When my first child was born, I bought a fabulous new pram that cost a small fortune. Little did I know that I’d go on to buy another four prams.

Buying a pram is for the first time is a bit of a minefield – especially as you can’t possibly know what your family is going to look like in the years ahead.

While it’s best to buy the model that most suits your lifestyle and your budget today, it pays to look ahead and choose one that has a degree of flexibility in it, unless you don’t mind acquiring a small collection of prams in your hallway over the years.

Here are some questions you need to ask before you buy a pram.

What size is your car?

The pram will take up a lot of room in the boot of your car. Unless you plan to buy a new car you’ll need to make sure that the pram fits comfortably inside it, with plenty of extra room for nappy bags, grocery shopping, and everything else that might be needed.

When you are buying the pram, be sure to ask the sales assistant to let you practise folding up the pram and putting it into the boot of the car. This is a good opportunity to work out how easy the pram is to fold up, and unfold. Ideally you’ll need to be able to fold it up with one hand while holding a screaming infant in the other. The easier it is to get into the car the better. Trust us.

Lifestyle

Do you spend a lot of time shopping? Do you enjoy an outdoor lifestyle? Are you a fitness fanatic? Do you live in an urban area? Answering these questions will help you choose the style of pram that best suits you.

For example, if you spend a lot of time in malls and department stores, you will need a slim line pram that is lightweight and easy to manoeuvre around shopping aisles, is easy to collapse and fold up, and doesn’t take up a lot of room in your car. A good sized basket is also a must. You might want to consider a four wheel stroller with front wheels that swivel to give you extra control and manoeuvrability.

If you plan on spending a lot of time walking or exercising with the baby in the pram, then the comfortable ride of a three-wheeler is a better option. A swivel wheel at the front allows for greater manoeuvrability, while the large wheels make them a dream to push along. While they tend to be awkward and heavy to collapse and take up a lot of room in the car, they are wonderful prams for walking off road or on. Their large wheel base makes them too wide for some doorways and they are no good for public transport or the cash register aisle in the supermarket – you’ll need to go down the disabled aisle.

How long do you want it to last?

Do you want this pram to take the baby from newborn all the way to kindergarten? Do you want a pram to be able to adjust to extra children? With a new pram costing hundreds of dollars, it’s no surprise that most people want their pram to last the distance.

For a newborn, make sure the seat can recline all the way to a flat position – newborns cannot hold their neck up at all, and you don’t want the baby’s head to wobble about. A head brace will help to hold his head steady.

As he grows, you’ll want to be able to raise the seat gradually -five different seat positions are reasonable. If baby number two comes along when number one is a toddler, you’ll want to attach a toddler seat to the front of the pram, so check whether this is an option. A skateboard on the back is a terrific way of letting a pre-schooler stand up and ride – not all prams allow this, so check with the sales assistant.

Scarily, all of a sudden you are considering whether the pram you are naively admiring for your newborn is going to be suitable to transport three kids and a bag full of groceries. If that’s the case, make sure it is sturdy, easy to manoeuvre, and comfortable to push about, especially over curbs and up hills. If it’s difficult to push with a lot of weight attached, you could easily injure yourself.

Safety

Any pram you buy must adhere to the Australian Safety Standard. Look for a five point harness – including a waist strap, crotch strap and shoulder straps attached to the seat. This is the style recommended by Choice magazine, so, enough said.

The foot operated brakes on the rear wheels should be operated by a single motion, not individually. In the store, check that they are easy to engage, they don’t interfere with walking and that they instantly lock into position.

Basket size

If you are planning to do a lot of shopping, or will have loads of stuff to carry around (you’re a parent – of course you’ll have loads of stuff to carry!) you’ll want a big basket. The bigger the better. The alternative is to carry stuff yourself, or to hang things off the handle of the pram – both of which have their obvious drawbacks and their safety issues.

Extras

Recommended extras include rain and sun protection. While a drink bottle holder is useful, a sheepskin underlay is essential – it offers winter warmth, summer insulation, and a comfortable seat. Also consider a boot cover – a snuggly enclosed cover that can’t be kicked off, so worth its weight in gold.

Another option that you might want to consider which is popular overseas, and gaining popularity in Australia, is an adapter for your pram that enables you to attach your car bassinet to the pram – this is a great way to avoid moving a sleeping baby from the car into a pram, and as a bonus, removes the need to buy a separate bassinet attachment for the pram – this is often the case with three wheelers, because their seats do not recline completely flat.

With so many choices, it’s easy to get confused. The important thing is to choose a pram that is safe, comfortable for you and the baby, and that is affordable. For a listing of more than a thousand pram and stroller sellers around Australia, check out the Yellow Pages.