Prams, Car seats and what not -What'd people's experience with the cosatto wow?

[fonxey]

Ok another pram topic, i know. Specifically though i am interested in the Coasatto wow. I am a ftm btw, so no experience really...

I saw the giggle in our brief tour of Mothercare and liked the look and feel, but the 3 wheel thing put me off. I've heard from friends they are less stable. Ok on roads but not off.

However the cosatto are seemingly getting some good reviews.

Anyway, discovered the wow - 4 wheels and the criticisms of the giggle that i did read about seem to have been ironed out in the wow.

I also have to admit i like the colour and design. I hate black or dark colours and most of the rest are black and boring.

It also doesn't seem to be as expensive as the other bigger, more expensive brands out there. Although my op still thinks it's expensive. £500-600 send more reasonable than £1000.

But i want something obviously that will last. I don't want to get something cheap if I'm going to have to replace it which would then end up costing more. And the cosatto looks comfy and felt good in shop.

Anyway... Looking at car seats.

So this is where I get stuck. Obviously the 0+ one will fit on the frame as well if i stuck to cosatto.

But it's only suitable up to about a year and then I'll have to get another one.

Or i get a 0+/1 which will last the kid longer some even up to 12 years, or so I've noticed.

Now. I don't drive. My oh does of course. But while I'm on mat leave he'll be at work. So the majority of the time baby won't be in a car seat while s/he is with me. So the ability to plug the car seat into the frame will not really be used apart from on weekends or when oh is not at work and we go out. Obviously that would still be fairly useful to have, but... Just wondering how useful. Bearing in mind that most often oh goes food shopping without me because more convenient. He can leave work earlier than me and Tesco is on the way.

The alternative is that we just remove the baby from the car seat to put into the pram or carry him/her.. If we get the combo one. And to be honest when we are going out probably for walks etc baby would be better in pram as it would be for longer. So I'm not sure (running on theories but practical experience) how much use it will get. I'm sure there will be times when it would come in handy, but how many?

So it's kinda about money. I'd rather buy one thing that will last than have to buy 2, especially if 1 will only have minimal benefit.

My baby will however be born in December and i understand they can't wear coats whilst in the baby carrier seat thing, which may not be as convenient. I guess i could just put a blanket or wotnot over them.

Anyway... Thoughts on cosatto and car seat/baby carrier conundrum?

And any other thoughts on prams and things would be useful.

I'm looking into it now at only 14 weeks because i figure if i know what i want early i have time to catch a sale.

No idea in relation to prams, however the car seat I totally recommend the Doona. www.which.co.uk/news/2014/06/doona-car-seat-pushchair-too-good-to-be-true-369441/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&source_code=911CTJ&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxYLoBRCxARIsAEf16-viztImISy-yT8mD8jvh5AyMp777zkIyJ1jzcr7wu9_ehvqOcf4cf0aAnxIEALw_wcB
My sister has one and it is fantastic as it has wheels that drop down so you don't have to lug it around!!!

Watching as think i may get a Wow also (dc5 due in 12 weeks)

I have had a giggle2 before and it was good ny only issue was dc outgrew carrycot before 6m and seat unit around 1 year. I believe the wow is bigger.

Selling point to me is weight

Hi!

I had the cossato wow in fjord, greeny unisex pattern (didn’t know her sex in advance) and honestly it’s a really good pram. We got the whole package with car seat and carry cot then pram seat and I love it.

The only thing was the baby car seat was grown out quickly so we moved on to the cossato hug? Or cuddle whatever it’s called really good ☺️

Also the service is really good with cossato and if you need any parts or extras they are really happy to help

littlejay did your dd fit in the carrycot til 6m?

I’ve got the wow in Fjord and really like it. DD outgrew the carrycot at 6 months but that was fine as she prefers to be upright anyway. Seat on the pushchair lays really flat so can always switch them early that way too. She still fits in the car seat at 8 months but we switched to one which stays in the car a while back (she doesn’t like being reclined that much!). Cosatto’s Customer service are really good in my experience too

Re: car seats, I never took mine out in car seat and attached to pram. Especially when very little it’s not good for them to be in the car seat for long anyway. Always just transferred to carrier or pram (usually carrier/ sling but that’s personal preference).

I have a Giggle with car seat, carry cot and pushchair. Bought it for DD (now nearly 5) and am still using it for DS (nearly 1). Its definitely lasted well. I'd agree that the 3 wheels are great for general use, turning etc, but not so good off road - though the front wheel does lock. It will depend on how much off-road use you think you do.
From my experience Cosatto has been a good brand at the good price and I love the patterns. I'd recommend them to friends - we also have a Cosatto Supa buggy which we use when on holiday.
We used the car seat more for DD - being able to put it on the frame was a boon, especially if you don't want to wake them transferring from the car, but I have a car so went out more alone.
However, yes most DC will outgrow any 0+ car seat within a year or so, so if you go that route you will need a 1,2,3+ car seat as they get older. DS outgrew the Cosatto one quickly (plus he was getting too heavy to carry in it) so we got a Joie EveryStage for him (DD has one too) which go from birth to 12yrs approx and are ISOFix once forward facing.
The Carry cot is of a standard size so how long you use that for will be determined by your child - my two quickly outgrew it, but that would have happened regardless.
I'd say you need to really think about exactly what you are going to do once your child is born. Are you mostly going to be out in urban areas, walking or using public transport? Or using a car? How much off-road walking are you actually going to do?
You could also look at slings or baby carriers as an alternative to pram/pushchairs. We have both, and use both for different trips. When I'm on my own I tend to use the pushchair (as I can put the baby bag and shopping on it rather than carry it), when we're out as a family we tend to use our Tula baby carrier and split the load between us.

@Cookit this is my thinking. They're might be a few times maybe if baby is sleeping and i don't want to wake so take from car indoors. But i think we will rarely find a use for being able to transfer car seat to pram. Not enough.

But i figured it's worth thinking about in case the benefit outweighs the cost.

Those of you who have had a Wow, what age did you use it until?

@APurpleSquirrel thanks for your really good reply!

I will probably get a sling too. Maybe baby carrier. I have back issues (minor but enough) that i think i might struggle using one long term.

I don't know how much off road walking we will do, but hopefully quite a bit. Certainly enough that we'd need one capable of going off road with comfort.

How long altogether doors the cosatto last people? The advert says until roughly 3-4 years!

Me and the oh are quite small in size and shape so I'm hoping this baby will take after us and be a little squirt.

I’m also going for cosatto, although I like the giggle and the 3-wheel isn’t a problem for me. I liked the reviews and I liked the ease of use.
We decided not to bother with the car seat that is offered with the travel system and just to buy the pramette on its own. We’ll get a suitable car seat that has a longer life than a year.

Cosatto have just brought out the Giggle3 and Giggle Quad (4 wheel version) so there will be some really good prices on Giggle2s!

Well, as I said - we got our Giggle in 2014 when DD was born, she used it right up until 3+ - obviously it was getting very snug by then, but it was mostly when out and walking too far was too much. I did use it to go down to our allotment regularly, so that was off-road in places. Now we have DS, he will be 1 on Saturday and we've been using it with him since he was born, so ours is now 5 years old and still going strong. It doesn't look new of course, it has some dents, scratches etc and the material coverings are a bit mucky (mostly because I haven't cleaned them in a while), but other than it its absolutely fine. I'd expect it to last DS until he doesn't need it anymore so another 2 years at least, whcih would make it about 7 years old by the time we'd be done with it?
Agree with PP that you can buy spares etc, which helps with the longevity.

I stopped using the giggle2 with our youngest around his first birthday, he seemed really squashed and like his head was near touching the inside of the hood.

Wow I'm surprised IVEgottheDECAF - my DD sat in our Giggle when we were at the zoo last year (as a joke, as she was complaining her feet hurt) and yes her head was above the top of the seat, but she's like 120cm and 4yo.

Well i dare say he could have used it longer but he just did not look comfortable! We already had a Supa stroller which has a really narrow seat imo. I ended up with a Busy which has loads of space still at over 2 and a half plus the footmuff is huge

Sounds like you don't need an actual travel system. You need a pram with cot/seat and a separate car seat.

Agree the travel system car seats get outgrown very quickly. Better to buy a car seat for a wider age range since you don't need to regularly drive around with baby.

We had the giggle, more lightweight than other brands and accordingly less able to cope going off road!

this is my thinking. They're might be a few times maybe if baby is sleeping and i don't want to wake so take from car indoors. But i think we will rarely find a use for being able to transfer car seat to pram. Not enough.

Yes I certainly wouldn’t the few times it is useful to drive my decision on what car seat to get since the safety of car seats can differ quite a lot.

Love it. Child is 1 and we have the car seat that clips in. It's lovely and manoeuvrable and simple but also cheerful and bright (not a fan of the black or beige prams).

One thing is you do still need adapters even if you have a cosatto car seat which I didn't realise.

I had the Wow delivered yesterday (won't get to use it until November but mothercare are giving you a free car seat with the wow until the 19th) and from my limited experience in pushing it around my living room, it's great! Very easy to adjust everything on it, and click the different seats in. The only things are the carrycot isn't huge, and you need separate adaptors for the car seat to attach.

I don't have a view on the make - try them all out and see what you think. What I would say is - don't go nuts on a massive travel system that's going to end up being hopelessly unwieldy. We bought an iCandy Peach which is gorgeous and great if you're literally walking out of the house to wherever you're going, but it's a pain in the arse for public transport - you have to take the carrycot or seat out of the chassis to fold it up, and it's bloody heavy to carry up the stairs. We got ours secondhand but they're still stupidly expensive. If I had to make the decision again I'd have got something decently sturdy and less expensive for the first year and then got a McClaren or Joie umbrella-folding chair as soon as she could sit up enough to be in a pushchair.

Carseats- babies under 6 weeks shouldn't be in them for more than 30minutes and older ones no more than 90 minutes - 2 hours, so unless it's a very quick trip to the shop a travel system or doona shouldn't really be used.

Rear facing is safest, for as long as possible. You'd be best off getting a 0+ seat and using it until outgrown, that way you will know what centile your child is on and can get the most appropriate next stage seat (some harness to 18kg, some to 25kg, and a child on a larger percentile will outgrow an 18kg seat before they can safely use a high back booster).

Cosatto carseats aren't tested beyond the legal minimum (30mph front impact) but some other brands, such as Joie do additional testing (40mph, side and rear impact). Cosattos fabric is lovely and bright, but there have been some tests which indicate they achieve this by use of heavy chemical dyes which can leech out with heat or if damp, more so than other brands who use darker/ less vibrant colours.

ADAC do independent testing of carseats. They have no retailer funding and focus solely on safety (unlike which). The doona did very poorly, as did the cosatto infant seat.

Good to know about the car seat testing. I wasn't set on getting a cosatto car seat and the wow doesn't automatically come with the car seat unless i buy it as a package.

I might look into a joie in this case.