Travel systems vs pushchairs

[LancsLady]

Hi all, this is my first post although I've been reading everyone's fab advice for a while now. Am 30 + 5 weeks pg and getting v excited. Having difficulties choosing a pushchair etc though - I am swaying towards buying a maxi cosi or britax car seat (purely for the top notch safety ratings) and a separate pram / pushchair combo. However I wondered if I am making my life much harder by not buying a travel system so I can transfer LO from car to pram? can anyone who has tried both ways advise?

Also does anyone know what fits in the boot of a Seat Ibiza? I'm going to a nursery store to try some out but it would be good to check out reviews on the web first and not get excited about a certain make only to find it won't fit in the car...

Thanks in advance!

[twelveyeargap]

Hello

I ended up buying (in addition to my bloody enormous and heavy, but a dream to push Mountain Buggy) a Quinny Zapp as a "buggy to keep in the boot" as it's tiny and with the car seat adaptors you just keep the chassis in the boot and clip the car seat on and off.

I spend a lot of time (saddo that I am) going to shopping centres and Homebase and the like and find it really invaluable being able to click the Maxi Cosi cabrio on and off. (The car seat adaptor for the Mountain Buggy was a faff and the buggy near done my back in heaving it in and out of the boot.)

Anyway, if like me you tend to drive to shops and the baby will spend a bit of time in the car, then yes, the travel system is really useful.

Lots of buggies (Bugaboo, Quinny and iCandy to name a few) work with the Maxi Cosi. Britax buggies work with their own carseats.

If I didn't need a sturdy buggy for walks, I would go for an iCandy Cherry, which is the lighter version of the Apple and has a carrycot available and adaptors for the Maxi-Cosi and is incredibly light and easy to fold (despite needing to take the seat off to fold). My friend has one and I do get buggy envy a bit...

If however, you don't spend a lot of time in the car and tend to walk to the shops and need a big shopping basket etc, then make that your top priority.

Also, measure the width and depth of your car boot as you should be able to get the "folded" dimensions of the pushchairs at the nursery store. Bear in mind you'll also want to get shopping in there!

If you go for the separate buggy, then I hear lots of people liking the Maclaren Techno XT because I think it's the only umbrella fold buggy suitable from birth. No carrycot or anything, but then I only used mine for two months anyway.

HTH. Have fun.

[PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt]

Depends on your lifestyle - do you do alot of short drives in your daily life rather than walking? If so, you might find travel system easier. Don't forget - you do not need a pram - a pushchair that reclines more or less flat is perfect. Just so its flat enough that baby is relaxed flat out rather than slouched or sliding down.

[ScottishMummy]

so many prams, so much choice best ask about, go in shops, push them, read up on internet etc lots of review site too

"Look at pram review"

also MN reviews of products too
"Look at this page"

consider

your lifestyle
your finances
any stairs
urban or long park/country walk
weight of pram - they range from 8-9kg to 14-16kg

travel system are useful - car to pram in one maneouvre.

good luck happy shopping

[claireybee]

I only took LO in and out of the car in the car seat a few times, mostly just left the car seat in the car so I didn't really need a travel system. I walk most places anyway, so went for a lightweight pushchair with a big basket (Graco Mirage). It's not the most stylish and yes i did get buggy envy quite a lot, but actually it suited my needs perfectly. I think people who drive into town etc a lot are more likely to get use out of a travel system cos if LO is in and out of the car a lot it makes sense to keep them in the carseat (although the guidelines do say they shouldnt be in them for more than 2 hours at a time).
Oh yes and lots of people think LO shouldn't go straight in the pushchair but its actually better for their backs to be in there lying flat than in the carseat, so don't assume you need a proper pram/carrycot if you don't get a travel system-a pushchair is fine.

[WheresMyWaistGone]

We've got the Maxi-Cosi cabrio car seat and a Silver Cross Freeway which is a lie-flat pram which converts into a push chair.

Personally, I think it might be better for the baby to change position from the car seat to a pram and I intend to walk lots for the air and exercise, so I think a good, lie-flat pram is very important.

But everyone needs whatever suits them, their baby and their lifestyle best.

It's a minefield isn't it?!

My brother and I were wheeled around in one of the wonderful Siler Cross 'Mary Poppins' type prams with huge wheels, which I would have loved, but it's just not feasible with the car and the size of the hallway in our house!!!

[LancsLady]

Thanks for all of your advice...it is really helping me to make my mind up. As I do intend to walk a lot (lucky in that the town centre is only 10 mins walk away) I think I'm going to get the best car seat I can afford and then a separate pram / pushchair combo. Off to that nursery superstore soon, just need to decide between the various Silver Crosses, Emmaljunga (need to work on DH first for that one I think) i'coo, bebe confort........!! Guess it will all depend on what fits in the car. Thanks again.

[scarybee]

I have a travel system and a weeny mclaren techno. I really like the big buggy for going on walks (more comfy for baby), long shopping trips (very big thing to put stuff in underneath) and the odd occasion when the baby's asleep and I can just decant him straight from the car into the pushchair (or house if he's fallen asleep in the car).

I always take him out if he's awake and never leave him in it for more than an hour or so - just more convenient.

Mclaren is brilliant for buses and going round shops.

[Louise76]

Hello Lancslady - we had the same dilemma as you. I am 30+5 with my first baby and we have a seat ibiza too! I was all set to buy a Mamas and Papas 8 in 1 travel system until we discovered it wouldn't fit in the car. We have now ordered a Quinny Buzz which I thought was brilliant when we had a shot of it in the shop. It is really light and compact and I like how you can click the car seat on to the chassis. The best thing is that it fits in the boot of our seat ibiza.

Hope this helps.

[Tangle]

We had a similar logic - get the safest car seat (including fit) and then get a pram/pushchair that ticks as many boxes on the wish list as we can afford. It would have been nice if the two had worked together, but that wasn't the case for us. DD is now 6 months and it's really only been a problem on a handful of occasions when I wanted to pop into a shop and she'd just fallen asleep in the car. Even so, we'd do the same again.

The only other comment I'd make is to try and make sure that the person showing you car seats has had training on them - we went to an independent shop where the owner won't stock a seat until she's had training from the manufacturer for that specific seat and also got the impression that the lady wouldn't sell us a car seat that didn't fit our car (as in wouldn't let us buy it!). Ought to be fine in a reputable store, but...

Have fun shopping