Front facing buggy from birth?

[YellowSquirrel]

Joie litetrax £100 mother care photo

I have bought the above buggy in the sales. Mainly because it fits in my tiny car boot. Now I am regretting my choice because the baby faces forwards. It lies flat so is suitable from birth. I plan to be using a sling carrier for longer walks etc.
What are your opinions on front/rear facing prams?
I am so confused with baby choices!!?
Thank you.

[YellowSquirrel]

Lots of good info, thanks guys!

[tuilamum]

Going to avoid the argument here
OP if you feel comfortable with your choice then go for it, most of the time my little one falls asleep within about 5 minutes so it doesn't make a blind bit of difference to me/her.
However, if you have changed your mind/are really unsure which you'd prefer and want to get a refund to buy a different one then this one is the same brand but from Argos, is forward and rear facing and is actually cheaper now its in the sales
www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/9011155.htm
(if you can't get refunded then don't worry forward facing won't do baby any harm)

[JassyRadlett]

When I was doing paid childcare 20 years ago in another western country, before convertible prams and travel systems were around, it was entirely the norm for babies to be in a rear facing pram and then later (around 6 months) in a forward facing stroller.

Anyway, it's up to the OP. Personally I like being able to natter to my kids when they're wee. We do lots of long walks in the pram/pushchair and it's always nicer being able to see them. It's the main reason I prefer the pushchair to the sling - can't make eye contact in the sling. But that's me - others don't walk for miles with the baby in a pram/pushchair.0

'New' isn't always 'inferior', despite what some MNers appear to think.

[madwomanbackintheattic]

Common knowledge that trends are cyclical? Or that you are lumping forward facing pushing mothers into a lumpen proletariat?
I love tracking fashions over the ages in child rearing and domesticity (the cookbooks etc are amazing to delve into). Fascinating stuff. It makes one much more confident not to follow the middle class herd, I find. proper confidence in one's own parenting abilities regardless of which way your child is facing to the direction of travel is a wonderful thing.

[stargirl1701]

Sorry madwoman, I thought it was common knowledge.

www.theguardian.com/society/2008/nov/21/baby-development-buggies-sutton-trust

[tomatodizzy]

I had a maclaren for the car, that I used more than the rear facing pram. I used to just turn the hood round so I could see the baby. That costs nothing!

[Mrswinkler]

Hey, if you are looking for a budget baby you should have bought on eBay. The price between me buying and selling mine was £25. Not bad.

[maybebabybee]

Havent had my baby yet so can't comment from personal experience but when I went pram shopping with my mum she was bemused that rear facing was even a thing.

I really don't think it's as big a deal as it's made out to be.

[tuilamum]

DD has a forward facing buggy, had it since birth and now she's 5 months and loves it, sometimes its the only way I can get her to sleep on a separate surface to me. I was worried about having forward facing at first but its turned out great because she's so damn curious

[museumum]

How well can you see into it? Does it have a window? If it doesn't you'll be forever stopping to look and see if they're asleep yet / awake yet.

[PennyHasNoSurname]

Find a sling library and hire one! Roughly £8/9 per month and can swap and change as the baby grows.

I had a Maclaren XLR so once she putgrewthe attached carrycot she was forward facing flat from three months. Done her no harm linguistically.

[badg3r]

Looks great to me. We had a forward facing MacLaren from birth but didnt get it out till he was about 6 weeks old, he was in thr sling the whole time till then. It will be fine.

[madwomanbackintheattic]

Prams, yep. Plastic 'buggies', no.
Don't think the op is buying a vintage silver cross lol.

[Artandco]

Oh and free cycle is good if you have time to wait and see what's put up over a few weeks. There's often cots/ clothing/ toys etc up for free if your local. Especially bigger items that people can't be bothered with the hassle of selling and posting

[sepa]

I personally wouldn't get one that only did one or the other (mine you have the choice) but if this is what suits your lifestyle (car wise) and your planning on using a sling then I see no problem with it being forward facing.

[Artandco]

Do look on eBay for second hand slings. We bought a great soft one ( the old close caboo), for £6 unused in box still! It was about £50 new at the time

[DiscoSpider]

Yellow a sling out of old tshirt may be cheap but it won't be overly supportive or comfortable for you! You can get a stretchy sling for about £20 from Victoria Sling Lady, which should last until baby is about 4/5 months, then maybe look at the slings under £50 Facebook group for a preloved carrier when baby is a bit bigger.

Re your actual question (sorry!) I prefer parent facing personally when they're tiny, but there is nothing wrong at all with forward facing from birth. Pram looks like a bargain!

[Jesabel]

I like the idea that a rear facing pram is a new thing! All prams used to be rear facing

I personally would hate a forward facing buggy with a little baby, I'd be leaning round checking they're ok all the time. I'm not super keen even with my 22 month old because it's hard to talk to him and see whether he has fallen asleep or not, and I don't like him eating if I can't see him.

[YellowSquirrel]

Thank you, I feel much better now. Baby won't be in it that much, and I will chat away to him/her at other times.
Thanks for link of the car seat but that's another expense I can't justify! This is a budget baby! Even looking at YouTube videos of how make a sling out of old t_shirts!

[Mrswinkler]

Forward facing here.

I'm sure they would prefer looking out and about rather than at you all the time! You do find you stop and look at them by going round the front of the pram anyway and talk to them as you are walking when they are a bit bigger.

[tomatodizzy]

It will be fine. If you're really worried get a matching infant car seat and then the baby can face you
www.joiebaby.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Litetrax-TS-Gray-RightAngle2-cs-CC-510-2648-xl.jpg

et voilà

[NoTimeLikeSnowTime]

Same as Pricking's friends, I had prem twins in a side-by-side that had to go forward from birth. It was just one of the 90000 things I felt guilty about at the time that I now think was completely stupid.

Babies aren't in buggies for their entire day. If you walk around looking into a pram and talking at your baby you'd probably walk into a lampost. Little babies sleep in prams (well mine did anyhow) or look at the clouds because they're lying down. Bigger babies look at the "CaR!" 'Dog!" "NeeNaw!" and frankly Mummy ain't so fascinating, It's a complete non-issue.

[Claraoswald36]

I'm sure it will be fine. If you are slinging and have a great carrier you probably won't use the program much when the baby is tiny. I was all rear facing obsessed with dd1 - my best friend wasn't (used a Oran like the one in the op) - our dds are extremely wordy now and followed almost identical language development patterns, both very advanced as toddlers.
The older I get the more I realise these details don't matter much - being a responsive parent and talking to your baby at home all the time is more important than pram choice. Unless you plan to keep the baby in a pram at least times, not just a bit of shopping and the school run

[ByThePrickingOfMyThumbs]

It will be fine.

A friend of mine with twins used a Baby Jogger Double from birth. Both babies were forward facing in that and they were prem so tiny initially. It was not a problem at all.

You got a fab bargain with that buggy. Relax. Your baby will not be socially stunted!

[CharmingChampignon]

I was obsessed with buying a rf pram with dc1 - read and believed all the research. She barely went in it as we found the sling the most comfortable/useful mode of transport. I talked to her all the time anyway and always ate together at the table once she was weaning etc and there have been no problems with her speech. DC2 went ff in a double from the beginning and talked in sentences from 18 months. I think they mostly went in the pushchair to nap anyway...