As I type, I look outside and see the trees and people being blown around by the wind. My poor little girl has a strong dislike of the wind blowing in her face, and today protested by blowing raspberries!
So the wind being one of the many reasons, I have decided to sell my two prams, and invest in a decent parent facing, lightweight, reasonably small folding, comfy, roomy pushchair…but its proving so hard!
So today I went to both Mamas & Papas and Mothercare, and I want to tell you about the two we tested briefly.
1. Mamas & Papas Sola in Plum RRP£299
So Emily looked very comfy in it parent facing when we tested it in the shop. I love the patterns. It has multi postions and the bumper bar is a swing away one, which is easier with a toddler. It was lovely to push and lift onto back wheels (for when mounting kerbs etc)
I didn’t like how my little girls feet had no proper foot rest plate-they just dangled there when in parent facing mode.
It can also face away from parents by turning it around. My customer service experience was ok, but I had to prompt the lady to find out anything about the Sola unfortunately. The price of it wasn’t too bad-the one we looked at was in the sale at £199.99
Basic Accessories Cost:
- Footmuff £54.00
- Parasol £35.00
- Changing Bag £ 39.00-49.00
2. Bugaboo Bee Plus, Mothercare RRP £479-£529 (More for special editions)
I was a bit more cynical of the Bugaboo Bee, thinking its all hype. Did you know, mini style icon Harper Beckham has this in pink? So, instantly its a style icon buggy, for the fashion conscious, with an army of celeb yummy mummies pushing there babies in it, I wanted to see what the fuss was about.
First of all, the lady in Mothercare was lovely-she was so helpful. She talked me through the features it had, and I sat my baby in it parent facing and had a little push. Now this feels more like a pushchair thats made to last-The quality is clear. It may be small. but its solid. I reckon I could get my 7 year old in it and it would be fine (not that I would try!)
It had a lovely smooth recline system, and a properly adjustable handle bar, that would suit the shortest to the tallest no problems. Baby, like in the Sola, looked comfy. But feet were dangling again however.
The lady showed me how it was folded, and it was nice and easy to fold-no faffing removing the seat unit, and you can pop it over your shoulder for those bus journeys etc. I just love how contemporary it looks, and it does not compromise quality along with that. So folded, it was nice and flat, and to unfold was super easy. This would definitely suit a parent wanting an investment pushchair-they hold there price and last well, so if your wanting to save it for future babies, it would last the time from what I hear.
Now, its the price tag that got me-£479!!! Ok, its great, ok its a Bugaboo, but thats a heck a lot of money…however, if your planning on using it for many years, think of the saving of buying cheap pushchairs only to have to sell them. You get what you pay for, and in this instance, I believe its true. Having had a few Mamas & Papas that I purchased on eBay with this or that broken, I wonder how strong they are-would the Sola last well? I have a hunch no.
Basic Accessories Cost:
- Footmuff £94.95
- Parasol £29.95
- Changing Bag £89.95
Take a nosy at these celebs pushing the Bee..
Victoria Beckham with Harper in her Pink Bee (above)
Gwen Stefani
Denise Van Outen
Myleene Klass
Rachael Stevens
3. Icandy Cherry £320.00
I liked the look of this. It was able to parent face, and forward face. It looked gorgeous too. With a bumper bar, unlike the Bee. So a good place for me to start with research was Youtube, where I watched the product video-I also looked at the other videos done by normal parents reviewing it.
I have to say it was disappointing to see you had to take the seat unit off to fold it up. This is hassle I wouldn’t want personally. I want a buggy you just unfold/fold!!
It is very stylish and not badly priced for an entry level Icandy product-this retails at £320. Which I think is a good price! It comes in a range of lovely colours too. You can buy additional accessories such as a carrycot for newborn, footmuff, parasols and more.
Icandy really need to start selling online on another note-currently they only sell direct, through selected retailers. This put me off buying.
Basic accessories cost:
- Footmuff: £80.00
- Parasol: £30.00
- Changing Bag £55.00
So these were my 3 on the shortlist!
Which would you go for and why?
Will be back to say which I have chosen very shortly-watch this space!
Belle
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