What pushchair for a 19 month old

[Yika]

I recently lost my pushchair in an unfortunate incident. (It actually rolled down a bank and into a lake... !!! My DD was not in it however :)) I'm wondering whether to replace it and what with. It was an iCandy Cherry. I was extremely pleased with it and would definitely have gone on using it, probably for another year. I have a spare, quite basic though it does recline, umbrella fold buggy (Koelstra). I thought maybe this would do from now on (my DD is 19 months). But she doesn't look that comfortable in it - she slouches and her legs dangle off the seat at odd angles. I need something better but I don't know just to upgrade this lightweight one (e.g. to a Quinny Zapp Xtra which I like the look of) or go for something more solid and if so what. I need something for quick city shopping, a once-weekly 1 hour trip on the bus, and long weekend walks around the city and in parks and woods (on the beaten path, nothing too rough) nearby. My daughter's a great walker but for reasons of safety in the city if nothing else I guess I will be using a pushchair for a while yet. I'd replace the Cherry with a second-hand eBay model if it were widely available where I live (Belgium) but I haven't seen any for sale. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Baby Jogger City Mini?

I also have a 19 month old and I couldn't do without a pushchair yet, not for quite a while in fact. I'd also look at the baby jogger city mini, although I personally prefer 4 wheels so I would go for a BJCM4.

I wouldn't go for a zapp xtra personally as apparently the seating position isn't great as it's not upright enough or something. Also it folds in two pieces and the seat doesn't fold at all.

I would get another Cherry somehow personally :)

Unless parent acing isn't required in which case the BJCM is top of my non parent facing list.

Facing!

Baby jogger city mini without a doubt, unless you want air tyres or parent facing, it is the best pushchair in the world.

The baby jogger city mini GT also looks great with air tyres, but is a lot more expensive at around £330. For that price you may as well buy another cherry though!

Thanks a lot! I will look into the BJCM - does it fold up OK into a medium car (Golf) boot?

PS no parent facing isn't required though I did appreciate having the option with my Cherry.

Should do, it folds in half rather than longways. The folded dimensions are here, you can take the wheels off if necessary

www.boots.com/en/Baby-Jogger-City-Mini-pushchair-black_32164/

It folds brilliantly and will fit in a Golf no problem.

The fold is really easy but we couldn't get it into my mum's boot easily at all because it's so square even though it's so flat.

It fits in my Fabia which I believe is based on a Polo chassis, so I can't see it being a problem in a Golf, really.

Great, looks very compact when folded. Unfortunately I just looked up to see whether there are any stockists in Belgium and there aren't... but I'm going to investigate further...

Maclaren:
www.mothercare.com/Maclaren-Triumph-Stroller-Union-Model/dp/B006O3U4AS?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_101&nodeId=42764041&sr=1-101&qid=1335735412

They are very hard wearing, my son finds his comfortable. They are easy to push. I find that it is really easy to get on and off the bus (it fits between the seats and in the buggy area) it's also easy to fold when putting it onto the escalator and is easy to maneuver on and off the tube.

We got the Britax B Agile as an alternative to the BJCM, if you can get that near you?

I'd gone in to buy a BJCM, but for some reason it wouldn't fit in the boot of my car (Grande Punto) without taking a wheel off

The Agile fits no problem, I just have to get the angle right as I hoof it.

I also prefer the fabric and that it has 4 wheels, although you can get a BJCM with 4 wheels now too.

I discovered after I'd bought it that you can detach the shoulder straps from the buckle, so DD can sit bolt upright.

Welovesausagedogs - thanks for this, I've looked at the Maclarens but I'm not so keen on the umbrella fold style - think I've been put off them by the lightweight one I have (even though I'm sure Maclarens are loads better).

The last couple of days I've been looking around to see what's available in Brussels and think I have settled on the B-Agile which I can get here, so I'm glad to hear that you like it Stetsons. I tried it in the shop yesterday and it seems very roomy and smooth to push, and great value for the price. I think I definitely want a 4-wheeler. So I will go back tomorrow and buy it. :)

Before you buy the B-Agile, just check the handle height is ok for you. It's a bit low for me at 5ft 6ins and you don't notice until you have been pushing a while. Also check the seating position of your LO. My son would have been circa 18 months and he just didn't sit comfortably in the B-Agile. He slumped and nothing could fix it. The B-Agile is much better for an older toddler IMHO. Please try those two things out :) If you are happy then it's a good pushchair!

I vote BJCM :)

It is lovely to push, and plenty of space. Tiggy is right - the handlebar is quite low compared to some buggies, but being a shortarse it's fine for me. DH is happy with it too, at 5'10. But we do like lower handles as it turns out - we always adjust the B Smart down considerably.

We got it when DD was about 18mo, but she never seemed slumped in it. Saying that, she holds herself very upright anyway and rarely leans back unless she's sleeping, which is why it's been a godsend being able to unclip the shoulder straps and still have her strapped in by the waist.

The other thing I really like (and I don't think it was an intentional design feature) is that you can push the foot section up from underneath so it kind of stands up a bit. It supports her legs a bit better if she falls asleep in it - they don't dangle quite as much.

Hello Yika, fellow Bruxellois here. We have a Quinny Zapp which I love and my 21-month old is still very comfortable in it (even though the wheels aren't that great for coping with cobblestone). You probably know this, but do check www.amazon.de once you decide what you're getting - we got our zapp from there, free delivery and 100 euros cheaper than what we could find in Brussels.

I like my b agile too. The bumper bar is a good accessory and if you do want the seat more upright and to still be able to use the shoulder straps you can quite easily wrap a strap around the frame and behind the seat back to bring it more upright. I found this stopped the slump and allowed use of the full harness (it mattered to me, although currently using it with carrycot for newborn previous occupant was an escape artist and needed as many straps as I could manage )

Maclarens are fab :)

Note: Quinny Zapp has no recline.

Thanks for the amazon.de tip sayanything (I didn't know they did free delivery from there!) Anyway I just checked and they don't sell the B-agile which is funny as I thought Britax was a German make. Anyway there didn't seem to be such a huge price difference between amazon uk and the one in the shop here. Ihateparties that's a good tip because the non-upright back was the one thing that bothered me (actually not many pushchairs seem to sit really upright I am finding... though the Zapp does! But the Zapp looks small and then its performance on cobbles and in the park doesn't sound as good as the Britax). PS I was thinking of the Zapp Xtra which does recline. fierypoppy I'm sure they are, I'm prejudiced now though against that style :)