Do I Want A Travel System? And If So Which One?!

[woopsidaisy]

Hi. I'm 14 weeks with DC3-other DC are in school,and I have given away all our stuff except for a big pram. I always used the pram just in the kitchen and for the odd walk etc.
I never had a proper "travel system" before. Had a carseat, that didn't attach to anything and a MacClaren buggy.
I have no idea what I need to be looking for!
A carseat that attaches to a base,and a buggy bit that does the same,and reclines well for snoozes?
Please give me some names so I have a vague idea what I'm looking for! Have forgotten everything from before.But I have often looked at people with these lovely systems and wished I had got something like that! So this time I will.
Thanks!

Nanie beebop is stylish and reasonable £300 for whole package (carseat carry cot and seat unit), first wheels city elite also nice and cheap. Other end of the scale is iCandy peach, strawberry, apple. Depends alot on whether u walk bus use a car, go offroad etc and what you want

What is your budget?

We have a bugaboo chameleon and I love it - was resistent at first as thought it was just a fashion accessory & very expensive but it is amazing. Really easy to manouevre, so comfy (to the extent that my dd won't have daytime naps anywhere else!) & the biggest carrycot around. My dd is 18 months & I still use it constantly & although I have a maclaren too it feels rubbish in comparison to the bugaboo. They are very expensive especially when you add on the accessories & carseat etc but worth it & hold their value pretty well if you decide to sell (& can b completely taken apart & cleaned). Ha I should get commission for that bit of marketing!!

Most people I know never used tgeir carseat on their pushchairs, but I know that a lot do. Unfortunately, it's often to save buying a carrycot but carseats should only be used for 2 hour stretches at most. However, it can still be convenient I suppose for quick trips to the shop from the car.

Some more questions to help us give you some options:
Do you/your partner drive a lot or do you walk more?
Do you get buses or trains much?
How big is your carboot?
Do you expect to need it for travelling for holidays?
Do you produce tall children?
How tall are you and your partner?
Will anyone else need to use it? Eg grandparents And will they need a simple fold?
Do you go on long walks, walk a dog, live in the country, have lots of cobbles on regular routes?
Or do you live in a city/town with mostly even surfaces and spend time in the city/town centre?
Do you need it to hold your supermarket shopping?
Do you want the seat to face you? If so, do you want it to still face you after the first 6 months?

Lol, I made a profit on my Cameleon when I sold it due to buying well in the first place (new), buying accessories well, and then two price increases! I sold it to get a double and am hankering after another one. Having the Donkey has reminded me just how lovely Bugaboos are (although I have still fallen out with my Bee!) But I know I prefer the iCandy Peach...and can't justify both.....but I still would love another :) They are just so pretty.

I used my car seat on the chassis all the time :)
Where / how we live it would have been hard not to - it was an essential for us.

Firstly,thank you for all the responses.
Secondly,this is all so complicated!!

Faints....

Thank goodness I have you guys to guide me through this mine field.

To answer some questions.
Budget, not too bothered about price,as it is the only thing besides a sling and steriliser that I need to buy.
I have a big boot.
I never get the bus.
We live in a big city, and travel to England and Dublin in the holidays.
We are both tall,and have very tall babies!
I would like the seat to face me,and imagine I would use the carseat lots for nipping in to M&S and Tesco etc, so some room for shopping?
facing me for first 6 months,after that not so bothered. Think he will be more interested in watching his big brothers than me!
No-one else really needs to use it,only occasionally.

Hope that helps!

Thanks so much.

I am loving my Bee. Bought it when dd1 was about 18 months so never used it with car seat or for a newborn. But with dd2 now it's fab. I love the fact that you only need the cocoon to use it as a pram. I also have an iCandy Apple which has been relegated to a walking pram as the chassis and carrycot wouldn't fit in my enormous boot.

But the Bee just needs car seat adapters and the cocoon and it easily becomes whatever type of pushchair I need and takes up no space at all.

Ok, Here are my favourites to start you off looking - a bit of a mix:
Bugaboo Cameleon
Baby Jogger City Mini
Baby Jogger City Elite
iCandy Peach
iCandy Strawberry
Britax B-Agile
Uppababy Vista
Uppababy Cruz (here in May I believe)
I have just opened up a Babystyle Oyster today and am very very impressed by the high level of spec on what is a middle range pushchair. I havent used it yet but at first look over, I am struggling to fault it.
Given you are 14 weeks, I would also have a look at the Easywalker June which is due here shortly, and the Baby Jogger Versa which should be here late this year.
I dont think you would go far wrong with any of these.

Thanks so much for that, will print it off-and it looks like the next few weekends are sorted!

Do check out the beebop looks exactly like the cam fraction of the price

The Beebop's nowhere near the same quality as the Cam though.

I wrote a post earlier with most of Tiggy's suggestions, but it's vanished! Also look at the Mutsy 4Rider. The seat is tall, the handle extends out really far and they're apparently lovely to push.

Word on the oyster is that the seat isnt very high so not great for tall-ies. We're short arses so not worried about it with our imminent arrival.

I measured the Oyster today and it's taller than a lot of seats. I think it was 57.5cms tall off the top of my head. I haven't had chance to sit my 3 year old in it but I suspect it's the hood that is low, not the seat back. But the hood does slide up a bit. I need a nice day to take some photos.

No but its also not even half the price my thinking being the OP is like myself, uses the car, and unless the OP is intending on going for long off road treks the beebops quality isn't substandard / unpleasant, i think for the cost it is a smart buy, depends on what you have to spend

Tiggy, I think you mean 47.5cm. :o

BB, I agree to a certain extent, but I'd buy second hand rather than cheap. I've bought some really great second hand pushchairs for around £100.

Thanks Hypatia - it never works juggling children, an ipad and getting your brain into gear whilst having custard sneezed over you!

We got the Mothercare MyChoice4 and it seems to tick all the boxes you've listed above. If I could go back in time I'd get the MyChoice3, but that's just quibbling!

Total price came in at circa 450 quid (carseat bundled in with pram). The pramette part (which can lie flat or be tilted, facing you or not) can be removed and carseat slots onto base. We used the pram as a moses basket for our DS as we have a tiny house :)

Don't get the bugaboo Bee if you are tall - it seems really low!

Another one for you to think about.

Jane reverse slalom with the matrix light car seat.

The car seat can lie flat and clicks on and off the base really easily. The normal pushchair attachment is suitable from birth and can face either way.

Good luck!!!