First time parents-car seat and stroller

[Luna2024]

Hi guys, we are after a bit of advice. My partner and I are expecting our first baby end of June so we are looking at all the things to buy for the baby. The main thing is finding a safe, comfortable infant car seat. There seems to be a lot of choice but from the research I've done, most people seem to recommend getting a dedicated infant car seat (and then a toddler seat later) over toddler seat with a newborn inlay. I've narrowed it down to 2 models - Avionaut Pixel Pro 2 and Cybex Cloud but leaning towards Avionaut Pixel Pro 2 as a lot of people seem to recommend it and it has great reviews.
If we buy the Avionaut Pixel Pro with the base then we can use the base for one of their toddler seats in the future. Avionaut Stardust seems to be recommended quit a lot.
I was also looking at strollers/prams and saw Avionaut has a travel system called Sirius and some shops sell stroller, carry cot, car seat and base combo for about £1000.
Something like this:
Avionaut Sirius 3-in-1 Travel System with Pixel Pro 2.0 C & IQ Orbit Base
https://www.pramworld.co.uk/avionaut-sirius-3-in-1-travel-system-with-pixel-pro-2-0-c-iq-orbit-base-beige/
What do you think of Avionaut Pixel Pro 2 and the Sirius travel system? Are the Avionaut strollers any good? I've seen other people mention other strollers like Bugaboo, Nuna, Cybex Silvercross, etc. but hardly any mention of Avionaut Sirius.
Thanks.
PS: We are in London and we have an Audi Q3 (2022).

I think the main thing with that is to consider how often you’d use the seat on the frame.

we live rurally so most of the time it’s an hour in the car - they are only recommended to be in the infant seat for two hours max (less when they are tiny) so mine were never in their infant seat on the frame.

Also if you’re in London then will you use your car or public transport most? If you’re going to be using buses and the tube more then focus on a pram that’s easier for those - one that’s light and easily collapsible in case you have to. A heavy / overly bulky pram is a pain on public transport.

so if you’re not going to use it clipped on much I’d do the Avionaut car seat then a pram that suits your needs

Loads of toddler seats don’t need a base so I wouldn’t worry about that
they’re both good seats don’t get too hung up on it

you don’t need a matching stroller usually there’s lots of universal fits
however your baby isn’t meant to spend long in the car seat so really you don’t need to put the seat on the pram very often any way
I actually never did it with my first
maybe it’s more necessary for a second if you’re juggling a school run and getting in and out the car a lot

The Stardust doesn't go onto the Pixel base, it has its own isofix built in so doesn't need a base at all. Most toddler seats are like this, so I wouldn't worry overly about "investing" in a base which can take a toddler seat - they are a bit of a marketing trick. Obviously if that's the base which works with your infant seat, then fine, but don't buy on the basis of using it like that. There is one exception which is the Besafe Go Beyond but it's a really pricey system all in, so that's the only reason why it's worth investing in it at the start if it's what you want long term.

There is a cheaper Avionaut infant seat called the Cosmo which is almost as nice as the Pixel but a lot cheaper. The Pixel has a more complicated insert which means you will get a more tailored fit at every stage whereas the Cosmo insert is more simple, but both seats have a good position for newborns and are lightweight.

TBH I don't know anything about Avionaut as a pram manufacturer, and I would only say on gut instinct if you're planning to spend £1000 on a pram bundle I would go for something with a really good established reputation like Bugaboo, Nuna or Uppababy.

The Avionaut seats fit on the standard Cybex/Maxi Cosi type adapters for the pram so if the pram says it will take a Cybex Cloud then you can use an Avionaut Pixel or Cosmo on it.

Tihs youtube channel is good as they are a pushchair repair place so they have technical understanding of the different models and their commentary is usually helpful. I don't know if they have reviewed any Avionaut strollers.

Thank you all for your reply and feedback on what is useful and no so useful. Out on interest which stroller did you all opt for??

The ones I've had aren't made any more, but if I was buying today I'd probably go for Cybex Balios S Lux.

Pixel pro is an amazing seat. It uses the maxi cosi adapters so you can use pretty much any pram with it. Personally I wouldn’t bother with the isofix base, belting it in is just as safe and very easy.

I had the pixel pro but belted up not with isofix send now we have the avionaut sky. We never put the seat on our pram base. And tbh we could have saved some money by just getting the sky with baby inserts. But it was useful taking sleeping baby out of car the seat at times!
I really liked the pixel pro. Lovely and light too

Have you ‘tested‘ any prams? I picked one out and then went to see it and hated it
I would suggest you go to a local store or book a session at John Lewis or mamas and papas and get a chance to push some around. It sounds stupid but I was surprised how different they were. I actually just went for a cheapish one in the end and I’m glad I did because my baby screamed her head off if she was put in the pram so I ended up mainly baby wearing until she was a toddler, and then she just got muddy feet on everything and I was very glad I hadn’t spent loads of money on my first choice of an aesthetic looking pram.
if money were no object I’d go for bugaboo personally because they seemed to be the best all rounder for me.
as a pp said, I’ve never really heard of avionaut prams and so I’d probably be reluctant to spend a lot of money on one.

If you are in London, there are a few places you can go to test prams. John Lewis on Oxford St has a good range. Mamas and Papas at Purley Way nr Croydon has quite a few and also there's an independent baby shop called Baby Nest in Croydon that has so many prams to try. I went to JL with 3 prams in mind and didnt buy any of them, because I pushed an uppababy and as a tall person, I absolutely fell in love with it. That was 5yrs ago and just recently my frame broke and Uppababy sent me a brand new replacement, even though its years out of warranty. Ive been so impressed. The avianaut infant carriers use universal adapters so they will fit on all prams.

The travel systems are a waste of money imo. We’re in London and have never needed to put the car seat on the pram frame. Have also travelled a lot and never needed this.
Agree with others about trying out prams - we found Mamas and Papas most helpful.
We got the Joolz Aer pram (with carry cot for newborn stage) as it’s travel friendly and small enough that it can be pushed through the bus, doesn’t take up tonnes of space on the tube or escalators, and I can carry it up and down tube station stairs by myself without having to wait for people to help.
With the car seat, I would get an infant seat first. If you’re going to be in the car a lot i would try get one of the “lie flat” seats, while not entirely flat they’re not as upright as others so baby always seems less floppy in them. The Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro 2 is one for example - we didn’t have this initially and it’s stressful the first few times with a newborn not being able to hold their head up (a few times I sat in the back holding baby’s head up 😂).

Even non lie flat seats should be OK for newborns though - if you had to hold up your baby's head then possibly the rear seats in your car are very reclined which can cause a problem for rear facing car seats as it tips them backwards making them more upright.

To counteract this, some car seat bases have an adjustable angle or it is sometimes better to install the seat using seatbelt rather than the base. You also want to make sure you have the right inserts in as most infant carrier seats have a newborn insert which flattens out the curve or angle of the seat a bit for newborns.

If you had to hold the baby’s head up then either the car seat wasn’t suitable for the car, it wasn’t installed properly, your child was too small for the seat or not in the seat properly.

That simply shouldn’t happen in a properly fitted (in all ways) seat.

Please don’t link your car seat and your pram set.

The safest option for your baby is to get an infant car seat, max it out, and then get a Swedish plus tested ERF seat so they can rear face for as long as possible (6 or 7 is best, but 4 is an absolute minimum from a safety perspective).

As first time parents who haven’t yet bought a car seat and are asking for advice you’re in a great position, as many don’t ask and think if it’s sold it must be safe, and that just isn’t the case unfortunately.

Many first time parents will spend £££ on a travel system that won’t be used for that long and isn’t necessary to keep your child safe, yet not give a thought to the car seat which can literally save your child’s life and be used for 7 years.

We had a cybex cloud based on the safety test and the lie flat ability so babies could stay in the car seat longer than the 2 hours. I found it a bit iffy to get out the car but otherwise have used it for two children, mainly for short trips to the shop or when they were much much smaller and would stay asleep for cafe visits etc. I attached ours to a bugaboo fox base, again it can be a bit fiddly getting the bits to line up but both have served a purpose!

Don't match your pram and car seat. Just check that you can buy suitable adapters to connect two different manufacturers (mostly you can). We never ever put the car seat on the buggy frame, not once. It's something that's only useful if you regularly do very short car journeys followed by an extended period pushing them in the pram. Note that a newborn can only spend half an hour total in a car seat before being lifted out for a while.

For buggies, think carefully about your needs. Things like:
Big basket underneath?
Wheel size for terrain type
Foldability
Height of handlebars (there is usually adjustment but all models of buggy won't suit people of all heights)
How tall a child will the buggy accommodate
Can you fit a buggy board (if you're considering more than one child)

Take your list of needs to a pram shop and try lots. Both of you go together so you can make sure it suits both your heights.
If you can't try out the one you want, buy it second hand. If you don't like it you can sell it on for the same.

You shouldn't keep a baby in the car seat apart from when driving in the car - they should lie flat when in a pram, it's much safer for their breathing and better for their physical development. Buy the best possible car seat (Maxi Cosi have high safety ratings), and get a separate pram. I found using a sling much easier anyway for the first 6 months.

It's a huge amount of money to spend on a pram when the baby certainly won't care. We rarely used the car seat to clip onto the buggy frame as the kids hated the car seat. The one that came with the pram was also shit compared to a dedicated car seat. Get a decent car seat as the priority.

We have both a Thule Urban Glide and a Yoyo, both of which have standard MaxiCosi car seat adaptors which we use for a Cybex Cloud. Advantage of the cloud, it goes until 2 and doesn't need an extra base. They're the end member prams, one for cities and flying, the other for running and mountains. We found that all the hybrid prams were a bit shit at everything, so preffered buying both extremes. We only use the car seat on the pram if we're getting taxis or going to the airport. Otherwise it's easier leaving it in the car and just using the pushchair. We started with the yoyo and bought the thule later. I wouldn't spend a huge amount until the baby is here and you've worked out what your new life looks like.