Please help- Cosatto Giggle or similar

[scoutfinch1]

Hello This is my first post We are expecting first dc and are looking for some pushchair advice.

Basically we live in a second floor flat at the moment. Storing the pushchair downstairs isn't going to be an option and neither is DP bringing it upstairs at the end of the day as he works till very late most nights. I'm looking for a very lightweight pushchair that is easy to get up and down the stairs.

Ideally I would like something that can be a pram at the beginning and would really prefer something with a parent facing option. Also, I don't drive and need something that is fairly easy to get on trains and good to walk with (urban not countryside) Easy to fold is important and ideally an adjustable handle would be good (i'm 5ft0)

A further complicating factor is that we are likely to move from our flat when baby is between 2.5/6 months and although chances are it will be to a house I can't rule out it being another flat so something that will be pretty lightweight with and good with and older baby/toddler would be good too. I am prepared though to just get a cheaper umbrella stroller at some point if that is easier.

Am looking at the Cosatto Giggle as something that seems to do everything that we are looking for. Has anyone any experience with it? Would it be a good option. Looking at similar threads I did look at the Bugaboo Bee as a good urban pushchair but not sure if I like the cocoon for newborns and there is a massive price difference between this and the Giggle. The Giggle is £300 for pram/pushcair and some other bits.

Any thoughts or other recommendations would be really appreciated. Sorry for the long post

[Ihateparties]

From what you have said I think a lot of people are likely to recommend a bee, I probably would (i did it seems, just there

[scoutfinch1]

Thank you that is very helpful. I had a feeling everyone would tell me to get a bee it's just the price difference between the two that puts me off slightly. I think you have hit the nail on the head with the problem of trying to find something that is what I am looking for at all the stages that has a carry cot and will be good with an older baby. That might be a good solution though. Thanks

[Ihateparties]

If i had another baby like when hell freezes over perhaps then I would definitely want a carrycot while I had the chance. I went through the it's a needless expense stage with dc2, by 3 I was back on the carrycot bandwagon.

Does depend on your preferences and approaches though.. some people stick to i'm buying one thing and one thing only, others of us are willing to swap if and when our needs change and also when they don't, and christmas and birthdays and holidays

It depends how it will work practically too, like will you plan to carry the baby and the buggy up together? Plus shopping? A sling might be a big help, a full time option for some, not for others, again depends on your preferences and the baby you end up with, their preferences etc. (as a slightly bitter parent of ds1 the sling hater, hang on it's supposed to be natural, my baby is supposed to love and thrive on being carried..:-/)

S'pose you either accept a few compromises on what you really want at different points in time and be happy with one choice, or you accept making a swap or maybe two at key times.

[Tiggywunkle]

I think as ihateparties says you need to think practically about how it's going to all work. Let's say you have a 6 month old who is rolling / crawling (early but I had one) who weighs a good number of kilos and cries when you leave them, how realistically are you going to manage the baby, pushchair probably a changing bag or handbag, and anything else?
I am not sure what I would do but I suspect the carrycot option would go. I like my Scoot. It's easy to carry in one hand. The Bee is apparently easy to hook over one shoulder to carry up stairs but I have never tried it. The new one piece Zapp Xtra with a cocoon would maybe be an option. But the iCandy Cherry is easy to tow behind you and that or maybe an umbrella fold pushchair may be easier to drag up stairs behind you? The Micralite Toro might stand being towed too. The new Petite Star Zia Evolve might be an option or the Njoy Up Bubble? The Mee-Go pramette is very light but I don't know how good it is to tow or carry. There's pushchairs like the Chicco NuNu which have a pramette and a carrying handle. I think it might be worth looking at some of these and seeing if any might work in your situation and then maybe we can help more precisely?

[Nanny01]

I've got the giggle and love it I loved that its seat faces both way. The carrycot is on the small side but the seat is a nice size so was fine for a small baby. Coseytoes is great. It folds nicely and is light weight. Could have saved myself a lot of money if had bought this first.

[mummysmellsofsick]

I live in an upstairs flat. We have a scoot, which we love, but it's not easy to get up the stairs, even with our other light little umbrella fold buggy. I normally still find it easier to use a sling, even at nearly 14 months. A good sling really is gold dust for urban flat dwellers! I use the tube and buses all the time and it's just so easy with the sling I wouldn't dream of taking a buggy except for walking to the shops. Just check out the sling section for some good advice before you buy.

[scoutfinch1]

Thanks everyone, I will have a look at your suggestions. I'm going to get a sling as well- does seem like it will be very handy to have

[EveBlue]

I was very interested to read this thread as I've been thinking about getting a Cosatto Giggle too @scoutfinch1. From what I can tell online they seem to be light and good for public transport, I like the fact the seat faces both ways and the bumper bar moves. I thought when the baby grows out of the carrycot, the seat looks very sturdy and safe so I was wondering why other mums think it would be necessary at this point to move on to a different one like the Bugaboo Bee? Especially as it seems a lot heavier. Would be interested to hear from others who have used the Giggle from 6months+ to see how they found it? Thanks

[Nanny01]

EveBlue I got our giggle around the 6 month mark. One might hold its value better. I sold my old bee for almost the price of a new one with my last child. There were some things that I didn't like about the Bee. The Giggle you get what you expect. The wheel base is small and I can see that on a bus it wouldn't take much room up in one of those seat slots. I use mine inthe car as I wanted a light weight but fully featured pushchair. Ds has been comfortable and it is light enough that lifting it in and out the car which I do several times aday. I have also noticed that the way it folds means that it doesn't strike the floor and mark the frame or the coseytoes scuffed on the floor. I liked everything and you can even buy a carseat to turn it into a travel system. The bee is good might be an even smaller compact fold but this purchase for me had to be between cost and functionality.

[kerrywoo]

I really liked the look of this and bought one for our first born with some money my gran had left me.
It seemed to be ok at first but on only the 4th use it has broken. I haven't been using it much as advised to rest from the cesarean.

We haven't been anywhere but on pavement with it.
The front wheel collapsed as I was pushing it over a tarmac'd car park. The pram above collapsed with the frame and toppled to the ground. It was an extremely frightening experience for me and my two week old baby.

This is a serious design flaw and Cosatto need to fix it. The wheel is clearly not strong enough and there is no safety feature if it fails.

Images:
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Video:

[Nanny01]

Kerrywoowowthat wasacatatrophic failure. Since posting my giggle which I love has experienced problems. The break has seized they're paired it but it has come back and a week later the break seized again. I don't seemtohave had the problem you've had butnowhave different one.what are you planning to do withyourgiggle what have they offered considering the nature of the fault.

[HelenMumsnet]

[quote kerrywoo]I really liked the look of this and bought one for our first born with some money my gran had left me.
It seemed to be ok at first but on only the 4th use it has broken. I haven't been using it much as advised to rest from the cesarean.

We haven't been anywhere but on pavement with it.
The front wheel collapsed as I was pushing it over a tarmac'd car park. The pram above collapsed with the frame and toppled to the ground. It was an extremely frightening experience for me and my two week old baby.

This is a serious design flaw and Cosatto need to fix it. The wheel is clearly not strong enough and there is no safety feature if it fails.

Images:
i47.tinypic.com/29cnw8w.jpg
i47.tinypic.com/2e2oww8.jpg
i50.tinypic.com/2096pzm.jpg

Video:

[/quote]

Hello. The folks at Cosatto have seen your post, kerrywoo, and have contacted us to ask us to post up this response from them:

"We are really sorry to hear about your experience with the Giggle stroller. This simply shouldn't have happened and we would obviously like to resolve this with you immediately.

"We have checked our records and we cannot locate your details to get in touch with you.

"Please can you contact us on 0871 977 3900 and press option 1 or email us at [email protected], so we can get in touch? We look forward to speaking to you."

[scoutfinch1]

Wow Kerrywoo that is awful. That must have been very frighting. Thank you for posting this, I will certainly be thinking twice about buying a Giggle now.

[Tiggywunkle]

This is terrible, but it looks like Cosatto want to try to help you.
I was going to buy a Giggle in the near future just to see what its like, but I will go and have a closer look first now. I did have a play this week and was impressed with the very flat fold. and I like the funky fabrics and frames.

[LuluFM]

My first post - I've been inspired to write in response to all the great suggestions by Tiggywunkle. I too have been flummoxed by the range for newborns and by the reviews - even the very expensive models have plenty of detractors.

I'm expecting my first in about two months. I can drive but don't very often, and I'm hoping to do plenty of walking, including to the park and the beach. Suspension, weight and width are my key criteria - but as plenty of people seem to swap their travel systems for normal pushchairs within a year, I didn't want to buy a new Bugaboo or whatever.

I was just about to seal the deal on a second hand iCandy Cherry on gumtree when I read the above suggestions. I'm now going to go and have a look at the Mee Go Pramette tomorrow, before I commit to the Cherry. The Mee Go sounds ideal! Though it would be useful to read some reviews.

Thanks for all your suggestions and I look forward to future discussions!

[TheDetective]

I have a giggle - it does fold easily enough, but it only folds with the seat unit in the outward facing mode. Bit of a pain in the ass really. As we are not likely to sit DS outwards til 1 yr plus.

I would not use it on public transport - unless you knew you wouldn't have to fold it. It is a two hand fold, and you have to remove the seat/carry cot. So, no, not ideal for public transport at all.

I like mine, but not enough to buy one again. I love how it looks, but practical wise, it isn't the best. The lack of car seat base (for me) is really annoying. At 5ft 2, I can't see over the carry cot bumper bar to see my baby either. His face is obscured by the bar (which is removable but then you have two empty holes on the sides of the carry cot, and they look a bit stupid).

The brake also likes to come on randomly too .

It is good value for what we bought it for though (£360 for everything including car seat) so I can't moan too much, but I'd think carefully if you wanted it for ease of getting up stairs and stuff. The carry cot doesn't come off easily either - I've heard from others that they also have problems. And if you get the car seat, you need 3 hands to get it off!

[Tiggywunkle]

I think its true to say it takes 3 hands to remove a number of car seats - especially Maxi Cosi ones!

[TheDetective]

The carry cot and seat unit also need 3 hands! It's very annoying! I've mastered it now, by using my flab. Don't ask.

I'm just grateful if I'm with DS1 or DP, as they can help lift it off!

[RissaC2011]

I have a Giggle in All Star and I love it. It's much more lightweight than many others on the market. It folds really easily and to a compact size and it's simple and quick to remove either the carrycot or the pushchair from the chassis so perfect if you live in a flat. I have written a full review of it online if you're interested? www.littlerascalreviews.com/reviews/pushchairs/cosatto-giggle-travel-system-all-star-part-1-pram-mode/
Hope this helps x

[Duende77]

Hi scoutfinch1,

from what you're describing the Cosatto Giggle looks like the perfect choice. I've got one in Treat design and I love it. It doesn't need much space for storage and it's light and easy to navigate. The seat can be placed in the rear or forward facing position, so it's your choice. There is also multiple recline positions and also fits the carrycot that comes with it, so you can use the carrycot for the little baby and then the pushchair for the next couple of years.