Pram recommendations? likes and dislikes?

[cherrybl0ssom5]

Hey everyone! I’m a first time mum and have been looking at prams/travel systems online but see few reviews from after baby has arrived, just initial unboxing thoughts. Some have conflicting reviews e.g. loads of positive reviews initially and some reviews mentioning the car seat not being comfortable for baby or the pram feeling rocky when baby’s in it.

I haven’t gone out and tested any yet but just feel a bit overwhelmed with all the different brands and models. hoping to narrow it down a bit so just interested in your experiences.

If you already have kiddos or recently had your baby, would you recommend your pram? if not, what didn’t you like about it? any tips/website recommendations greatly appreciated

Thank you in advance for any info, it’ll help with things I may not have even considered! ❤️

Ocarro - I like that it folds all in one piece (don't have to remove the seat part) but it makes it so heavy. I wouldn't recommend.

I'd personally have gone for an out and about for everyday, with car seat/bassinet attachments as we love the sport version we have and even my tall 4yo still fits in it (ocarro was outgrown years back).

We've got an uppababy vista which id buy if i had my time again. It's big, easy to put up and down and is very easy to push out for a walk which we do a lot and did every day when DS was little and I was on mat leave. It isn't one to choose if you don't have a lot of storage space either in the car or home. We also bought a silver cross clic when we went on holiday which is ideal to keep as a second pushchair - it's much easier to go shopping with and folds down really small. You wouldn't take that out for a long walk though as it's not as smooth and harder to push over uneven ground etc

BJCM (twin for me), single hand fold, huge seat and sunshade folds really flat.

Mamas and papas ocarro. Great for all stages/ages. You can attach the car seat, carry cot and it comes with a seat that can be parent or outward facing. Lasted from birth until toddler age then we got a silver cross buggy simply because it folds up like an umbrella and better for space in the boot of the car. But the ocarro was fab and so easy to use and fold down. Nice sturdy and smooth push. Easy to wash the fabric parts. We even used it in the living room for daytime naps (with the carry cot) as opposed to the Moses basket. We never used the Moses and sold it on in the end
Pram fans attached to the hood easily. The hood comes all the way down (we found this great for naps when out when he was a toddler) and it has a mesh section to allow air to circulate when you do this.
The basket space underneath was perfect.
The carry cot can be folded down for easy storage when baby gets a bit older and no longer needed.
I'm trying to find a negative about it but I honestly can't think of one in my experience

Just to add we ended up getting a joie car seat that you can extend/lie baby flat in it when not in the car (forgot what it's called now) and never had any problems with it. The ocarro came with different attachments to use for different car seats

I have the cosatto wow continental and got the everything bundle, love everything about the pram and wouldn’t have changed but having #2 so needed a tandem pram.. the only thing i found was the continental was big when folded down so took up a lot of room.

We have the cosatto wow XL now and ive not used it as baby isn’t born yet but it already folds much smaller than our first pram 🙂

If your buying a complete travel system be aware that not all infant carriers offer a good supportive fit for newborns (especially if you have a low centile baby) even though advised from birth
I wish I had known a few years ago what I now know about car seat safety
There's a Facebook group called Car seat safety Uk , definitely worth joining , can be quite overwhelming to begin with it's a very full on! But the advise on there is great

Uppqbaby!

Have a look at stroller workshop on YouTube. They run through the ins and outs of different prams

Totally second what @ijustlikefood says about car seats. Loads of the really popular ones are actually poor fits for tiny babies. We have a maxi cosi 360 and i hate it (both my babies have been low centiles and its just a rubbish fit for them). Definitely join the Facebook car seat group as they have really good advice.

You can usually buy a travel system minus the car seat so then you can buy the car seat and adapters you need separately. Just remember that babies shouldnt be in car seats for more than 30mins at a time - i only use mine attached to the pram for eg. If we've taken her in a taxi to a hospital appointment. Once we are there, i switch her into the sling.

Things you need to think about - are you city or countryside? Do you drive or do you use public transport a lot? What is your storage space like at home?

We have uppababy vista v2. Its a great buggy for long walks but its quite big and heavy so you need plenty of space. We keep it in the porch. We live in London and dont have a car so the big basket on it is brilliant, but its not great on public transport because it is so big. The carrycot is one of the only ones approved for overnight sleeping. We also have the uppababy minu v2, which is small and nippy - more like a travel buggy so ideal for public transport but not great for long walks.

We bought the vista for DD1 knowing that we were hoping to have 2 children as it converts to a double. However it's not great for a double as the baby has to go underneath the big kid in the seat, so if i had my time again, id probably buy a slightly smaller single buggy to start with and then buy an Out n About double nipper when DD2 arrived. Sadly i really now can't justify buying a third buggy 😅

If you are interested in uppababy, there is also a really good FB group with lots of info and second hand options. Its called something like UK Uppababy sales and advice.

I have an Ocarro bought on a travel system bundle, it comes with a Cybex car seat and I had a small baby so it was invaluable with the newborn insert. It’s a sturdy pram and it folds easily and seems good quality. However it is heavy and bulky, it’s worth considering what sort of terrain you’ll be using it on and what size car boot you have first!

Joolz Hub - I got the complete travel set and love it. I did all my homework and went for this one as it was slim but big wheels so good for both off-road walks and getting round shops / transport etc.
You can see stockists on the Joolz website so you can go look at them, as it’s mainly stocked in independent baby shops.

We have a cosatto wow 2, and I wouldn't recommend it. The whole.thing is clunky heavy and not easy to use. Definitely stype over functionality.

Thank you so much everyone! I’m going to look into everything mentioned this has been really helpful, I appreciate it ❤️

Personally do not recommend silvercross. Got a pioneer for DD1 in 2019 and only reusing it for DD2 as it was so expensive! It’s really wide, heavy and the front wheels are awful going up and down kerbs, for the money you spend there are definitely better alternatives!! I know a few people with silver cross prams and they hate them too!

Agree with the comments about travel systems, be really careful choosing a car seat as they aren’t all suitable for newborns despite saying they are. Personally would stick to one for babies rather than a multi stage one that grows with them.