The Pram That Made Doll Shows Easier

The first time I took Lily to a doll show, I carried her in the crook of my arm like a real newborn, and by the second aisle my shoulder was done. She is only about five pounds, which sounds light until you have also got a tote bag of patterns, a purse, and a cup of coffee you are trying not to spill on someone's hand-painted vinyl. I spent the whole morning juggling, shifting her from one arm to the other, apologizing when I bumped a table. I came home with a sore arm and one clear thought: there had to be a better way.

That better way turned out to be a pram. A friend at the Springfield show, one of the ladies who sews the prettiest preemie outfits, rolled up with her reborn in a stroller and looked like she had been doing it for years. She told me she had bought the Bayer Neo Vario doll pram and pushchair, and that it folded small enough to ride in the trunk of her car. I ordered one the first week of March. Six months later, it is the piece of gear I would not want to do a show without.

The Bayer Neo Vario converts from a lying carriage to a sitting pushchair, which matters more than you might think. Lily is 20 inches, and this pram is sized for dolls up to 20.5 inches, so she fits with a little room to spare. At a show, she can lie flat in the carrycot while we browse, and when we stop to look at a table of hats, I tilt the back up so people can actually see her face. The handle adjusts from 24.4 to 31.1 inches, and since I am on the taller side, that was the difference between pushing comfortably and hunching. The reversible mounting means I can push it from either side, which is handy when the aisle gets tight and I need to pull instead.

The swivel wheels are the detail I did not expect to love. Doll show aisles are narrow and crowded, and there are vendor boxes everywhere. The front wheels turn easily, so I can steer with one hand while I hold a pattern with the other. It is a manual pram, no buttons or motors, which is exactly right for a doll. The frame is metal, and the whole thing weighs 3.89 kilograms, about eight and a half pounds, light enough to lift into the trunk and sturdy enough that it does not wobble when Lily is in it.

The front wheels turn easily, so I can steer with one hand while I hold a pattern with the other.

The shoulder bag that comes with it is a small thing, but it is the kind of small thing you appreciate. It coordinates with the pram, and I keep Lily's spare magnetic pacifier and the little blanket I crocheted in it. At the show in August, a woman stopped me and asked where I had gotten the pram. She had been carrying her reborn in a basket and her arms were full, poor thing. I told her the brand, showed her how the handle reverses, and watched her write it down on the back of a business card. That is the thing about doll shows. Nobody minds being asked, because we all started somewhere.

I will be honest about the things that took getting used to. The pram folds, but it is not a one-second fold. You have to work with it a little, and the first time I tried it in the parking lot, I was glad I had practiced at home. It is also not the smallest thing you will ever put in your trunk, so if you drive a small car, measure before you order. And the listing says it is recommended for ages 36 months to 8 years, which tells you the company is thinking of it as a toy for children. For those of us using it for a collectible reborn doll, it works even better, because it is built to take real handling.

It is not just for shows, either. Lily lives in a white wicker bassinet in the spare bedroom, away from the window, but when my grandchildren come to visit, they like to see her. I wheel the pram into the living room, set it down, and let them look from a respectful distance. The pram makes that easy, because she is at a sensible height and I do not have to hand her around. When they leave, I fold the pram back up and tuck it in the hall closet.

But those are small tradeoffs. What the Bayer Neo Vario gives me is the freedom to enjoy a whole day at a show without my arm going numb and without worrying that Lily will get bumped in a crowded aisle. She rides at a good height, the carrycot keeps her lying flat when I want her to, and when I set the pram down to look at a table, she stays put. That last part matters more than I expected. Before, I was always looking for a place to set her down. Now I just park the pram next to me and take my time.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you collect reborns and you have ever stood in the middle of a doll show with your arms full, this is the purchase that fixes it. I am not going to tell you the Bayer Neo Vario is the only pram worth owning, because it is not, and I have seen lovely ones that cost more. But this one does the job, it folds, it came with a matching shoulder bag, and I have used it every month since March. Buy it if you want your hands free. Practice the fold before you leave the house. And when someone at the show asks where you got it, tell them the lady with the crocheted blanket sent you.