Overwhelmed by pram options - help!

[Strawberry06]

Over halfway with my first baby and starting to think about things now!

That includes a pram which I've been researching but I'm so overwhelmed as there seems to be so many options out there! I've even had a read through the article on here but I'm just as confused.

Ideally I'm thinking a travel combo with car seat etc is best? Would others agree? What have others gone for?

Thanks in advance!

No idea without context. You've said you need a car seat so you must have one. You don't need such a robust one that will take the shopping and the baby as you can drive.

What will you use it for? Long walks, just pottering around town?

I was overwhelmed so just went with the Doona as it’s easy to get in and out the car etc.

@Goodornot not sure what you mean by I've said I need a car seat so I must have one? I need everything! Its my first baby and I'm completely alien to everything. I'm trying to research as best I can. I don't know what I will use it for, all of the above probably!

Can you go and have a look at some options before committing to buy? I did this and ruled out a few prams as they were too heavy and difficult to fold etc. I ended up with a full travel system but if you wanted a different car seat then you could just buy separate. We went for the oyster 3 in the end and picked it up last week, still impressed and glad we picked this one

You need to have a think about your lifestyle, at least then you can eliminate some options...

Do you drive? Will you be doing more car journeys than walking everywhere?
Are you likely to be doing long country walks over rough ground or mainly walking on roads/pavements?
Do you run? Are you planning to go running with baby in the buggy?
What about shopping? Will you use a car or will you be bringing home the weekly shop in the buggy?
Do you want a buggy that converts from parent-facing to forward facing?
Do you need a car seat that clips into the buggy chassis? (handy for moving baby in and out of the car without waking them up. A carry cot is great in the early days if you are walking locally as baby lies flat.)
Will you be using different cars and need something that can transfer easily between vehicles?

@ChicoryDip you can see why I'm overwhelmed! I had no idea they made prams to cater to all these different things!

For what its worth yes I do drive and will use this for shopping
Probably pavements but there could be some rough ground?!
Definitely won't be running with a buggy!
We only have the the one car

Regarding parent facing/front facing - are these good value for money i.e. does it save having to get something else further down the line?

We have the Ickle Bubba Luxe travel system and I couldn't fault it at all. Very reasonable price for what you get and I would recommend it to other to be Mums

@Strawberry06 brilliant travel system for me is Joie chrome. Lo is in stroller bit now and I love it as it can be parent facing as well as outward facing. I got mine at online4baby.com. take a look, they've got lots of different styles

It really depends how much you’ll use it and the space you have.

We live rurally but I walked a lot so I always had a big pram with big wheels and a big carrycot.

My SIL lives in a busy town and gets the bus a lot so for her something that was light and folded in one piece was the most important.

The size of your car is also important - you don’t want a situation where you can’t fit the whole pram in the boot as that’s a pain. I made that mistake!

Best option is to go somewhere that sells lots of different types and have a play around with them.

Is there a pram or baby shop near you that has prams on display? I think it’s best to go in and have a go at pushing them and folding them down. I went in with the intentions of buying a specific one and ended up hating it because of how heavy it was and the way it folds

Definitely recommend going to try some out as a lot of it comes down to personal preference and whether you like how it folds down etc. if you have a john lewis nearby they are often really helpful.

A travel system is just a pram that you can attach a car seat to. It doesn’t have to be the same car seat as the pram brand, most have attachments that you can add on to adapt to use a different car seat eg a maxi cosi. It is a helpful feature when just nipping in and out the car but it isn’t good for babies to stay in car seats for long especially when tiny so a good lie flat bit as well. If you go for a bassinet that is sleep safe that can be used as a travel cot or additional sleep space (eg for downstairs naps) until they grow out of it which is handy.

I have the Bugaboo Fox which is perfect for mainly pavement walks with some off road/trail type dog walks. It’s pretty versatile and sturdy would absolutely recommend. My little one is almost 15 months and it’s been fantastic. We bought the Maxi Cosi Pebble 360 car seat which can be used on the bugaboo base with some additional adapters. The whole system was quite pricey but it cost is an issue I’ve seen bugaboos sell second hand for much lower prices! I was also totally overwhelmed with what goes on what etc. We had a baby appointment with John Lewis which was helpful to go over pram/car seat/monitor etc

My advice is to get one that fit's easily in your car (I didn't think about that!) the infant carrier car seats are handy when they are tiny but I wouldn't worry about it fitting onto the pushchair as it's better for newborns to lay flat when not in the car seat. Most parents prefer pushchairs that parent face at first but to be honest my dd hated hers screaming all the time and loved it as soon as I switched it around, dd2 never parent faced. Also most parents end up buying a compact buggy further down the line so I would never suggest paying too much for the first one - second hand is a great option too

I meant you must have a car...

Book an appointment with John Lewis or another store that sells prams and they'll guide you through the options (you don't have to buy from them)

We went for the Oyster 3 in Butterscotch with the Maci Cosi Cabriofix car seat. I have a Fiat 500 but I still wanted a ‘proper’ travel system and it’s perfect.

Go for what you feel is right and what you want! MN will tell you don’t need everything or that you should buy second hand. So what you’re comfortable with and enjoy the experience! We really enjoyed going to an actual pram shop to push and experience the different ones.

As a FTM I didn't want to buy second hand but I compromised by finding the bugaboo Fox 3 on a good deal because the Fox 5 has now been released. I am very happy with it and won't feel bad when I inevitably buy a smaller stroller in years to come!

I remember feeling similarly overwhelmed. I went for full travel system as I would be using car a lot as well as pram. I decided to buy second hand (got a really good quality silver cross travel system for £160!) And because there was limited choice 2nd hand I didn't get as bamboozled by all the options. I just waited for a nice system to come up locally and went for it.