To wish I’d bought an expensive pram?

[pramenvy20]

Before I had my baby I looked at the price of prams and thought how silly it was to spend that amount, and I bought a second hand one.

I regret it now so much. I saw a woman yesterday just park, get the frame from the boot and attach her car seat to it without disturbing her baby. No fuss or faff!

Mine is fine so I’ll probably vote that I am BU because I am ... but I wish I’d bought a really lovely pram!

I should have bought *

We spent a crazy amount on ours - well my parents did. it was £1400 full price excluding the car seat which was another £250 (iCandy all terrain plus foot muff and Nuna car seat). We got 20% off but it was still an awful lot of money.
But it has been absolutely brilliant. We still use it every day at 18 months and it's been super tough which we need for where we live. It is easy to use and fitted in both cars which was vital.

But we cut corners on some other things like nursery furniture which I'd have done differently if I had my time again. And due to Covid I didn't get anything like enough use out of my expensive baby carrier as we could only go out once a day and mainly used the pram. So that was money wasted really.

So I think it is normal to have a bit of buyers remorse - regardless of what it is. We can't get everything right all the time :)

@isadorapolly

Oh here we go, here comes the competitive underspending always the way on mumsnet.

Yup!!! I’m very pleased with my bugaboo Fox 2. Pricey? Yes. Do I regret it? No. I’m sure people won’t believe that though. There may be others that tick similar boxes to the Fox 2 but I’m not sorry to be happy with my purchase.

Love the comment about being at baby group and being green with envy or the prams of others.

I think this is a thing.

It’s a time when lots of women meet new people. It might be the NCT or the local baby group or an NHS class and people don’t know each other and the most visual thing is the pram. It matters to lots of people and they feel judged for their pram and that it speaks volumes about them. There’s that and then there’s the changing bag....another thing for people to fret about and what signal it sends out about them.

It’s a whole new world. Some people might be using formula and some somehow seem to have some kind of fancy organic 3x the price one that their little one MUST have. You can have a basic changing mat or the expensive branded one with little pockets. I’ve already mentioned the changing bag - people easily spend £200 on these....often seems to be a gift from work when people are in high paid jobs. Some people will have the expensive breast pump or the expensive fancy muslins, a bottle warmer, everything can be eco and fair trade and of course organic. And then I suppose there is the new car to accommodate the pram system, and there’s the sheepskin for the pram liner.......it all matters to some people. It’s a whole new world of branding to get excited about.

You and your baby will be better off without the car seat attachment , they are not good for anyone . I understand your feelings OP because I had a hankering for a nice pram when I had my first child. I couldn't afford a new one so kept looking for second hand ( many years before the internet) but never found one suitable. Of course DD came to no harm and I could hardly justify a new pram for DC 2 and 3 knowing that we hadn't really needed anything special the first time and of course that our initial puchchair was still in acceptable working order.Don't forget that they are tiny for a very short time and many people end up with a cheap and cheerful buggy for the back of the car by the age of one. Baby hood can be a cheap time actually ( apart obvs for child care) which is lucky as there at we so many things to spend your money on as they get older. Don't give it another thought.

Oh now the changing bag ... I ordered an expensive one when DD was a couple of weeks old! I caved!

To be honest I wish I hadn’t been as stingy.

I spent 1200 on a full fancy travel system as I got swept up in the new baby excitement at the baby show! and I massively regret it. They get scratched and don't hold their value. I'd only ever buy a second hand pram now! Lesson learnt! X

I must admit to a phase of having perhaps 10 baby catalogues arriving every 2 or 3 months.

I loved poring over the John Lewis baby catalogue and the JoJo Maman Bebe catalogue and finding out about products I’d never heard of before. I could lust after weaning gear before I got to that phase, or potty training equipment, and my Mum would laugh when I mentioned things I might get or the prices if some of the things.

I’m trying to clear out some baby stuff. No one wants it- even thought it’s good quality toys, some hardly played with.

The baby stage is not forever. The less accumulate the better :)

I was lent car seat adapters but don't think I ever put either of my babies in a car seat on the pram frame

I preferred to leave them in the pram to lie flat esp when going out on a long trip eg shopping & then lunch

Ahhh maternity leave memories!

I bought a 'designer' pram/pushchair but got it second hand on eBay not cheap but had literally everything and has lasted several years & a number of flights abroad!

I couldn't justify the cost of an expensive pram brand new. So I bought it second hand and got a new mattress for the carrycot.

I got a £1300 pram for £160.

OP honestly - prams are much of a muchness, don’t feel bad! I totally get the feeling of wishing you’d splashed out, but if the pram works well enough for you, does the job, it’s fine. More expensive Prams (like bugaboo) are made with far better materials and components, and last for donkeys years, so they’re worth the investment if you are going to reuse it over multiple children. But that doesn’t apply to all expensive systems by any stretch - so you could have spent out the £1200, and be posting absolutely furious that you spent £1000 more than needed!

I had over 50 prams with my first! I hated our pram with a passion, so bought one second hand, then that didn’t quite suit, so bought something else, that didn’t work for us, and on it went. I always got my money back so was never out of pocket - but over 50 pushchairs and never was one “perfect”. (My Britax smile perhaps came closest). Some of the most expensive prams I had were the worst (silver cross as the main example, but the Cybex Priam was insanely heavy)

I am having baby 2 in a weeks time, and have bought a second hand bugaboo chameleon 3, which I got for £65. It is in mint condition, I’ve cleaned all the covers and serviced the chassis.

I’m don’t expect to use the bugaboo all the time after baby is 6 months. For winter we have a mountain buggy urban jungle (lots of outdoor walks here and we cover miles every day generally as only 1 car) also have a Britax b motion to leave in the car.

You’re absolutely right about the car seat - never ever buy second hand. You’re also right that baby shouldn’t be in the car seat too long, it really should just be for quick trips they go on the pram.

But try not to feel bad. If you really want something else, you can see if you can sell yours on and buy something you like second hand (eBay will give you best price, Facebook for buying!) there are lots of pramaholic groups on Facebook where you can pick up a decent second hand pram. It’s also worth seeing if anyone in your area is open to a swap (just be aware if you’re swapping for a more expensive system, you may need to put cash toward the swap too - be very careful with what you’re buying and fully inspect it etc)

Also if you do choose to sell yours on and buy second hand - only ever buy and sell using PayPal goods and services, only ever ship to the address on the buyers paypal. Don’t allow them to pay G&S then collect (they can claim not received).

RE the car seat, you could look at moving baby in a birth-4 rear facing seat if funds allow. Or your existing seat may fit to a new chassis with adapters as PP have said.

I'm almost the opposite - we spent about £650 on a very smart pram that looks fantastic, has all terrain wheels etc etc and due to lockdown and the fact that the little one loves being in the sling/carrier, we've barely used it! Now I wish we'd just gone second hand... :)

Wow flappity.did you really have 50 prams? Surely that was one per week or similar?? How much did you spend in total? I assume you were buying and selling secondhand all the time. How many at one time and where did you keep them all?

Surely a significant exaggeration?

You must be the expert.

Ours was bought by my parents, it was the Ocarro system by Mama’s and Papa’s although we would have paid out for it if they hadn’t bought it. I think a pram system that’s as easy to use as possible is more important than most other baby stuff.

What make is your current one? Could you sell it and get another? It would be an investment if you plan on any other children?

YANBU I paid £300 for ours many years back from mother care, came with car seat etc but it was heavy, difficult to steer and had very limited suspension. I'd meet friends for walks and my baby would be rattling around whilst theirs looked considerably more comfortable (and god help me if we had to go over grass!) It saw me through 2 babies but looking back I wish I'd made my life easier by getting a second hand better quality one.

I guess my point is that I have complete sympathy for you questioning the decisions you made pre-baby! Pre-baby me didn't really have a clue and so was doing the best she could on limited information...

Is this thing about feeling bad, the idea that the new baby deserves the very very best and most expensive of everything?

I think there’s a natural leaning to feel a bit like this, and then to feel somehow you’ve let baby down if they have a cheaper version or secondhand. But, we all know that is daft right. It’s consumerism gone mad and consumerism which has totally taken hold of us.

Not much mention of green issues on this thread. How many people feel pulled towards the brand new and lots of it, but also feel it’s not really right for the environment? Which wins out? Or is it a few reusable carrier bags and that assuages the conscience? Think how many prams there are in landfill? Surely most could serve at least 2 families and many could serve more. But if it’s all about the latest fabric and no-one wants to be seen with a pram from 10 years ago, even bough it’s perfectly decent, well we are in the realms of disposable prams.

Hmm this thread is really interesting (have only read first page but will read the rest) as someone who is waiting for shops to open so I can test out prams before buying.

I'm happy to spend a significant amount on a decent pram, we have the budget and the means for it. I'm talking up to 1K. But if I don't have to spend almost a grand, I won't.

I think I know what you mean I would have loved a baby wearing coat, so a lovely breathable waterproof coat that fit both me and my baby inside for walking on the beach etc, they're about £200 which I couldn't justify at the time but always wanted one. I still want one now, but I made do by keeping my regular coat open and buying a £20 cover for the baby.

I should have just treated myself, I'd have found the money but I'm too tight so didn't.

wombat I fully expected to feel like that. I expected to feel that second hand was just fine thank you and how awful to cause problems for the environment, how wasteful, and so many people who couldn’t afford it bought expensive prams and got into debt - not me, I was too smart for that con!

Hmph. I cried after we brought DD back from the hospital because I hadn’t bought her a ‘going home outfit’ and I cried because I hadn’t got her a special outfit to wear on Christmas Day or cards to put next to her when she rolled or smiled or sat up for the first time ...

I know, I’m a twat. What’s happened to me!

I voted YABU because the issue is about choosing a pram that maybe wasn't right for you, not the amount of money spent.

I've got one new pram and one second hand smaller folding pram that's mainly used for when grandparents are doing childcare. Both are good makes, would be reaonsably expensive for RRP, and that do everything I need them to do. One was bought second hand for a small amount and the other was bought new during a baby event when I was pregnant.

If you're finding your current pram isn't working for you then lots of prams are for sale second hand, including 'higher end' ones.

You mentioned your baby liking stretchy wraps, but you find them a pain at times. Have you looked at something like a K'tan or a Close Caboo? Some people find them a bit easier to get on with as they don't have really long tails.

I was exactly like you op, so I bought a second hand one on ebay. You can get some real bargains, there is absolutely no need to spend 1k plus, unless you want to!

Oh, I want to.

I can’t AFFORD to, but I WANT to!