Please help - clueless first timer!

[justabigdisco]

OK I am 33 weeks preg with my first and have only so far had a very brief look at prams/pushchairs online and in John Lewis. Have been completely flummoxed!

I already have a second hand Maxi Cosi cabriofix (from my sis so I know its OK) with the isofix thingy.

I suppose one question is, do I really need a travel system with carrycot, when some of the pushchairs lie flat and are suitable from birth? Friends have told me 'definitely get a travel system' but I am not sure why! One possible advantage of the carrycot is that we are going away (long haul) when baby will be 3 months old and can use the carrycot for a bed - but isn't it possible baby will have outgrown it by then?

I think the main thing I need is something which is small and easy to fold/ manoeuvre, and preferably one which I will continue to use well into toddlerhood (I have heard stories of people buying lovely expensive travel systems and then ditching them for a lightweight when baby is a few months old as travel system too much of a PITA).

I live in the North in a hilly town, will not be using public transport much (if at all) but will be using the car (small) to visit relatives etc. Something fairly sturdy for the odd countryside walk would be good, but we do have a sling we could use if needs be.

Budget not TOO much of an issue as I have very kind PIL but I balk at the thought of spending over 500 quid on a pram (am willing to be persuaded otherwise)

Can any of you lovely and experienced parents give me a clue??
Thanks!

Hi, I think what you say in some respects is true.
Here's my thoughts :)
I agree totally that you don't need something big. Look beyond the carrycot stage (after all it's only six months out of a potential year). Try any pushchairs you like in the boot of your car. If it fills your boot with the pushchair seat, then don't buy it. Long term as you say, you will almost certainly ditch it for something smaller. Realistically I would look for a pushchair that about half fills your boot to allow space for changing bags, shopping etc. (unless you change your car regularly). Big pushchairs mean they are heavier too.
A travel system means you get the pushchair seat and the options to use the car seat or carrycot add ons. The latter may or may not be included. Look for extra hidden costs like seat liners.
The advantage of a travel system is that you can just use the car to nip to say the doctors or shops without disturbing the baby. We used this 90% or more with our baby when he was small. But the caveat with that is that babies shouldn't be in a car seat for more than two hours. Some people would never use it, so look at your lifestyle to see if you will use it or not. But it's a nice option to have.
Most carrycots should easily last your child until it's six months old. Soft cots are less likely too. A baby can go on a seat from birth but personally I think they look a little exposed. There's soft cots, cocoons, baby cosy toes etc that can make a newborn look more snug.
Most pushchairs with decent wheels will stand up to going over grass, rough stones etc. Serious offroading is something else!
Given you have a Maxi cosi seat, I would send you off first to look at the Bugaboo Chameleon, the iCandy Peach, Strawberry and Peach Jogger (although for all the iCandys you must talk to a retailer about order lead times given your due date), the Uppababy Vista, the Baby Jogger City Mini and Elite. The first few are the most expensive options. But all these will take your child from birth to three. They aren't massive hulks of pushchairs. They are different shapes when folded. Look at what each includes. Some like the Bugaboo and Vista have carrycots included. Some have lots of extras.
Just bear in mind though...if you are planning to take the pushchair long haul, then you need one which will travel well and has a good travel bag. Personally I wouldn't consider taking an expensive pushchair travelling. I would consider taking a City Mini, or a Quinny Zapp Xtra (but I wouldn't want to use this every day) or an umbrella fold lie flat pushchair eg a Maclaren. The latter may well be an option for you but there aren't many that take a car seat or have a carrycot. I personally see pushchairs as a rental. If you buy well you get a good return on your money at the end, and may even make a profit from new if prices increase. So spending £500 on a pushchair and getting £400 back 3 years hence may be better than buying a £250 cheaper pushchair and getting £40 back or it or even binning it. In your shoes I would find something for use at home, and something else for your long haul flight.
I think some ideas back from you could be helpful. Are any of the above what you are considering? What have you looked at?
Sorry thats a bit of an essay!

That's really great, thanks peachy. Is it really possible to try them out in the boot of your car when looking at them in the shops?
I do think a travel system is going to be best for me so I will definitely look at the ones you mention.
What do you think about the Babystyle Oyster? I saw that it was well reviewed on here.

ALso - where do I need to go to look at all these pushchairs, the selection in John Lewis didnt seem that massive - is mothercare/mamas and papas better?

After a few (8) prams I have loved my bugaboo and baby jogger city the best, they are my two keepers. My bug as fab as z travel system for clicking the car seat into and the actual seat unit I'd huge for ds. It can go off road and city too. You can get a carrycot for it that's very small and cosy, but beware the need to fiddle with and change things on it. Can get quite addictive!

My bjcm is fantastic for flinging in and out of the car boot now ds is in a forward facing car seat. We travelled longhaul a lit with ds1 and I wish I'd had my bjcm then! I honestly wouldn't recommend the bug for aircraft travel too much faffing to take it through security and you'd need the travel bag as extra.

If I were you I 'd have a look at both of these second hand they are my perfect pair.

Are you on Facebook ? There are a couple of good used bugaboo sites on there. Bugaboo addicts buy and sell and none bugaboo pram parts, but usually bugs advertised.

great hermione thank you - which bugaboo do you mean?
and which would you go for if you had to choose between the 2 you mention?
sounds like baby jogger might be good for travelling.

justa, the Oyster is a really good all rounder at a reasonable price. But some of them have had issues with the front wheels buckling, so I probably wouldn't buy second hand if you've thought about doing that. Apparently the issue has been fixed so new ones should be OK. However, I don't think I'd be using it for a long haul flight. I think either a stroller or something like a BJCM or Britax B-Agile would be much easier.

can i ask why you wouldnt use it on a flight?

It's just not that easy to carry when folded. Not because it's particularly heavy, but because of the shape of it and lack of carrying handle. I don't think the airport staff would be too impressed about taking it in and out of the hold for you. And I worry about the frame getting scratched! If you're not bothered about the issues carrying it then I wouldn't worry. One thing worth noting about the Oyster is that it doesn't lie flat so you would need a carrycot for the newborn. My niece went in hers at 4 months and was fine from then.

I personally like the look of the Jane Rider. Noone seems to have owned one on here though. It's really tiny folded, has a one hand fold and unfold, locks into its folded position, freestands when folded, has an adjustable handlebar and footrest, adjustable suspension, lies flat enough for a newborn and can face both ways. The only potential downside is that the wheels are quite hard, but that doesn't always mean it's bumpy over rough ground, especially when you've got really good suspension.

Just don't take a nice / expensive pushchair ion a flight unless you have to! A pushchair with more protruding parts is more likely to get damaged than say a standard umbrella fold where everything tucks inside. Pushchairs are generally taken off the plane first (often the last loaded on if taken to the gate) but then that means they end up underneath all the suitcases thrown on top with the weight and pressure on top on slim metal and plastic parts. They get generally thrown around too. I have heard countless stories of pushchairs getting damaged on airlines (but equally I am know of plenty that have travelled unscathed!)

I hadn't thought about them being at the bottom of the luggage truck at the other end! If you're only going for a holiday, I'd buy a second hand, lie-flat stroller and keep your normal beautiful pushchair at home. If you're going for a while and want to have something more posh, get a transporter bag for it.

i was planning to get a pushchair with carrycot anyway so that baby can sleep in it when we are away. are there any other advantages to getting a carrycot over a lie flat pushchair?

For the baby to sleep in the carrycot overnight ie not naps during the day, it needs to be approved for overnight sleeping, and there aren't that many that I know of that are approved - the Vista, Chameleon and I think the Peach are three that I know of. To be honest a carrycot is simply an option. I barely used mine as we use the car a lot so the baby on short outings we used the car seat option. But for all day oitings then we used the carrycot. But I actually preferred using a lie flat pushchair with a Bugaboo Cocoon in it because a) the baby is strapped in and b) it felt snuggly and warm through the winter with a nice head rest area, and in summer the top could be buttoned back or zipped off. There are some tiny travel cots on the market if you need one or simply use a big cot on holiday.

The Oyster carrycot can be used for overnight sleeping too. I'd just get a lie flat, or almost flat, pushchair personally because I don't like wasting my money!

Thanks again all for responses, am off to John Lewis this afternoon to have a look. Didn't realise that could do without the carrycot, or that not all carrycots are suitable for overnight sleeping. May just get a mini travel cot instead for our holiday - esp as going long haul and can get one with inbuilt mossy net.
May post again for further help once have had a look today - it's so confusing!!

well we went to JL and the ones we liked best were the Bugaboo Bee and the Silver Cross surf.
Have pretty much decided that as the carrycot can't be used for sleeping in (the man said that even the ones approved for sleeping can't be used for more than a night or two), we can do without, which is why we looked at the Bee.
Still want to look at the Uppababy Vista and Babystyle Oyster.
Any further thoughts?

Hmm...if a carrycot Is approved or overnight sleeping, then I can't see any reason why it can't be used as a replacement to say a Moses basket. Uppababy for example make a stand specifically for you to put the carrycot on at night time. Ask another retailer or two the same question when you look at the other pushchairs.

Hi
I went to look at the Uppababy Vista and the Babystyle Oyster today, ruled out the Oyster as it's definitely not suitable for overnight sleeping.
I really like the Vista though - and it's all the more attractive for the price - it costs roughly the same as the Bee+cocoon, but includes a carrycot, car seat adapters, and sun screen/mosquito nets aswell.
The only downside is the size of the chassis - seems to take up most of my boot (although I have a Nissan Micra so most things probably do!) but the wheels come off pretty easily.
So I think I have narrowed it down to either the Bugaboo Bee or the Uppababy Vista. Anyone have any last minute tips before we decide?

I don't think that can be true about carrycots not being suitable for regular overnight sleeping. The reason that some are considered safe for overnight sleeping is that they have air vents and/or a ventilated matrss and have sides over a certain height. This means they won't hinder the baby's breathing. I don't see how that can work for one or two nights, but not every night.

Anyway, back to the pushchairs. If you're going to be using it for countryside walks as you say you will, there's absolutely no question in my mind that the Vista is the best choice. The Bee isn't supposed to be very good on anything but even ground whereas the Vista is really good going offroad a bit. Otherwise, I'd get the Bee and a cheapo second hand 3 wheeler.

I don't think we'll be doing loads of off-roading, but I live in a very hilly town with cobbles etc which is quite near the country for occasional walks.
It makes sense what you're saying about the overnight sleeping thing - in fact the woman in the shop I was in today (independent shop) said that it would be fine to take on holiday for sleeping. I agree it seems weird otherwise, surely they are either suitable or they aren't?

I would certainly go for the Vista too. It's very hard to fault the Vista at all. It's one of the best pushchairs there is on the market.

Just wanted to let you all know that today I have put an order in for the Uppababy Vista in red, and am very happy with it!
Thank you all so much for your advice, it really helped the whole process.