Going into central London - do I take my 6 wk old in a pram or sling ?

[kookiegoddess]

Sorry to come onto not quite relevant board but am in a hurry. I need to go into picadilly with my baby girl and am not sure what would be easiest - pram - which is bulky and means I can't hold her if she cries on the bus (which she did for 15 min yesterday on the bus, I nearly cried too) or Closer Baby sling which I've only used once but seems comfy and means I can comfort her. and hopefully she'll sleep longer in it... I hope to make it to Liberty, John Lewis and then a lunch stop. Only need a couple of things from each shop.

Any tips? am I mad? She'll be up soon and I want to feed and get out the door...

Thanks

i'd go for the sling, personally - pram will be a nightmare on london transport and you'll probably end up getting stressed.

Definately sling.

sling

I'd go for sling. Sounds quite an ambitious day or perhaps that's only by my own standards. Good luck and enjoy yourselves

sling

John Lewis has a fab baby room near the nursery department where you can BF or warm up a bottle but the chairs are the most uncomfortable I've ever sat in!

sling - am about to hit the imperial war museum with 3 week old in wilkinet.

Even with an older baby if I opted for pushchair I always took a sling too.

good luck

If you go to Mamas and Papas in Oxford Street, the cafe there does lovely food, they have all these fancy highchairs but since your LO is only 6 weeks old, they also have bouncers and play mats for your baby to go in if you need a break!

Sling. Close carrier is fab for sleeping in (see my profile for recommended position).

sling. definately
we still take our nearly 10m old in the sling - much less hassle than the buggy!

have fun!

I was just in Oxford Stree with dd (2+2) yesterday and I had her in her Maclaren stroller. It is such a pain with the lack of lifts in train and tube stations, and SO many shops have stairs and no lifts etc. Such a hassle.
Definitely use the sling, and take a break in John Lewis, Mamas and Papas etc to give your back a rest!

If you feel confident using the sling by yourself (I didn't with ours the first few times, though it was more complicated than the close sling) I would definitely go with that. I've only been once with the pushchair on the tube -never again!
Good luck, and yes you are mad

Sling

woo ok about to get her up and feed her. Am putting baby stuff in a back pack - good idea yes?

and will wear a normal coat. And will put her in vest, babygro and padded suit thing to keep her warm - think she will be too cold in just vest and baby gro even if she is sleeping against me. Can always take it off.

woo getting nervous but determined to try this.

Backpack def best. I wear a fleece coat unzipped except at the bottom as I get too hot, but in this wind a padded suit will be good for her - but keep an eye on her temp in the shops.

I use a sling for my 2.5 year old, and its fab on trains and busy places

great thanks everyone

have fun!

Did you have fun? It was nerve-wrecking going into London for the first time with my LO but when you think about it, it's the best place to be if you run out of ANYTHING baby-related as you are never far from a chemist, clothing shop or restaurant / food place! I just went to Canary Wharf with my LO, another great place to go with a LO as it's all new and wheelchair accessible, which means lifts and automatic wheelchair/pram accessible doors everywhere!

Just wondering how you got on?? I am planning a similar outing soon ( before christmas). Would love to hear how it went.

I'd like to know too! Coming down to London for 2 days shopping. Will have Maclaren with us and also sling and will probably use both but not sure? Don't think he'll stay in his sling for 2 full days shopping!

Hi, this went really well. I travelled into Ox Circus, went straight to John Lewis and did my shopping then went into feeding room - not too busy. Left and did another hour's shopping before heading home - DD was awake for a little bit after her feed, totally fascinated by lights/people etc, then dozed off. She seemed quite warm in her padded suit as I warmed up with walking/being in shops etc - not sure of the best thing for her to wear but maybe a roomy fleece on me and less clothing on her is a plan. It was very busy in town so I would have hated to be trying to get around with a pram/stroller of any kind. Think about whether you really need to go to town and whether you can go to a mall instead... I didn't go into Mamas and Papas cafe but would like to try next time.

Only thing with close baby carrier is the long bits of fabric (mine are long as babe is small) which I had to tie around me. But not a major issue.

Sling, although if you're going shopping a pushchair, so you can put stuff on it.