WIBU to change my (very expensive) pram three months in??

[anomies]

First baby, now three months. We got most of our baby stuff second hand except the car seat and the buggy. The buggy was our big splash-out item, we got money towards it from both sets of parents.

We ended up going for the bugaboo bee 6 as people seem to love it and I thought it would be a good compromise for London: small enough for buses etc but sturdy enough to go off-road, unlike the yoyo.

Three months in and I absolutely hate it! The bassinet feels wobbly, it’s the exact wrong length to bump up the step into our house, it’s way too big for me to manage one-handed on the tube, and it’s got buggerall storage so it’s crap to go shopping with - you can’t even access the underseat compartment from the front. I generally avoid using it at all costs and lug him around in the sling which is hell on my back and residual SPD.

I’ve been fantasising about buying an Uppababy Cruz which I adored in the shop but talked myself out of. However I feel this would be idiotic of me given we already have such an expensive pram. Also baby is gonna be big enough to use it like an ordinary stroller in three months and I might hate it less once he isn’t in that wobbly bassinet.

I feel like my options, in descending order of thrift and sensibleness, are:

1. Suck it up until he’s 6 months and see how I feel then
2. Buy the newborn cocoon for now so at least he’s not in that awful bassinet anymore
3. Buy a Cruz second hand (more of a faff than buying from a shop and DH is a bit queasy about second hand prams, worried about hygiene and safety)
4. Go insane, say fuck it, buy the vista of my dreams brand new and sell

the bugaboo at a loss

WWYD? I feel like such a dick having fluffed the big spendy purchase.

My little girl could sit at 4.5 months. So you may not have another three months of the bassinet?

I'd do the last option.
If you hate it so much its a waste of money anyway as you aren't u using it so sell it and use the money towards the buggy you want and will actually use.

In what feels like about 30 seconds, your baby will be big enough for a light and portable folding stroller. So the sensible thing would be to suck it up until then; using the pram as little as possible and using slings etc the rest of the time.
Unless you are absolutely minted of course, and can afford to drop a few hundred quid on something you'll only use for a matter of weeks.

We have a Bee and then bought a YoYo at about 8 months. The YoYo was supposed to just be for travelling (it folds up to go in hand luggage on a plane). DS is now 3 and we've never used the Bee again. Probably should get rid of it...

I'd wait the three months and see. Investigate prices for second hand cocoons, but otherwise suck it up. He might even move out of the bassinet early.

If you're ever up in the NW, I have a vista I'd be happy to pass on to you.

Two of my three children never went in the bassinet. They went in the normal seat with a newborn insert. You could try that and see if you hate it less? My second child just wouldn't tolerate the bassinet and with my third I just didn't bother getting it out of the loft!

Now, in fairness I did have the uppababy and can happily talk you into that if you want though? It's a brilliant pram, a total workhorse. Ours has been through three children and is still in great nick, it has great storage and it's really easy to handle. It's the only 'proper' pram I had though so can't compare it to yours.

Thanks for the helpful input all. I think the consensus is to be sensible! The point is well taken about the speedy passage of time 😁 We have enough money to afford option 3 or 4 if we needed to (say if the bugaboo… met with a terrible accident? Fell down a hole? Mysteriously disappeared? 🤔) but not enough money to spend it as if it doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ll pick up an insert second hand, I think that visceral fear that he’ll somehow come to harm in the bassinet is really fuelling my loathing.

@JLQ1020 - this is very true actually, I hadn’t thought of it like that! I am currently getting almost zero value from the bug.

@mynameiscalypso - this seems to be what everyone says about the yoyo! They definitely seem to dominate the streets around here. Lovely little things.

@Milkand2sugarsplease - I don’t think I’m likely to be but that is so kind of you, thanks for the offer 😊

@mistermagpie ha ha, I DO want to be talked into it, you’re right! I like the Uppababies so much, the design and feel and sturdiness of them, I’m a real fan. I think they’re beautiful!

No 4
We bought a very expensive pram for Dd2 ( the saleswoman definitely seen us coming)
In total Dd2 had 3 prams 🤣🤣🤣

My baby HATED the bassinet, and I can genuinely say it was lifesaving when we picked up a newborn set for the yoyo from a charity shop and she was strapped in. Suddenly I could go wherever I wanted! But then my baby screamed bloody murder whenever she was put in the bassinet. But overall I'd say life is too short and prams are too useful to have one you don't like. Look into 2nd hand options and get one that works.

We have been through 6 prams for two kids. The first was the only new one and by far the most expensive. If you can get over the second hand thing, there’s a world of better (and lots of v good condition) buggies out there and the right one is somewhere for you :) Out of the 6 prams- Out n About Nipper was hands down our favorite - good from about 6 months (sitting) and up

I'm a nanny and have used many buggies. Before I saw you'd even listed it I was going to say buy the Uppababy Cruz. It's the best one IMO, Bugaboos are overrated

Out n About Nipper is brilliant and not even expensive. We got one for our first daughter after being disappointed with a far more expensive pram and wished we had bought it from the start. About to start using it for DD2!

I have an Uppababy Vista (out in the sticks so not a problem how enormous it is!) - absolutely brilliant pram! But, I got practically no use out of it when DS was in the bassinet, he hated it! I moved him into the seat at younger than yours is now, maybe have a try and see how your little one is in the seat, they could be steady enough already.

@elmooie and @Hugasauras , that’s very interesting. What did you like about the Out and About Nipper if you don’t mind my asking?

I would try FB market. Or Ebay I let my Mclaren buggy go for £40 it was in excellent condition and I wish I had of saved it for my friend!

I don’t mind at all, could talk prams for hours :) Not that I even need to use them anymore but they are such a life saver when you have a good one. I found the Nipper to be very lightweight and easy to push/steer even one handed. I very easy to fold flat. It was springy and sporty so just about flew over bumps and curbs, but without the bulky huge tyres that a lot of sporty prams have. Def see if you can find one on eBay or Instore to at least go and try. The only thing I can think of that they don’t offer are the enormous baskets that the UppaBaby offers, so it’s less of a shopping carthorse in that way.

@elmooie thanks, that’s really helpful! They do look cute too. Love a three wheeler. I’ll investigate marketplace 😀

We had the Cruz in London. I didn't live it tbh (although this was a few years ago so it might have been improved). Impossible to collapse with one hand. It didn't feel small enough to be handy on buses. I ended up using a sling most of the time. I loved my ergo 360.

*love it

I have an uppababy vista v2 and i LOVE it but it is crap on the tube because it's so big. If you can find a 2nd hand one, you could buy a new bassinet / mattress for it. But for everything else, im so pleased i went for it.

Def keep the bugaboo though, because when baby is 6months + you will prob find it much better. We are going to buy either that or a Yoyo for 16month old DD for short trips out as the Vista is a pain for nipping around the underground.

I'd buy what I wanted. X

The bugaboo says the seat is suitable from birth with no newborn insert. My kids outgrew the bassinet and were in the seat from 3.5/4 months. You don’t need the newborn thing just get a decent seat liner with footmuff. Bugaboo seats are structured and rigid so not a problem (it’s more of a problem with umbrella fold buggies as the seats are not so supportive). The other buggy you like looks pretty large and cumbersome too. If you want to change I’d wait a couple of months and get something suitable for an older baby which will be much lighter and basic but easier on public transport!

Buy the new pram! We forked out on an Uppababy Vista for DS (now 8) and despite appreciating the lovely shopping basket, I found it so heavy, dismantling it and putting it in the car was a nightmare, and DS didn't seem to like the angle of the seat so I sold at a massive loss and bought the Babyjogger City Mini GT when he was 8 months. No regrets aside from the money! I ended up using the Babyjogger for DD as well with the bassinet. I do remember feeling very guilty at the time as everyone else seemed to rave about the Uppababy but it wasn't for me.

Not going to add to the pram advice, but slings shouldn't hurt your back, likely it's not a great fit for you and baby if it is, and I'd recommend a babywearing consultation. There's so much choice there's something for pretty much everyone and no need to be in pain! The market leaders are often not the most comfortable, especially the popular but narrow-based baby Bjorns.