Buggies- help!!

[Ginevere]

I’m pregnant with my first, and I’ve just started looking at buggies. It seems like a total minefield! Is it worth shelling out? I see all these expensive prams, are they a lot safer/better? Or is an Ickle Bubba not largely different from an iCandy?

I’ve looked into second hand, assuming I get a travel system will I be able to buy a separate car seat that slots into it? Is that even necessary? Or will I be fine with a travel system and then a separate car seat? Are the fittings universal?

Any help much appreciated, feel like I’m flying blind here!

It's a long time since I bought one but I got a travel system from an outlet store.

I don't think that expensive is necessarily better, I'd have a look for things like can it be forward and rear facing, does it fit in your car boot and is there space to put your shopping or things underneath?

If you do buy a travel system secondhand, make sure it's a current one where you can get the correct car seat easily and you know how much the Car seat is going to cost.

I agree it is a minefield, I had a John Lewis virtual appt so I recommend that. She asked us about our lifestyle and what was important to us and then helped narrow us down to 3 models. She also gave a good explanation about car seats.
I think we will get separate pram to car seat because then you can focus on getting the most safe car seat, and often that will come in a cheaper bundle with an isofix base.
If you did want to then attach your car seat to the pram then you can buy pram adapters to do so. But given newborns can only be in the car seats 30 mins anyway we didn't see much point

We got a separate pram and car seat. I have adapters but I haven't actually used them yet and baby is 6 weeks old... that's probably just the circumstances though. Given the time they are supposed to spend in the car seat I can't imagine they'd be useful for anything other than going in shops you have driven to. I also had a John Lewis appointment and just told them our priorities (live in a city and will get public transport although we also have a car, so need something lightish and not bothered about country walks etc as we will just use the carrier). They recommended a babyzen yoyo or a bugaboo bee and we got the latter because I just find the yoyo too small and insubstantial. Its also worth looking round your local area I think and seeing what other people are pushing as they probably have relatively similar lifestyles. We bought a new buggy but there were dozens of second hand ones on ebay which would have been fine. You need a new car seat.

I wouldn't bother with the car seat being compatible with the frame either. I had a whole travel system where you could do that and only used it once between two babies. It's really not good for them to be in the car seat too long. Much better to transfer them to a proper carrycot or buggy seat.

My main concern was ease of folding. I had 10 steps to the front door and needed one I could fold and carry with one hand.

And then on an entirely unimportant note I don't think I would have been able to be out in public with anything branded with something as tweens "Ickle Bubba" so that would have been discounted from the start!

I'd also get a good sling too OP, I liked one of those big stretchy ones that was easy to put on. They are great for walks and going around the shops.

We have got a ickle bubba v3 not too expensive and good reviews !

That’s really helpful, thanks everyone. I’ll look into cheaper secondhand travel systems and then go ahead and spend more money on car seats.

Think of it as this. Right now we are all staying home.
Get a new cheaper one, that is safe and save some, money, once this is all over buy one you really love.

I did find the ability to put the car seat on the pram wheels very useful... But in very specific circumstances.

Baby 1: I couldn't drive. But would walk the 50min walk into town, to see friends, then either be given a lift back or take a taxi. It was 2hrs I a car seat then.

Baby 2: I could drive, but also had a toddler. (20month gap). We used to go to playgroups where you could take the car seat inside, but not prams. It's easier to wrangle a toddler while pushing the pram than while carrying the car seat. Plus we had a buggy board.

We had a pram that had maxi Cosi adapters, so we still had a highly rated car seat.

I'm not a fan of the travel systems. I find the clip on car seats encourage parent to keep baby in the carseat too long.

For our twins we had limited space in the car boot as it's a 7 seater. We went with a ZeTa vooom side by side, flat reclining stroller. Really good value sturdy, lightweight and very manuverable. I got some really good thick foot muffs for it so was nice and warm in cooler months and stripped back was cool in the warmer months.

I’m currently looking into a travel system which comes with a car seat- my intention would be to put this car seat in our second car, then buy a proper, sturdy car seat for our main car. This would then allow for the car seat/buggy to be used in instances such as @Aroundtheworldin80moves mentions, but not to be its predominant role. Would this work do you think? Or is it going to end up being a pain grabbing the one that fits the travel system out of the second car?

The second hand systems I was looking at come in cheaper, but once you add all the stuff from the bundle I’m looking at its largely the same, so I’m leaning new now. Looking at the Ickle Bubba as a budget option despite the awful name. I wish there was a way to test drive buggies at the moment!