn't noticed the difference! Whereas the savings to us have made much more relaxed parents 😄 don't let the choice overwhelm you....

Mamachim · 03/04/2016 00:19

Oh second hand all £20 I should have said!