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Michael Underwood’s Ramblings of a New Dad: Two Under Two!

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It’s taken a while, but it’s finally beginning to settle in that I’m going to become a dad for the second time in less than two years. It seemed so straight forward when Angellica and I were discussing the pros and cons of having another child so quickly after the first. As soon as Angellica became pregnant again we initially began doubting ourselves and whether it was the right thing to do. Our thinking behind it was simple: it would be better to continue changing nappies and sterilising bottles for the next year or two, rather than stop all of that and have to return to it in several years. This wasn’t the only reason, but it was an important one because had we decided to wait, we may never have had another child!

One thing’s for sure, we’re well aware of how fortunate we’ve been as we both know friends and family who have had difficulties getting pregnant. Taking this into account, we’re just hoping for another healthy baby and aren’t too concerned about what sex the baby will be. So much so, we haven’t found out if we’re having a boy or a girl this time around. The money saving side of my brain would like a boy because we have all the stuff in the house already, so it would save us a fortune! Also, I now know how to cope with the early stages of bringing up a baby boy, whereas with a baby girl I’d feel like I was starting from scratch. All that being said, there’s definitely a big part of me that would love to have a daughter, but I guess we have to leave it up to Mother Nature to decide.

So now I have to start planning for life with two children under two. You might remember from my first few blog posts last year; I was responsible for the technical research into buggies, high chairs, monitors, furniture etc. Well this time it’s no different and I’ve set myself the task of hunting out the best double buggy and second cot bed solutions. Clearly, as a blogger for Mamas & Papas (M&P), the first place I decided to go was one of their flagship stores in Westfield London. Angellica, Elijah and I piled into the car and headed over to Shepherd’s Bush. One of the things I like about this store is that it’s so easy to access. I remember the real headache of trying to find a parking space near their old Regent Street branch in Central London and with Elijah in the car it just made the whole thing trickier. Now though, I can drive straight into the car park (head towards The Village and park on the middle level near the valet section) and it’s a three minute walk to the M&P store.

What I quickly realised last year was that you can only do so much research online. At some point you have to go and interact with the items to see the quality, feel the weight and inspect them in a lot more detail than you could on a computer screen. This is also a good opportunity for me to experience M&P’s ‘one-on-one’ customer service. This basically involves a member of the M&P team explaining all the different products to you to help with making an informed decision. When I arrived I immediately headed for the double buggy section to have a look around. I’d already done some basic research and knew the type of thing I was looking for. After a few minutes I was approached by Magdalena, a very warm and friendly member of the store team, who asked if I needed any help. I should point out that she had no idea I was coming or that I wrote a blog for the company. She then proceeded to ask me what type of buggy I was looking for, how old the children would be, what access to my home was like and how big my car was. Using the answers to these variables, she was then able to suggest the best two double buggies and began showing me how to use them and the pros and cons of both. Brilliant! Magdalena had somehow managed to strike the perfect balance. She was neither a pushy sales person, nor a dis-interested member of staff. It was like having my own personal advisor on hand to help me make my decisions. I need her with me every day; it would make my life a lot easier! At this point, Angellica and Elijah had joined me after sweeping through the store collecting maternity outfits and random toys. Perfect timing for my wife as usual; she got to test drive the two double buggies and I got sent to the changing rooms to deal with Elijah’s stinky nappy!

I normally dread using the changing facilities in shops because they tend to smell of dirty nappies and other unpleasant aromas. Also, they never feel as clean as I think they should and I have no idea why that is. This is not the case at M&P though, as the changing room is not only private, but is spotless and hygienic. Not a whiff of urine or a dirty tissue in sight. Add a few candles and you’d be forgiven for thinking you were about to receive a luxury spa treatment. It actually made the whole messy process of changing Elijah’s nappy whilst he’s wriggling around like an eel in an olive oil puddle, very easy.

As I came out of the changing facilities I saw Magdalena discussing cot beds with Angellica. I was planning on getting a contemporary bunk bed cot which would save on space and look really cool, but it was clear Angellica wanted to get the same cot bed we bought for Elijah. Annoyingly, I knew it was the right decision…as did Magdalena! It really did make total sense because it has been perfect for our son and all the furniture we bought from M&P came with a two year guarantee, so we know if any issues did occur it wouldn’t be a problem.

All in all we enjoyed a good shopping experience and day out.

Love, Michael


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