WWYD pram problems!

[Champagneformyrealfriends]

We've been given a second hand pram system by some family members. It's about 6 years old (and not to my taste!) and when we went to see if it fit in our car it was far too big but DH felt as if they wanted rid of it (it was for their go and they are too big for it now-also live hundreds of miles away!) so we took it anyway.

There is no way it will comfortably fit in my car so we are going to buy a more compact pram for me to use and the plan was to let DH have the bigger pram/car seat etc in his car rather than swapping round all the time (our house is very very small and the pram will live in the boot!). There are components of the pram we won't use either.

I've been to my parents tonight and my dad thinks that we should contact the person who gave us the pram and offer to sell it on eBay and give them the money, or tell them which bits we're going to use and ask them what they'd like us to do with them. He was quite forceful about it and made me feel guilty for taking it but I don't see how I can now ring them and ask if they'll take it back! I feel as if this would seem rude-what would you ladies do?!

I would quietly re-gift it.

Buy the pram you want and keep the other in the garage or somewhere so you have a spare if needed - may come in handy and that way it's useful.

Most people when giving away baby stuff just want to be rid of it, reclaim their space and help someone out in the process so don't feel bad at all! Sounds like it was a bit forced on you anyway!

My cousin gave us their old pram and it came in handy as a spare (various vomit incidents) and when it snowed it was mega - my smart little city pram couldn't cope with the snow at all but this thing had huge wheels so was great and meant I could get out and about instead of being stuck in!

I'd call them and explain it's too big to fit in the car comfortably (you'll need to put shopping etc in there as well at some points and if the pram takes up the whole space you'll have to put it in the car itself and that is bloody irritating in my experience when doing a big shop or buying random larger bits.) and ask them if they want you to return it. From being on here a while I know people can get very upset about just selling or giving away items they've passed on! If you explain that it just doesn't fit they shouldn't be upset that you don't want it!

Thank you impatient-it was a really awkward situation because had it not been so big we'd have just used it for a while but it's just not practical! My dad was really insistent that we should get in touch and ask what they'd like us to do but I really don't see what that would achieve when it had been in their loft for a year and they really seemed keen to get rid of it. Theyd be offended if we offered them money for it aswell. I'm going to have to lie to my dad and tell him I've been in touch with them-DH can use the car seat and chassis in his larger car so it's really just the lay flat and seat that wouldn't be used. Xx

Hang onto it for a little while. You may well change your mind as to what you need when the baby is here. And as the pp said, various weather conditions will change things too.
I bought a second hand travel system I thought I'd use for years but abandoned it in favour of a lightweight buggy at 4 months.
Friends have never used slings they've bought; ignored buggies they've spent hundreds on, etc etc. You don't really know what you'll use til it's happening. You may well find this pram much easier to put up and down than the one you buy, or it might be handier for shopping etc. If you have space, wait and see.
Then, if you never use it, put it on eBay or a local selling site and pass on the money to whoever gave it to you.

Thisismyfirsttime we'd never sell it without speaking to them first but we can use some of the system (just not all, and not as our main pram).

Running you're right-until baby is here we really don't know what we'll use!

What pram is it?
We're they aware of how big it was when you loaded it in to the car?
I'd just keep it as a spare

It's a discontinued model-they were aware. My DH and the male family member manhandled it into my car whilst I stood with female family member looking bemused. She knew it was too big too but it was obvious they wanted rid of it as male family member was helping DH put seats down to get it in! I could've kicked DH for saying that it would be OK-he was just thinking about how it would fit in his massive car-not how I'd manage with mine!

I would call and speak to her. Hi X, so sorry but we just cannot get the pram comfortably in and out of the car. What would you like us to do with it? I can arramge to drop it back to you or donate it to the charity shop? Whatever wprks best for ypu really.

Just another thought - feel free to ignore me though! I wouldn't use a 6 year old second hand car seat for baby unless you are absolutely sure it hasn't had any knocks either in a car or in storage, and has been stored in a fairly good place without temperature extremes. Knocks, age and extremes of temperature over time can weaken a car seat.

Agreed about the car seat. The plastic can deteriorate and they do become less safe after about 5/6 years.

I wouldn't use a six year old car seat.

Life is too short for bulky awkward prams. It won't have any real resale value I wouldn't have thought unless it's a Bugaboo in very good nick. I'd just get rid of it while you've got some spare time on your hands! We had a similar situation - MIL insisted on buying a friend's daughter' massive travel system for us despite me saying we didn't know if it would work, and it sat around taking up space in our flat for nearly a year before I finally managed to get rid of it.

We have a Bee and it's really compact. I wouldn't have a bulky pram either, especially one that you have to remove bits of just to get it in the car. Don't car seats have expiry dates?