Am I crazy..

[clownstotheleft]

.. to consider sacking off buying a full travel system with bassinet and just going for a good quality stroller (looking at the UPPAbaby CRUZ or Silver Cross Marie Chantel Reflex) which can be used with a car seat and then use a sling as a back up. I just feel that a bassinet seems to be used in a very short period and adds a lot of hassle (in terms of storage - we live in an apartment with basement storage space, boot space and cost - although we can afford it, I hate to waste money). This is my first DC and all the options are a little daunting. DH and I have been going from one extreme to the other (going for using sling and car seat to saying f**k it let's get the travel system).

I know a lot of friends who mainly used slings with their babies and family members who wouldn't be seen dead without a proper Pram for their LOs.

Any tips or what combination you used to get through the first 6 months would be very helpful.

You can’t use the car seat all the time as babies need to lay flat so you need to have that option with whatever you buy.

@clownstotheleft you don't need the pram if the stroller seat is suitable from birth anyway - ie. it lies flat and has a suitable restraint system. I'd recommend parent facing as well. Plenty of people do it! As @SuperGekkoMuscles said, please don't use the car seat all the time, it's dangerous for long periods.

We are aware of the 2 hour recommendation for babies under 6 months and due to living far (abroad) from family we have been looking at the lie flat car seat options so we don't have to stop every two hours of the 10 hour car journey, although none that we have seen stretch to 18 months which we would prefer (or even better birth to 18kg). The strollers we've been considering do go from birth and have a lie flat option, although baby will lie lower (further away) than a bassinet. Are there the same time recommendations for using slings?

You can get a new born insert for the Cruz. Thebassinate is not huge and we had to move to the the Cruz seat before 3 months but my DD is tall.

The Cruz bassinet is suitable for over night sleeping so it can be used as a Moses basket. You can just buy it on any Moses basket stand.

Literally considering the same thing for our 2nd! Havent got the room for the full works in the boot of my Micra!

The strollers claim they start from birth and have got the lay flat options so cant see why it wouldnt be okay?

I also found that I used the sling 75% of the time with DS when he was a month old anyway?

Remember under 6 weeks they should only be in the car seat for a max of 30 mins a time and only in the car.

Thanks @Jackshouse that's really useful to know, I didn't know about the 30 minute/in the car only rule for up to six weeks!

@TwittleBee that's interesting, how long is the limit for using a sling. I have friends who literally regret getting a Pram at all (and one who didn't bother for their second). I feel like six months will pass so quickly then they'll be in a stroller, so I want a great stroller rather than a clunky heavy system which they may grow out of by the time they're two!

clownstotheleft no clue if there is a limit actually... I would do all my shopping / housework / chilling with him in a sling! Feel like I should look into that now... I also actually moved DS into the stroller part at 3.5 months old as he was too squashed in the bassinet part! He was such a long baby and hated his head touching the top.

We got the Jané Epic + Matrix. The Epic is the chassis and pushchair, and the Matrix is a car seat that does both lie flat and more upright. There are loads of different options for the chassis, depending on what you need.

It was brilliant for us as you can get a mattress to use the Matrix bit as a pram or for overnight sleeping. My son is pretty little at 16 months (5th centile) but still fits easily. We are using a different car seat now as we’re given one, but wouldn’t have needed to buy another yet.

No limit on sling time as long as used correctly.

The 30 minute limit is up to 6 weeks, or 6 weeks post due date if baby is prem. This includes like flat carseats (as they aren't actually completely flat).

You don't need a travel system. A stroller suitable from birth is fine, and much easier to cart around. My baby refused to go in the pram until 6 months. So glad I bought it second hand!

With lie flat carseats, some take up two seat in the back of the car which is an issue and they also lie side ways, rather than rearfacing which is less safe than rearfacing. Unless you have a very tall (long body)/ heavy child you'll likely get 15 months or more out of a first stage seat, most people move their child in to the next stage before it's necessary.

There are some lie flat rear facing seats though, such as the kiddy evo lunafix.

So it sounds like (unless our baby is small) that they may not even last the recommended 6 months in a bassinet, so a lie flat stroller is a good buy either way! We are very lucky that my sister saved her Moses basket and is keen to lend it to us, so we won't need a bassinet for sleeping (great as we live on one level so we'll only need one basket for moving baby around the apartment). I've done some (a lot) or circular searching on car seats and that is another subject all together. I suppose we're looking for unicorns or multi-use, multi-age range items to try and save on waste cluttering our lives ... this may be a losing battle though Thank you for all your great input everyone!