Help! I need a car seat & pushchair that are light & VERY easy to fold & unfold

[summerglory]

Hi
I suffer with rheumatoid arthritis in my wrists/hands & elbows and am looking for a car seat & pushchair/buggy suitable from birth that are lightweight & really easy to fold & unfold.
I hv a 10wk old ds & we bought a 2nd hand quinny buzz 3 with a pebble maxi cosi car seat. However I've had nothing but problems since we got it. The car seat was ridiculously difficult to release from the chassis base & even my dh found it hard & in the end we bought some new adaptors that helped but I still find it hard to release the car seat from the pram base.
Then today I had problems collapsing the chassis base, it's still unfolded waiting for dh to come home to sort
I'm so fed up!
I'm thinking of getting a buggy that ds can go in from birth that is light & easy to fold/unfold and isn't too pricey. We hv the quinny base (if it can be fixed) w the buggy seat but im not sure if it's suitable from birth.
Basically I'm not fussed about a travel system I just want something I can get on with easily.
Please let me hv ur suggestions.
Thanks

[AndMiffyWentToSleep]

City mini baby jogger is easy to fold and relatively light and suitable from birth.
No idea about car seats though, sorry.

[peanutMD]

Baby jogger city mini folds literally one handed, you pull a strap on the seat and it folds in half.

It weighs less than 8kg and takes the Pebble car seat :)

[Tiggywunkle]

I agree. You wont get easier to open and close than a Baby Jogger City Mini. Look also at the iCandy Cherry and the Mee-Go Pramette both of which are very light.
Just to add though, Maxi Cosi car seats in general can be difficult to pull off any adaptors. You may well be better transferring the baby to the pushchair / carrycot each time.

[summerglory]

Thx for ur replies & suggestions.

Tiggy I hv come to that same conclusion about the maxi cosi car seat. I'm going to see how I get on w keeping the car seat in the car & using the quinny pushchair for now & if this has no joy I will look into getting a BJCM. The only downside i can c to them is that they do not face you.

[notfarmingatthemo]

I have RA in hands ankles knees. You really have to go and try them. I had it diagnosed before I had my last child but did have some of the symptoms with my first child. I would go for a britax shrII (the one with the buttons on the top) and which ever base works for your car. The seat belt base is a bit different to get off the base but is very easy when you get the hang of it.
I have just seen your last post I hardly ever put the carseat on the wheels as they very quickly become heavy. If you can leave the carseat in the car and the pushchair you have works for you I would keep doing that. Save your money for when you do need to buy different stuff to make your life easier.

[Hyperballad]

I have the gracco Evo, and the frame is very light and easy to fold, you can fold it and lift it with just one hand.

The car seat Is very light, just clunks and click on and off as does the pram bit.

It's very good in my opinion. I bought mine from mothercare.

[Hyperballad]

Oh sorry ignore my post! I've just recommended you a travel system! Which I've just read again that you are not interested in! Sorry :)

[BikeRunSki]

Definitely the Baby Jogged City Mini with a Maxi Cosi car seat.

[Strix]

I have a 2010 Bugaboo Bee you can have free if you can collect from West London. DS (2 yrs) has outgrown it. It is much easier to fold/unfold and has a much nicer brake than my maclaren. But DH has frowned at having two prams .

If you want it, it is free. But you have to come get it.

[maker]

I know exactly how you feel, as I have arthritis too, some pushchairs are just over complicated and tricky to fold as they try to get you to twist wrists, squeeze numerous buttons etc.

Best advice above was to go try them in the store before you buy, so you know what you can or can't operate.

The quick fold items might work for you, but it all depends on how much force you can take in your wrist or the grip you have to hold and lift. If you can go for this then look at the Baby Jogger or even the Litetrax by Joie.

But if its umbrella fold buggy you're after then be aware they might say one hand, but most need you to do a dance and use your feet and balance to fold them.

[Tiggywunkle]

LOL re doing a dance to fold an umbrella fold. I dont often use an umbrella fold, but I had one out today and I had to lift my leg so much higher than I thought and nearly fell over to open it!!

[summerglory]

What's an umbrella fold?

[Tinyflutterby]

Hi, I have a back problem and have to be really careful about lifting, so I did a lot of research and got a Silver Cross surf as its one of the lightest prams. The pushchair top comes off the wheels so you have two lighter parts to lift and we had the same car seat as you, but I found it too heavy with baby in it to lift so I just left it in the car and lifted him in and out and straight into the pram. You can have them facing towards or away from you and the pushchair bit has 3 positions and can be used from birth too. Only downside is not much storage underneath, but the more shopping you have the heavier it all becomes anyway. Later on we bought a London City Stroller from Asda and it folds up as one and is quite easy and light. It reclines fully so can be used from birth too. I've also taught my son to do things like come up towards me so I can lift him easier and slide down from the pram and carseat with me holding his hands to minimise the risk of hurting myself. Obviously once he was old enough to do so though!