Tag: family

Day three of three. Choosing a buggy. The influencer’s guide. And this is something I always advocate: if you can, try before you buy…

If you know that the buggy at the top of your wishlist is on display in one of the big retailers then make an appointment and go and test it out. Ask if you can push it around the store for a while. Try opening and closing it, attaching carry cots, car seats. Try out the basket for size, play with the hood (does it have a secret zip that extends it?) What about the handle bar, does it clip in and out easily, does the carry cot release with one hand or two? And for goodness sake get someone to show you how the straps work… I have wasted more time than I care to share fiddling around with straps because each brand has its own special way for making adjustments. What about the rain cover – how easy is it to work out how it goes on? Because trust me, when the heavens suddenly open on your precious new bundle, you’ll want to get it on in micro seconds. Do not be fooled, they’re not as easy as you think 🤯

Don’t be embarrassed at taking your time to thoroughly get to know the pram. One of my NCT friends arrived at my flat a week or so after having her little boy with her carry cot not fully extended so it kept collapsing every time she took it off the buggy! Once baby is here, you won’t have much time to start reading the manual (rtfm is a long standing family motto in my house) so get to know it before the little one arrives… 

ALTERNATIVELY if you know someone who has the model you have your eye on, meet up for a coffee or a walk around the park and see it in action, get their feedback on it.  And these days you can even rent buggies – so actually if you didn’t make the right choice the first time around or you’re of the more sustainable persuasion, you can simply return and swap for something more suitable.

I really hope you’ve found something useful in these three days of detail about how to choose a buggy. I’m super passionate that all mums know what’s out there. For new mums it can be navigating a whole new world (whilst highly hormonal!) and for those of us who have done this several times, there are always new models on the market to consider. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions. TTFN x

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn

Let’s launch into today’s post talking about travel systems. A top newborn pick amongst new mums. Multi functional all rounders, these let you switch from carry cot to car seat and then into a pram seat when baby hits six months. They are marketed as the only buggy you’ll need from birth up to two years. A spin to help you overcome the nausea of their hefty price tag? Maybe. But without a doubt, they are built to last: some convert into doubles, many attach to wheeled boards and some sing and dance for all your needs as your family grows. However do keep this in mind: they are big, bulky and heavy, and the likelihood is that you will want to change up your buggy style a little further down the line.As I so often say: No one buggy fits all.

Consider this: your baby will grow! Firstly, that means the car seat that attaches to your buggy will become redundant. Secondly, most travel systems weigh around 12kg (an uppaBABY frame = 9kg + carry cot / seat = 3kg) so when you add the weight of your growing child, by the age of one, you’re pushing around an Indian muntjac! OK, slight exaggeration – but you get the point: babies grow, needs change and you might regret the bulky buggy choice straight off the bat.

Some smaller stroller options lie flat for newborns, can attach car seats, boast snug inserts for smaller babies or newborn cocoons (all with the right adapters, of course.) And once your newborn grows into a baby and leaps to toddlerhood, said strollers have a much lighter frame and seat to push around. Think Babyzen YoYo. One of the smartest, compact designed buggies on the market. YES it’s super light, YES it fits as cabin baggage (bear in mind the cocoon and buggy board don’t) and YES it’s super easy to open and close. (And here comes the BUT…) unlike their bulky counterparts, these strollers don’t boast such robust wheels. This makes tougher terrain an uncomfortable ride for baby and a possible case of tennis elbow for the driver. Particularly steer clear of wet mud because once it has dried there’s no turning those front wheels until they’re cleaned thoroughly – and I don’t know about you, but I can think of a ton of better things to do when my darling baby naps than jet spray the wheels of the buggy. They also, on the whole, don’t allow for baby to face the comforting view of their parent. Also worth consideration. 

Finally for today, it’s worth your while answering some killer questions to help you formulate a plan for the most practical design for you.

Here’s a starter for ten: Think about where you live. How easy is it to get in and out the flat / house / bungalow? Now think about that again with a buggy, a baby, possibly a toddler in tow too, a changing bag, the online shopping returns you need to take back to the post office, the rain cover, a mosquito net, the sun shade, a buggy board. Etc. Etc. ETC. Consider what your day will look like. Are you likely to be staying local? Nursery drop off on foot? Walks to the park? Or are you off in the car for day trips and long journeys? 

Don’t forget, if the travel system IS what you need, there are plenty of preloved ones out there that were bought with the good intention of being the only buggy they’d ever need… at a fraction of the original cost.

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn

Let’s launch into today’s post talking about travel systems. A top newborn pick amongst new mums. Multi functional all rounders, these let you switch from carry cot to car seat and then into a pram seat when baby hits six months. They are marketed as the only buggy you’ll need from birth up to two years. A spin to help you overcome the nausea of their hefty price tag? Maybe. But without a doubt, they are built to last: some convert into doubles, many attach to wheeled boards and some sing and dance for all your needs as your family grows. However do keep this in mind: they are big, bulky and heavy, and the likelihood is that you will want to change up your buggy style a little further down the line.As I so often say: No one buggy fits all.

Consider this: your baby will grow! Firstly, that means the car seat that attaches to your buggy will become redundant. Secondly, most travel systems weigh around 12kg (an uppaBABY frame = 9kg + carry cot / seat = 3kg) so when you add the weight of your growing child, by the age of one, you’re pushing around an Indian muntjac! OK, slight exaggeration – but you get the point: babies grow, needs change and you might regret the bulky buggy choice straight off the bat.

Some smaller stroller options lie flat for newborns, can attach car seats, boast snug inserts for smaller babies or newborn cocoons (all with the right adapters, of course.) And once your newborn grows into a baby and leaps to toddlerhood, said strollers have a much lighter frame and seat to push around. Think Babyzen YoYo. One of the smartest, compact designed buggies on the market. YES it’s super light, YES it fits as cabin baggage (bear in mind the cocoon and buggy board don’t) and YES it’s super easy to open and close. (And here comes the BUT…) unlike their bulky counterparts, these strollers don’t boast such robust wheels. This makes tougher terrain an uncomfortable ride for baby and a possible case of tennis elbow for the driver. Particularly steer clear of wet mud because once it has dried there’s no turning those front wheels until they’re cleaned thoroughly – and I don’t know about you, but I can think of a ton of better things to do when my darling baby naps than jet spray the wheels of the buggy. They also, on the whole, don’t allow for baby to face the comforting view of their parent. Also worth consideration. 

Finally for today, it’s worth your while answering some killer questions to help you formulate a plan for the most practical design for you.

Here’s a starter for ten: Think about where you live. How easy is it to get in and out the flat / house / bungalow? Now think about that again with a buggy, a baby, possibly a toddler in tow too, a changing bag, the online shopping returns you need to take back to the post office, the rain cover, a mosquito net, the sun shade, a buggy board. Etc. Etc. ETC. Consider what your day will look like. Are you likely to be staying local? Nursery drop off on foot? Walks to the park? Or are you off in the car for day trips and long journeys? 

Don’t forget, if the travel system IS what you need, there are plenty of preloved ones out there that were bought with the good intention of being the only buggy they’d ever need… at a fraction of the original cost.

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn

Picture this. An airport check in desk. A Dad hovering over two suitcases; one hand luggage wheelie bag; a full-size travel system; a car seat bag stuffed with nappies, sun shades, rain covers, blankets and a car seat. A Mum wearing a baby in a sling; a nappy changing bag and a face of dread. FIRST FAMILY HOLIDAY ABROAD CLAXON. And yes, this was us.

Five hours of uncertainty lay ahead. Would he sleep? Would he cry? Would we get ‘the look’ from fellow passengers? In hindsight, with only one kid in tow and no need to steralise bottles or to warm milk mid-flight, the only thing we had to worry about was why on earth we’d packed enough stuff for seven weeks for our seven days away.

After a couple of days in the sunshine, we took a trip to a local supermarket for basic provisions. I could not believe what I saw. The same brand nappies as I had lugged from London. Who knew?! After weeks of calculations for the exact number of nappies required by a five month old for a week away from home (plus, of course, a 10% contingency) I simply couldn’t believe my eyes. The nappy sacks. The wipes. The creams. Same. Same. Same. I kicked myself and took quite a bit of stick from my husband and chalked it up to experience. Like everything else with motherhood, right? You live, you learn…

It turns out that my over-zealous packing of basic baby hygiene products wasn’t the only thing we’d brought that we didn’t really need. The full travel system buggy was, to say the least, a bit redundant. Despite it being one of the sleeker designs on the market at the time, it was cumbersome and quite frankly awkward to manoeuvre in and out of hotel doors, around sun loungers and over sand. Luckily the sunnier climes meant it could ‘live’ on our balcony for the week without fear of getting wet else it would have taken up most of our cosy hotel room, too. And to this day I’m still annoyed by the scratches on the chassis frame thanks to the heavy-handed baggage handlers.

I know you’re keen to know about the car seat. Well we didn’t venture far from the hotel. So we didn’t use it once.

Each night we stressed about bathing before or after dinner, and inhaled all three courses in one whoosh, running back upstairs to bed our son. Only to be woken 45 minutes later as the four month sleep regression had cleared passport control and was most certainly on holiday with us…

If you were to ask me if I enjoyed that holiday I would struggle to answer. I can’t remember if I did or not. In retrospect, this now mum of two wants to tell the then first-time mum of a newborn to CHILL OUT. But it was hard back then. That newborn fog. The sleep deprivation. The first time as a family abroad. Did I mention the sheer exhaustion from the late nights calculating how many nappies to pack?!

But I learnt. I took it all on board and made sure that future holidays were more realistic. In terms of preparation, expectation and routine whilst there. Two years on I invested in an umbrella stroller buggy as well as a super sleek one-hand fold and carry-on board buggy for air travel, which can attach a wheeled board. The wheeled board is excellent for navigating airports if one of the kids refuses the buggy. And it negates the need for a double buggy if you have both kids.

Make your life easier. Do a bit of research about what you can buy when you’re at your destination. Shape your packing accordingly. And most importantly schedule some time to relax. You never know, you might even enjoy yourself 🤷‍♀️

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn

In this edition of “ 5 x 5 “ I chat with Aziz Tayabali. He is the owner of the UK’s leading buggy cleaning and repairs specialists, Buggy Pitstop.

Aziz started the business over 10 years ago after spotting a need in the market for a repair and cleaning service for buggies. With a career that has spanned over 30 years in the industry, there is nothing that this man doesn’t know about pushchairs!

Q1) What are the most common faults you see in your repair shop? 
Too much shopping on the handlebars can cause breakage or weakness on the folding system mainly on the Bugaboo Cameleon 3. It’s the most frequent repair we do.

Q2) What tips can you give on keeping your buggy in tip top condition? 
Lubrication. Lubricate the wheels and all moving parts with a silicone spray on a monthly basis.

Q3) Have you ever turned a buggy away? 
Yes, we can only repair brands that we can get the spare parts for, so if it’s an uncommon brand that needs repairing, we wouldn’t take it on. Also, we will never do repairs to car seats, as we have no means to do a safety check to the repair if we had carried it out.

Q4) What is the best way to clean out muddy wheels? 
A damp cloth is a good way to clean the wheels. Always lubricate the bearing on the wheels after you have cleaned them.

Q5) In your expert opinion, should people have any concerns with buying preloved buggies? 
No, as long as they have made sure the stroller is both safe and hygienic for their baby. You have given them tips for what to look out for on your website which is great. We also offer a free safety check on all buggies that are brought to us, even if just booked in for a clean!

The guys at Buggy Pitstop are generously offering 10% off any of their services right now to Buggy Park customers. To claim your special offer, sign up for our newsletter by hitting subscribe below!

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn

I’m thinking about opening a shop once all the dust settles.  I toyed with the idea of having a retail outlet as a selling arm of this business back when I started formulating the idea.  I concluded that people were comfortable buying and selling so much online that it was an unnecessary start up cost and potentially something to consider down the line and so I launched just online.

In a previous life, fresh out of university, I worked for a boss who told me internet shopping would never take off 😳. It was a long time ago in fairness to her and it’s hard to preempt the future but still how wrong she was!  Thank goodness for the online world inside of our social quarantine, what exactly would we have done without it…? I really struggle to think about just how isolated we would be in lockdown if it weren’t for our virtual right hand man. But what will life look like post covid-19?  Will we ever feel comfortable to return to physical shops? To mingle among strangers casually mooching through wares and sharing clothes to try on.  What could the retail world look like in order to satisfy people’s desire to feel safe from the virus? We patiently queue one in and one out for now, but will people eventually just not bother and simply order everything online?

I’m much more conscious of what I’m buying, of what we really need as a family.  And my reduced visits out and about in shops with ‘time’ to fill has meant less temptation to spend.  And let me tell you it’s a welcome relief avoiding my husband’s monthly credit card statement interrogation!  Of the small number of times that I have been out to shop, I have dashed through the aisles grabbing only the items that are on my list.  I haven’t dared cast my eyes to the shelves filled with ‘non-essentials’ to browse what more there may be on offer in order to magically enhance our family’s existence.  Yet, at home, from the comfort of my couch, I happily scour the online shops daily, looking for anything to reduce the boredom of being home, the relentless need to stimulate my children throughout our 14 hour daily shifts and to simply make my life easier!

In some ways I’ve relished the slower paced life and learnt that I don’t need to rush around ‘filling’ my day with endless errands. That actually staying home has forced me to find the time to stay in touch with people more.  I have loved getting on top of the list of things that have needed doing and because of the internet I don’t need or miss anything.  Pretty much everything is available with a few taps on a device including familiar faces, voices and unlimited entertainment.  

Of course, it would be tragic to see the high streets replaced by online outlets but with an economy decimated by a pandemic, at least being online gives those smaller shop owners a chance to remain trading.  So now I’m wondering whether retail life post C19 requires the need for physical interaction again? Right now it seems as though it can exist virtually, without it.

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn

24/7 lockdown. It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? And when couples with kids are thrust into isolation the D word can crop up. Did you know that in Wuhan, as ‘normal’ life starts to resume, divorce rates soar to an all time high? 

These unprecedented times certainly put a sudden strain on family life – our rhythm and routine completely upended; swept aside by a tornado of new and relentless responsibilities. Overnight, some parents have become teachers, all the while navigating toddler tantrums, sibling squabbles and newborn neediness. Many juggling all this whilst working from home or supporting a partner trying to get some work done, too. This really tests the confines of the home – the kitchen table taking on a whole new identity as a shared working space. But whilst many in Wuhan leap to ‘opt out’, for me – and many others – this might just be the best thing to have happened to my marriage… 

I didn’t return to work after my firstborn. In truth, there wasn’t much to return to. I’d been freelancing as a yoga instructor and there aren’t many students prepared to wait around for a teacher who goes on mat leave. So, I’ve been a stay-at-home parent now for the best part of five years. And by stay-at-home, I mean I rule the roost. I am, quite frankly, the boss of our babies, making every parenting decision when it comes to our children.

From sleep routines and pram pushing to get them to actually nap, to weaning, cooking and feeding them to get them to actually eat; from policing an at-all-times-fully-stocked changing bag to clamouring around soft plays and running around playgrounds; from clearing up vomit, dragging them to the doctor and holding them down for vaccinations, to potty training, packing for holidays and dealing with mounds of their washing when we get back… This list is non-exhaustive. And it is also endless.

Over the past five years, I have sacrificed months of sleep tending to them through the nights (they are God awful sleepers) and I can count on one hand the number of bath times they’ve had without me. All the while never once has there not been food in the fridge, on the table, or a dry, bare cupboard in the house. So guess what? The balance in mine and my husband’s relationship shifted. 

Here’s the thing with us; we have always been a great partnership. A real team. We’ve had to overcome some difficult life events but we’ve always come through stronger. Yet no moment has dynamically changed our relationship as much as the arrival of our much wanted and longed for children. 

It certainly wasn’t my fault.  Nor in any way was it his. It was just the way it had to be in our family. His pressurised job often demanded long hours and, since moving out of London, he endures over an hour of commute – each way, each day. I am, of course, not a single parent but, wow, can I relate to the intensity of what that life must be like after daily, back-to-back 14 hour shifts solo parenting all week long.

Yet these past couple of weeks, with my husband working from home, we’ve discovered a renewed balance to our hectic life as a family of four. Don’t get me wrong, the night wakings are still my domain, but there is a little less pressure for me to get up after a bad night because there is no mad dash for the 7.07 train that morning.

PLUS there’s an extra pair of hands around to pick up the washing, make the beds, take down the water glasses and feed the cat! There’s also somebody else here at bath time. Every. Single. Night. And someone to hoover and tidy up whilst the other reads bedtime stories and dries wet hair. I’ve even had lunch made for me this week, twice… Between you and me, I could really get used to this!

The atmosphere outside our noisy, chaotic homes is an unfamiliar one, and one of fear. We’re anxious and unsettled because we have been forced into lifestyle changes overnight, and who dares hazard a guess at for how long… But as I sit here supping a cuppa that my husband made me whilst taking a break from his work, I remember these wise words: “Don’t be afraid of change. You might end up losing something good, but you may gain something better”.

I hope you all stay home, safe and well. And far from lawyers like us! 

• 8 things you should be discussing in your antenatal class!
• To Snoo or Not To Snoo, is that even the question?
• If I had another baby I’d be buying the Nuna mixx pram!
• Stokke Xplory X: 5 Reasons to LOVE it!
• Sustainable Buys for a Newborn