Does it come in a pastel shade? (How to choose a pram, pushchair or buggy)

Member Name: The Daz

Product:	How to choose a pram, pushchair or buggy
Date:	18/03/09 (376 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Handy for taking baby out in the world.

Disadvantages: Too much choice - and the cost!

'Does this pram go off-road? And how many cup-holders does it have?'

Buying things for your new arrival can be a source of great stress and fiscal hardship - you've already seen the complete lack of space in your friend's house after they had a child, with a whole bedroom taken over by the newborn and all their clothes, toys, nappies and so on. Sometimes you wonder if you did the right thing, and whether you should have waited a few more years until you both had a bit more money saved up.

Fallacy number 1 - there will never be a right time to have a baby, in terms of money, unless you happen to have scooped the Lotto. They cost more than you can imagine and will still be coming home with dirty washing and asking for £20 long into their University years. You will be poor forever - poorer even than when you bought your first car and wondered how it consumed all that oil, petrol and servicing costs. Deal with it.

You are going to be spending an inordinate amount of money on a new baby. If you imagine the cost of hosting the Olympics, and then trying to fit it all into Monaco - you get the idea of scale regarding the items required, their overall cost, and the comparable size of the recipient.

With this in mind - you might as well enjoy at least some of the spending decisions. Cot bedding and scratch mittens may not set your world alight with creative joy, but choosing a pram/buggy/pushchair is one area where the manufacturers know exactly how to appeal to your desires. You will inevitably need a pram virtualyl everytime you venture out, and they'll be useful right the way up to toddler years for when your pre-schooler is tired after traipsing around the shops with you and needs half an hour off their feet to recover.

Firstly - you should consider your needs. Do you want a simple pushchair? These are relatively cheap (£30-£100) and simple machines. If you want a pram you will find your choice more limited. The old fashioned perambulator has given way to a multi purpose gadget that was clearly designed by a bunch of blokes with too much time on their hands. Obviously - in this strange world where bin men are recycling operatives, and nutritionists are 5 a day co-ordinators, it isn't a pram, or a pushchair, but a Travel System.

Travel Systems come in 2 guises. Mine is currently a pram, but will convert into a pushchair by means of some levers, manual swopping of covers and inserts, and some hypergeometry.
A more flash version comes with a car seat that attaches directly to the pushchair mode, allowing you to keep your baby asleep when you need to go on your shopping trips. This sounds ideal but I will point out that you shouldn't really keep a baby in a car seat for more than 2hrs at a time as it can hamper spinal development. Ok...H&S hat off. Prices range from £100 for the basic models up to £200+. Colour and fabric options abound - these are clearly designed to sway the mother towards the pricier models.

These multi purpose thingies generally come armed with the same abilities and differ merely in design, brand and cost. Independent wheels, a raincover, padded pram liner, side carry handle, foot operated brake locks and storage net under the carriage are generally standard. Extras that depend on how much you're willing to fork out for the next model on offer include Cup holders, hand warmers for the parent and a swivel joint on the car seat connector that allows you to have the baby facing towards or away from you. (I'm not making the cup holder bit up by the way...). As an example of clever design - my pram currently secures the baby with Velcro straps and covers her body with a padded cover. When she is big enough to require the pushchair mode - the pram liner with the straps is hidden in the loft, and the padded cover becomes the foot muff for cold weather travelling, and doubles as a handy storage area for the items your beloved child swipes off the supermarket shelves and wants you to take home without the fuss of paying for.

The flashest versions of all are strangely minimalist - consisting of a brushed metal chassis to which the car seat attaches. Why you'd fork out £300 for this is beyond me - but I would imagine that brand cache and general insanity are contributing factors.

Two things I would stress most importantly. One: If you get a Travel System that incorporates your car seat - does it fit? Often they will only take a car seat of the same brand. Secondly - fold the pram up and put it in your car boot. Ask to try this out at a shop - they shouldn't mind. It may only be a few inches difference, but unless you already have a MPV or a Van, you may find your hatchback or saloon boot precisely 2 inches too small to take the pram. Even if you get it in, after some heavy swearing, consider the practicality. When you go shopping you will need to put the pram in first and pack the shopping around it - this will require your partner to put the baby in the car and start the engine to warm the car up whilst you stand over the exhaust pipe gesticulating at the bag of baguettes that just don't fit in the gap between the end of the pram and the intrusive wheel arch... and you thought prams were simple?!

So - a fairly short guide, and not at all comprehensive. I urge you to go to the retailers and poke about. Inspect them like you would a new car, checking all the levers and gadgets, deciding what options you actually need rather than how pretty the flowers on the hood are, and then, budgetary considerations notwithstanding, make your hefty purchase.

Summary: A few bits of info on the scary world of baby travel contrivances.