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August 2021 - Scans and booking in!

999 replies

BertieBotts · 21/01/2021 12:05

Continuation of August 2021 thread :)

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PurplePansy05 · 15/02/2021 11:42

@biscuitcat I am also looking at the Vista, it has a fantastic range of different parts and accessories for more than one baby too and I've read lots of positive reviews.

I would love something that folds easily and fits into a boot of a city car, like the smallest VW/Aygo. We have an SUV and a city runner and ideally I don't want a massive pram. Apparently Vista folds really nicely and the 2.0 version is narrower than the previous one xx

Whatshouldbemyusername · 15/02/2021 12:06

www.madeformums.com/reviews/16-of-the-best-buggies-suitable-for-a-newborn/

There’s some valuable information here on buggies that may help. I’m going to start looking at buggies and car seats in a couple of weeks too x

lucyrp · 15/02/2021 12:22

My ASOS design maternity leggings arrived today and omg amazing. Makes my bump look even more pronounced. So comfy 🥳

LyraShaeLilly · 15/02/2021 13:47

Do any prams turn into a pushchair? or do you just stop using the pram when baby can sit? And then buy a pushchair? I want to get the most cost effective solution?

Alittlexmasmagic · 15/02/2021 14:03

@LyraShaeLilly most will convert from one to the other. You'll generally have a forward facing carrycot, a rear facing pushchair and generally a stage in between.
These are different to strollers etc which are generally just forward facing, much less faff for older toddlers/children x

lucyrp · 15/02/2021 14:24

@LyraShaeLilly all travel systems are generally a pushchair too just depends how big your child is and how quick they grow and how you get on with the pram as they grow. Some people decide to get smaller systems etc. My silver cross was fine until DS was walking so never had a smaller pram. Used to have a separate one for off-road but my OH used to do motocross so that's why

BertieBotts · 15/02/2021 14:27

The basic difference between a pram and pushchair is that a pram is like a little bed for the baby on wheels, often referred to as carrycot/bassinet, whereas a pushchair is a seat on wheels, usually with a safety harness. The carrycot part usually doesn't have a harness, it's just a mattress.

These days it's extremely rare to find a pram that is only a pram, unless you go for one of those massive coach built traditional/old-fashioned ones. The vast vast majority these days are pushchairs with either a convertible seat that changes into a carrycot, a seat which lies flat and the carrycot nestles inside it, or the seat unit comes completely off and the carrycot clips on instead. This used to be called a 2-in-1 but it's so common these days it doesn't really have a special name as they all do it! Most of them will also be able to attach an infant car seat which is called a travel system, or 3-in-1. When you can take the main pushchair seat unit on and off, most of the time that also means you can reverse it and have the seat parent-facing, which is lovely when they are still little but want to sit up a bit more.

Then you can also buy cheaper or more compact/lightweight pushchairs which are only pushchairs, they don't take a carrycot (although sometimes will still take a car seat, but sometimes not!) and are designed more for older children - they will often say from 3 months, if they recline partially, or from 6 months if they don't recline at all.

I don't have any personal experience of the Uppababy as the shop I worked at didn't stock it, but it certainly seems to get really good reviews and people I know who have it love it.

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LyraShaeLilly · 15/02/2021 14:27

Ok thanks

And when you have second baby, the new baby goes in pram and toddler can walk? Otherwise it's a massive faff getting another double system?

We have been looking at the silver cross, I like that it is parent facing as a buggy as well.

Alittlexmasmagic · 15/02/2021 14:41

@LyraShaeLilly depends how big an age gap there is. I'll just fit a buggy board to the back of mine when needed for my toddler to stand on. If we're (for example) at the zoo etc all say and DS will likely get tired, we will take an extra stroller x

BertieBotts · 15/02/2021 14:46

I'd say if you want to use one item long term to look at the pushchair function on it more than the pram function. IME the carrycots and use with carrycot are all pretty much the same - it's using it with the pushchair seat that you'll want to test out. Try folding it up and down and testing the weight. Have a look at how the size of the seat unit compares to other models, the height of it to the ground, any features like a bumper bar etc. Accessibility of the shopping basket.

And bear in mind that some of the cheaper ones which are sold just as pushchairs/strollers can take a carrycot and/or car seat (and there are a couple of carrycots which fit onto car seat adapters, which is a handy tip!) If you go into a shop to test them out, there will usually be a section of the from-birth ones with carrycot which are all singing all dancing, and then a separate section of "buggies" which are just the pushchair part. A lot of parents-to-be ignore this section and the salesperson in the shop will probably walk you right past it, but these can often be more practical long term and you might well be able to use one from birth with a few tweaks. I'd also recommend comparing the full-function/from birth pram/pushchair combos, when in pushchair mode, to these types of pushchair.

WRT buying new vs second hand, if you just want to be able to walk into a store (or go onto a website) and order something in the exact colour and style you want with the specifications you want, have a guarantee and somewhere you can go with any questions/problems, or you feel strongly about your baby using things that other babies have used, buying new is the way to go. I'd recommend an actual brick and mortar shop (best: Local independent, second best: Nursery specialist chain, including department stores like John Lewis) whether you use their store or their website. BEAR IN MIND that a lot of times a pram order will take 6-8 weeks, possibly longer in corona/post-brexit times so it's a good idea to get your purchase finalised by month 6/7 of pregnancy.

If you want to save money, want a popular brand/model, aren't fussed about the exact model as long as it has the right features, have your own car and time to look through advert listings, plan to swap to a lightweight/compact buggy second hand is the way to go. A brand new pram is a bit like a car - you lose 60% of the value of it rolling it out of the shop.

For car seats - always buy new unless you have one that has been passed onto you by a trusted friend/family member, and if this is the case check that it's still a current/up to date model, that you have (or can download) the manual, that it's not damaged at all and all inserts and bits like the strap covers are present - you can often order replacements from the manufacturer. If you buy a travel system second hand it's a good idea to get a new car seat. It will still be cheaper than a brand new pram. You can always take the covers off the one you've got with the set in order to use as spares :)

Insider tip, pushchair/pram companies always have a list of which car seats are compatible with their prams, these are always out of date, the actual list is likely to be much longer, unless it's one where only one or two specific same-brand car seats will fit, and then it's probably correct :)

Beware there are a lot of brands that advertise heavily to influencers (by way of freebies/sponsored reviews) but aren't actually that good longer term, they tend to be cheaper quality with a premium or mid-range price, putting themselves at a point in the market where they're cheaper than the absolute top shelf brands.

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BertieBotts · 15/02/2021 14:59

There are a lot of incredibly innovative/versatile doubles on the market today, some which are also useful as a single!

For example the Bugaboo Donkey is an interesting one. It's a side by side double, but the frame is actually telescopic, meaning that you can widen it out to double size (and it's not overly wide, standard wheelchair size so it fits through modern doors) or narrow it down to single size. You can also replace the second seat with a huge basket that sits by the side of the main seat like a shopping trolley so you can reach everything you need.

Or there are prams (like the Uppababy), Nuna do one and Joolz and Cybex and even Hauck now among other brands, where you start out with it as a single and then as your family grows, you buy a doubles kit which allows you to add a second seat. These are usually what I think of as double decker buggies, one up one down. The advantage of these is that they are really compact because you only have the footprint of a single buggy (although they can be long) but the downside is the child underneath gets quite a restricted view and the seats on them can be smaller. They can also be hard to use a buggy board with, so tricky if you have twins or three close in age children, but if you have a "typical" 3ish year gap, then they can be perfect as you put the toddler in front and the baby goes underneath while they are still in the potato/can't see out and doesn't care anyway stage, and by the time they get more curious and want to see more, the older one is bigger and happier to walk anyway. And you'd just take the second seat off and then you can add a buggy board if you want to.

I think if you have twins or a small gap (under 2 years) then you probably want a proper full sized double. But if you have a larger gap (2.5-3 years) then the one up-one-down idea works fine.

If you have a gap over 3 years, unless your older child has mobility issues or you do a lot of long days out, you probably don't really need a double at all. We wouldn't have got one except that my friend offered.

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BertieBotts · 15/02/2021 15:03

Sorry meant to add - the advantage of all of those (the Donkey and the expandable ones) are that if you're really organised you can buy them for your first child to use as a single, and then use right the way through. Although I suppose the problem is that you can't always predict age gaps or whether you will have twins in the future so it could end up being an expensive mistake. But if you are pretty certain you will go for a DC2 within about 2 years of the first and you didn't have any issues conceiving the first time then it's probably not a huge gamble, and might end up saving you money long term.

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Whatshouldbemyusername · 15/02/2021 15:22

@BertieBotts wow! This is great insight. Thank you. I’ve bookmarked all this so that when I come to looking I can refer back.

Just wanted to let you ladies know that there is a home baby show happening virtually the weekend of 26,27 and 28th Feb. I think they may have deals and stuff on the big items such as prams abs bedside cribs. If anyone is interested the link is below:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-baby-show-live-home-february-2021-tickets-132805381471?discount=MFME21

PurplePansy05 · 15/02/2021 15:36

@BertieBotts, you legend 🙌! This is so helpful! I'm desperate for my local John Lewis to open and to get them to help me choose the right fit for me and for my car, both, buggy and car seat. My one concern is that Vista 2 will be too big.

In your experience, which buggies would you recommend if I would like to use one mostly in the city but also in the countryside (once a week or so)? I'm short and with a city car, so really can't have anything too big or too heavy. Also would like one that will be easy to manoeuvre and that will serve us a while, with a view to hopefully have DC2 in the near future.

What is your view on prams that don't provide the completely flat 180 degrees option for newborns, are they even safe?

It's SUCH a minefield! xx

PurplePansy05 · 15/02/2021 15:39

And to all the ladies with DCs - do buggy boards fit all buggies? xx

Carefree1 · 15/02/2021 15:51

@BertieBotts that’s some great insight, thank you! I’ve bookmarked for later when I start looking as I’m sure there’ll be something I forget! I definitely want one that can be used from new born to forward facing? Away from me anyway whatever that is 😂.

It seems like such a minefield. What physical stores are there now? It feels like everything is online, which makes it so much more difficult! Xx

PurplePansy05 · 15/02/2021 16:04

@Carefree1 I don't think anything is. Lockdown isn't friendly to first time parents 😐 I personally can't imagine buying a buggy or a car seat without trying it out in the shop first and also making sure it fits as it should. It's all good and great some shops have online sales and gift cards now if you spend £££ but I'd like to know I'm spending it on the right thing first. Really hoping that they'll lift the restrictions next month and I'll be queuing for JL & Mamas & Papas I think xx

Whatshouldbemyusername · 15/02/2021 16:10

@Carefree1 and @PurplePansy05 I agree. It’s a minefield indeed! Definitely doesn’t help with everything being in lockdown - esp with car seats and prams. They’re so expensive so I definitely want something value for money that I can use till the little one is slightly older. X

BertieBotts · 15/02/2021 16:52

One pushchair for city and country doesn't really exist if you need it to do both jobs well.

If you need something for a tiny boot and to fold down quickly for buses, be light to bump up stairs or store small in a little flat, and fit around tight corners in shops, that's one type of pushchair. And it won't do terrain well.

Otherwise if you need something for farm fields or sand or gravel, that's robust enough to protect DC from elements on colder days, that's another type of pushchair, and it will be bulky and heavy.

OTOH if your country walks tend to be footpaths in woods, you have a medium sized boot or you don't mind taking up the entire boot space, your local buses have generous wheelchair/buggy spaces that aren't usually full and you don't have steps or storage issues at home, there are some hybrid ones you can get which don't do either job terribly. That's what we went for and it has done fine. But we have since got a bigger car, and a smaller folding pushchair!

With the 180 angle seats vs moulded seats that tilt, I don't think any of the moulded ones are recommended for newborns. Usually with these prams you have to use the carrycot from newborn, or you can sometimes get a wedge cushion which flattens the seat out. Newborns do need to be laid flat because they can't support their own heads so they can fall into a chin-to-chest position which is dangerous as it compromises their breathing. The one exception to this is a car seat, because you need the tilted position to counteract the impact if you were in a crash. But for that reason they don't advise that you let newborns stay in a car seat for very long. Up to 30 minutes at a time up to the first 4 weeks and up to 2 hours in one session for older babies. I'd probably stick to the same kind of limits for any non-flat seat for babies up to 6 months or so. But it's really the line between back and head (neck) which needs to be straight, and some pushchairs with the bucket type seats that tilt back do keep this in alignment, it just doesn't look very comfortable to me for a toddler to nap with their legs in the air! But I think that's personal preference - these pushchairs are very popular and lots of people seem to get on fine with them.

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BertieBotts · 15/02/2021 16:59

If you have an independent specialist near you I would 100% recommend them - try googling "baby store" and see if any names come up you don't recognise as chains, or another method is to pick any random brand for baby stuff such as Maxi Cosi or iCandy or Joie and have a look on their website and search for stockists, then look and see what names you know/don't know near to you.

The reason being that they are not hugely profitable, so the people running them tend to be really passionate about their products. In the nursery industry as well you will get the big manufacturers of prams, car seats etc come to the stores and demonstrate the latest products to the staff. For small stores they don't have loads of staff, so they will all try to be present for these training events which means that they tend to know loads about the products. Whereas your average high street retailer like John Lewis, Boots, Smyths, Mothercare (RIP!) etc will have some staff that are passionate but also probably some teenagers who are just there for a bit of spending money and work experience! The training is a lot more hit and miss.

They won't be open at present but hopefully in the next few months things will start to open up again. In the meantime it can help to look at reviews on youtube or browse the MN reviews or look at websites such as best buggy or pushchair expert or made for mums. Stroller Workshop on Youtube are really good as well! This might help you get an idea about different things which are important to you before you go looking at real models.

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HopefulB · 15/02/2021 18:37

Really helpful stuff @BertieBotts

I’m not sure I really get terrain buggies.... wouldn’t it be easier to carry off road? (Speaking as someone who would routinely carry 7-8kg for 6-8hours when walking/skiing)

TBH the range is so vast I think I will sink back into true geek mode and make a spreadsheet to look at the things I think are important to me! Currently this is - lightweight, packs small, can take a cot, has suitable wheels to manage a gravel path/short grass, manouverable/small footprint. (Speaking from absolutely no experience and with out chatting to anyone other than my mum, who had a full on Pram)

Car seats really freak me out, there’s so many, I just don’t get the difference between them? If it meets the standard isn’t that the bit that matters? I guess a swivel is nice for your back Smile

Carefree1 · 15/02/2021 18:41

@PurplePansy05 & @Whatshouldbemyusername I feel like when lockdowns lifted, shops are still limited now aren’t they. I’m definitely not comfortable ordering something online not having seen it and I’m terrible for sending things back 🤦‍♀️

Good advice @BertieBotts, I’ll definitely see if there’s any independents too.

Roll on Mondays announcement when Boris will publish the road map out 🤞xx

Smurf123 · 15/02/2021 18:46

We went through a few car seats with ds.. We thought we found a good cheaper swivel rear facing one from smyths only for the straps to stop working when in the middle of nowhere one day 🙈same thing happened with the replacement. Then we were told it was a know mn issue. We ended up paying a fair bit extra and going to the joie 360 spin which I have to be honest we absolutely love! We are fortunate in that I think we will be able to use it for new baby too... We have the silver Cross infant carrier we can use for the first few months and then should be able to move ds to a high back booster/ stage 2/3 car seat as he's 3 in a couple of weeks but very nearly too tall for the 360 spin too.

PurplePansy05 · 15/02/2021 18:52

I got a hedache from even thinking about all this, I might have a nap tbh 😂

On a separate note, now most of us are in the second trimester, is anyone having sex? I really would love to go ahead but worried if it causes any bleeding and leaves me unnececesarily freaked out after everything I've been through before 😐 xx

Smurf123 · 15/02/2021 19:00

I had some spotting early on in this pregnancy and was advised not to for a while @PurplePansy05 now I'm a bit worried as I know if it happens again I would panic (more so than I already am)

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