Carrycot for Baby Jogger City Mini GT

[PalomaBlanca]

Hello, I've pretty much decided upon the Baby Jogger City Mini GT but am pondering over which carrycot to get to go with it. There seem to be three Baby Jogger versions which would fit (Compact, Compact Plus and a Deluxe version). Having compared the sizes, the Compact/Compact Plus look quite small (very narrow), especially compared to the Deluxe version or other carrycots for different brands. The Deluxe carrycot, however, is quite expensive (prices seem to vary massively but between £150-250) and isn't that widely available from what I can see.

I've read that some people go for a different brand of carrycot with Baby Joggers, like the Phil & Ted's Cocoon. I am just wondering how you actually secure this though - is it just balanced in the pushchair in the flat position (this seems a bit precarious if you are going up and down stairs?). Do you fix it in forward or parent facing?

The BJ carrycot seems ridiculously expensive for something you will get max 6 months' (?) use from so hunting about trying to find a sensible, cheaper alternative.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Honestly, I would get the Compact or Compact Plus carrycots. My 2 year old fitted into the Compact Plus sized carrycot fine, so any average or even larger than average 6 month old should easily fit. They are a lot easier to fit than the Bassinet hard bodied carrycot too.
Yes you can use a soft cot fastened in to the D rings at the side of the harness. Or you can use a Bugaboo Cocoon which uses the seat harness to keep the baby secure.
The carrycots have a decent resale value once finished with, and can be picked up second hand as well (and wouldn't lose their value!) I would buy a new mattress though.

Thanks v much Tiggywunkle. I was thinking about this again this morning and I am also wondering whether to bypass the carrycot altogether...

The reason is we're looking to get the Be Safe Izi Sleep car seat, which apparently reclines back like a carrycot (when not in the car). As we're going to be living somewhere where we'd nearly always need to go out in the car (i.e. not just going walking from home) I'm not actually sure if we'd end up using the carrycot that much, if the key advantage of this model of car seat is that you can recline it to use like a carrycot.

Would be interested to know if anyone else has taken this approach?

Thanks in advance.

A long , long time ago i had a carseat that laid flat in the car and could be upright as well. I got it because we were going on a long car journey with a young baby and she had to be flat. What I would say is that it was not that long and unless they have made them bigger i dont think i would want to use it on a frame. The other thing is that it was not padded as much as a mattress would be in a carrycot . I agree with Tiggy's suggestions to either get a soft carrycot which changes or can be adapted into a cosy toes or get a second hand carrycot with a new mattress and sell it on afterwards .

I've got the babyjogger city mini and bought the compact carrycot for it but my baby outgrew it by about four months. It's very narrow in my opinion but I guess it depends how big your baby is! Mine was 8 pound 9 born so a big boy to start with. I wish I'd gone for the deluxe to be honest as as said above you can always sell on.

Be aware that people's opinion of outgrown will be vastly different.. it depends a lot on how you view this. One of my babies was in that grey shaded bit at the top of the centile charts and he still fitted at six months imo but some people dislike them looking at all 'squished' and will stop using a carrycot much earlier than i would. It's likely six months is the max you will get out of any carrycot, whatever the size unless you have a very very relaxed baby who is willing to lie flat in one for longer. I don't see why you shouldn't use the izi sleep, sounds like a good solution to me.

Thanks everyone, I agree the Compact one just looks long and thin! Not so much when you look at it isolation but when you compare it against other carrycots it just kind of stands out as being a slightly odd shape. Am looking out for a second hand Deluxe carrycot but going to keep investigating the soft carrycots. Thanks again.

I used a Graco softcot in mine. It cost me about £28 new on ebay, and lasted until DS2 turned 6.5 months. It's brilliant, just clips in and has handles so you can lift it out again if baby is sleeping and carry them inside. It's not the most padded thing in the world but you can bung it through the washing machine (very handy) and once your baby is bundled up with blankets etc they look very cosy. I lined mine with a folded fleece blanket for extra snuggle factor. If you need your baby to sleep in it all day I wouldn't go for it, but for the normal out and about for an hour here and there it really isn't worth spending more.

Plus, the softcot can be squashed into the car here there and everywhere so if you're like me and messy as you like a bit short on space, it works wonders!