Aibu to ask for Your help on pushchairs vs travel system

[londonrach]

Hi

Sorry, busy here hence why im asking. We are lost deciding whether we should get a travel system or just a pram then pushchair when needed. Love to know pros and cons. ive seen travel systems for sale weeks after being bought on local fb site and i dont want to waste money so thought id ask for help. If dont want to say on here pm me. Im just so confused about whats best xxx

Depends. What do you need a pram or pushchair to do? Figure that out then buy one that does what you need. :)

But if you're going to be using it on public transport get something compact, with swivel wheels and easily folded.

if money is an issue go for something light easy to manouvre and get in your car.

this is a time when companies prey on new parents.

nearly every one I know has regretted a vaslty expensive travel system.

You can buy push chairs that double as a sort of pram which is perfectly adequate, and will carry you until the child can walk.

You can get buggies suitable from birth, so you don't need a seperate pram.

It does depend on what your needs are. I was given a travel system. Hardly used it. It's a faff and there's always bits of it laying about.

I bought a fixed car seat suitable from birth, and a buggy. Much easier. Less stuff hanging about.

Although in the early days the infant carrier seats are handy for transporting small babies.

I had the maclaren techno xlr. Its a stroller, which lies flat. Can also get a carrycot insert so they can face you which lasted me about 4m. Its been the only puschair/travel system/buggy weve had and its still doing for dc2.

Figure out what your priorities are:-
*Budget
*Walking lots vs lots of in and out of the car
*boot size if you have a car
*storage - is there somewhere it can live inside the house?

I love my travel system. The biggest plus is that you can lift baby straight from the car to the buggy so no need to wake him or her when sleeping.
If you are planning another child within the next two years or so I would even recommend something like icandy or britax so you can buy a chassis, stroller seat and car seat now but add a second seat if you want to make it a double later - depending on budget obviously.
The one thing I found to be a big waste was the newborn carry cot attachment, as neither of mine would tolerate lying on their backs. With ds2 I ended up just using the car seat till he was big enough to use the stroller seat. Which I am sure is terribly bad for his back etc but he seems fine.

Ps everyone will tell you you need an umbrella style folding buggy later. Tbh I think people have a weird attachment to them, they are fine if you need to fold up as small as possible a lot of the time, which isn't everyone - buses near us are crap so I end up walking (with my nice big buggy/travel system) or in the car (small boot but plenty of room for my icandy chassis).

My mum is obsessed with needing the simplest foldaway buggy! I'm not sure why! She thinks more complicated ones are morally wrong in some way. I disagree - if you use your buggy all the time like I do it's a pleasure to have a nice big fancy one that steers beautifully and fits everything/everyone in.

Don't get a travel system you think they are great but within 3 months you have a boot filled with base, push chair part and Moses basket. Get a pushchair that lays flat. A foot snuggle so they are cosy and a good sun shade.

I loved my uppababy vista travel system. having car seat attachment was brill for a sleeping baby. The pram attachment also good for a sleeping baby downstairs and it was so easy to travel due to the swivel wheels. We did buy a maclaren buggy to take on holiday. My two year old is very tall and getting too big for it now so am going to have to reluctantly get rid.

My DDs had her use out of her travel system, even though they've got a car and she used a sling.

I appreciated the opportunity to push a pram again and even gave the sling a go.

The carrycot bit was practical, when visiting, or when I had her for a few hours, so they could even pop out for tea. I've got pets.

Her DD is walking well, at 15 months, but likes to get back in the pram, which adjusts so she can sleep comfortably.

We use not very busy trains, as well as the car.

We bought a lighter buggy from Aldi, as well, for on holiday, crowded places etc.

We're a family that likes being out and about and walking, though.

You need to work out what you need from your lifestyle and family involvement.

Depends. If you're in London and don't drive get a sling and a bugaboo bee.

Stray, it's the Uppa Baby Vista, my DDs got. My GD is little, so it'll do her longer.

It folds easily (my hand strength isn't great) and isn't heavy, when compared with other systems.

Just to add, I think if your walking a lot with a newborn in winter, a carrycot style is better.

I love my Oyster Max. Carrycot was used as a place for downstairs naps for the first 6 months (well, 5 he did grow out of it at that point!) and the pushchair part is still in daily use now he's 18 months. I love the big basket underneath for putting everything in and the big wheels are brilliant when walking over fields (which we do a lot of!).

We have only just purchased a small (cheap) fold up buggy as we are flying in a couple of months so it makes sense to have something compact for that. Also as DS is getting more confident walking out and about we envisage using it a bit less.

Just get a cheap lightweight buggy. They fold up easily, dont cost the Earth and are easy to replace.

I haven't read all the replies so could've been mentioned but I've got a travel system that is a buggy too. It's a Chicco liteway. It's great as it folds right down like buggy would.

Here it is.

Really depends on what you want it for. I loved my travel system but researched it loads to get one that worked for us. Then DC2 came along and I can't use it anymore. It really really depends what you need it for
Post more info and we can probably help... So:
How much do you use a car vs walking - eg where I live I walk to the supermarket so car isn't used daily.
What transport will you be using to get to possible baby groups/meeting friends/poss activities like swimming?
Will you be getting the bus anywhere?
Where will you be storing the pram/pushchair and how much room do you have?
Do you think you will have a no 2 child soonish?
Do you like walking places other than on pavements (ie paths/tracks)
Are you planning to use a sling or will your pram/pushchair be the sole means you'd use for transporting baby?

Agree with PP who said work out your needs then make a choice.

We're just about to have DC3. I had a lie-flat pushchair for DC 1&2 - and never needed and anything else. However, we lived in London, only left the flat when we fancied it. When it was bucketing it down or a freezing wind we stayed in!
We know live in the country and come what may I need to go the school run twice a day with 2 different schools. I have got a travel system this time round as I now want the protection of a carrycot (DC will be in it at least 2 hours a day!) the flexibility of forward facing, comfort of the ride and the capacity for lots of lunch / school bags.

The baby doesn't know / car le what it's in - it needs to suit you and your lifestyle though!

What do you want out of a pram/pushchair/etc?

What's your lifestyle? Do you have a car? Is the boot small? Do you walk often? Use public transport? Walk mostly in town on pavements, or rurally?

Do you plan to use slings? Do you want to carry shopping and stuff on the pushchair? What time of year are you due? Do you plan/need to go out in all weathers and temperatures or would you tend to stay inside if it's cold, rainy, or sunny? Are you wanting a carrycot for a bed at home, are you planning to travel?

How tall are you/your partner? Are other people likely to be using the buggy, are they different heights?

Are you bothered about colour options/how it looks? Are there any particular features that you want or constraints? (Budget, parent facing option, high up seat, small fold, lightweight, easy to push/manoeuvre?)

Do you like things to be integrated or don't mind a bit of fiddling about if it saves money? Are you more of an "all the features and gadgets" person or do you prefer something simple?

Should add I don't have the foggiest about what different prams there are these days But these questions should help the pushchair fans narrow it down for you if you can answer some of them. Preferences and needs vary enormously.

We were given a Britain travel system by SIL which is now transporting its 4th child. It's been absolutely brilliant. Three wheels for manoeuvrability and proper air tyres for a smoother ride.

We live up 2 flights of stairs, so the travel cot was perfect for bringing baby up and down. Also useful when visiting as baby could sleep in there. Once they moved to the sit up part, it's been very comfy and easy to get around town (though you do need to get on the rear door of the bus). The seat can face either direction, so we had an extended period of parent-facing transport cos I loved chatting while walking. My DS stayed in it until about 1.5 years when he was too big for the seat. I expect that DD will be in it for the same length of time.

I really hate the plastic wheels on pushchairs as they require a lot more effort to push and steer. Urgh!

It depends where you live and what you intend doing with it.

And how you personally feel about keeping a tiny baby in a car seat for ages as it seams to me that the only real useful thing about the travel systems is the car seat fitting the frame.

Fwiw I don't personally know any parents who were still using their big travel systems after about 9 months, and they are always on selling sites going for peanuts unless they are one of the fashion brands, I watched one this morning that was originally about £600 in very good condition get haggled down to £30 I know the seller and know she had put it on eBay already and failed to sell. The only ones I really see go for decent money are stokke, icandy, oysters and bugaboos

We never used the ability to unclip carseat from car and clip to pram chassis. Newborns are not support to be in a carseat for more than an hour or 2 without a break,and getting anywhere and back was an hour's travel, so they needed to get out at destination.

If I were to have no 3, I'd go for a simplified version of our double - lie flat pushchair, with carrycot for when small. Carseat stays in car.

I too have a Maclaren Techno XLR. It has a carrycot and will fit a Maclaren car seat. Best of both worlds, umbrella fold buggy and travel system. That said, I would have loved DS to be facing me for a little bit longer than the 5/6 months he was in the carrycot.