Sharing baby purchases we regret, like our nuna pushchair

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I absolutely regret buying our nuna mixx next pushchair. I wish I could go back in time and pick a better pushchair. I'm convinced that almost any other pushchair is better. We've since bought another pushchair that's miles better, and shows exactly how bad the nuna is.

Theres no returning it so ive got to just live with how dysfunctional this nuna pushchair is. Now when I go to John Lewis I urge anyone I see looking at a nuna pushchair not to buy it.

So this is my digital version of that.

Below is a long account of why I dislike our pushchair so very much. Please read it if you're thinking of getting one. If not then feel free to skip and just share your baby buying regrets.

Reasons why I dislike my pushchair:

1. You can only adjust the straps behind the child, instead of being able to make adjustments to the straps while they're on the child like any normal, not brain dead pushchair design.

This means you have to take the child out of the pushchair anytime you want to make the straps looser or tighter, then put them back in and then if you didn't make the right adjustments the first time round you go through the whole process again.

And the reason you need to adjust so much? Because the straps get a lot tighter when you move the chair from upright to a more flat position (ie for a nap). So anytime your baby wants to nap you've got to go through this whole malarkey. Once you're through, baby is probably not nice and sleepy anymore.

1. The footrest is comically useless. It's so flimsy, it doesn't stay in a horizontal position (for naps for instance). It's also a lot shorter than many other pushchair footrests. Our 7 month old has almost outgrown it.

1. The nuna pushchair looks nice and well made but ours creaks and seems to veer all over the place. It corners really badly.

1. You cant use the nuna raincover on the pushchair if the chair is in any other position except upright. It's been a rainy few weeks and ive felt chained to the house because I can't do something as simple as recline the seat with the raincover on. I'm biting the bullet and ordering a universal cover from amazon - but really, the actual nuna cover should fit.

A baby bouncer. Just your standard Mamas & Papas bouncer, but my LO doesn’t like it at all and has never sat in it longer than 5 mins 😂😕 I also got a Freerider sling which I thought we’d absolutely love, but upon receiving it, it was just far too fiddly and complicated to tie it right, and baby doesn’t seem to enjoy the hassle of getting him in it!

Dribble bibs - kids never went through a dribbly stage, so they went to the charity shop.

Chicco folding feeding chair, that straps into a normal chair - we didn't really eat out in restaurants, and it seemed high and precarious compared to the ikea high chair, and tiny.

A stretch wrap and a sling when the stretch wrap didn't work - too hot with the former, baby was too heavy for the latter.

Baby bath towels - too small anyway.

Baby bath seats - found these really annoying as it's difficult to reach their bums to wash (much preferred a giant baby shaped sponge from boots for them to lie on in the bath)

Baby walker - too flimsy and wheels spin too fast in both directions. Essentially, if toddler can walk, theyll be fine but learning to walk putting any weight on it means it spins out in any direction.

The Snoo!

I got it second hand, so luckily didn't pay full price... But my baby HATES having her legs restricted or swaddled up (she had them pushing straight out even in the womb), so we haven't been able to use it once 🙄

And now she's too big for it... So it was a totally useless purchase

I'm still irrationally angry about my bugaboo runner. We had a plastic bit snap and I emailed because I couldn't see a replacement on the site. No, you have to buy a brand new ENTIRE CHASSIS for HUNDREDS OF POUNDS only you can't because we don't make them anymore so no spare parts. Call me unreasonable but I expect a pushchair that costs near on £1000 new and goes up to age 5 to be fixable when it's less than 5 years old.

bumbo 😡 , They were like gold dust back in 2010 . both my kids hated it .

It's so subjective. I have friends who rave about stuff I think was pointless crap and vice versa.

Moses basket was a waste of money. I knew it was at the time tbh but my husband really wanted one. Baby hated it and never slept in there, we hardly used it.

I managed to resist buying those expensive but gorgeous animal-shaped bamboo plates. That was worthwhile, we use old Gu pots which are brilliant for weaning! And now old china plates.

Baby bundler nighties for 12mo. Baby was walking by then so they were impractical and weren't a help for nighttime nappy changes because we didn't need to do any by then.

Expensive organic dungarees which do not have poppers between the legs.

Snot sucker. Didn't work.

Kindle, for me to read in the dark whilst breastfeeding. I just read rubbish on Mumsnet on my phone instead.

Get it on FB Marketplace/eBay/Gumtree I’m sure someone will take it if you want rid!

I didn't use bibs & muslins that much in the newborn stage but did loads once started weaning. DS is 2 and I still use the muslins as flannels!

Was a gift not a purchase but wouldn't get electric swing seat thing. It was useful for all of 2 weeks and then it was doing my head in cos it took up so much space in living room and kept tripping over it so i passed it on.

Dummies waste of time DS never took to them and im so glad now i dont have to go through rigmarole of weaning him off them. I often see school age children with dummies where i live!!

Love my cosatto buggy.

Preg with No2. I wont be buying baby towels. Nicer to just wrap baby up properly in a bigger towel which can then be used in normal life.

Apart from the stuff i already have il be buying most things 2nd hand but not planning on buying much.

No fancy outfits for newborns. Sleepsuits!

Our Joolz Day all terrain pushchair. We were sold hard by a showroom that we needed either a Joolz Day or Bugaboo Fox for our lifestyle.

If you do actually plan to walk your baby on barely surfaced country lanes in winter you actually need an off road buggy like a Out & About Nipper, not a poncy ginormous show pony that takes up the entire boot of your large ish car, can’t be folded rear facing & makes your baby cry on bumpy parts (including a tow path one day).

However I adore my Joolz Aer travel buggy which is brilliant around town & folds up into the tiniest of spaces. If I did it again I’d have an off-road buggy and a travel buggy and nothing in between.

Not sold on our £££ BeSafe Stretch as we had a spinning infant seat that I LOVED and it’s a right faff trying to lift them in.

Hated the Owlet Sock & camera and think they should be banned.

I spent hours turning an old moses basket into a moses changing mat, and ordered a fancy waterproof mattress cover off Etsy to change DS on. Never ever used it.

I never understood fancy changing gear. I just had a cheap wipe clean changing mat from local shops and put it on bed or floor.
Fold up mat for out and about. Easy!

The SNOO!! Our little one cried endlessly and fussed in it. It swung her harder and faster, until she threw up, then it would message me to say “come get your child”. Every. Single. Time. Night one in her cot, she slept 100% better. For us, it was such a waste of money, If parents insist on getting one I really recommend they rent, not buy.

I could have written this post.

I think it must be faulty. Another nct mum has one. We have no issues with the straps or footrest. I call our nuna the tank too.

My main issue is the baby bar doesnt flip open just moves up and down and the upright isnt THAT upright. Now baby is bigger 11kg I do find it heavy vs our leclerc (which i think is waaaay better than the yoyo)

My regret is snuzz cloud and shaun the sheep. Waste of time. We bought a dream egg and it is amazing.
Muslins were also a waste of time.
Ergobaby 360. We were scared of its complexity and kept using the baby bjorn until our shouldrrs couldnt take it anymore

Seraphine skin to skin top. About fifty quid and totally useless. Waist ties were quite short so I couldn't wear it in pregnancy - yet it was hot and I was somehow drowning in fabric. Then baby was quite chunky so I couldn't wear it after birth - not enough room for post-baby belly and baby. I did size up too. It literally does nothing a stretchy t shirt won't do, which is what I did this time.

Ah yes! We never, ever used our monitor.

I had this pram as well, the Bébéconfort Loola Up. It was hands down the best ever ever ever pram. I wish they still made them. Folded up tiny, parent or world facing, proper recline and the recline didn't stick, brilliant two sided seat cover that meant you got two colours and it was smooth wipe clean on one side and cosy pretend suede on the other side, machine washable, somehow never ever stained even though the suede side was cream, huge basket. The matching footmuff didn't cost a lot and it stuck in place with poppers (I hate faffing around with ties that don't do anything) - I used it from birth with DS1 right up until he stopped needing a buggy.

Sadly I gave it to my friend to donate when I moved abroad and it went mouldy in her garage!

My only complaint about it was that the front wheels were exactly as wide as the back ones, which was unexpected and I was always bumping it into shelves etc but I am clumsy. Also the original straps were too short, but they sent me a longer pair when I wrote to them.

I actually still recommend Maxi Cosi prams as I think they have some genius features and they aren't crazy inflated prices.

Egg 2 pram in grey. I thought it was so stylish until I realised literally 80% of the mums in my area had one then all of a sudden felt like a right chav using it. Function wise it was ok but I was really jealous of my friend's bugaboo with an enormous hood and basket.

If only we could wait until we have the baby to see how we will use a pram and what features would actually be important to us!

@ObiWanKanobi which Icandy do you have? I'm 14 weeks pregnant and been looking at the peach, but spend loads of time outside so sounds like I should think about something else!

Congratulations! I have the icandy peach 7.

My honest review of it - we wanted a pram that could handle rough terrain as we have a spaniel that loves walkies in fields and it was a toss up between the Uppababy Vista or the icandy 7. We loved both of them in the shop but went with the icandy because it is narrower, felt nicer to push, had an inbuilt buggy board (this is our first baby and will hopefully have more) and is a beautiful looking pram. The problem we have had is that my son was born in January and all the fields our way are horrendously muddy so even if we had a tank we would have struggled with any pushchair through the mud so we have been using a carrier instead to get out and about. I have used the icandy a few times in town and it is a lovely pram but I have not used it on a daily basis (which I thought I would) and it has mainly been in our living room as a glorified day bed (although son does love sleeping in it). I may use it more in the summer but feel I probably could have a bought a less expensive pram if I had known I would have used it so little. It is also flipping big to fit into the boot of a car along with dog (although the Uppababy vista would also have the same issue).

If you haven't tried out any prams yet then I highly recommend the John Lewis baby free personal shopping service. You can book an appointment through their website and when you arrive they talk you through all the different options for the things you want to know about (we did pram, car seat, cot and carrier) and you can try it all out. There was no pressure to buy anything there and then and they give you a discount code for 10% if you spend over £1000 and 15% for over £1500 within 3 months of the appointment (which is easily done if you are considering the icandy). It was a really great service.

I hope that helps and happy to answer any particular questions you might have x

A fancy changing bag. It was a one shoulder one so really uncomfortable (always buy a backpack style). The metal loop holding the strap to the bag broke during a connection in Dubai airport sending all our stuff all over the floor. I had to fix it with a hair tie. Never again (my normal rucksack with paca pods worked much better).

Swaddles and a white noise machine. Everyone said they were essentials. Both kids hated them. Both kids slept perfectly well without them.

My silvercross pushchair/pram that I had for my first child. It’s totally fine but I bought it because it was a 70% off discontinued model. I really wanted an Uppababy that would convert into a double but was seduced by the discount. We then got pregnant again within 18 months and had to buy the double pushchair anyway.

Elvie pumps: They leaked. They didn’t hold enough milk so I’d have to empty them, dry them and reassemble them at least once (often twice) per pump session. They broke just after the 2 year warranty (and just after my second child was born- they’d been stored correctly for over a year). The extra parts were really expensive and they don’t come with the smaller nipple thing so you have to buy that separately (I didn’t realize there was one so pumped with something that was too big which lowered my supply and gave me mastitis). They only fitted properly into one of my bras. In fairness they’re probably convenient if you just want to occasionally pump outside the house, but because of all the issues I never did. I should have just bought a decent hospital grade pump because I was stuck sat on the sofa anyway.

Things we didn’t buy and I’m glad: Sterilizer (we just used the mam bottles and loved them), bassinet/beside me cot (we just used the full sized cot, I was sleeping in the nursery/guest room anyway), baby monitor (our apartment is all on one level, we just leave the door open).

Things we loved: LeClerc travel stroller (so much easier and sturdier than the Yoyo we borrowed and cheaper). BabyBjorn travel cot (they all sleeps better in it than they do in their own bed and we know it’s sleep safe). Zip onesies (I hate poppers). Happy nappies for swimming (never had a leak). An enormous playpen and the totter and tumble mat (our living room looks shit but it’s saved my sanity). The SilverCross 360 car seat (that goes from newborn to 10years), they both seem really comfy in it, it’s easy to use/adjust and it can be used front and rear facing.
Most of those are probably only useful if you travel a lot though.

@BertieBotts I loved my loola's absolutely fantastic robust pushchairs that did my dc right through from birth to 3+ and still had plenty of life in them. fantastic heavy duty shopping basket too which was an essential for me. The seat unit on modern pushchairs look so small and cramped and look no where near big enough to seat a child up to age 3. they should have never discontinued the loola it was fantastic.
the loola up the one with the full handle bar? Attachments such as a maxi-cosi car seat and carry cot clipped on so easily to the frame. Excellent thick footmuff. I don't remember mine having a reversible cover but yes mine never seemed to stain and always looked new. for dc 1 I had the oxygen red version. Then dc 2 the kid art version which came with the carrycot. I got my kid art version with carry cot brandnew from an ebay shop for the absolutely bargain price of £115 I was made up and bloody loved it. Still have my kid art version it is packed away in storage but like yours I have a feeling damp may have got to it after so long. bloody hope not though as it'll be making a reappearance for any future grand children in many years to come 🤣. be very retro by then!

Why do you say that about the Owlet? I was considering getting one for DC2

I use muslins all the time too - and i've never even had a baby!!!😂

I had an icandy peach 6 for my first child and loved it, can't wait to get back to using it regularly with my second baby. I live in a city with loads of uneven pavements and it never gave me any issues. Parks, country walks etc all fine with it. Agree not sure how any pram would cope with proper hiking trails etc but for general outdoor use I'd say it's a good bet. I liked the fold and shoulder strap too, the basket is giant and I carried an insane amount of stuff in it. The seat isn't the biggest and we actually moved on to a yo yo but it's incredibly flimsy in comparison and I wouldn't have a very young child in one. Great for travelling though!

Cosatto pram (thankfully borrowed rather than bought). They look pretty and the basket is ok, but is way to easy to topple over when on a bus. They are just far too top heavy and the 3 wheels aren't helping with bus stability.