Buying nursery equipment

[husbandcallsmepickle]

How/where have you bought your pram/buggy/car seat etc? There is no where in our home town. DH says to order off the internet but I want to be able to try them out first by seeing how easy they are to carry and fold and how heavy they are. Any advice when to order? Baby is due in February.

I'm due in Feb too and we haven't bought anything yet, though we have an extensive spreadsheet and have narrowed down options/chosen items in a lot of cases. We're hoping to get some things in the Black Friday or Jan sales.

I'd definitely look at prams in person, the fold, weight and feel of it can be so personal and you'll want to make sure you like it. Stuff like cribs we're just going by reviews and images, so I think it's less important. But we've done a few big shops to look at things in person now, because DH is worried about further lockdowns which might make irl shopping impossible.

You can get a nursery appointment at John Lewis if you've got one nearby - our local one has a fairly big range.

We took out a "which" subscription to check reviews and safety ratings for all the big ticket items and then brought from the internet. Strongly recommend measuring car boot and where you would store the buggy in the house to make sure it will fit.

Would really recommend making an appointment at a shop if you can. We hadn't a clue and it was amazing how different the prams etc felt.

*we had to travel for the appointment as there was nowhere vaguely near where we live but it was worth it.

I am due in January and got pram/travel system 2nd hand on gumtree. Kept lookout for a few weeks before spotting the one we bought. It's in excellent condition & tried out all the bits in the garden of the person we bought it from. Plus saved an absolute bomb!

We are lucky that there is a mamas and papas a 20min drive away so went there as wanted to know we were not buying one that was too heavy or a faff to fold up. Got it delivered no problem too. Furniture we just picked what we liked look of online from IKEA and got delivered.

We’ve got nearly everything from
John Lewis. I would advise staying away from ordering your big things from Mamas and Papas as they seem to be having a lot of stocking issues but aren’t telling people that when buying!

I'm not sure wjat part of the coubtry you are in but if you are in the Midlands I would recommend Baby Planet. They have stores in Derby and Leicester. You can book an appointment and they go through pretty much everything with you and have a great range in stock. There was no pressure to buy, and they offered some fantstic discounts. We saved £200 on our pram and £70 on our car seat.

We bought our pram second hand from ebay. We kept an eye out for several weeks for one in the right area for the right price and in a good condition.
We are using the crib I had as a baby but bought a travel cot second hand for downstairs sleeping and visiting relatives if that is ever allowed again!
We will get a cot bed when she out grows her

John Lewis is great, they even have dummy babies of different weights so you you can get a feel for wheeling a pram around with something in if

This is why I miss mothercare with my second!
Tbh I’d view everything at John Lewis/ mamas and papas and then google every item to get it cheaper elsewhere

I'd also recommend a Which subscription.

And yes, it may be worth travelling to a larger store if you can to try things out. I took a punt and ordered my pram and carseat online without seeing it in person. I already regret it, the carseat weighs a bloody ton!!

Thanks for all your replies x

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

This is why I miss mothercare with my second! Tbh I’d view everything at John Lewis/ mamas and papas and then google every item to get it cheaper elsewhere

That's why there's no Mothercare anymore

I think we'll go to John Lewis for anything we want to buy new

I bought from mother care/ thought was a good price point tbh