Baby Blogging - The Buggy Debacle!

There are three things in life that make me especially happy. Actually, make that 4. No wait, 5. There are 5 things that make me happy, in no particular order:

• Doing anything with Laura
• A bargain or deal
• Research
• Time with Bisbee &/or family
• The baby

This post is about an event that included almost all of the above.....the buggy/stroller purchase.

I'm not sure if we have mentioned this in a previous post, but we are fairly clueless when it comes to babies. No-one in our real life has a baby, the last time I held a baby was maybe 2 years ago, Laura has never changed a diaper, and no-one we know is pregnant. Therefore our guides are online forums/ Apps, social media friends and Laura's particularly helpful colleague, Lizzie. 

I should note, our parents are always a great source of advice, but as it's been more than a few years since they had a baby around, their advice is great for general health and well-being but less so when it comes to kitting out a baby nowadays. 

And so to the buggy/stroller purchase.

On reading the newspaper, I saw that our local Toy 'R' Us store was closing down and there was a minimum 30% off everything. Sad for the store and the staff, but an opportunity for us as they have a Baby 'R' Us part to the store too. We headed there after dinner with an hour till closing. 

Side note - I love doing anything with Laura. This is so true when it's mundane things like watching TV or food shopping and it is definitely true when putting a plan into action.

I had discovered the shop closure while on a train home and wasn't exactly sure what we would find on arrival. Laura had researched far more practically and got a list from Lizzie of key things to look out for. 

This store was filled to the brim with bargains - some better than others, and after an initial raid of the very cute baby shoes (we got sneakers with a USA and UK flag on) we refocused and headed to the bigger ticket items - the buggys and car seats. 

The choice for car seats alone is mind blowing, let alone travel systems!

Each buggy we came across, one of us started searching reviews - the good, the bad, the confusing. To give you some idea of the bizarre world of buggys, here are a few things to consider:

• Width of buggy (needs to easily get in the door)
• Weight of buggy
• Age duration buggy can be used for
• Additional features (rain cover, basket etc)
• Ease of putting down/up
• Ability to lay baby flat or sit child up
• Wheel durability
• Wheel flexibility
• Wheel lock capabilities
• How tall is it/does it extend for tall people (like Laura)?

Okay I'll stop, you get the idea - it's a lot. And for novices like us, walking in to find a bargain, we were under prepared! 

This may have been the most amount of research I have ever done on a product. The research was worth it though. We found one that ticked all the boxes we had decided were important while standing in the middle of store. It was reduced from £150 to £104, which satisfied my love of a bargain, and got 4.8 out of 5 on the buggy review website most trusted by Mums. Hopefully that is good enough for the baby.

Pic courtesy of toyrus.com

There was only one final thing - did it fit in the car boot?

While trying to find a member of staff to ask if we could take the buggy to the car, Laura and I fired off a pic of the buggy on WhatsApp to get feedback on whether we were mad or it was a good idea. The consensus was it was a good idea. Thank goodness the buggy did fit in the boot - poor Bisbee had no idea what was going on as we angled the buggy in the boot as she sat and watched. 

Sadly we didn't have any luck with the car seat and the buggy we went with doesn't have a detachable car seat, that was one of the compromises. We played through scenarios and were happy with our decision that a separate car seat will work for us. 

I tell you though, if this is what it took to buy a buggy, my love of research may quickly fade. It's not so much the time it takes, it the conflicting info. I appreciate it's the world we live in and I'd much rather be over informed than not, BUT OMG there is sooooooooooo much. How do you know who to believe and who's just selling to you? How do you avoid preachy mum blogs to find good, practical advice?

This is a whole new world and I am super glad to have Laura figuring it out with me. I kind of wish we had pics of us trying to collapse the buggy in the middle of Toy 'R' Us - it's a memory that will have me chuckling for a while....'push that, no that, wait click that or that, oh hold on, try that and that, wait that with your foot and that with your hand, no, no wait - start again, pull that up, push that in and push. Viola :D

But we have a buggy so yeah!