Pushchair/pram research tips

[Sluggers]

Hi. My parents are taking me pushchair/pram shopping which is very nice of them and I'm very lucky.

They're expecting me to be a bit clued up and to have done my research before we go and I wondered if anyone had any top research tips. I found the non-subscriber Which? info (there's loads of it!) and a John Lewis buying guide but if anyone can direct me towards anything they think would be useful I would be really grateful.

There's so much to consider its a bit overwhelming!

Thanks

Have a look at the pushchairs chat on here. There's loads of great advice. I'd also have a look at bestbuggy.co.uk which I think is run by someone who spends a lot of time on the pushchairs chat board and has lots of great advice.

Good luck!

Till you start physically looking at them and seeing how they dismantle/fit together etc, I think it's hard to be clued up I'm afraid! I'd say it's part research before you go but it's more the act of going that's important!

First time we walked into mothercare to look at them I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown, thank god for helpful sales assistants.

I would have a quick look round with your parents and see which ones you like the look of/fit the budget, then ask the sales assistant to take them apart show you how each of them functions, then you test the weight of the frame (I loved certain ones but the picked up the frames to see if id be able to get them in the car by myself) and try wheeling them around to see if the 'handle' ok. Check out the basket size underneath too because you'll need it! Also, depending on your car and if the shop has a car park immediately outside of it, ask them to try the buggy in your boot. We had a standard car with a decent sized boot and couldn't get one of the buggies in there so were glad we'd tried!

Then go home and again, read the reviews online now you'll have eliminated certain m.

...models.

Hope that helps!

Good luck and enjoy, once you get over the initial ' ahhhhh too much to take in' effect!

x

Best advice is think about what you do everyday and then you'll know what type you need. I managed to get a lovely one which has been brill and 2 years in, is still going strong. For us, an off-roader was essential with a dog to walk. Lightweight is SUCH a bonus, esp know I have back/hip problems.

So I guess thinking about do you do lots of shopping? Or dog walking? In and out of car? etc.

I was a bit worried in pregnancy about not finding a parent facing buggy that ticked the boxes but it was fine. I went with one that didn't but it had a little viewing window so baby could see me (IF he was ever awake in pram!). I also bought some good accessories like a cocoon type thing (£20 from a mumsnetter. WAS BRILL!)

Totally second the take the car and check it fits. That is a must.

I think a bit of research is really important and has saved us buying 2 or 3 different ones, which seems suprisingly common for an expensive item.

We used www.pramandnursery.co.uk/ THey are near enough to us to visit but ordered online and got it delivered. Their customer service was great.

HTH. Good luck ! :)

There's some great advice here already, but I'd add that you should think about the basket size and public transport.

I thought I'd decided on a silver cross surf until isaw the tiny basket - no good for me who plans to walk to the shops every couple of days!

Also, even though buses have buggy spaces, it's handy to be able to whip your LO out and fold it up if a double buggy/mum with newborn/wheelchair needs the space. On the other hand, if you're likely to be in and out of the car in the early months, a travel system might be better.

It really depends on what you're going to be doing!

I think I massively over-researched before I went to have a look instore (and ending up having a cry there and then - was v overwhelmed!)

However, I finitely think you need a grounding in the basics before Yu go. Some excellent advice on here already but basically, be aware of the following:

• some pushchairs are suitable from birth (ie, you can lie your newborn flat in the recline-able seat unit) and some are only suitable for 6 mths and upwards. For the latter, you need a removable carrycot, which will clip on to the chassis once the seat unit is removed. Some of these carrycots can also be used for overnight sleeping (a bit like a Moses basket).
• if you end up getting a pushchair with a removable seat unit and a carrycot, you will effectively end up with what's known as a travel system, as you should also be able to fit your car seat onto the chassis, either with adapters or not. (Bear in mind small babies should only be in a car seat for a couple of hours a day max, as their spines need to be straight.)
• not all travel systems take all car seats, so if you're getting a pushchair with a removable seat unit, make sure the car seat you choose can fit onto the chassis.
• one of the good things about a removable seat unit is that it means that it's more likely to be reversible, ie you can have it forward and parent-facing (if this is important to you).

For my money, theses are really the ones things you need to know before you go looking. Obviously you need to have spent a bit f time thinking about your own requirement, eg boot size, whether you need it on public transport, likely to need a double buggy anytime soon, weight, all-terrain capability, importance of reversible seat unit etc.

I'd say go and have a look with your parents (prepare for them to be stunned at the prices and range available nowadays, "in my day we just out you in a box and your dad made wheels from an old go-kart" etc etc). Make a not of which ones you like and find generally suit your requirement and crucially, that you find easy to fold, then bob back over here and see what people have to say about them. Eeeeeeeeasy ;) good luck and have fun!

P.S. if you're that way inclined it might be worth getting the cheap trial subscription to which.com for the reviews - personally I found them v useful but you can easily fall into a which.com wormhole from which you never return....

Make a list of what is most important to you, and what you would like but are willing to compromise on. Good things to consider are:

Parent facing - just in carrycot or longer term?
Size of basket
Weight
Price
Off-road
Air tyres (nicer to push but can puncture)
Width (particularly if you like shopping, the narrower the better)

Think about how it will be used mostly - lugging a heavy pram in and out of the car is a pain, whereas if you walk everywhere then it's not an issue. Consider taking a rucksack filled with something heavy, all prams are nice to push with nothing in them, it's only once you have a baby in there that you can really get a feel for it!

I would say to draw up a quick list of the features you're looking for in your perfect pushchair. You don't need to know all the features available to be able to do this.

Start small with things like;

Has to fit in the boot
Would like a carrycot for a newborn
Big shopping basket
Extendable handle

Basically anything you think you might like. That way you can instantly narrow down your options when looking in a shop. Even having a small starting point (like you're both tall and need an extendable handle, or have a small car so it needs a compact fold) means that you'll soon start discarding models. As you do that you'll get a feel for what you like and dislike both feature-wise and how it looks.

I would suggest not buying anything, or putting down a deposit on anything during your first visit out to look. I found "the one" on my first physical look round but I'd done a lot of home research first and I still waited a few weeks to make sure (and look at online reviews).

I would add to the comments above to try a couple of different shops. We found Mothercare poor, Mamas & Papas range better but in the end we found "the one" in John Lewis. Not all shops stock the same makes.

Find a good independent baby shop. We got our uppababy from a local family run shop, we viewed loads there - bugaboo, quinny, icandy, silver cross etc. They had everything. They were completely impartial and very knowledgeable, plus offered price match. They did us a great deal - Our travel system was nearly £100 cheaper than anywhere else.

Failing that, John lewis or kiddicare. Then once you've shortlisted, ask the ladies in the pushchair chat forum here on mumsnet, and google reviews on pushchair trader.co.UK and bestbuggy.co.uk.

My experience is that you will probably be overwhelmed by the choice I know I cried in the middle of John Lewis Pram section as I realised the pram i'd mentally bought didn't do something which was a deal breaker (fit on a London bus!)

I then went away and did a different type of research where I imagined a couple of the most likely 'typical' days I would spend with baby. In this I worked out that getting the pram on public transport was key to my life as was having something I could take off road. Some of the things I thought in my inital planning were 'key' actually ended up very far down my list of priorities once I'd written this list.

I would also go with an open mind... we ended up with a brand we had never heard of but it seems to suit our family the best.

And don't stress, just choose what works for you. Example - My friend bought a buggy from mothercare that only forward faces and the air filled wheels got a puncture in the first outing, it wouldnt work for me at all but she loves it as she can run with it and it fits in her car. Plus she has a cycle repair kit in her car. My other friend loved my uppababy but it was too big for her to put in the boot of her mini, I walk everywhere so its perfect for me. she has a quinny zapp extra which is small so she won't ever need a second smaller buggy which we will need for holidays etc. But its shopping basket is tiny, which would be hopeless for me.

Go somewhere with enough space to walk full tilt with it, you'll be surprised now many you kick when walking at full speed.

Definitely make a list of what matters to you. Do you drive a lot? If so, when you get to your destination, will you want to transfer the baby from the car to a buggy or move the car seat onto a base? This influences whether a travel system is for you or not.

If you tend to be on foot, do you want forward or rear facing? Do you need space for shopping? Are you going to be offroading, or bumping up and down steps so will need air filled tyres? Will you be in and out of shops or using public transport? This dictates size and ease of putting up and down.

And so on!

I felt the best way to choose was to have strict criteria it had to adhere to, because then I could exclude a lot and narrow my choice. Then it felt far less overwhelming.

Do shop around once you have settled on a model. Prices really differ.

Thanks everyone for being so helpful. I definitely imagine myself crying in John Lewis pushchair section!' But hopefully with a little bit of thought I can be a teeny bit prepared for the choices!

Ps Which.com wormhole. Brilliant!

dont go to the shops at the weekend, i made that mistake! though you can make an appointment at jl. cheap first month subscription at which definitely, just remember to cancel before the month runs out and after pdfing all the reviews! as with wedding dresses go and see/try some in the flesh before you get carried away on the net.
and take a dh with you to help fold them down etc.

Only want to add one thing to what everyone else has said (great practical advice).

Think ahead if you may want to have another baby, a few of my friends (& me) are now pregnant with our second and a lot have had to buy new buggies, whereas i just have to get a 'rumble seat' for my uppababy and it converts easily to a double. My toddler will be just over 2 when new baby arrives & definitely will need to be restrained sat in a buggy rather than just stood on a board at the back.

I wouldn't bother paying for which? for pushchairs. I found loads of their baby product reviews were for old models and out of date (by a few years in some cases).

Kiddicare in Pererborough (not sure about their other stores) has a MASSIVE showroom with lots of pushchairs/prams etc you can actually fold/push etc plus all the accessories. We found it quite overwhelming but very useful to actually see all the ones we'd found online.

go for the uppababy, it's fab

Read reviews on line and pram spot while out and about and see which you like the look of.

Go to John Lewis (weekdays are quieter) and the assistant will spend as much time as you need. They'll put em up, put em down let you push around as much as you need etc. That way you can see what's practical.
Think about weight, size when folded, colour you want, 2 handles or bar handle (bar is easier one handed with the Starbucks in the other ). Think about later - will you use it for a second or can it convert to a double.

Once you've tried and tested the ones you like, top the day off with a nice lunch somewhere where you can mull it over to finalise your choice and then do a search of where you can get it for the best price.

Disclaimer: just cos you love it doesn't mean baby will. I love my uppababy but DS hates being in his pram, carseat etc