Our little one is due in October and the amount of options in every baby item is overwhelming.
So here I am asking for everyone here for an opinion in regards to prams.
I am thinking about getting
https://www.baccaniprams.com.au/product/cavallo/
Has anyone bought this from them? Would love to here any opinions.
Open to other options as well.
Also what would be the other must buys for a newborn child?
Thanks.
Opinions about prams, strollers and other baby things
Ldemmogorgon on 12/07/2020 - 11:49
Comments
Thanks for such a detailed post.
I am now happy that we already bought a fisherPrice bouncer.
Car seat we have gone for isofit Vela during the last 20% off ebay sale.
Also bought the dresser that matches furniture which would double up as changing table and took its feet off to reduce any chance of toppling it over.
Mainly its Pram, cot, high chair & rocking chair (maybe) thats left for now. Cant justify buying a $1000 pram.
Will definitely keep an eye out for gumtree posts.This. We got 2 free hand me down prams from friends and neighbours, and we keep one at home and one at the family holiday house. Everything was secondhand except for the car seats and later on we splashed out on a Baby Jogger City Tour 2 when it became obvious that my wife was struggling with the large and heavy freebie prams.
Looks fine.
Just check it'll fit into your car easily,
most of our friends found travel prams/strollers more practical and regularly used rather than their full sized prams. It's just too much hassle getting the big prams in and out of cars
Yes, i am thinking of getting a cheap stroller down the track once baby is old enough to sit straight by herself.
I think aldi has one coming up… Might wanna stock it
I posted a similar post last year and got some great info and responses that might help you too https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/459082
I'm not familiar with that pram, but from a quick look at it looks quite low, which can be an issue for lifting baby in and out and the canopy/shade doesn't look very big. The bassinet option and suspension look good and it's a very reasonable price.
Things we used a lot in the early days:
- A bassinet with wheels (had to buy it before leaving the hospital as didn't realise you're meant to have them in your room at first and his cot was too big) the wheels are great for rocking back and forth to settle or for naps in the lounge room etc.
- Wraps for swaddling or a love to dream swaddle or equivalent. You'll need heaps as they spew quite a bit and things need cleaning.
- A baby swing, so you've got somewhere to put bub down whilst dressing, showering etc. Don't buy one, you can pretty much always get one free off Marketplace, I was given two, and then gave them away again now he's grown of of it.
- Car seat - there are two camps here, the capsule people and then straight to car seat people. We did capsule and it wasn't worthwhile, should have just gone to car seat, but other people swear by the capsule. Britax is a great brand, we have Platinum pro, the graphene and millenia are also very good.
- Bottles, either for expressed breast milk or formula. Trust me on this one. We stopped using bottles once my breast milk supply kicked in and when we went to introduce them again, bub flatly refused, and still won't take one at 10months. We've tried ALL the tricks and suggestions. It's a massive pain! Try and do a bottle (of either expressed breast milk or formula) at least every couple of days if/when breastfeeding is established so you don't end up like me.There's heaps more that you'll need, but I'll leave it at that for now, as I think everyone finds different things helpful.
Thats very good insight again. Thanks.
Although I read somewhere that if you introduce bottle early on baby becomes lazy and would not take breast milk. Its good to hear the other way around. Need a good balance i guess.
We are still contemplating on bassinet and cot. I was thinking of just taking one side of the cot and make it a co sleeper. But getting baby to sleep in the lounge etc would be hard then.
Would you recommend any place to buy swaddles and blankets for babies?Yeah, the bottle and breastfeeding stuff gets very confusing and at the end of the day you have to figure out what works for you. I was also told the same about the baby taking a preference for bottle if introduced too early, but we had to at first as he wasn't getting enough milk. I think if you can it's best to hold off until breastfeeding is going well but they lose their suckling reflex at some point (not sure exactly when) and noone told me, once they lose it, it's hard to bring the bottle back. Now I'm stuck with a 10month old that won't take a bottle at all. It's delayed my return to work and made things like going out for more than 3hrs tricky.
With swaddles and wraps. At first we just used these ones from kmart https://www.kmart.com.au/product/cotton-interlock-wraps---ti… I preferred these to muslin as the stretch helped to wrap him in tight. Once he could unswaddle himself, the Love to Dream brand of swaddle are great, but expensive so I'd recommend buying second hand if possible as they grow out of them so quickly. After love to dream, we used these swaddle bags from kmart https://www.kmart.com.au/product/2-swaddle-pouches/2492853 - they worked so well that I was scared to transition him to the arms out sleeping bags once he could roll. We were also given a whole lot of wraps we got for free from marketplace which was super handy - so keep your eye out, although I notice you're in Melbourne which might make it a bit harder.
One thing I've also noticed is that since COVID the budget end of the baby market has got more expensive. What were $4-6 suits in kmart and bigw are now $8-10, which makes second hand or Bonds on sale a much better option. e.g. Aldi will have Bonds suits on sale for $10.99 on 22/7, which are much better quality than the BigW ones for $10 (used to be $6 when we had bub). Either way you're going to want a zip suit (not buttons) with the little flip over mittens for their hands (as they scratch themselves to bits without). Something else worth noting, that I completely disregarded when someone told me before bub arrived, is that in the early days, tops and singlets that don't have fasteners at the bottom are completely useless as they just ride up. I bought the singlets the hospital told me to and pretty much never used them, singlet suits however we used heaps.
Thanks again will definitely keep an eye out for this Aldi special!
Don't be stingy on the pram. You will use it a LOT. Read reviews. Consider ease of folding and weight in particular as getting it in and out of the car if it's heavy and a pain to fold can be a nightmare. Also consider the height of the pram seat if you are tall. I know lots of people's kids couldn't fit in Bugaboos after a while as they have a shorter seat height.
Everything else is very much personal preference…know the safety requirements for SIDS.
Gumtree/Facebook marketplace to me was a rip off a lot of the time. Most people don't look after stuff and things like prams get used and abused the most. I've heard of people snapping up rare bargains. Also never buy a second hand car seat as you don't know if it's been in an accident.
With covid we found our iCandy orange sucks when we were taking the kids our for walks. The tiny front wheels get caught on everything and would stop the pram in its course. And the weight distribution meant we couldn't lean the pram backwards.
So we bought a mountain buggy duet with 10" wheels which are bigger than the 7" wheels of the iCandy orange.
The bigger wheels means we don't get stuck on uneven footpaths.
My advice: go to the store. Take with you a .. say … 4cm tall object. While holding the object at a fixed position try to drive the pram over it. It's front wheels look tiny. It'll be ok on shopping centre but on a footpath you may have trouble.
If the weight distribution is such that you can lean the pram back on its rear wheels only then tiny front wheels are ok. If you can't lean the pram backwards then … Stay indoors.
And yes. Second hand prams only! Let someone else buy new ones.
Due in September here and have also been going through the motions between internet research and recommendations from friends.
Pram - we bought a secondhand silvercross pioneer from a friend. We had a look at it in baby bunting seemed like a great pram. We’re novices though so figured if it doesn’t work for us, we can re-sell it and then pursue another option with no risk.
Cot - I have been looking on gumtree but haven’t purchased anything yet. I bought a new Moses basket from kiin for the first few months, not in a hurry to buy a cot.
Change table - looking on gumtree, not too fussed. I was considering buying a new one from Ikea but with Melbourne lockdown I don’t think that will happen. Otherwise might even grab the childcare brand from Kmart, I’m not after anything fancy.
Breast pump - I did a heap of research on product review sites and forums on what the best option might be. Spectra S2 was always highly rated but retails at about $300, so I set up a gumtree alert. I ended up picking one up in excellent condition for around $100. I didn’t want to spend a fortune since the whole feeding concept is so unknown at this point. We will give it an extra wipe down / sterilise before use.
A friend also recommended a Hakaa to use on the other side when feeding, catches any leaks and builds up a little milk supply with no effort. I bought Naturebond brand of the same idea off amazon, it seems very cool. I picked this brand because it came with a few extra features for the same price.Clothes - I have heard from so many people that best and less is the best option for price and washability, so we’ve got most of our stuff from there. Also buying Bonds wondersuits with the mittens and feet when they are 40% off at Coles or Woolies.
Hospital bag - I did a big online order from chemist warehouse for all the basics for me and baby. It was much easier than lugging a basket around the store with so much stuff to grab. Recommend this approach as you get closer to the due date.
Formula - I read somewhere to buy a few sachets of formula for just in case, rather than a whole tin. I ordered a few 5pk boxes from CW and while I do intend to breastfeed, I think just having that peace of mind that there is something in the house if needed has made me feel really calm. As I said above, the whole feeding thing is so unknown going in, so I’ve tried to make sure I’ve got all the options so the baby will be fed somehow.
Nappies - I wanted to try cloth for less landfill so my MIL has made very similar to the branded cloth nappies you can buy at baby bunting. We bought one from BB and she has used it as a template. If you’re considering cloth and have a someone in your network who can sew, maybe consider this. They are quite expensive to buy off the shelf in the volume needed. She’s even improved on the store bought nappy by adding a layer of waterproofing. I’m hoping that they work out ok in practice but we’ll have to see!
Your post have given me so many more things that i did not even consider before. Especially breast pump and baby formula.
So thank you.
Will definitely keep an eye out at when they go on special.
Also would you mind elaborating what did you buy off chemist warehouse as basics?
Or was it the hospital that gave the list beforehand?There are heaps of hospital bags lists on the internet so have a google and see what the common themes are. Also depends on what your hospital provides versus what you need to bring.
For me I bought some travel bottles to take my own body wash and shampoo, cleansing wipes, maternity and breast pads (both very glam), nipple balm (glam again), massage oil and deep heat back patches for labour, Epsom salts and breast milk bags for when I get home.
For baby I bought bepanthen, a 2pk of dummies (just in case, more for home), the formula sachets, and baby powder.
I already had some newborn nappies and baby wipes, plus still need to grab a few bottles.
I also bought a travel set of the Gaia baby bath products, thinking they were a good size to try and would be handy to refill in future if we go on any trips with baby.It’s a whole lot to think about but also stores are open all the time if you need something at short notice!
Also I planned on buying only plain white socks so that they take no thought to pair up after washing and are easily re-paired if some get lost. Can’t remember where I heard it but I’m not expecting to have brain capacity to pair socks if I’m sleep deprived.
Anyway, was gifted a heap of patterned socks and have just washed them, it was a game matching them all up and I can see they will become impractical as odd ones start getting lost.
Not sure how I’ll go with them but maybe consider the strictly plain white sock strategy if it’s not too late for you!You have given so much useful information.
Thank you so much for that.
Hope everything goes well with you and the little one.
Please look thoroughly at gumtree before you consider buying something new. Things like prams last well, and depreciate significantly. When buying used the instinct is to be troubled by a dirty, or dusty or stained product (for your precious little baby!), but please firmly remember that it will look the same after <1 year of use by your family if bought new.
I wanted a bugaboo for my wife. We tried a lot, and I researched a lot. I ended up buying a 'baby stuff' listing off gumtree for $150 around a month before her due date which we bought exclusively for the cot and change table. The people selling were eager to offload their old baby junk and included 2 nasty old prams, some dirty sleep suits and a baby bouncer.
Cleaned the prams on a whim and one of them has been our pram for the last year and a half with literally zero complaints. We gave the other one (also good!) away for free on gumtree. The sleep suits are worth their weight in gold.
To each their own, and there may be some things that you particularly value being brand new, but the vast, vast savings from buying used across the board at the very least means that you can get the more premium things you want new without as much buyer's guilt. We decided we wanted to get a un-used car seat for safety reasons.
ps. buy or borrow a simple baby bouncer. thank me later.