Pram. Pushchair. Stroller. Travel system. Aaaargh! What do I need?!

[TheHonGalahadThreepwood]

I thought I'd be all organised and start looking around for a wheeled item in which to transport the baby when it arrives. I thought it would be simple. How wrong was I?! Can someone further ahead give me the absolute basic, novice's guide, please? I've already read the MN Best Buy guide but still really don't understand all the technicalities.

Ideally I'd like to buy one item that will take the baby from birth up to whatever age you stop wheeling them around - I presume this means I need something that will face me to begin with and then face outwards later on when baby is older. What is the inherent difference between a "pushchair", a "lightweight stroller", and a "travel system"? I don't drive so will be doing lots of walking in all weathers plus going on public transport a lot (probably sometimes with a couple of shopping bags). I'm tentatively thinking from what I read on the MN guide that a "lightweight stroller" like the Silver Cross would be better since the one real difference I could understand was that the "travel systems" include a car seat and are much heavier, as well as being several hundred pounds more expensive. But I suspect there may be more to it than that.

Hiya

Ok so if you drive or getting driven home from hospital you need a baby car seat as they won't let you go without it due to safety.

Most pram systems come with a car seat, carry unit/pram and turn into a stroller for 1yr plus.

Our Silver cross system we bought in 2014 was around £890 for everything we needed including the isofix base.

Trust me, money is an issue for us all with these systems but they are safety so a pram from a good charity shop that can be broken down and washed is a good idea and maybe just buy the car seat if needed - never buy one second hand unless the previous owners shows you proof of no accidents over the age of their kids.

Defo recommend Silver cross, others will have other recommendations.

Try reading Which? for a guide too.

When i had my son i got the hauck travel system. Was only £350 brand new and it was honestly fab, came with car seat, stand alot cot that clipped on so that way if he was asleep i could lift it off and he could carry on sleeping anywhere. Then it was a stroller that was really nice and sturdy with a footmuff and rain cover. Was honestly money well spent and i could get it up and down easy and used it every day, with a fair bit of under basket space so i could do a bit of shopping and if need be put bags on handles

I am like you, don’t drive and use public transport a lot.

I have the silver cross reflex, I bought the baby accessory pack so it turned into a parent facing pram when baby was newborn.
You don’t need the accessory pack as the buggy lies flat.

Drawback with silver cross is apart from buggy and rain cover you have to buy everything separately and it’s expensive.
The basket under the buggy is impossible to access when buggy is in lie flat mode. I have however done fairly big shops and loaded it up and taken public transport. You can buy a separate shopping bag to hang on handle if you need.

Big plus, buggy seat is big and roomy, however on buses it fits into really small spaces and can be steered thro really tight spaces in shops.

I don't drive. Mi biggest recommendation would be to get city mini GT babyjogger. We used to walk for miles and miles on country footpaths across fields. City mini GT has all terrain wheels and is so easy to push, not heavy to push at all. When you push it with child in and compare it to another pushchair with child it's honestly so much better.

And it folds up with one pull and unfolds with one action too so easy for the bus.

My biggest regret is not getting this from the start.

Thanks, all. Really helpful!

fuzzywuzzy, what extras did you find you needed to buy for the Silver Cross Reflex? The baby accessory packs seem to be out of stock everywhere (perhaps indicating they're no longer made?) and when I looked at it on John Lewis' website it said that it faced both forward and rear, so I assumed that it converted from pram to pushchair without the need of extras. Can I also ask how you found it in terms of ease of folding up on the bus when clutching a screaming baby and shopping bag?!

purpleme I am really tempted by the one-click fold-up system in the CityMini (see above for imaginary on-the-bus scenario), but less keen on the fact that it looks like I'd have to buy extras to make it into a pram, and I live in the city so don't think I'd need it for country paths much.

I can see why that would put you off but I have to say for me it's the only pushchair I'd go for again. It is suitable from birth so it's just personal preference whether you want to add the carrycot on.

The reflex is umbrella fold, I’ve never had to fold it down on the bus as it’s slotted into the pushchair space.

It doesn’t face parents without the baby accessory pack, I think the silvercross website sells the accessory pack in a few colours but it does look like they’re discontinuing the packs, I also had to contact them to buy the rain cover for the accessory pack as that wasn’t available anywhere!

If you are mainly city based and use public transport a lot I'd probably consider the bugaboo bee or icandy raspberry. They're both a bit more pricy but you can probably pick one up second hand fairly reasonably.

Damn it. The accessory pack for the Reflex literally isn't available anywhere, so that's not looking so good. :( I don't understand why JL says it can face in either direction if you need extras (which they don't sell) to make that happen.

purpleme is it correct then that the CityMini is suitable from birth, but that means that the newborn will be world-facing rather than facing the parent? And the point of the carrycot is that it allows the baby to face the parent? (Sorry - so many questions!)

If you don't drive and rely on public transport, I'd get something that was relatively lightweight and easy to fold. Agreed re Bee, Raspberry, or Minicity jogger. They're also quite slim width-wise which is easier to get onto buses with. I'd go and try these out in a shop and see which one you get on with the best.

We had an icandy peach which was great, but I drive, and it is very heavy and cumbersome, and utterly impractical on buses especially if you need to fold it down. We also swapped it for a cheap stroller after about 2 years.

Yes it's suitable from birth but yes that would mean baby wouldn't be parent facing unfortunately. I guess that's the downside for this pushchair.

Yes carrycot would mean he's parent facing and I guess more enclosed as well for winter months.

My SIL had the Baby Jogger as recommended above- she doesn't drive and used public transport a lot, as well as flying frequently back and forth to see family with baby.

It is a fab buggy and has stood up well now her dc is nursery age- it was second hand when she got it too. Really easy to push and the super quick fold is fantastic compared to the mechanics-kit that is my silver cross wayfarer!

Re carrycot - that allows the baby to lie flat. It's extremely important for babies to lie completely flat - my best friend's DD almost died from being in a car seat too long (think blue and non-responsive)! If you're going to use the pram a lot, it's definitely useful, but again check the pram can be folded with the carry cot attached.

It's worse than buying a car!!

To be honest I would buy a pram / parent facing pram and then at around a year or younger if you feel get an umbrella fold buggy. We have the maclaren quest which is now on its third dd having been folded countless times and thrown in the car.
For public transport a sling may also be handy - don't mean to throw more confusion into it! Maybe look for your local sling library
For a newborn something with a carrycot so they can lie flat is good. Mamas and papas have a good range. You could always buy second hand and a new carrycot if that helps
The problem I found with buying a 'last forever' pram system was that by the time they got around 2 they were much heavier than a newborn and the pram got really heavy to push which is why the buggy was great

Babyjogger does go flat, it reclines.
You'd have to take the carrycot off the pushchair then pull it in one motion to fold it

If I had to do it all again I'd buy a brand new Maxicosi car seat and a used "travel system" with the following features:

• cot (my DD hated the lie back seat)
• front and back facing seat
• maxi cosi adapters for car seat (used in Uber when baby was out of buggy cot)
• big basket for shopping
• correct width to fit on buses

Then when DC turned 9 months or so I'd sell the travel system second hand (they hold value well) and buy a lightweight stroller thing (prob also second hand).

I know one size fits all is tempting but in my experience you do need diff features at diff stages. I've also got great deals on used Bugaboo and Uppababy systems in the past. Good luck!

I second the recommendation for Bugaboo bee if you're city based. I love mine.

If you don’t drive it’s even more important you have a good pram. Lightweight strollers are handy to fold down and use for short periods but in my experience not that comfortable for long walks! I bought a bugaboo cameleon when DD was born and used it constantly. Still use for walking to and from nursery. It’s not especially small or handy for a car but it’s easy to push, fits comfortably on London bus and is still in great shape.

I really days the Amadillo flip. It lies flat from birth, it can face both ways if you need it to, and folds up one handed and quite small for a travel system.
We bought lots of extras for it like car seat adaptors and a pram attachment but they aren't necessary and it's really roomy - my two year old who's on the bigger side fits into it with lots of room. Worth a look.

Definitely the bugaboo bee, I love mine.

It looks great, lightweight, folds small, sooo easy to push, big basket, good to travel with. You can buy a bassinet for newborns (it's fairly roomy, although my DS is quite small, but I don't think it will last much past 3 months) but I would recommend just putting them straight in the seat which is suitable from birth with the cocoon you can buy as extra. The seat itself can be either parent or forward facing which is great. You can customise it and there's loads of accessories too. Basically fits your criteria to a T.

I would buy a travel system with the option of having parent facing pram and a carrycot such as the icandy or bugaboo range. They’re my absolute favourites. They stand the test of time and can put up with the outdoors well and fit from newborn through to toddler plus you can attach the car seat if you ever do use a car/taxi.

Umbrella strollers are for older toddlers imo.