To be confused by which buggy to choose for London living?

[SoonMummy]

I am so confused by the array of choices out there and don't even get the terminology - buggy, stroller, pram, etc etc!

Basically I live in London and expect to be using the tube mostly and sometimes buses. I intend to use a sling on the whole, but want to have a buggy (or whatever they are called) as a backup option for the newborn and also for if s/he doesn't like slings.

What is THE best buggy for using the tube and getting round London? e.g. light, small, no hassle, easy to manage, pick up, take down escalators etc?

We did 10 years of London living with a Babyjogger city mini. Wouldn't have had anything else for all the reasons pp have said.

The yoyo is great when they are a bit older but I would go for the bugaboo when they are newborns/small babies because of the parent facing thing and the extra basket space.

I live in central London and use the sling 95% of the time even now my baby is 7 months and massive!

@SoonMummy I used it from my DS’s birth. I bought a bassinet attachment. You can’t fold it with the bassinet attached but that stage doesn’t last long.

I had a micralite which was amazing. Big wheels so it dealt well with curbs and buses but folded with one hand.

I think if you use the newborn insert for the yoyo, they are parent facing. It's only when you move to the proper seat (6m+) that it's forward facing only.

Just saw your post about a newborn in the Babyjogger - many of the branded newborn cocoons will fit as long as they have multiple holes for straps.

Okay, thank you all - really helpful! Looking like Yoyo or Bee it is then!

A question from a total parenting newbie where... what i don't get is all the different attachments. Do you need all these or can a newborn sit in either the bee or the yoyo as they are when you buy them? e.g. they look like slightly seated / more upright positions that the actual basinet pram type bits you can use. Presume this is okay for a newborn? The least amount of extra bits cluttering up my flat the better!

With both the Bee and the Yo-yo, you need to buy newborn attachments/inserts. We had the bassinet for the Bee and we also used it as a Moses basket for DS to sleep in when he was in the sitting room with us. If you don't want the Bassinet for the Bee, you can buy a newborn insert although the seat never goes fully flat so it's not ideal.

No newborns can't sit at all. For both the bee and yoyo you need to purchase the additional newborn bassinet which is quite expensive. (See pics). I think my son moved out of that around 4 months when he had head control, he was also super long. The bassinet is good to use for naps though too instead of a moses basket.

Oh right ok, so if you need the bassinet thing for a newborn it defeats the object of it being collapsible right? You're not going to be able to lug it down the stairs in one hand with baby in a sling whilst carrying the bassinet as well, for example...

Is it worth getting one at all when they are new or should I try with sling only and get a bee or yo-yo once they have head control and can sit up. Does any new mum not buy a buggy and just go with sling?!

I worried a lot about steps and stuff before I had my first. In reality, it's rarely been an issue. I found that I tended to do local things on maternity leave so walked or took the bus. Our local tube station has a lift and I tended to adapt journeys to what worked or use the sling for those journeys.

I totally could have got away without a pram at all for the first few months and just used the sling - I went for a cheap second hand pram for the carrycot stage and then bought a yoyo later on

Baby jogger city mini is good but after the bassinet stage, the baby is facing forwards which I didn’t like. Also it’s quite long for the bus. Bugaboo bee is my favourite

I second what a pp said go and try them out at John Lewis/Mamas and Papas.. and it might seem silly but ask them if they have a doorway you can walk it through/any steps you can carry it up and down! - we did this and although they looked at us strangely they let us.. made me feel a lot better about carting it around and pushing into small spaces.. as I could understand the dimensions of it better!

Babyjogger does lie flat so you don’t have to use the carrycot (preventing the fold) which is what I did. But it was for DC4 and I was fine with them not facing me.

You can get a newborn insert for a bee that is different to a bassinet- I think you can still fold it up with one. It's basically like a padded insert for the seat which keeps their heads stable. I thought we'd use a sling a lot but actually I much prefer taking the pram to places because it's so much easier not to have to carry everything (plus baby!). My max in a carrier/sling is a couple of hours and after that both of us are very uncomfortable.

I have a yo-yo and a Bugaboo Bee (long story, didn't plan it that way at the beginning). Had just the Bugaboo from birth and loved it, although I struggled with it a bit on public transport for some reason, found it difficult to manoeuvre onto trains and buses. Very comfy for a younger baby and nice to steer (if you ever steer a cheaper buggy you will appreciate suspension!). Lies almost flat, and flatter than the yo-yo does (for the 6+ plus mode of yo-yo anyway).

After about a year we acquired a Yo-yo (originally had a cheap umbrella stroller but that got broken by an airline and replaced with the yo-yo). I never use the Bugaboo anymore, the yo-yo is great. Perfect for travel, nursery and London transport. Also if your house/flat is small it takes up hardly any space when folded up (you could probably even hang it up with a strong hook). I can singlehandedly manage stairs at train stations, a wriggly toddler, loads of stuff AND carry the yo-yo. I wouldn't be able to do that with the Bugaboo. A friend decided to get a yo-yo from birth - I thought she was mad at the time but now I think she definitely had the right idea.

I loved my bugaboo bee

Babyzen Yo-yo, no contest!
I was thinking about a babyjogger but the lady in John Lewis talker me out of it and I’m glad she did!
It’s by far the most common pram I see where I am (north London zone 2).
2/3 of my NCT group had one and the rest wished they had gotten one.

In answer to your PP. I live in a flat so I used to life the bassinet out and take that upstairs with baby in. Now he is one I carry the whole pram up 8 steps to my front door and I have managed the 22 steps to actual front door on occasion. But I've had no problems with the bugaboo on buses etc and I can easily lift it over kirbs and manoeuvre around.

I wouldn't go sling only... It's tiring having the baby on you all the time and I have a friend who did this who now has chronic back pain and her one year old will never settle in the pram. You will want to be able to go for a coffee with newborn in pram asleep and you can have hands free. You spend a lot of time with them in your arms!

How much will you be getting the tube etc with a newborn? I just wanted to stay in my local area personally but maybe I'm.lazy!

Loved my Bee!

I had the soft newborn bassinet which folds up with the pram.

Baby Zen Yoyo is amazing - the only buggy to go for in London imho. Slips into so many narrow spaces in restaurants, cafés, the Tube. There’s a reason you see them everywhere.

From birth, and if you’ll use it lots, bugaboo bee. Had one with my first and it was a dream to manoeuvre. Otherwise I’d try and cope with sling until a little foldy mclaren will do!

Babyzen yo-yo folds with the newborn pack as well...

We could collapse our Babyjogger with the cocoon in it because the cocoon is soft-structured. It's held on by threading the straps through the holes in the base so it just folds with the pram.

You don't actually need the bassinet for the bee. You can get an insert that the baby lays in. Almost like a small sleeping bag with the buggy laid flat. We had the bassinet and our boy was big so was out of it by 2 months!