Newborn buggy, car seat, carrier, swiss-army-knife-all-in-one recommendations please?

[Bunnylion]

Pregnant with our first. I'm enjoying getting ready decorating the nursery, buying the cot, Moses basket, blankets etc. but I have no idea where to start with choosing the car seat/buggy. I know you can get one contraption that has multi functions so I guess we want one of them to save space.

My car has isofix points but I don't know what to look for when picking a car seat, beyond safety, price and colour. Any tips or recommendations?

Do you need to get a new one after 6 months or are some adaptable as the baby grows?

Get yourself to John Lewis and have a good try of them.
Huge amount out there depends on budget, space in boot of car etc.
have a think and make a list of what's important to you such as price, rear facing, adjustable handle bar, basket size etc then that will help rule them out. With regards to car seats the maxi cosi pebble and cabrio and the be safe iZi go fit on most travel systems.once you have a short list look up reviews, the products section on here is good for advice too.
Loads of shops to have a look I preferred John Lewis but many like mothercare, kiddicare, mamas and papas and don't forget independent pram shops who gave us the car seat for free when buying the iCandy peach.

Meant to add with regards to isoFix you will need to get the isoFix base as well as the car seat. Available for majority of car seats.
With regards to the age, we went for the iCandy which has a carrycot (extra) which is suitable for up to 6 months then the pushchair after. The silver cross surf has similar iirc. Some people don't want to spend too much on first pram as they want to start using a lighter buggy sooner than later but depends on how your using it, mostly car, mostly walking or public transport etc.

littlemissexpecting thanks! I'll get down to JL on Saturday. I'll have a look at the iCandy too.

Hi there

You don't need an isofix base if you want to use the seatbelt to secure the cars seat in place but most people seem to find them easier.

We've bought the maxi cosi pebble and will be buying the uppa baby vista - really liked it

I would try as many prams as you can, and see what you like the look of etc, there are loads of great makes out there. I swear by my uppa baby vista. About to start using it with my second (its had 2 years of sold use and still in great condition), (just bought the extra seat for it). But have friends who love their I candy, stokke etc. my hubby loved the bugaboo and I just couldn't picture myself pushing it about.

Agree with pp think how you will use it, will it fit in your boot? How easy is it to turn, fold, where will you store it, are you planning on having a second close together? Do you want to use it to carry shopping about in, how useful is the basket space? What comes included? What is extra? Does it have air tyres or solid tyres, (I walk on Forrest paths a lot so didn't want punctures).

Good luck!

I've got the mamas and papa luna mix it's a pram but I've got a carrycot for it and the car seat, so you can use it after 6 months, I'd defo say to test it and not just go on the look of it cause if you plan on walking you'll use it a lot!

I would say, if you are going to be getting about by car a lot, consider getting a pushchair that folds in one piece. I had an icandy, which is a brilliant pram, but it drove me mad having to take it apart to get it in/out of the boot. But if you're using public transport/walking mostly then this is less of an issue.

Go and have a good try of them all!

What you need depends a lot on your lifestyle, the size of your car and how likely you are to use public transport. Also if you live in an upstairs flat with no lift or whatever. Tell us a bit more and I am sure someone can recommend something.

A travel system is the all in one contraption. Usually you get a chassis and you can attach a carrycot, a car seat or a pushchair seat for when your baby has outgrown the carrycot at 6 months or so. You don't need a new car seat at 6 months, an infant seat should last about a year, perhaps a couple of months more depending on the weight of your baby. Sometimes you don't need a separate carrycot if your pushchair seat is labelled suitable from birth.

Icandy and bugaboo both have good travel systems that have all those functions but they are top of the price range models. If your budget does not stretch that far, look up the Babystyle Oyster or the Graco Symbio (I have this one but it is quite big to fit in the car) or the Mothercare spin.

We went for the silver cross 3d for a ciuoek of reasons...it fold similar to a maclaren stroller ao takes up little space, it is reasonably light to lift and a whole lotlelets hassle than the mama's and papas pilko (in essence exactly the same) to put car seat on and collapse. Most places are going u car seat free atm

The babystyle oyster is a great option IMO.

I had the silver cross surf and getting it in and out of cars was a nightmare. It's not very comfortable either, DS used a pushchair for 3 days and then (at 7m) absolutely refused to go in it, and I doubt he'd even fit in it now at 15m, he used to cry a lot in it and I thought he was just crying then he was all of a sudden so much happier out of it.

Babystyle has just as good handling as bugaboo too but a lot cheaper plus you can change the colours like it.

It folds in 1 or 2 pieces, smaller in 2 but simpler in 1. It also has a big hood which extends out more with a zip compartment that's great for change/keys/oyster card, built in insect net and I think the new ones have the rain cover integrated too. It's suitable for 3m+ but if you're in the car a lot you could just use the car seat on it. My DS loves to just 'chill' in his pram and loves that he can sit with his legs up in the oyster, it's great for pushing one handed when you've too much shopping too.

Oh, and the seat is lovely and padded.

We went to Kiddicare and chose the babystyle oyster. We were on a budget and I have a polo so we needed something that folded small. Only used it a couple of times (DD is 9 days old!) but so far we've found it very easy to use. It was a choice between that and the Graco Evo but I found the oyster easier to put up and down and liked that you could could the colour pack :) we got the Britax car seat to go with it and its dead easy to put in and out the car.

More food for thought, I got a travel system with DC1 and hoiked the car seat everywhere and needed a better push chair when he was bigger. With DC2 I left the car seat in the car, used a sling a lot more. I had a carrycot I used in the car too but never used that on a pram.

With DC3 I completely loved the Baby Jogger City Mini which lies flat and with a lodger bunker, it made the perfect little nest while he was little, then lasted through until he grew out of the buggy. (Looking at the website though, I nearly want to have another baby so I can try the Wrapper Motion and the Shelter - they look fab!!)

Don't be put off by the price of Bugaboos etc - you may find they're perfect for you, and you can alway buy second hand or reconditioned. There's a web company called Zebbingtons who do reconditioned Bugaboos for half the price of new ones. Agree with everyone who says to get trying! You'll be instantly put off by the feel / height of some which will narrow down your shortlist.

Alternatively start by looking at car seats and see what your compatible pushchair options are from there - I have a really tiny car so it was all dictated by what car seat would fit and which pram would fold up small enough for the boot.

Good luck!

I've just bought an Uppababy Vista for £350 on Gumtree. It's a pram and converts to a buggy, and is also car seat compatible. I chose it because it got the second highest reviews by Which out of I think 188 that they tested. I don't have the baby to go with it yet, but am pleased with it so far!

Thanks for all the tips and recommendations.

I have a big dog, who comes with me most places, and he travels in the boot. But I do have a big 4X4 with a lot of space in the back seat footwell for a pram.

I will be walking my dog with the pram but other than that I drive to the supermarket, to see friends and family etc and don't use the bus as I live in the middle of nowhere.

I'll definitely look in to the ones already mentioned.

It isn't safe to store the pram in the back seat footwell. If you had an accident the pram could be flying all over the back seat and be a potentially lethal missile. You may need to think over how you will secure your dog and buggy in your car.

We've for a bugaboo bee and it's fab. The car seat clips on to the frame. You don't have to have the isofix base you can belt the car seat in, it's your choice. The base just makes things easy.

Don't forget newborns can only spend two hours at a time in a car seat so you'll need a pram that reclines flat as well, have a carrycot or like the Bee has a cocoon.

They don't need a new car seat at six months. Car seats have a weight and age limit on them. We have the maxi cosi cabriofix and DS has just gone into his next stage seat at 14 months. It's recommended to keep them rear facing for as long as possible.

Best thing to do is go have a play in somewhere like John Lewis. Think about what you want, where you live and how big your car is and what you can carry. Also things like basket size, can the pram rear and parent face (the Bee does both) and has it got height adjustable handles if one of you is tall.

The Bee is light, folds down without having to take bits off it, basket is a good size and the handles adjust. It also has an extended back and seat for when they grow.