Clueless about prams

[chelle85]

We went into babies r us the other day and came out more confused than when we started.

I want a pram that can be used from birth so needs to lay flat but I would rather avoid a full travel system if possible as I don't have the storage for all the bits.

We want something sturdy with good wheels that will withstand brisk walking as we like to get out and about so it wouldn't just be used for the shops etc. We like the 3 wheel but there doesn't seem much choice around

Needs to be easy to fold and fit in an average sized hatchback boot.

Any recommendations?

Also think the 20minute thing is a bit hysterical.
Assuming baby is going on car trips, believe me you will NOT want to get him/her out of his car seat and into something else when he/she has dozed off in the car.

Look at the baby joggers, fold up really small and you can get carry cots and car seat adapters for them. Good piece of kit only negative is small basket. I also have an uppababy vista which has a monster basket but is huge.

I have a Chicco urban travel system and I love it! There wasn't much extra to store as all the 'extras' fitted in a tote bag that came with it!

We live on an island and I'm out and about with the pram everyday as DP had the car for work. It's really easy to use and it's survived over a year of narrow / uneven paths and trails we even had it on the beach a few times. Easy to get on and off buses / trains and the ferry.

We got a deal through bounty so got it for half price.

I think you need to look at your lifestyle first. Are you primarily going to be on the car and travelling places or will you be pushing the pram to the shops etc?

If you are likely to be using the car then I think you can afford to get a more urban pram with less storage. The Stokke for example has a newborn wedge and you can lie it flat so you don't need the carrycot attachment. You can also purchase a brand of car seat (BeSafe) from memory that gives you the option of attaching the car seat to the Stokke frame if you wish.

If you are going to mainly push the pram around town while doing lots of shopping and wheel it home then you need something with good under seat storage. You could maybe get something with a carrycot attachment and just store it at home and flog it once your done (prob around 5 months).

There is a great second hand pram market for the main brands so you might get something for just 6 months or a year and sell it on you don't have to try and keep a pram for 3 years or so.

Just to add too, under a yr old in a good sling you could carry all day without hurting your back.

Would you plan to have a second child within 2 or so years? If so it might be worth thinking about something that coverts to a tandem. We have the icandy peach for this reason.

Also worth thinking about whether you want the option of parent/world facing? A lot of the stroller type prams won't have a parent facing option.

I've heard good things about the mamas and papas armadillo flip so that might be worth a look.

Uppababy vista or cruz

We purposely didn't buy car seat adapters for our bugaboo as I didn't want the temptation of using the car seat for very long. As it happened he hated the car seat and pram for a long time anyway!