Amazing new baby gear you've never seen before
A car seat that grows into a stroller and a buggy made out of bottles - amazing innovations spotted at 2014's Harrogate Nursery Fair
Doona, £299
Transformers in disguise arrived at the show in the form of a car seat that grows legs and turns into a stroller at the click of a button. The Doona (£299, plus £100 for the base) is an Isofix car seat, which has a chassis and wheels folded into its base. For those constantly taking children in and out of the car for short journeys and don’t want the hassle of getting a buggy out, this could be a big deal. Despite being lightweight, the Doona stroller allows you to hand special Doona bags over the handles, which are designed to spread the weight and avoid the stroller tipping.
The only downside: when using it as a stroller, your baby is still in a car seat in an upright position, so it's no good for long stroller journeys (the current advice is that babies should stay in car seats for no longer than 2 hours at a time).
Launching in July, be prepared to turn a few heads
Buggypod Perle, £59.95
Buggyboards no longer the only way to let a second child travel on the back of the buggy (without buying another seat). The innovative Buggypod Perle (£59.95, plus £19.95 for board clamp) is a seat that fixes onto the buggyboard, so your child can sit down when he gets tired from standing. The Perle attaches to any Lascal Buggyboard Maxi or Bugaboo Wheeled Board. The ball pops out for a quick game of football in the park and it also works as a booster seat, to use in restaurants or when away from home.
The only thing to watch out for is that the Perle is not a small contraption, so you'll need somewhere to store it while your child is standing on the buggyboard.
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Launching in June, some parents may be put off by its bulky size
Greentom pushchair, £199
Claiming to be the world's greenest pushchair, 93% of the Greentom pushchair is made out of recycled plastic bottles. And at only £199, its sustainability credentials aren’t the only thing to smile about. As everything on the pram is made of shock-absorbing plastic, the wheels don’t need suspension, which makes them more flexible. One thing to watch out for, the Greentom is only suitable for babies 6mth+ but the same company are also releasing the UpCombi - an equally recycled travel system-compatible pushchair, which is ready to use from birth.
This pram, made entirely of plastic bottles, is the gold standard in up-cycling
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