Mummy and the Chunks - Graco Evo Mini on Transport - Guest Post

You may remember that the lovely Carly from Mummy and the Chunks visited us earlier in the week to share her Cloth Nappy experiences, today she returns to tell us about the Graco Evo Mini that she is currently putting through it's paces...

Me and the chunks AKA Gracie (2) and Zach (6 months) have been lucky enough to be testing out the Graco Evo Mini for the past 4 weeks. In this time we have tackled shopping, snow, buses, trains and even sand all in the name of pushchair testing and have been documenting it all on our blog.

We have had lots of fun testing out the different features of our new pushchair. It is a lightweight yet surprisingly sturdy stroller. Perfect for shopping trips as its easily steered even one handed which has become an essential for me with a toddler who feels the need to touch and grab everything within reach every time we go out! Also the basket is HUGE for a stroller, I can fit my raincover,baby carrier and a fair few shopping items in the basket and have my hands spare to deal with the kiddies. After having a successful shopping trip in our local city centre I was motivated to go a bit further...

Now I've been on a train before with a pushchair before back when Gracie was a baby and even with two adults it was a nightmare getting on with our big bulky travel system it was then I vowed I would never go on a train with a pushchair again! Well guess what me and Zach did? That's right we braved catching a train with the pushchair for a trip to Birmingham. Well the pushchair space on the train was as small as I remembered it but the Evo Mini fitted in no problem and even had space for passengers to walk by. Not only is it small and compact but it is comfy too with its padded seats meaning I had a very happy Zach sat up smiling away and waving at every person that walked past him!

It was just as easy using it on a bus. To be honest I've never had major pushchair problems on buses there is usually plenty of room once on the bus but I have had problems with pushchairs slipping even with brakes on meaning I had to hold them tightly to avoid them sliding around or tipping. I've also had problems trying to lift on and off buses, but not with this one I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though I had Zach in a baby carrier and Gracie in the pushchair I didnt have to struggle at all to get it on and there was enough room to fit the pushchair in the space and for me to sit beside it. there was also no trouble with the brakes once they were on the pushchair was at a complete standstill and I could sit comfortably for the journey.

For those who don't use public transport, the Evo Mini is as equally perfect as it takes up little room in a car boot. I can fit it in our old 10 year old fiesta with all our food shopping around it with no problems. If really necessary we can even squeeze it under the kids feet in the back of the car. Now that is impressive!

If you want to find out more about our adventures with the Evo Mini please visit our blog...

  Mummy and the Chunks

I'd like to say a massive thank you to the lovely My Mummy's Pennies for letting me share our Graco Evo Mini experiences with you all. 

Some exciting news...

 
On Friday Morning I was delighted to receive a phone call from the lovely William from Pushchair Trader giving me the exciting news that I had been picked as one of the Pushchair Trader living with testers for the Maxi - Cosi Noa!! I was thrilled!

I first encountered the Noa at the Baby Show in Manchester last year, I had a play and really liked it! It looked so sleek and modern but still really comfy! Of course of the main things that makes the NOA stand out is the fold! Not only does it weigh just 7kg it also has a an easy one hand fold which makes it into a compact package with a pull along handle! This sounded idea and to be honest the only reason I didn't buy at the time was that I wanted something with more of a recline as at the time Elizabeth was 10 months old and slept a fair bit while out and about. Now she is older (18 months next week) this is not really an issue as she has one set naptime a day.

The Noa really does sound ideal for our lifestyle! We use a stroller to take Elizabeth to and from nursery each day and having to fold it up to store in the nursery 'shed' while struggling with a wriggly toddler is just not fun! I don't drive so we use public transport a lot and need a compact pushchair that's easy to get on and off buses or trams and when we do use the car (mainly for days out or for a big shop at the weekend) it's a small Clio so boot space is quite sparse anyway without it being filled with a buggy! Not to mention the two Caravan holidays we have planned this year where we need all the space we can get in the car for 2 adults, two children and all our luggage! (i usually take everything but the kitchen sink!)


So I am really pleased to have been picked and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you all on the living with section of the pushchair trader website!

If you think you would be good at putting a pushchair though it's paces and testing it for Pushchair Trader why not sign up to become a Pushchair Trader #VIP? For just £10 you get a whole host of benefits including....

- The opportunity to apply to test pushchairs and pushchair accessories from a wide range of leading brands including iCandy, Britax, Maxi-Cosi, Yummy Mummy, Quinny and more

- Discount codes from a range of fabulous brands worth £100's of pounds...

- 25 or more entries in all competitions they run for 12 months, and let me tell you they run some pretty fantastic competitions!! Currently they have a Bump2toddler bundle up for grabs worth an amazing £3647!! Although everyone can enter once, becoming a #VIP dramatically increases your chances of winning as a massive 92% of their competition have been won by Vip's since the scheme started! In fact just last week I was lucky enough to win some lovely Olympic themed Baby&More bibs...


So how do you become a member of this exclusive club? Simply click here to get started!! And don't forget you can follow Pushchair Trader on facebook and twitter also...

And good luck! Now all I need to do is decide what colour Noa to get. Hmmm... Any suggestions??

Britax B-Smart 4 - my first impressions...

 

So Mummies you may remember I was very excited a few weeks ago to find out I had won the Emma's Diary Competition at the Manchester Baby Show for a Britax -Smart 4 in Black Thunder! Well it arrived last week and today I used it for the first time! So I thought I would share my first impressions with you lovely readers...

Firstly I could not believe how easy it was to put together! I had meant to do it last night and completely forgot, So ended up opening the box at 7.30 this morning while the little ones were eating breakfast and watching Disney Junior, and even at that time in the morning, all on my own it took me less than 10 minutes! When it was all together it looked fab! I have to admit I was a bit unsure about it being all black, all the prams and buggies I've had up to know have had a bit of colour to them (usually purple) so the ideal of this one being all black made me think it might look a bit bland but I was wrong! The combination of the black frame with the black seat and fabrics is very effective and looks really sleek! The whole look of the B-Smart is rather sophisticated and sleek really!

So after a full day of using this pushchair there are some things about it I already love and some things I'm not so keen on yet! I'll start with the 'loves'...

The 'Look' - Well as you've probably guessed I LOVE the look of it, it's the ultimate 'Mummy Accessory' that will go with anything!

The Wheels/ Tyres - For the past year I have has a pushchair with Air filled tyres and in that time I have had no less than 5 punctures (And yes I've tried Slime!!) So I was very pleased to find that the B-Smart does NOT have air filled tyres, however I was worried that this would mean a bumpier ride for Elizabeth. I had no need to worry as the ride was very smooth even on rather uneven road surfaces!

The Basket - What more can I say other than... It's HUGE! Ideal for all that Christmas Shopping!

The Seat - The seat is shaped and padded and Elizabeth looked very comfy in it today! It also has a very easy recline mechanism so it's nice and easy to adjust when she falls asleep!

The Handlebar - Really easy to adjust so it was really comfortable for me today, it did not pull on my back (as some do) and was easily adjusted for Hubby when he came to meet us after work and took over 'pushing duty!'

The brake - I love the little flick on flick off foot brake, that changes colour so you can quickly check whether its on or not! Fab!


So these are the main things I LOVE about the Britax B-Smart, now onto a few things that I'm less convinced on...

The Raincover - It rained for a lot of today so while we were outside I was forced to have the rain cover on, and I really missed the the 'window' on my old raincover where I could reach in to Elizabeth if she wanted a snack or lost her 'dodi' while having a nap, etc rather than having to remove the whole thing.

The Straps - I don't know if I'm missing something here, but I couldn't see how to detach the straps so I could put a liner in? Although the seat is lovely and padded my little girl tends to make a mess when she has snacks in her pushchair so I like to have a liner that I can easily take off and wash. Also there is not Foot muff provided with the B-Smart (I used my Bundlebean today which was great) but if I were to buy one how would I attach it?

As you can see there are a lot more 'Loves' as I really do like this pushchair! I'll write a full review for you all when I've been using it a while, I just thought I would share my first impressions after using it for a whole day!

 If you've got a Britax B-Smart please do share your thoughts...