quick question re travel systems

[Rootatoot]

Hi

My MIL saw a travel system pushchair in a charity shop and bought it. Not going to use it as our main pushchair/pram (as I don't really like it!) but it will be useful to use when we visit, to save us packing ours in our little car.

As she lives a long drive away, we're not intending visiting with our baby (due in August) until he's a few months old. I was just wondering at what age, I do away with the car seat bit? I don't know much about the pushchair itself (the car seat is mamas and papas, primo viaggio, without any infant insert). I don't want to use the car seat in our car as we don't know its history and have been given a far better one. So at the moment it is just taking up space and I want to give it to charity shop if we're not going to need it.

I just wondered, WOULD we need it to use with the pushchair ? what age do babies start using a pushchair out of the lie flat position?

Thanks all. Sorry if it's a daft question. It's my first baby and still a bit clueless about all the paraphenalia!

If you don't know the history of the carseat and are not going to use it then the best thing is to cut the straps so that nobody can use it and take it to the tip, it isn't wortht he risk to anybody. I wouldn't be happy taking seat to teh charity shop for someone else to use if I didn't know the history.

AS to the pushchair, if you google the model then you should be able to find the details. It is best for babies to stay flat for a few months but plenty of pushchairs are counted as being suitable from birth which do not recline fully. Since you won't be using it much then chances are it will be ok.

I think, if memory serves correctly, that I moved my dd from a flat pram into the sit up pushchair of a m&p ultima around 5 months? I had stopped carrying her in the car seat about 3 months, but she was a bit of a biffer .

I can;t remember off the top of my head but have a look at the max weight for baby in the car seat and you'll be able to work out an approximation of when you will need the next one up and so won't be able to use the travel system anymore. I think that "officially" it is around 6 months that you would be putting baby into a sitting upright position.

Hope that helps

Carseats have a maximum weight so you would keep your baby in the carseat part until they either exceeded the maximum weight or their head was level with the top of the carseat. They usually grow out of their first car seat by about 12 months. It is safest to try to keep them rear facing for as long as possible so the longer you can safely use the seat the better.

You wouldn't have to use the carseat bit in order to use the pushchair. In fact its better to avoid using the carseat attachment when in the pushchair because its not good for their spines to be bent up for long periods of time.

Babies can start to be raised from the flat position when they start to have head control e.g. around 3 months but you should wait until they have good head control before sitting them straight i.e. 4/5 months

Thanks for quick response!

Indith - I was going to take it to the tip to be honest and then someone said that as it'd be sold in a charity shop to MIL in the first place then why not just take it back to one? I was torn between how I feel about using it & letting someone else have the choice. I think you might be right though. That was my first thought.

I imagine he'll be at least 5 months before we go visit as I'm not happy about doing such a long journey with a tiny baby anyway and not heading into winter either. So sounds like wouldn't need car seat part by then anyway.

Right, I'll bin it! Thanks, decision made :)