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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask for the collective wisdom of Mumsnet when selecting a pram?

57 replies

AngeloMysterioso · 18/08/2019 10:00

First baby is due in late October, we’ve started looking at prams etc but there are so many options it’s making my head spin! We’ve got a few things to take into consideration:

  • We have to go down/up a small flight of outdoor steps to get to our front door, so needs to be easy for one person to fold or pick up.
  • Town we will be living in is hilly AF with lots of tree lined pavements, so able to handle lots of bumps and not mega heavy.
  • Ideally one that can be converted to face both ways/use with a carry cot/car seat (if available in a bundle that’s a bonus).
  • Not crazy expensive, happy to go for second hand one if necessary (would still buy a new car seat if we do).
  • Won’t need replacing in 6 months time if we have a monster baby!
  • DH would quite like one he can jog with... this is far from being a priority though.

Any suggestions or advice gratefully received!

OP posts:
Onwardsagain · 18/08/2019 13:58

I didn't drive when I had my DC and found the Uppababy Vista to be brilliant. It's quite big but folds up reasonably well and I had it on and off public transport without any issues. The basket is huge and I could fit most of a weeks food shop in it. We bought ours new but they last so well that I wouldn't have any qualms about buying one second hand. It lasted my child from birth to when he no longer needed pushing.

BogglesGoggles · 18/08/2019 14:01

I have a silver cross wayfairer. It’s easy to carry up and down stairs (without folding) because it’s very light. It is very stable and copes well with bumps. It’s two way. And it is height adjustable. I couldn’t recommend itenough.

BogglesGoggles · 18/08/2019 14:03

Oh and we’ve had 4/5 years use out of it and it’s still as good as new.

Camomila · 18/08/2019 14:09

Also as a non-driver think about what your local buses are like...most of ours have a row of flip down seats along one side so you can even get a massive side by side double buggy on no problem (lady I often see on my bus route) and there's still room for a person in a wheelchair or another pushchair.

OTOH my local train station has no step free access, DH is strong enough to pick up the pushchair + toddler but I have to get DS out and make him walk.

AngeloMysterioso · 18/08/2019 14:46

We’re going to be living spitting distance to the town centre so public transport use will be minimal, and I am hoping to learn to drive at some point. DH has a really generous paternity leave allowance so ideally will start learning whilst he’s at home with us.

One thing I thought might make a travel system style easier is that I can detach the part the baby is in, take it to the top/bottom of the steps (at home, obvs not anywhere else!) and then go back for the rest of it. Although I suppose since a lot of prams are convertible in some way I wouldn’t necessarily have to have a travel system to be able to do that?

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 18/08/2019 14:49

My advice to you would be to decide on some features you like (looks like you've done this) and then go onto Mothercare or whatever, sort all prams suitable from birth by price and quickly write down a few brands/models, going up until you get bored or until you start to think this is silly money. This way you avoid the stupidly expensive ones and get a starting point.

Then go onto those prams' brand websites, and see what various models those companies make. This way you can make a longlist and then start to look through reviews etc. The reviews should narrow things down (although while finding reviews, you will find recommendations for similar models, which makes it a bit longer before it gets shorter.)

Once you have a shortlist go in person to the nearest stockist and try some of the prams out.

WRT your points:

  • easy for one person to fold or pick up
> Reviews will tell you this - many claim to be easy to fold or lightweight, but google "pram name + fold" and you'll get more realistic reviews. One for the longlist stage.
  • able to handle lots of bumps and not mega heavy.
> Tricky to get both of these. Generally handling bumps = large wheels, especially air tyres, and/or suspension, but large wheels (and suspension systems e.g. with springs, air etc) add a lot of weight. But this is something you can look at in your initial scout of websites. Both size of wheels/presence of suspension and overall weight of system - will be on product specifications. Air tyres can get punctures.
  • can be converted to face both ways/use a carrycot
> Something you can look for in initial scout. But 99% of those marketed as "from birth" will fit one or the other of these. Worth noting many babies only fit into/tolerate a carrycot for about 3 months, and they tend to add in the region of £1-200. I personally prefer a hinged seat that can either be flat, reclined or seat shaped, as opposed to bucket seat which tilts. I would personally look for this over a carrycot, but that cuts out a lot of prams as this is a rare feature these days (it means they can sell you the carrycot as a £££ essential extra or bundle it as an "amazing saving").
  • use with a car seat
> It is worth researching your car seat separately, possibly first. One tip which is useful to know is that many car seat brands use the same adapters, sold as maxi cosi/universal adaptors. Often when you get bundles they will come with the maxi cosi car seat but there are other newborn car seats available. Usually worth noting - if you fancy an isofix (or seatbelted) base to "click and go" in the car, these are not usually included in pram bundles and they can be more expensive than the car seat - so check the price of the base first before you get stung there. (One last point: You're often told you "save money" by getting a base which can last for the next seat too - it's a bit of a ruse because most seats in the next stage don't need a separate base! It might still be the right choice, but it's not necessarily as much of an advantage for you as the salespeople say.)

A few exceptions but generally brands that fit onto Maxi Cosi adapters:
Maxi Cosi, Cybex, BeSafe, Joie, Nuna, Recaro
Brands which only go onto their own pushchairs/have more rare adapters:
Britax, Graco, Cosatto, Mothercare, Migo, Hauck, My Babiie, Silver Cross

  • Won’t need replacing in 6 months time if we have a monster baby!
> I wouldn't worry about this unless you see yourself using a buggy significantly past the age of 3 or you have family history of gigantic children, I've never seen a pushchair rated for less than 15kg (average 3yo), and you can go a bit over the weight limit without it being critical, it's not a car seat. But if you go for a cheap brand you might find it falls apart.
  • can jog with
> I know nothing about jogging prams so can't help here.

Brands I'd recommend to look at in the mid price range - some of these have higher priced models and more reasonable ones:

Britax, Cybex, Joie, Mothercare, Maxi-Cosi, Mamas and Papas, Silver Cross.

BertieBotts · 18/08/2019 14:58

Usually the only type of detachable thing suitable for carrying a baby in will be a car seat or a soft carrycot (like the Phil and Ted's one). Most of the more rigid types of carrycot aren't safe for carrying in case they tip, and there's no detachable buggy seat you can carry the child in.

If you want to carry the baby in the car seat a lot it's worth looking specifically for lightweight car seats, because a lot of them are really heavy.

It's not really recommended to keep a baby in a car seat for long periods though so this might not be a good solution.

BertieBotts · 18/08/2019 15:00

Probably what would work best would be a bouncy chair or similar near your front door, so you can stick baby in that while you get pram down steps.

Also look into baby wearing.

PrayingandHoping · 18/08/2019 15:01

Mountain buggy urban jungle sounds like it ticks all your boxes. It's not stupid money, has a parent facing option, one handed fold and the has options to detach child to carry separately.

Celebelly · 18/08/2019 15:03

There are a few lie-flat car seats that can connect to prams. I think Cybex have one, possible Jane and ours is a Kiddy Evoluna, which uses the Maxi-Cosi adaptors to attach to our BabyJogger. Then you don't have to worry about length of time in the seat but also have something detachable. Most mainstream car seats will attach to most mainstream pram chassis using adaptors so you don't need to buy the same branded everything.

Dotty1970 · 18/08/2019 15:04

Go in the 'baby' forum🙄

PrayingandHoping · 18/08/2019 15:18

Yes the cybex car seat does recline flat (ish) (when NOT in the car) and can be attached to a MB. This is the option we have gone for. Although I don't plan to do that often and will be using the MB carrycot plus which is truly flat

Daffodil77 · 18/08/2019 15:23

We have the vista. It's expensive but well made and we'll thought out features. A two-handed fold but one action. It folds in one piece with the seat attached. Carrycot is a one handed release. We carried baby in in that and then brought the chassis in.

I'd look at a bugaboo fox second hand as well. It's still pretty new so you might not find many. A few friends have one and it's lovely. My husband didn't like it for some reason though. It's lighter than the vista by a few kgs.

We also looked at the cybex balios s. A great pram with fantastic features just not quite as luxury as the vista. Definitely recommend looking at this one.

olivesnutsandcheese · 18/08/2019 16:03

Uppababy vista was great for us, comes with car seat adapters (Maxicosi) and the pushchair part can face either way. Massive basket underneath. I'm tall as is DH so was important that we wouldn't stoop. I would go to a massive mothercare, john lewis or bsbyshow and try some out

Aquickquestionforyou · 18/08/2019 16:11

Yo-yo!!!

Also Aldi are doing a rip off yo-yo for £70 at the mo

DappledThings · 18/08/2019 16:13

Mamas and Papas Armadillo Flip. Been using it for 3.5 years now with 2DC. Also had a few steps up to our front door and lived somewhere hilly. Could very easily lift carrycot off, take baby to door then pop back for base which folds with one hand

Once DS was in the seat bit (which faces both ways) I could had him in one arm and fold ams carry buggy upstairs with other hand all in one go.

Carrycot is big enough that both DC mapped in it till about 5 months

MyReadingChallenge · 18/08/2019 16:21

Mountain Buggy Swift would be ideal, though you’ll have to also get the bassinet that can face both ways for newborn if you want parent facing.

It is all terrain, light and durable and your husband can jog with it if he wants

littlemissminor · 18/08/2019 16:27

we had the Mothercare Journey and it was perfect for us - comes with a carseat too!

BikeRunSki · 18/08/2019 16:28

Baby Jogger GT

Maybedefinitely · 18/08/2019 20:23

Baby jogger city mini GT. you can remove the main pushchair part and use the bassinet in parent facing position while they are little. Excellent pram at a sensible price, and holds its value well for resale we found.

BertieBotts · 18/08/2019 20:34

Kiddy have gone bust so you can't get their car seats any more. Cybex and Joie are the two lie flat ones. Jane get really bad safety test results. I saw the Avionaut Pixel recently which I really liked for newborns but it's pricey and I can't see any UK distributors so it might not be available there yet.

Yes would defo add Mountain Buggy and Baby Jogger to list of brands to check out though they don't do parent facing pushchairs.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 18/08/2019 20:48

Regarding parent facing, not all kids like it anyway. My oldest absolutely hated being parent facing, we had to turn her outwards facing in her buggy at 6mo as soon as she was able to keep herself upright in the seat. I would consider not having parent facing if you find the perfect buggy in other respects. Another way around non-parent facing, is to see how the seat reclines. Some have a little observation window in the sunshade, so you can still see them even if they're not facing you, especially if they're tipped back a little.

PrayingandHoping · 18/08/2019 20:52

@BertieBotts mountain buggy latest models of urban jungle and terrain can be parent facing

Celebelly · 18/08/2019 20:56

@BertieBotts Gosh I didn't know that about Kiddy! That's a shame, I really like our seat.

Re: parent facing, if you do use a car seat attachment then your DC will be facing you for the first X months anyway. DD is coming up for 7mo and we are still comfortably using her car seat on the chassis and probably will for another few months, by which time I'll feel a lot better about her world facing I think.

Chista · 18/08/2019 21:05

We went to the Baby and Toddler show to test all the travel systems to see which one fitted us both best. I had my ideas and DH had his, in the end we unanimously agreed on one that we had written off before. Wr chose our because it was lightweight- DH suffers from arthritis and I have had issues with my shoulders, sonething that was easy to collapse and assemble and easy to go from one attachment to another. It was a good height for us and looked great as well as felt sturdy and safe.