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 get what you mean, with DD1 finances were tight so I found a secondhand Bugaboo Bee cheaply. It's a great pram and perfect for a city, but it's showing its age and I've definitely got the mileage out of it. DD2 is due this summer and as I'm now in a better paying job I'm thinking I'll sell the old one and upgrade to a newer model - I know how much use I'm likely to get out of it, and given that I'll be using it on a daily basis I want to have something nice that doesn't have wonky wheels!

Oh, do it mother! I bet you feel great having got a better paying job!

YANBU - I think until you have a baby, it's hard to understand what it's worth spending money on! We had a second hand Bugaboo Bee which was amazing, but it broke after a year and as it was so old, we couldn't replace the parts and bought another secondhand one. I wish we'd just bought a brand new one in the first place! Between my 2 dd, we used it on and off for 5 years. On mat leave and days off from work, I used it every day. A good buggy is a pleasure and makes everyone's lives easier.

100% nbu when dd8 was born i brought a cheap one but it broke easily. I ended up buying a icandy which has lasted 3 kids and still could do a few more i think!

Depends what you can afford? If 1200 is out of your price range then YABU, it isn't worth missing out on other things. I bought buggies for both mine. They are much easier when they are out of the baby car seat anyway. You could 'splash out' on a nice buggy instead perhaps.

I know what you mean OP. You've got pram envy. When I had my much wanted dc part of me wanted to buy a really expensive pram (was so excited) and as I was working at the time I could have easily afforded to. But when I looked at the prices I just couldn't justify spending ridiculous amounts of money on a pram/travel system that would probably have been used for about a year or so. I decided to go for a mid range travel system (from Mothercare) and three years on I am so glad I did. Its better to save the money for when you actually need it ( like taking your dc private when NHS tries to fob you off) than splurging it on an expensive pram which you won't be using for long.

Could you sell your current pram for around what you bought it for and buy a different one second hand? There's often bargains on Facebook Marketplace.

I got a Cosatto Giggle 2 with the changing bag, rain covers etc in great condition for £80. When I saw how much they were new I couldn't believe it, same as a whole months rent! I can't understand why prams are so expensive

I have a travel system and have not once clipped the car seat to the pram. I don't know if that's a lock down thing given we haven't been anywhere much. When we could go out more last summer we would take the bassinet and frame in the car. More recently we have barely put the pram in the car at all... take the sling a lot as cba with the admin. Maybe we should be taking just the frame? I can't see it would save any hassle at all really. After 8 months and in prep for a more exciting summer this year, we are now looking into strollers / a YoYo for travel anyway. I wouldn't waste your energy on this much more! Why don't you get a fairly upmarket stroller to make up for it, you'll get more use out of it anyway and it won't be as crazy expensive as the travel system.

Also... given I'd like to have 2 or more kids, I immediately realised after buying our expensive pram that it (hopefully) won't even be useful when we do have another babe. I felt quite stupid for spending so much on something that I only hope to use for about 2 years.

Because I'll want a double I mean! (I assume)

I had a fancy pram for my first with all the bells and whistles, but by the time he could sit up I'd switched to a cheap Mothercare buggy because it was so much easier to chuck in the boot!

People who are saying it’s silly to buy a Silver cross or similar because baby won’t lay down forever- you are aware they have a seat attachment from 6 months + yes?

@pramenvy20 I think I will - there's so little else we need to get for DD2, and the Bee5 is about £400 new as the Bee6 has just come out. DD1's buggy got used every day and we were still using it for long days up until she was 4, so it'll be worth it!

The trouble with expensive prams is all the other shit is expensive too. I have an iCandy that I adore but I’m expecting DC2 with a smallish gap and all the stuff I need to convert it to a double will cost more than the £200 your whole pram cost. Even the footmuff was expensive. And believe me nothing about it makes me look elegant!

I love our £180 travel system, I ended up having an almost 10lb baby so I'm going to have to get a big buggy at some point as he'll be too heavy for it. Maybe get a fancy second-hand stroller for when they're bigger.

Brennan they probably think people are talking about the retro coach built ones.

@breadbinbaby what icandy model is it? I have a second seat for the orange you can have with the adaptors to make the pram a double.
Message me if you’re interested.

I feel the op’s pain. We settled for a cheaper travel system recommended by a friend. Car seat was a bit rubbish, pram conked out after 9 months. Now on our third buggy (all second hand gifts from friends and good brands but fail after so much wear and tear) I’m jealous of those posh grey push chairs with wooden looking handles and matching changing bags. Not that DS cares!

Buy second hand. We bought a few versions old bugaboo for 75, most seats can use adaptors to sit on them.

I remember being pregnant and the other ladies I'd met were boasting about how cheap their prams were and how much of a bargain they'd all got. My parents insisted on buying our travel system (total came to £1500) and I absolutely adore it- despite initially considering something cheaper.
My system is the only one still in excellent condition and will be used with baby 2 (as a double then back to a single) in the summer whereas my mum friends have all chucked their cheaper travel systems and are now buying other ones because they haven't lasted at all.

I should also add that my travel system is currently on eBay second hand for prices between £350 and £600 second hand. It's definitely worth the investment in both my experience and opinion.

@WombatChocolate at one point I had 7 in my conservatory 🙈 my DH was very very patient 😬

Sometimes I’d forget I’d had one and would rebuy it second hand, then remember why I hated it. It pissed me off no end that a perfect pram didn’t exist! I also got to use all the prams we had in work (I work in the baby product industry), think that was about 7 I could use as and when I wanted (fancied a change!)

It was a tad ridiculous looking back 😂 I do love my pushchairs haha!

Flappity, well I think you get the prize for most pushchairs....50 across your children is an awful lot!

Up you should set up a pushchair advice service.

I bet that already exists somewhere in London.

I think you can do both. I chose the pushchair I wanted then waited to find it second hand at a good price. Paid 90 quid for a 1000 quid set. Grandparents had bought it for when they had their grandkids and it had barely been used. I had to buy a new car seat but it was the matching one so fits straight onto the frame. We won't use it on the frame much at all though because it feels unsafe to me so we really didn't need that feature, I just like the brand.

Not necessarily expensive, but a good design that fits what you need it for is a must.

We paid £400 for our travel system - lasted 5 years, two kids and went all over Europe, in and out of cars, playgrounds, planes, trains etc Cost per use? Less than a penny? 0.1 of 1p? Absolutely worth it. (It was an Uppababy Cruz in 2014, they are £700 now!)