30 weeks pregnant and confused about prams, bassinets and travel systems

[Babytime26]

I am 30 weeks pregnant and thinking about buying the pram soon. I am so confused with people’s advice on what to buy. People have said to me not to buy a travel system as is it a waste. My question is where is the newborn supposed to go then? They can’t stay in the car seat for more than 30 mins, so a doona wouldn’t be suitable. Plus if I just buy a pram and lay her down surely she won’t be secure without the bassinet as it has sides. She will be too small to strap in… what if she rolls around with the movement of the pram?

Just buy a lie flat pram which can be adjusted for forward and backwards facing Add a cosy toes . Get a car seat separately.

It really comes down to lifestyle, personal preference and each individual baby’s personality but personally I had prams with a bassinet for all of mine and used them loads with 5 out the 6 of them. The one that didn’t use it was a little limpet so I had her strapped to me in her carrier constantly.

I find that even seats that say they’re suitable from birth don’t tend lie properly flat and it’s healthier for their development for them to be restrained as little as possible. And with doonas, even without the safety concerns, I just don’t see the appeal at all.

Buying second hand is always a good shout but also have a think about the logistics of how you’re likely to use it day to day and what features to prioritise for your lifestyle.

We had an Oyster travel system with a Cybex car seat. The car seat would attach to the travel system base so we got plenty of use from it. We also found the bassinet attachment handy in the first few months because baby didn’t like the next to me crib, but did like the bassinet, so we got lots of use out of it still. Maybe a trip to John Lewis or a pram shop to test out some options might be a good way to decide.

@Babytime26 ‘don’t buy a travel system’ doesn’t mean don’t buy a bassinet. It means don’t worry about the compatibility of connecting the car seat to the frame of the pushchair. For the reasons you state in your OP many people (myself included) think it’s unnecessary to be able to put the car seat on to the buggy frame. I still recommend getting a bassinet! Get one that’s safe for overnight sleep (some are, some aren’t) and you’ll get even more use out of it.

I don't think there's a right answer, just what fits well with your life. I can tell you what I did, and if others do the same it will give you some options to choose from.

I got a pram when I was pregnant with my first, but almost never used it. Didn't even bother getting it down from the loft when my 2nd was born. I had big birth-4 car seats that stayed in the car (didn't like the idea of the clip to the pram ones, due to the 30 minute rule) and used a sling/carrier for the baby while we were out. Once the baby was older (6-8 months), I got a small and light weight buggy, that folded easily and lived in my car boot.

Have you considered getting a sling suitable for newborn? I remember going out with NCT friends with them all lugging around complicated prams while their babies were all happily nestled against their chests. I was quite happy to never bother with a pram at all!

I didn't use a car seat except in a car as it's so bad for a baby's spine and breathing. Make sure you stick to the guidelines on breaks in driving.

We used a lie flat buggy from birth as it was more compact and convenient. We didn't have a problem with the baby rolling and it wasn't hard to strap them in. We used a sling and carrier more often though and that was nicer as you just want to be close to your baby when they're a newborn rather than pushing at arm's length or being stuck in a car seat facing away from you.

We have a busy lifestyle so we were out and about a lot, travelled abroad and used public transport and need to go into small lifts and on tube escalators, so a huge pram would be impractical for us. For others they might stay at home most of the time and just push a pram around the local park so having a big one wouldn't be an issue.

We have had the cyber cloud with a cybex pram. The seat clips on to the pram and you can then covert it to lie flat. We had a bassinet but very rarely used it.

I got a Mamas & Papas system. It had the choice for the car seat I wanted anyway (Cybex) and it had the carrycot and pushchair as separate attachments. The carrycot was actually used a lot for the first 6 months as a downstairs cot; I had it out on floor to put baby in for naps (when putting down was an option!) I think the pushchair part could technically have been used from birth but I would have felt nervous doing. At least the carrycot is self contained and provides more shelter as standard.

I’ve had travel systems for all 3 of my kids- yes the bassinet gets the least use but it’s still super handy in those early months

We got the Nina Triv Next travel system as part of a massive, money-saving bundle that also included schnuggle bath, snuzpod, mattress, car window shades and a few other bits. We’ve used everything single thing daily. My baby LOVED the bassinet and found the pram seat quite an adjustment. He was in the bassinet for five months in the end, so we got plenty of use. The car seat was super handy to go onto the pram frame when he was tiny for super quick shop runs or whatever. No regrets at all!

you won’t know what you need and what baby will tolerate until they get here unfortunately.

Will you walking from the house, or will there be a lot of taking it in and out the car? bigger travel systems where you have to remove the bassinet/ seat from the frame to fold are such a faff for putting into the boot so would stay away from that.

A bassinet is handy to have, and will get the use of your baby is happy enough to lay in it.