iCandy strawberry - do I need the carrycot for newborn?

[NichyNoo]

I used a Maclaren Techno XLR for DS1 but after 2 years it is pretty battered (brakes don't work, some nuts have sheared off etc.) so I am contemplating buying a new pushchair for DS2 who is due to arrive in a few months. As this will be our last baby I won't need the pushchair to last forever.

I like the iCandy strawberry but it is just so expensive. The carrycot and its 'flavour pack' just add an extra 350 euros to the cost of the pushchair (which is already 700 euros!!). I only used the Maclaren carrycot for DS1 until he was 4 months old before putting him sitting up.....do you think I could get away with not buying the iCandy carrycot and using the recline position from newborn? Thanks for any advice!

AFAIK The strawberry has a "bucket" seat and so even in its furthest reclined position it is not flat. I think it says it isn't suitable til about 6 months.

The strawberry was on our shortlist but I agree it gets rather expensive when including the 2 flavour packs and carrycot

it says the seat unit is only suitable from 6 months so you couldnt use it for a newborn baby

OK thanks for that - I suspected as much.

I've been searching online and can't find a picture of what the flavour packs contain (it says a hood and either padded seat for pushchair or apron for carrycot). So I'm assuming that the basic pushchair doesn't have a hood? Or is it just that it has a plain black hood and iCandy are pushing you to spend extra to get a nice colour? Also I am wondering if the hood that comes with the pushchair flavour pack would also fit the carrycot??? That way I just buy one flavour pack and forgo the carrycot apron (blankets would work fine as apparently a raincover is already included). Doe anyone know if this is possible? Thank you

iCandy dealers are quite restricted in their pricing, but there are ways around this! When I bought my Cherry getting on for a couple of years ago, I bought my cot, mattress and car seat from the same shop. If you are buying a lot of stuff they will often do you a great deal - try and get them to knock 15% off the total price, or to throw in the cot or car seat for free, or both. That will pay for the carry cot.

Ooo..think the John Lewis website might have answered this. They have pictures of the flavour packs and the hood for the carrycot looks different (longer) than that for the pushchair. Bugger. Might just have to stick with the battered Maclaren and hope I don't need to use the brakes!!!

They do come without a hood so you definitely have to get the flavour packs.

Could you not look at other prams if the strawberry is too expensive and the Maclaren is broken?

You can use the maxi cosi infant seats with the strawberry but babies shouldn't be in car seats for long periods of time (more than about 1.5hours) as again they're not flat so it depends how much you'll use it for the first 6 months.

I've looked at some other prams....I really don't want a three-wheeler which seems to limit me. The Quinny just seems so light and like it would tip over. I could always just buy a new Maclaren (let my 2.5 yr old us the old one for longer walks) and use my existing carrycot on the new Maclaren I guess. I'm not in the UK so that rules me out of buying Mothercare own brand and the like as I can't test them....

Why don't you consider a second hand Peach? Its very similar to the Strawberry in many ways.

Peach is too big to fit in the elevator in our building (we are 4th floor).

Thanks for all the info. We are thinking of biting the bullet and just getting it. We get a 900 euro birth grant here so it would cover costs. Just need to test it again in the shop by putting DS in it as we would want to make sure it is definitely big enough for a 2 year old before spending that much (I've read online that it might be a bit small for toddlers)

My newborn HATED the carrycot, we used it only a handful of times and then gave up and put him in the carseat before eventually putting him in the "normal" seat. Try to see if you can get one second hand from eBay or Gumtree if you can/are willing.

I have had my tall 3 and a half year old in the Strawberry fine. The liner is a bit puffy and if you unzip that you will see how big the seat is. it's one of the tallest pushchair seats there is, plus the hood slides up the chassis and then unzips off the back too.

My 9 week old hates the carrycot now too. She was fine in it for the first few weeks but she's taken a dislike to it now she's a not it bigger and more aware of her surroundings. I'm using a second hand pushchair that fully reclines (kindly gifted by a friend) until she's big enough for the Strawberry pushchair.