Well well well! Hi!! I’m the very mad and somewhat lovely (if I do say so myself) Hayley from Singlemummy.net and this is my first Guest Post Day that I have taken part in even though this is the second time around for some people I know! Organised by the lovely Erica Most people have swapped with just one person, we however have had a little triangle! I’m writing for Babybudgetting, babybudgeting is writing for New Mummy and New Mummy is writing for me!
Having browsed through the lovely baby budgetting blog I noticed a distinct theme, other than money of course, that of BUGGIES!! My favourite thing ever! Now if I remember correctly here and I’ve got to think, two seconds…. I had eight buggies in 3 years. Yep I am a buggy addict. Or is that was? I got rid of the final buggy last October just prior to J’s birthday. He never really used it by that stage as he has always been exceptionally active.
I can safely say my buggy addiction isnt over though. The amount of times I get buggy envy when i’m out and about, yet I dont even have a baby to put in them now! J cant stand the things! So heres a little of my buggy history.
The first buggy we had was a graco travel system, a 3 wheeler. Except the front wheel didnt swivel. We brought it on budget. It had a pushchair, a car seat and was a good price. Great we thought. Turned out it was hideous to push and I mean awful! It steered to one side and having had a c-section I found it painful to push!
My next investment was by far my favourite! It was a hauck one, it was wicked! Amazingly light. Cool colour. Loads of room underneath. Easy to push. Seat was able to drop back not in stages but smoothly as you did it at any level you wanted. Seat was forward and rear facing. Amazing. Best buggy I ever had!
Other buggies we had consisted of a umbrella pushchair which had weighted front wheels. – Yep give it its due it was alot harder to tip over than most buggies were!
We also had a quinny zapp which was good in that it could turn round 360degrees easily, great for tight corners, however had no basket underneath and you only had to put your hand bag on it and it tipped!
We got a graco pushchair on freecycle –
It looked like this but was an older style and quite heavy and chunky but was very comfy, had a huge basket and lasted through my criticisms for quite a while actually!
We also had a mamas and papas for all of 5 minutes, it was brought on impulse at a car boot, in a horrible condition and I quickly realised it was awful.
Then there was the plain basic one that none of the wheels moved on
was quite good but hard to steer!
One of our last buggies we had was this one
A chicco yellow stroller. Reason I got this was the seat was high off the ground. J has long arms and used to try and touch the wheels. Dangerous and so that saw the end of our McClaren and this was its replacement.
As I type this I can remember even more! Some lasted a few hours some lasted days others lasted years. The reasoning. Freecycle!
Yep that amazing word that all new parents love! If any buggy went up on freecycle I had it! and I always had an excuse why the one currently possesed was no good!
So heres my advice when it comes to buying them. If your going to buy a buggy/pram/travel system DO NOT go on budget! I made that mistake with our first ever buggy and it was truely terrible! Only so that we realised after we had had J. If your going to pay out then INVEST wisely! This could be a lifelong commitment. It could see you right through, if you make the right choice!
But dont forget the joy that is freecycle. If you get hold of a buggy on there and you dont like it, just freecycle it again!
That or enter all the competitions you can such as the lovely babybudgetting ones and hope you win one of their stunning buggies!
Hayley Glenister
I though I liked buggies but you’ve had a few!! I think the trick when looking for a buggy is thinking about how long it will last you, you may have to spend a bit to start with but if you’re going to get 2-3yrs out of it, then its worth it x
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I also think if you buy classy you can sell well. I got £5 for my £30 buggy and £120 second hand for my £150 buggy. Hmmm.
I’ve only ever had one pram. it was a Jane Pro Slalom, a three wheeler. It was amazingly easy to push and turn but heavy, too heavy when you live in a top floor flat!
I used to have a few prams and buggies, I loved my Phil and Teds and we got a really good return on it
Very true Becky! I made £30 out of my Quinny Zapp but I think thats about the only one I profitted on! Cant even remember what happened to my favourite hauck one!
Great post!
I am a bit of a buggy addict too and I agree that it pays to spend more – because they will really stand the test of time. The only downside to buying well of course, is that it becomes v hard to convince your OH that you *need* that new buggy that you are lusting after because the one you have is perfectly fine! Hehe!
I’m currently lusting after a M&P Luna in the gorgeous Cress/Antique Rose pattern – it is just the prettiest buggy ever! : )
I agree its worth spending the money on the good items unless you happen to have a great freecycle community in the area!
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How restrained!!!
Blimey Hayley that is some buggy fetish you have lol great post as always x
I <3 Freecyle! 🙂
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What a fab resource
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
That kind of thinking shows you’re an erxpet