To ask about travel systems vs compact stroller…

Should I buy a second hand pram for the first few months and a brand new Bugaboo butterfly for use from 6 months?

this is what I did…
but I got a nuna 2nd hand and a new Leclerc influencer (not butterfly) which is AMAZING.
my friend who has a butterfly actually prefers my Leclerc.

what I WISH I had done was buy a brand new Leclerc and get the Leclerc basinette attachment 2nd hand
which is what I have done for baby 2.
the basinette fixture is £200 I got one on eBay for £30… it’s in perfect condition.

I would highly recommend a joolz aer. It is incredibly compact, really light and really easy to put up and down with 1 hand.

The yoyo has a carrycot attachment that you can buy for newborns you wouldnt necessarily even need to buy a second hand pram then a new stroller. One new yoyo + carrycot would see you straight through. (I dont actually have one but friends did and it was fine from birth).

If you want something compact get a YoYo with the newborn pack. I had an UppaBaby Cruz and then got a YoYo when DC1 was 6 months old as we do a lot of travelling. Both were incredibly well used but if you only want one get the YoYo. Has done DC2 up to aged 4 when travelling (super helpful for a jet lagged child….)

What about a bugaboo dragonfly. It can be used from birth and the bassinet folds down without detaching. It also has the option for parent facing which can be hugely beneficial when they are younger. My little one is 11m and still doest’t like to be facing outwards.

We've never needed a bulky travel system and have had a few different compact strollers. We are more city-centre based though, and barely use a car but take public transport most days. The big prams would have been useless for us, as most tube stations have stairs or escalators to get down and tiny lifts, and a lot of shops are small with narrow aisles, so they just get in the way or you're left begging for help all the time which is a bit humiliating. We've walked for miles with compact buggies and it's been fine - and done day trips to NT properties/country parks, cobbly towns and beaches too. Baby has never complained and has never known any different!

We had just a yo-yo with the newborn pack. My baby loved being in a sling so we actually hardly used a pram at all for a long time. The same yo-yo is still going strong with a 3yo.

My friend used a yoyo from birth as a travel system I think. You can definitely get it with a bassinet. We used a mountain buggy swift with newborn cocoon (and sometimes car seat adaptors) - also very compact, but better on gravel and footpaths. So it doesn't have to be an either or with compact vs does everything.

We had a big pram/ travel system for my 1st DS (oyster 3). Which we’ve used daily for 2.5 years.
Prams like that have nice big wheels so they’re good for walking places. However it’s very heavy and bulky to get in and out of the car.

Expecting my 2nd DS soon and I’ve just bought a secondhand yoyo. We’re keeping the big pram too for walks but I’ll use the yoyo for taking in the car and going to the shops etc. I’ve got a car seat that can go on it and it’s also got the newborn pack. It has tiny wheels though and the handles don’t extend so I would only use it for short trips around a shopping centre etc, not for a brisk walk.

I'd recomend getting a 2nd hand travel system, but a new mattress for the carry cot. Then but a compact pram for 6m onwards. I love the uppababy vista. I'd say go check out travel systems in a shop like john lewis, then look for the one you like online.
Things I'd look for:

Handle bar adjustable.
Large basket.
Good sun protection from hood.
Suitable for older children (uppababy fit my 4yo in, I don't think prams like cossato would).

We got a lie flat from birth stroller that you could attach a car seat to. Cybex Beezy. We’ve also taken it on a plane in the overhead locker no problem. We live rurally and had a small car and we’ve only ever had a problem with gravel and sand. We go to agricultural shows so we do use it over fields/grass (it’s not the smoothest but it’s fine). Most people I know with a travel system have got rid after 6 months as they’re so bulky.

Should I buy a second hand pram for the first few months and a brand new Bugaboo butterfly for use from 6 months?

Yes. I really wish I had done this. We needed a proper pram with suspension as to get anywhere we had to go through the country park that abutted our house. We went for a bugaboo fox. Amazing pram, but I so wish we had got it second hand, even though we used it an awful lot and never really progressed to a stroller. If you live in a suburban environment and see a lot of yo-yos and butterflies then 100% don’t buy a new travel system.

If you were bold you could wait until baby is here. We’ve barely used the pram at all before about 5 months as they have so much preferred being carried. You might not need a travel system at all if you go straight from carrier to stroller.