To ask about travel systems vs compact stroller…

[taratatata]

I’m newly pregnant and researching, researching, researching.

I don’t know what we need in terms of pushchair/travel system.

We live in a fairly suburban area, think, lots of retail parks, a few country parks dotted about.

Most of my time currently is spent ‘popping’ to places. The shops. My parents’. My car is small but not tiny. I think most travel systems would fit in the boot but not leave space for a lot else. We also have a small house. I think I would use a carrier a lot of the time.

I am so shocked to see most travel systems are over £1000 or close to. I just don’t know if that money is better off saved for maternity leave. Although travel systems are marketed for use up to preschool when I look around and amongst friends it seems after about a year, sometimes before, parents shift to a compact buggy like the Yoyo, Bugaboo butterfly or a cheaper model.

Should I buy a second hand pram for the first few months and a brand new Bugaboo butterfly for use from 6 months? It seems the compact stroller would last them until they didn’t need to be in one anymore.

Any help gratefully appreciated, from a very clueless FTM to be!

I personally wouldn't bother with a bulky travel system and just buy a separate infant carrier. I also recommend buying a nice second hand pram, as trust me you will be switching to something smaller and more convenient once baby can sit up! I'm pregnant with baby number 3 and have bought a lovely condition pram (with bassinet) for just £30, bargain! But I get what you mean, its a minefield when it comes to prams!

Look at Britax systems. They are soooo much cheaper than Bugaboos etc and so much better in my opinion. V light. One click travel system. Harder to find in the UK now Toys R Us has gone.

Thank you! Minefield is spot on x

I would not get a car seat from the same brand as the pram company. Get a safe car seat separately

Major car seat manufacturers make their seats compatible with pram/travel system manufacturers, for obvious reasons.

Eg Cybex was compatible with mamas and papas (among others) when I had travel systems.

People are always desperately trying to get rid of travel systems .... There are loads of not old, not bad condition ones for sale, in my area anyway, in Barnardo's, FB marketplace etc.

You can't give them away

I would just make sure your car seat is Isofix.

Hopefully they all are now.

It's so much handier then belting car seats/bases in.

And probably safer too.

The lie flat car seats seem like a really good idea too - no more timing and worrying about how long your LO is in the car seat.

You still need to stick to the guidance on time in the car seat. They don’t lie fully flat. The ones I’ve seen lie more flat when they’re out of the car.

Agree! Joolz aer is fab. If you go to John lewis, they only sell yoyo so they push it. Go to mamas and papas and see joolz aer and yoyo side by side. Joolz aer so much better, wheels don't get stuck on folding, one-handed fold, suitable from newborn, don't need loads of add-ons etc. I did have the stronger carrycot for 3rd child as was winter baby doing schoolruns in all weather, but it wouldn't be needed for spring/summer baby. There's online videos comparing joolz aer and yoyo. Watch before buying. Both can have car seats attached if you want. But honestly, 3 kids and because being in car seat too long isn't good for head shape and airways, I haven't used the car seat on wheels huge numbers of times.

Another vote for Joolz Aer. We got the carry cot and car seat adapters so I used it as a travel system from Day 1.

We keep the stroller in our car all the time as it’s so compact. It’s just come back from a long haul holiday and she’s now 18mo so we are getting our money’s worth from it!

We've got a Jane Trider. The bassinet is also a lie flat car seat (and it is flat) - Matrix Light 2. We've had it for DS and will be using it again for the next one. Additionally, mostly for taking on planes because I didn't want my pushchair to be chucked about, we've also got a 20 year old Phil and Teds Sport.

Thank you that’s super helpful! I would never have known JL didn’t sell them all.

We had the UppaBaby Vista v2 bought new but are now selling it as it just didn't work for us. FAR too bulky to store in the house and getting it out of the boot of the car every time we needed it was a pain in the arse as it's quite heavy. We used it for about a year then switched to a lightweight travel buggy (IckleBubba Globe) which became the primary buggy until our son stopped needing it around 2.5. It fit so perfectly in the cupboard under the stairs.

Baby two is on the way now and this time I've invested in a second hand YoYo2 with newborn pack as the Globe isn't suitable for newborns.

So yes, my recommendation would be a travel buggy over a pram system, especially if you're short on space.

I can count on fingers of one hand how many times we used the carrycot of our travel system because baby hated it and wouldn't stay in beyond the first couple of weeks of his life. He'd just cry until you got him out, even if you put him in asleep he'd wake within moments of touching the mattress (tbh he was the same with sleeping in his cot etc). So he pretty much lived strapped in to me in a sling for the first 9 months or so.

He's ok-ish with being in a pushchair now at 18m old but still only for short periods of time.

It also took a huge amount of space in the boot (we had a seat Leon at the time so not tiny) and you couldn't fit much else with it.

We bought a light stroller when he turned 1 to take on an abroad holiday and I never looked back. Wish we never bothered with a (very expensive) travel system and went for something compact and lightweight (and cheaper!) straightaway. We definitely haven't got our moneys worth out of the travel system.

(He hated the very expensive infant carrier car seat too. We replaced it with an ERF seat and he was much happier. Again, wish we never bothered!)

You can probably find prams free never mind buying second hand!

Yo-yo with newborn system is great, we had it when we lived in London and it was perfect. Then we moved more rurally and got a second hand Out n About 360 so we could run with DS1 to nursery and it could cope with the forest paths. With DS2 we initially used the Out n About from birth, but he has a lung condition and it turned out my anxiety couldn't cope with him not being parent facing, so I picked up a Bugaboo parent facing one on the local Facebook recycling page.

I have a travel system and it's great. DD is 6 1/2 months and I recently changed the carrycot over to the seat. I like walking around with DD but if you mainly drive everywhere then I don't think you'll get much use out of the carrycot.

I had a bugaboo bee from birth and had the newborn insert in the lie flat position. It’s compact and fits on the boot with space to spare. We never felt the need to buy a stroller as the bee is quite compact and easy to set up and push. I would really recommend it.

I had both. The bulky travel system with the big wheels was great for walking everywhere and anywhere (small wheels can get stuck in gap of lifts, trains etc), hanging the shopping from it, the scooter, the buggy board when DC 2 came along. DC1 could not be carried in a carrier (due to a hip issue), and DC2 was so heavy very early on that it was back breaking.
the compact was great for the nursery run, popping anywhere in the car, going on holiday. But terrible for transporting much more than DC

I’ve been a nanny for nearly 15 years and I wouldn’t be without a proper pram, I think it’s much better for them to have more space and if you’re going to want to give naps on the go, a bigger more comfortable space is much better. I believe both the uppababy ans nuna bassinets are also certified safe for overnight sleeping so handy for staying over with friends and family.

My favourites are Uppababy Cruz and Nuna mixx next, but they are very expensive options. for the safest infant carrier you can’t go wrong with the Avionaut pixel pro 2.0. It offers the best fit, particularly for newborns. It’s the lightest on the market and the longest lasting due to the decent length shell. It fits Maxi Cosi adapters if you did need or want to pop it on a pram chassis.

I think I'm in the minority but with both of mine I had an Uppababy Vista and had various stroller types. I always went back to the Uppababy because it was nicer to push, easier to steer, could load the basket without the pram tipping up and my kids always seemed comfier in it. I tried 4 different strollers with my first and I do have one for my second but I still use the Uppababy. A carry cot is very handy for the first few months.
I brought both of them secondhand though as they are expensive new! And I could never get one with baby slings, wraps or carriers.

Ah, I see.

They started appearing when we stopped using an infant car seat and I didn't look into them in any detail.

Marketing them as lie-flat is quite misleading to be fair! I can see why people would think that.

I have the icandy all terrain pram/travel system. DS is nearly 2.5 and I think we’ve used it almost every single day. It is bulky compared to a compact stroller (especially when you’re using the carrycot), but we walk the dog twice a day with it so it’s been an essential purchase!

the carrycot is also certified for safe sleep so DS slept in it overnight when we were away for the first few months.

being able to click the car seat onto it was great when he was older than newborn as if he fell asleep in the car I could just transfer him onto the pram and get on with the day without waking him!

If you are going to do lots of popping to places as you say, in your car, then you definitely want to make sure you can attach the infant carrier car seat, regardless of whether it's a travel system or compact. Most do, some don't.

I know pp have given some really good suggestions for non-travel system prams which are good from birth, but I would absolutely get a second hand travel system.

IME it doesn't take very rough ground for the smaller strollers to start to struggle. Travel systems have no problem at all. (That country park you mentioned?)
If you have a bassinet approved for occasional overnight sleeping then you don't need to take a travel cot for the first six months if you go anywhere.
They also tend to have bigger baskets which are obviously useful. You can pack in a serious amount of stuff.

It's also worth having a think about your longer term plans. If you think you'll have a second, a travel system might allow you to convert to a double, or add a buggy board. We actually ended up buying a second hand Nipper Double, on top of the travel system we already had, but once DC1 grew out of it, we sold it (for more than we'd paid!) and got a buggy board. It's given the travel system a new lease of life and if forgotten how easy it is to push compared to strollers.

They are big, but you should find a retailer where you can try putting it onto your car boot. Much as they seem similar, they are all slightly different, and as part of looking at one, it's really worth seeing which fits best.

I never used my travel system for my baby. She had a fixed in isofix car seat and we got the silver cross clic. It's well priced. Easy to store and manoeuvre. Compact. Easy to open and shut.