Advice on travel system, car seat and cot

[amyyy333]

Hi everyone im 23 weeks pregnant and im starting to look at various pushchairs, car seats and cots. Has anyone brought anyones in particular that you are impressed with

Also do you think its too early for me to start buying these.

We had a Moses basket which was a gift from the white company. If we’d had space I would have gone straight to the big cot (Ikea, now converted to toddler bed). Don’t spend a lot of money in case they don’t sleep in it.

Car seat- the option for a seatbelt only install is good if you travel. We had a maxi cosi.

Pram is very dependant on your lifestyle. We had an iCandy peach and hated it- too heavy, two part fold was a pain and the wheels are useless off road or in snow which to me defeats the point of a big pram. We also have the Babyzen YoYo which I love. It is great for city living and travelling.

Travel systems are bulky. You will use the carry cot no more than 10 times unless you walk alot. You use the carseat more for going to the shops or popping out. Better off getting a doona and then a stroller. Yes the egg looks fab but such a waste of money. They grow out of the seat at like 1

I've got a venicci travel system, still love it 2 yrs later and will be using it again for our new arrival in a few weeks 😄 It's got great suspension, easy to push and looks gd. Also has lots of nice little touches like adjustable handle height, flaps on the pram and pushchair than can be moved to let air in during summer. Comes with lots of extras too like rain cover, mosquito net, cup holder etc.

We have a snuzpod which is a next to me bed and looks lovely and is quite big.

We bought an ikea cot, all of these items are going to be used for second baby.

I got the egg in quantum grey I brought it second hand and saved myself over £500

I had a snuzpod which I loved. Had to move DD out of it at 5 months as she tried to climb out but she would have fitter longer.

We have the Cybex cloud q which DD is still using at 14 months. The lie flat option is brilliant when you're out and about and don't want to wake them.

I had a bugaboo Fox which I loved and was perfect for me. I walked every day, often across muddy terrain and it was fab. But my needs have now changed now I'm back at work. The Fox is a two part fold and I found it grated on me now that it's in and out of the car every day, and having to lift it in and out of the boot. It also struggled on the narrower pavements of London (DD goes to nursery near my work so the area we walk in has changed). I now have a Bee which is fab for this as it's easy to fold and manoeuvre around busy streets. It wouldn't have worked in the early days though when we were walking in countryside. Lots of people change to an umbrella stroller but I just couldn't get on with them.

Like @Hollywhiskey we got a secondhand bugaboo buffalo for a fraction of the price of buying new, and it's fab, perfect for us. The fabrics and wheels needed a wash but it scrubbed up fantastically.

We bought a maxi cosi pebble carseat and isofix secondhand, which was like new and a good price. I know the advice is to always buy a new carseat regardless, but we went to view it first and checked it over thoroughly. Seller chucked in adapters for the pram as well.

Finally for the crib we got a snuzpod 2, which again was a bargain and barely used by the previous owner. It came with an unused mattress which is an added bonus. I've bought new sheets and a mattress protector for it, and washed the crib fabrics (label says hand wash only but that's rubbish, they can go on a delicates cycle in the washing machine and come out just fine).

All of these were sourced off FB marketplace and have saved us so much money!!

Honestly, you don't need to buy new, just scour FB and ebay for things you can go and see (always view them first) and if they need a quick polish or a wash before use then that's definitely worth the money saved :)

The reason that official advice is to buy car seats new and not second hand is that you can't tell just by looking whether or not it has been in an accident.

I would only use a second hand car seat if it was from a friend or family member I trusted.