Mamas and papas Sola

yellow hen

Has anyone any experience of the m&p sola buggy. Im lookimg for a one fold buggy fir holidays etc but my daughter is only nearly 1 so i want one with a bit of comfort. Wpuld you recommend it? I'll still have her bugaboo for heavy duty use

scarepanda

We have it. Our lo is 6 months so still using the car seat as the main seat. But it's our only buggy and I use it most days in town and on country roads and have no complaints about the frame anyways. It's very easy to move around etc and folds as one unit with the main seat.

Any time we have used the main seat my lo has fallen asleep in it and it looks pretty comfy.

yellow hen

Thanks scarepanda. Would you travel with it on a plane if you had to?

scarepanda

Ya I would. I don't have much experience with buggies, but iv no complaints with it. You can also get a travel bag for it for carrying it on planes. It's a standard enough weight etc, but I think it's very compact, folds as one unit, the basket is quite big and it turns etc very easily even with one hand. Although as far as I know the basket needs to be emptied when folded if you want the seat to fold flat as well. It's also a lie flat which is very handy and the main use we've used the buggy seat for so far. You need two hands to fold it, although once the lock is unhooked you can open it with one hand. The fold/unfold is a bit fiddly the first few times, but grand once you've figured it out, or at least that's what I found. Originally I was looking at a more expensive buggy, but the sola ticked all the boxes and I have to say I love it now.

We're going to London in may and the only reason we're considering leaving the buggy at home is because we don't think London will be the most buggy friendly, we have slings and we're only going for the weekend. But if we were going for any longer I'd definitely be bringing it.

rainbow kirby

Go sling only if you can, most tube stations don't have lifts and babywearing makes days out in London a million times easier. I use my buggy about once a week these days here - I have a 11 month old, a Connecta and a Manduca.

scarepanda

Thanks a million rainbow Kirby! That's what we were thinking about it as well. Iv only been in London once, before bubs, but I don't remember it being the most buggy friendly. We just need to set the slings up properly and get used to wearing them!

Would you have any other tips for bringing baby to London?

jlm29

I went to London when my lb was around 8 mo, and I managed ok with a buggy, but I needed another adult with me all the time. I had a sling, but it was a cheap piece of crap that cut the neck off me! I wish I'd had my lovely kibi back then but I was clueless!

Yellow hen would you consider buying a MacLaren or similar, since it's only for a holiday? I got one for that trip to London, and wouldn't fault it (5 years later). It lies flat, and I think you can get a parasol for it. It also has a handy strap that you can carry it (short distances, obviously) over the shoulder, and is so easy to fold and light when lifting up onto the belt in the airport, etc

rainbow kirby

scarepanda wrote: »

Thanks a million rainbow Kirby! That's what we were thinking about it as well. Iv only been in London once, before bubs, but I don't remember it being the most buggy friendly. We just need to set the slings up properly and get used to wearing them!

Would you have any other tips for bringing baby to London?

Depends what brings you here really! Not all baby specific...

When you're planning your trip keep an eye on the English school holiday dates - because parents are fined for taking their kids out of school for term time holidays half term is exceptionally busy.

If you're on a day out shopping, John Lewis has the best parent rooms.

There are generally more breastfeeding mums around than there are in Ireland and most coffee shops are relatively baby friendly.

If you plan a major baby equipment purchase (new buggy etc), because the sterling rate is so favourable for you it may be worth doing it here if you can check it in going home.

Use your contactless debit card on public transport, Oyster daily capping will be automatically applied. No cash is taken on buses.

Any saving by flying to Stansted is outweighed by the misery of getting to/from there. I usually use City or Heathrow.

If you're flying from Gatwick, the family line is the actual seventh circle of hell. They managed to break a bottle of Calpol in my liquids bag last time which ruined everything else in it.

It can be surprisingly warm in May - keep an eye on the weather forecast.

scarepanda

rainbow kirby wrote:

Depends what brings you here really! Not all baby specific...

rainbow kirby wrote:

When you're planning your trip keep an eye on the English school holiday dates - because parents are fined for taking their kids out of school for term time holidays half term is exceptionally busy.

rainbow kirby wrote:

If you're on a day out shopping, John Lewis has the best parent rooms.

rainbow kirby wrote:

There are generally more breastfeeding mums around than there are in Ireland and most coffee shops are relatively baby friendly.

rainbow kirby wrote:

If you plan a major baby equipment purchase (new buggy etc), because the sterling rate is so favourable for you it may be worth doing it here if you can check it in going home.

rainbow kirby wrote:

Use your contactless debit card on public transport, Oyster daily capping will be automatically applied. No cash is taken on buses.

rainbow kirby wrote:

Any saving by flying to Stansted is outweighed by the misery of getting to/from there. I usually use City or Heathrow.

rainbow kirby wrote:

If you're flying from Gatwick, the family line is the actual seventh circle of hell. They managed to break a bottle of Calpol in my liquids bag last time which ruined everything else in it.

rainbow kirby wrote:

It can be surprisingly warm in May - keep an eye on the weather forecast.

Sorry yellow hen for hijacking your thread

Rainbow Kirby, We're staying with OHs sister for the may bank holiday weekend. We'll be flying into Luton. I presume we'll be using public transport of some description to get around. No idea yet about what we'll be doing over there. Iv been there once before, but my OH hasn't. Most things during the day will be baby friendly anyways. That's good to know about John Lewis! Actually, what is the situation with breastfeeding in London? Are you legally protected to nurse anywhere in public like in Ireland?

rainbow kirby

Yep - you can legally nurse anywhere children are allowed to be (Scotland has the strongest legal protections, it's actually illegal to stop a mother from breastfeeding there, but it's pretty good in England and Wales too). UK rates are just as low as Ireland's but in London it's a bit more common than the rest of the country.

If you're flying into Luton, it's a bus from the airport to Luton Airport Parkway station then a train to St Pancras (£1.50 for the bus plus around £15 for the train), tube from there to your hotel. They're regular enough.

scarepanda

rainbow kirby wrote:

Yep - you can legally nurse anywhere children are allowed to be (Scotland has the strongest legal protections, it's actually illegal to stop a mother from breastfeeding there, but it's pretty good in England and Wales too). UK rates are just as low as Ireland's but in London it's a bit more common than the rest of the country.

rainbow kirby wrote:

If you're flying into Luton, it's a bus from the airport to Luton Airport Parkway station then a train to St Pancras (£1.50 for the bus plus around £15 for the train), tube from there to your hotel. They're regular enough.

Ah that's good to know. I didn't even consider that there may be any issues breastfeeding in public in the UK till you mentioned it - they are usually so far ahead of us with things like that! But it's good to know where I stand if I did get any hassle.
Have you flown into/from Luton before? This will be our first time flying with a baby, so I'm a bit apprehensive as iv never considered travelling with a baby before now and what's baby friendly etc. We will almost certainly be using both the bus and train. We're staying with my OHs sister. I don't actually know where she lives other than she's only a few minutes walk from a train line (I think) that goes to Luton.

rainbow kirby

Yep, I'm in north London so Luton is reasonably convenient if we're driving. They're great for absolutely nickel and diming you in a very Ryanair-ish manner - they still charge for the plastic bags at security etc. We flew to Rome on EasyJet from there in November, got moved into the priority boarding line when they noticed my son in the carrier.