Baby Buggies & Prams

When you’re only five foot, and live on a top floor flat, with stairs up to the flat block door, thinking about which buggy to buy mainly comes down to size & weight. To begin with, after researching the internet and the lightest buggies, I was convinced that I wanted to get the Bugaboo Bee. I was also taken with the idea that you could choose the coloured canopy and matching cocoon for the baby too. I had the stereotypical pink for a girl, blue for boy in mind!

Upon looking around the John Lewis baby department we realised that the Baby Jogger City Mini was a little bit heavier but more convenient in that it collapses with just the pull of the central lever loop that you can do one-handed, making it a cinch to lift up and down stairs. What’s more, is that the steering is super easy as it’s got three wheels so you can turn corners really smoothly. The only thing to watch out for is that the wheels at the back are always wider than you realise trying to fit through small spaces! They get me every time!

I mentioned that the Bugaboos have coloured cocoons that you can buy to make them suitable from birth with the reclining seat – and similarly the City Minis can be used straight from birth with a sleeping bag attachment. I chose to get a bassinet though so that I could carry little Leander up the stairs asleep and hopefully not wake him up. There were two options, one being more compact than the other which I opted for rather than the larger deluxe version.

Another reason that I love the Baby Jogger City Mini is that I can take my little one for a run in the park at first nap. This is particularly great if he’s overtired and having problems dropping off or if you want to give your other half peace and quiet or a lie in! It’s especially good if you love running like I do! You just need to run somewhere flat where there’s no risk of the buggy tipping over! (NB tree roots – I have had near misses). And this is a great buggy to use at Buggyfit. (Classes highly recommended in particular those on Clapham Common).

There are however other light buggies on the market, such as the Yoyo which I believe can fold up really small and fit into a back pack for a commute or whatever. It can even be stowed away in an overhead locker on a plane for travels as it’s that light and slim.

It’s worth working out what’s most crucial to you given your personal circumstances – taking into account which types of terrain you’ll typically go over, as well as frequency of use and how it’ll be stored then doing your research. Models are updated and new brands and prototypes come out all the time.

Buggies available from www.babyjogger.co.uk, www.bugaboo.com,www.babyzen.com, www.johnlewis.com and www.peppermint.co.uk amongst other places