any advice on what pram to buy?

[babyc]

First baby and I have no idea where to start! Ideally we would like something that is a pram and car seat, and where the baby faces the person pushing - but there are so many variations, some seem to do everything and can face front, back and go right up to age 4. It is unlikely we will have another baby so we would like to just get one pram to see us through until baby doesn't need it - is this possible?
We live in a first floor flat, so it needs to be lightweight enough to do stairs, and I'm really short whilst dh is well over 6foot, so do any prams come with adjustable handles?
Long list of requirements I know, but any advice would be welcome. Thanks

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Hello,

This thread is a little old now, and some of the product recommendations are out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing prams and pushchairs, here's our round up of the best pushchairs on the market right now and what to look out for when buying one.

Hope that helps!

MNHQ"

Can't you just pad a Maclaren Techno or similar with a sheepskin lining? This is what I have done, though the baby is not yet born so I am not sure how well it will work...

Snowball - do you mean heavy to steer or heavy in weight? I had a look at the website and it says it is only 5kgs, which seems light compared to some.

babyc that's not the apple, that's the cherry and does not include the weight of the seat unit. They are very sturdy but heavy, the apple more so as it is on a chrome/shiny chasis.

thanks Carrie!

apple icandy is a real doozey.really heavy whopping @13kg.they cheat by listing individual wts

chassis wheels off 8kg
chassis with wheel 10kg
seat unit 2.7kg

imo,avoid

pecan - did you try the apple or cherry?

my friend had the cherry. don't really know anything about the apple...

I'm looking for the same things as you and really love the Peg Perego Skate (available at Mamas & Papas). Its a little bit heavy but it feels so solid and can do everything! I agree that you have to try them out though - things that I thought I would like bugged me!

If anyone is planning to leave a buggy downstairs, like wellbalanced, please check that you are not blocking your groundfloor neighbour's walkways. At 6 months pregnant with arms full of shopping and unable to get to my own front door, they where lucky not to find their buggy in the bin!

I have had a Graco travel system (heavy and it squeaked), a Mamas and Papas Pliko travel system (ok but a bit plasticky and wobbly and bits broke), a Mamas and Papas MPX travel system (good carry cot but otherwise rubbish), a McLaren (cheap one) which has been fab but only for an older child. IMO it is REALLY IMPORTANT to get a buggy that has the seat unit option of facing you while you push. My last (and by far top fave buggy) is my Bugaboo Cameleon. Wish I'd bought one years ago and saved all that wasted time and money on all the 'cheaper' options I've now binned or sold on.
I know the Cameleon is horribly expensive but its comfy, adaptable, light and easy to push. Not great I imagine if you are on and off buses as it doesn't fold in one piece but I can take it apart and in the back of my car in a matter of seconds. Love it and so does DD2. Looking forward to using it again with DC3 in May!
Best of luck anyway, I'd ask as many people as you can and try as many as you can to find your ideal solution.

Also don't go for the Silvercross Dazzle (wonky wheels and doesn't lie flat enough), Cosatto Swift (heavy up kerbs), Jane Energy (wheels lock and unlock randomly), Maclaren XT (doesn't lie flat enough), Maclaren XLR (heavy to push), Silvercross Pop (wheels wear down and it becomes heavy to push)

The Luna is good but don't get it if you ever need to run with it like me to catch the bus or cos you're late for an appointment The wheels get caught in all the little dips and make it tip forward. I use it for my car buggy now to be safe.

The Luna Mix and Cosatto Venture are very good and so are the Obaby buggies and the Cosatto Diablo.

What are people's opinions on the Britax Vigour 4?

There's a number of considerations as far as I'm concerned, weight, size, comfort...
For DS i bought a 2006 Quinny buzz along with Dreami Carry Cot and Maxi Cosi Cabrio Car seat.
The dreami was a good investment, it was the only thing ds happily slept in (and thats saying alot, he's 3 this month and i've just spent over 2 hours lying next to him trying to coax him to sleep, he used to be worse!)Saying that though you don't actually need it as the seat of the buzz goes flat so can be used from birth. I had the older style buzz so seat a bit big for a newbie but the new seat looks smaller and softer to me so perhaps better for this but not so good for an older child.
The buzz itself was good to push, but VERY wide, got stuck ALL the time in shops, air tyres made curbs a breeze. The frame was light, but big, and it was a real faff having to seat/carry cot on and off frame to fold (saying that I have folded it with seat on but you're not supposed to!) Getting it in and out of the back of my car was also a pain (Renault Cleo then Vauxhall Astra (new design)) The air tyres are huge so they had to come off too. The frame alone over took my hall...it really is BIG, and so much bigger at home than in the shop. Oh yeah, the add on shopping basket was tiny, and theres nowhere really to put shopping.
Over all, I got this pushchair with a bump, dh wanted 3 wheeler...this was the nicest looking one to me...seemed like a good idea, it did the job but now I have kids i'd never get one. My friend loved it, was going to buy one for her 2nd...I talked her out of it.
When DS was about 7 months got a Maclaren Quest...loved it, light, tiny, easy to use, ds seemed to find it more comfy than quinny buzz, never looked back, used it as primary chair till dd was born 4 months ago. The only thing I missed in the quinny was the air tyres. This chair won't work for you though as only from 3 months, you'd need a techno.
I now have a Phil and Teds sport, LOVE IT...but it's big, very heavy, and difficult to fold, cant comment on ease with small boots as now have a Ford Explorer...but i'd imagine it would be problematic. I wouldn't like to try to carry it up a flight of stairs but i'd bump it step by step. Only thing I can really fault it on is its a bit of a faff to change seat position with child in, both maclaren and buzz a dream for that.
Oh and with regardsto car seat...you can get an adapter to fit maxi cosi car seat onto chassi, or p&t have their own but i didnt consider either...wanted to avoid teptation of leaving baby in car seat...it's bad for back and not that useful in day to day life, though maybe for holidays and if flying.
The lifestyle you have will affect your choice...city living, flights of stairs, space restrictions I'd say maclaren techno, with sheepskin insert, and a baby carrier for newbie (Love my Moby D wrap)
Congrats on baby by the way

I love my micralite toro, it's only downside is that it doesn't rear face, although it does if you are using the carrycot or have clipped the maxi cosi car seat into it.

It's very light and stands on its own when folded so perfect for flats imo.

Don't et a bugaboo as you have to take it in two to fold it. PITA for carrying up stairs and storing in a flat.

Ditto quinny buzz which is also really heavy.

Dear BabyC, I'd like to say, in agreement with many of the posters on this thread, that you have to go to the shops and try them out for yourself.

After a good amount of deliberation we bought a Bugaboo Chameleon and consider it a good investment. Similar to yourselves, I am tiny and my husband is 6 ft 4in and we found the height adjustment to be quite handy. The bassinet (pram) is long, which was useful as our DD is 90th percentile for height. I highly recommend the car seat adaptor as newborns often sleep happily anywhere and we would manage to do the shopping without disturbing her. The Chameleon is also highly manouverable (sp?) and lightweight.

For travelling and planes, we have an umbrella stroller (Silvercross Pop). Didn't want to risk the Bugabbo getting broken! We first travelled abroad when DD was 3 months old and we carried her/used a sling then as many strollers are not recommended at an early age.

As Trixymalixy says, the downside is folding it in two parts and was the real reason I was against it. Although now we've had it for more than year and a half, it is easy to take up and down stairs as it is lightweight and you can go up and down on the large wheels.

Happy hunting and congrats on the little one. A new adventure is around the corner!

Mamakouklaxxx

Oh and don't get the Bruin Zen cos my friend had this and after a few months it was a nightmare to steer and it buckled.

BTW when I said the Obaby buggies were good I forgot to say apart from the Atlas Circles model. It's quite heavy to push and difficult to steer.

bugaboo frog- get a 2nd hand on efrom £150 and maxi cosi

We used the Mamas and Papas Pliko for all three of ours and found it best.

After having the cosatto diablo a few months I am now finding it quite heavy to push and difficult to steer so I'd stay away from that one too.

Tried out the zia today and it seemed quite heavy to push with my 15kg 2 year old in it.

I started off with a Mamas and Papas Aria, which was a real doozy. I graduated on to a Quinny Buzz and it's brilliant. Baby can either face towards you or away from you; you can put a car seat on the frame; and the adjustable handle suits tall and short parents. It is heavy - you may struggle to lift it on your own but it's a dream to steer.

The Petite Star Zia folds up really small, is lightweight and the back is adjustable so that baby can lie flat. But the handles are a bit too low for anyone over six feet tall.

I vote for a Mountain Buggy. I have one and love it. It's light and easy to push, with adjustable handles. You can use it with a car seat or a carrycot for a newborn.

Hi BabyC, I was in your position last year, and about this time last year we bought a Quinny Buzz (with Dreami Carry Cot bit) second hand from one of my DH's collegues. We bought a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix car seat and an EazyBase new a few weeks before DS was born in September. I knwo most people love their Buzzes, but I hated mine!

I wouldn't recommend the Quinny Buzz, and certainly not a second hand one. It is very wide, and not very easy to manouevre. It is too bulky to be a nippy lightweight and too flimsy to be a proper off roader/jogger. It is neither one thing nor the other, is too wide for many doors, shop aisles etc and the front wheel just seems to be a direct descendant of the most twisty trolley wheels! But what really did it for me was that when ds was 5 months old, the big joint on the side which the car seat/Dreami/Buzz seat fits in just gave way and the seat swivelled back, dangling DS a few inches above the pavement. The third time this happened I decided that I wasn't using it again! It could just be that ours was quite old and that that joint was knackered, but I went right off any prams/pushchairs of this desigh like the Buzz/Chameleon/iCandy Apple.

A few other gripes about the Buzz - the shopping basket is tiny. I know 5 people with one, and the hydraulics have gone on all of them at some point. And the Dreami is quite small - DS was too tall for it by 4 months, and he is not that tall.

Although I did like the Dreami when he was tiny - he could lie flat and be protected from the winter weather around him. I know the Buzz seat lies flat too, but he was an autumn baby and I am not sure that the Buzz woudl have provided the weather protection that the Dreami did.

I now have a Phil and Ted's sport. It is light, sturdy, MaxiCosi compatible, and has a great shopping basket! It is also 2" narrower than the Buzz - so it gets round corners, shops etc easily and passed wheelie bins on pavements - and the front wheel in on proper bearings - so it doesn't get cocked up on itself. And it is so easy to manouevre. It is chunky when folded though - I wouldn't want to take it on public transport, but since we hardly have any round here, then that it is not an issue for me. It's big wheels take our local footpaths and bridleways in it's stride though, and that it what counts for me!

Don't spend lots of money! Travel systems are great for the first year (maybe less depending on your baby) but after that you will want a lightwieght buggy that folds up small, especially if you've limited space. So I would suggest a simple travel system with a big basket underneath (because you need everything but the kitchen sink when you've got a baby) and look after it well, that way you can sell it to replace it with a more practical buggy for your toddler.

Also a sling is great for shorter journeys but you need to really shop around to get the right one for you.

Honestly, I'd just get a Maclaren XT and find a cosy sheepskin to put inside it. It will last till your baby is 4, you will be able to take it anywhere and it can be folded up into the boot of your car using one hand. Everyone I know who got a travel system buggy left them lingering gathering dust after the first 6 months. They are VERY expensive for the amount of use most people seem to get from them.