WIBU to insist on this pram?

[aliensprig]

I really, really want a Bugaboo Fox. In the reviews it ticks all the boxes for me: sturdy, lightweight, all-terrain, great storage and obviously pretty damn gorgeous!!

BUT DH doesn't think we should spend a grand on something we'll only use for about three years and wants us to get something second hand. He doesn't understand that there are literally billions of types out there, and some of the cheaper brands are cheap for a reason!

Also he won't ever be pushing the damn thing - I don't drive, and will be doing A LOT of walking with it. We live in a hilly town with some rural areas, so just buying something at random from the Argos catalogue isn't going to cut it. It needs to be light, easily folded, have good storage and be able to tackle mud, uneven ground, hills and busy streets.

WIBU to just buy the Fox regardless? We're not rich by any means, but we're not poor either, we can afford it. Plus I expect my parents will want to cover half the cost. Or should I compromise and get something cheaper like the baby jogger city mini? I don't like that it's forward facing only, but it's another all-terrain and my husband is more likely to agree on that one...

Our bugaboo frog was the mumsnet chicken of prams tbh

It was also amazing on sand (we live by the beach) and in muddy fields. It was worth every penny. Not so the beautiful Stokke cot (3 babies, probably got slept in for 12 nights total), we just ended up using it as a clothes rail.

I have an 18 month old and if I was doing it all again I wouldn't buy a big bulky travel system. It was okay while baby needed a pram but at six months its size, weight and awkwardness on public transport really started to get to me and I bought a light, one hand fold stroller. So much handier and really good on country roads, beach, shopping and the bus!

Bugaboo does seem to last quite well, I know a few that have been passed around a lot and are still going strong. I wouldn't pay £1000 for a new one, but second hand they are much more reasonable and generally good condition.

YANBU

I had really expensive travel systems, best money I"ve ever spent!
I have been on the beach, in woods, on the sand, in the snow with mine, went jogging, basically absolutely everywhere.
I could turn the baby around so no sun in the eyes, or away from the wind. The handle bar could go up and down, saved my back.

I borrowed a few buggies from friends on holiday, they were just about ok in a shopping mall, but a nightmare anywhere else. Even climbing pavements and steps were a breeze with mine.

Don't go for shiny and trendy, but absolutely not BU to get the most practical and adapted to your daily use. Do compare a few, but some of the expensive ones are expensive for a reason, they are brilliant.

YANBU - have what you really want if you can afford it.

I had a Bugaboo for DS4 and it was the best pram I even used (and I had LOTS of prams and buggies as I would sell on and get new ones regularly). DS4 LOVED it and slept like, er, well a baby in it! I'd put him to sleep in the carry cot early evening and take him up to bed with me later and he never stirred. He was hands down my best sleeper and I think the Bugaboo contributed to this.

I sold it after 2 years for almost what I paid for it to a lovely couple who were having their first baby. It was in perfect condition with almost no wear to the wheels. They were amazed. It brought me great joy and was such a pleasure to use.

Go on, go on, go on!

We live rurally and my son hasn’t used a buggy at all since he turned 2. So I wouldn’t bank on using it until baby is 3. We found an ergo sling was more useful as most of what we do involves beach paths that a buggy can’t get down, so it depends on what kind of rural you mean.

That said we had a second hand chameleon til he was one in London and it was brilliant. Loved it. But rurally I think you might need something better for mud and stones.

Could you compromise on a second hand chameleon?

Have just googled the bugaboo fox - it looks really similar to silver cross pioneer - which we had and have been so pleased with - which is also £200 ish cheaper.

Can’t recommend the pioneer enoUgh. It’s quite wide for public transport but does do off road quite well, the massive basket is brill, still looks great 2+ years on with almost constant use, comfy to push. One of our best baby purchases. Keeping it hoping for a second DC and I bet will sill be able to sell it on after.

On a separate note : how rural are you? We live quite rurally and I learned to drive while pregnant. I’m SO glad I did. Would have felt quite isolated and stuck otherwise. Then again our bus service is absolutely crap, yours may be better!

Also second getting a sling! Did loooooooads of country walks with ours, it was a great buy.

Good luck!

to add: you can use a bugaboo for 3-4 years, they are not just for babies, the price is absolutely justified.

Get it if you want it! However I would say looking at it, it's probably not really all terrain. As PP has said they sometimes advertise as all terrain and they mean, can go on grass and pavement, not up woody hills. I say this as someone who has an £850 piece of crap sitting in my loft. Ignore brands and research actual all terrain pushchairs. You would be better getting recommendations from here as they are more trustworthy than the "reviews".

My friend brought a second hand bugaboo and ordered replacement parts from bugaboo so she ended up with a practically new pram for half the cost. Guess that is an option if you are really set on it.

Had a Bugaboo Bee and loved it. Gave it away for free to a struggling family who then used it for two kids.

Pregnant again years later and have bought a £129 Hauck runner from Amazon. Will use that and a sling. Can’t believe I spent nearly a grand on a pram before, am sure the money would’ve been better off growing in DD’s child trust fund.

And yes YABU if you buy it anyway. If you share finances it should be a joint decision, and your DH is right - spending £1000 on a pram is excessive. I know that now!

I'm just picking myself up off the floor at the idea of spending ££££ on a pram unless you intend to have lots of children.

I had one passed on to me from my sister, and I think she got it second hand. I just bought a new mattress for it.

buy a second hand fox, or a chameleon, they're not too different and it would tick all your boxes and be considerably cheaper.

You wont use it for 3 years, you'll get sick of it or your child will be too big by 1.5 (looking at you DS!) and you'll buy a £100 buggy and have done with it, honestly.

I spent about £400 on a new pram and I STILL regret it and ds is 3.5!

I spent close to 1k on a pram I liked. No regrets. My daughter hated being in the pram but now she's a toddler it's great because she gets tired walking easily and it faces towards me and away from me, to fit whatever mood she is in. When she was tiny, she would only sleep in the pram so I was walking easily 10km each day whilst she napped. And I'm not going to lie, it's nice to do that in a nice pram that I like. A lot of second hand ones are quite shabby looking. They are fine if you are on a budget, but if you have the cash, why not?

Ahh see even as I wrote this someone recommended the silver cross pioneer which is my pram I hate. Wheels catch on every bloody tree root, can't get to the basket when the carry cot is on. One mans trash is another mans treasure! I'm only going to reuse it for the next baby for the carry cot then it is going.

Get out and properly test a few.

It depends how much £1000 is to you.

But I agree with PP, the tone of your post, particularly the Argos remark, suggests this is more about you having the right status symbol than the pram being the most functional.

Don't start using you child for your own ego already.

Personally I would never spend a grand on a pram. That's because after the first year you will find yourself wanting a stroller for everyday use as they get bigger and heavier you find the strollers are better for leg length. Having said this I would never buy second hand pram or car seat. It was suggested to me by mil when having my son but I hate the idea of no guarantee. It was a good job I didn't as the wheel came off pram at 2 weeks old and it meant they replaced the pram. Had I bought second hand maybe it wouldn't have came off but if it had I would of needed to buy another.

Use the £1000 to learn to drive.

I had a bugaboo. It was so bad I had to replace it with a silver cross. It’s definitely not worth ‘saving’ money on a pram, cheap prams are a false economy. But see if anyone you know will let you try out their with their child for half an hour so you can see if it is good for you. Also see if you can find good condition second hand.

If you have the money, then go for it, if you think it's going to do everything you want it to do. You could probably sell it after and probably get a fairly good price for it.

I personally wouldn't spend that much; I did a lot of research and found that the baby jogger city mini was best for us: lays flat for a small baby (just needs a comfy insert) no fiddly bits to faff around with trying to get it up and down, and three years on it works just as well as it did on day one, no regrets. My DS wasn't bothered about it being forward facing; if anything, I think he benefitted from it.

My mum bought a beautiful purple silver cross travel system when I was pregnant with dc1. He hated it. Dc2 hated it.

Dc1 was in a sling until 19 months (walked at 17 months) when dc2 was born and then had a hip seat so I could carry dc2 in a sling. Dc2 is now 14 months and still in a sling while dc1 walks everywhere. We do sometimes take the pushchair for days out but it ends up more as a trolley to push all of our stuff around in. Sometimes dc1 will want to go in, but only if he wants to eat and only if it's parent facing (or if DH forgot his shoes).

Don't buy it until baby is here. When they're so tiny they want to be close to you anyway so the majority of them will be calm and relaxed in a sling while you get extra cuddles with them. Then when they're a bit more alert you can go to a pram shop and start popping them in different makes to see if they will be happy.

I spent £500 on my Bugaboo Bee, it’s lasted 7 years.

You’ve had a lot of no’s but the bugaboo is fab and has some really useful functions that my friends’ buggies don’t have. It’s in great condition for my second and I used it for my toddler instead of getting a stroller as it was much nicer to push instead of a maclaren. Basically I have no regrets and would have done exactly the same again.

Get the one you want. Expensive prams retain their value better so you can sell it on when you're finished with it and you'll recoup some of the money anyway.

I got a Bugaboo Buffalo and I loved it, and never regretted the money spent on it even though it was a ridiculous price. I was so smooth to push that even though it was heavy it seemed to glide along by itself.
If I was going to have another child I would definitely be looking at the Fox too, so if you can afford it, go for it...