It was a bit sooner than expected… but we bought a Pram! Although I’d been holding out on buying any big items until much nearer Pickle’s due date, I couldn’t resist having a bit of a gander online to get an idea of different styles and prices and eying up the brands and makes of prams I saw other Mums pushing down the street.
Whilst we were out for my birthday at a local National Trust property, I spotted a pram in the coffee shop that I quite liked the look of – a Mothercare own-brand pram. I looked it up online and found out it was the Mothercare Orb.
Mothercare Orb pram, in Berry
I literally have no recent pram experience (apart from pushing two foster-sisters in an awkward horrible double buggy at a beach in Wales a couple of summers ago that was too wide to fit in any shop aisles or the coffee shop doorway) so I felt a bit clueless in knowing what to look for, what to avoid, and what would suit us.
Then… amazingly… my best friend bought her own Mothercare Orb for her little one! Imagine my surprise when I met her for breakfast one morning to see the very pram I’d been eying up. My friend RAVED about it, saying it was the best pram she’d had and happily showed off its various features. I was sold. That was the one. Sorted.
When I had an email on Christmas Eve from Mothercare announcing their online sale, I was overjoyed to see the Orb was included. Normally retailing at over £400 it was fairly reasonable for a pram compared to some other costs I’ve seen but they’d reduced it to just £270. Even better! I was curious to see what prices second hand prams were going for so casually popped Mothercare Orb into eBay and couldn’t believe it when one popped up for sale, just a few miles down the road, with a starting price of £30.
Bargain.
Popped my own bid in and anxiously awaited the auction to end.
Now, I know the issue of buying second hand baby things is a contentious one. My friend said she was told at an Antenatal class never to buy anything second hand as it could be germ-filled and hazardous to baby. And I can appreciate if you’re worried about cleanliness or items not being in tip-top shape but surely shop storerooms and warehouses aren’t the most sterile of environments and you’re meant to wash everything before you use it anyway so why should it matter whether it’s come from a shop floor or someone else’s lounge? I’m personally happy with second hand as it means we can save our money to put towards other things and be as financially savvy as possible. But don’t worry if that’s not for you. That’s fine. We’ll all make plenty of parenting decisions in our life time and given all the same circumstances, we’d all choose different things and that’s the joy of it. Each to their own.
Needless to say, we won the bid! The pram was ours for the bargain price of £31.99. We arranged to pick it up just before New Years and it felt VERY surreal wheeling the pram out of this woman’s house and into the car. I felt a bit like a fraud. But in a nice way. I went home and practiced putting it up and down and figuring out all the little switches and gadgets.
I particularly liked that this pram is compatible with certain Maxi Cosi car seats, making it a full travel system and that it will last Pickle for a fairly long time due to it’s versatile nature.
One massive item ticked off the to-buy list.
Have you sorted your pram out yet? What features are important to you? Would you consider a second-hand purchase?
littlepicklesmom
Ah yes, we’re lucky with our car as it’s a pretty big one so we’ve got plenty of room (providing I actually keep it clutter free!) for a bulkier pram. We’re going to get the car seat that is compatible anyway so if I don’t want to take the big bassinet with me, I can just click the car seat onto the base of the pram which will be a big space saver. You’re right – having to make a decision when there are SO many out there is so daunting… but I’m trying to be fairly relaxed about it. After all, if it doesn’t work out when baby comes, I can always sell the pram on and get something else. Next stop: nursery furniture!