BJCS - have I made the right choice?

[Teaandflapjacks]

I apologise for the many times no doubt this has been covered before - I have read through all the reviews on buggys before purchasing this one yesterday. I am currently going into week 26 with number one. I live in Germany so the iCandy Peach (2) and Jane Twone are incredibly hard to come by here or impossible.

I currently live 6 lots of stairs up in an apartment block. When the baby is 3-4 months old we will move to our new house (currently being built) which is fairly convenient (own driveway, metro style shop walking distance, tram stop walking distance) and have masses of woods and open parkland to go walking in too there. We also have a dog - so plan on lots of walking in woods on pathways etc.

I wanted a buggy that:- could fit maxi cosi seat on - as currently park a couple mins walk sometimes away from building front door. I can safely leave pram or buggy downstairs in building in lobby.
Has carry cot option then seat option
Has enough space for a small food shop in basket underneath
not too huge to get round supermarket - smaller here - think metro size.
Is easy to push one handed (with dog) - of course not on kerbs, but these are very rare - normally we have dipped here etc
All terrain - so would work in woodland ok
want to have number two fairly close to number one (am going to be 33 just when number one arrives, so we just want to get on with number two after a year etc). So the adaptability of the BJCS for the first 0-4/5/6 months with number two bonus. Then we can just switch to a twin buggy if required and sell the BJCM (since i know with a baby older then 6 months AND toddle is too heavy).

So far, so good. However my MIl came with us to buy it - and has very, very kindly offered to pay for it. So when we got there, she made an enormous fuss about the size of the baby cocoon, saying it was far too small, and kept charging over to the very heavy/bulky pram systems - I don't want those as yes they are bigger, but they weigh a ton, and we cant fit them easily into the back of our smallish car- we cant afford to buy a larger car at the moment so must be practical with buggy (not the other way round!). Plus my DH works away mon to thurs most weeks - so i must be able to quickly put unit up and down for car, and lift in and out ok etc. She kept saying how 'big' babies were in her family (will no mean to be disrespectful since i do adore my in laws, they are all clinically obese - including my BIL who is morbidly obese). Now obese people have bigger babies mostly. I am a normal healthy BMI range, as is the rest of my family. My DH follows what we eat together and he is also a healthy normal weight. I cant forsee me having some kind of giant baby coming out of my lady parts - so i think the carrycot is ok for a normal sized regular baby up to 6 months. Plus I will be carrying it on my own up 6 lots of stairs each day - so cant be too heavy (carrycot plus baby)

Can anyone give me advice that confirms this or tells me i am being a plonker? Because I can just cancel the oder if it isn't going to fit more than a teeny tiny baby in it.

Thanks in advance!!!!

Ooooooo the advice is only just starting... smile, say thankyou, and ignore!

I'm not too sure what a bjcs is but I have a bjcm gt for very similar reasons to yours. I love it, one of the best and most used things I've bought for the baby! I got a carrycot with it for the first 6 months, it took some finding but cost about the same as the bassinet (I have to admit I too was worried the bassinet looked a little cosy) Its wider, longer and generally sturdy but less functional looking. You have to completely remove the canvas cover, lock attachment arms on and it sits on the frame (maxi cosi car seats also sit perfectly on this). Its a little cumbersome when folded as the arms slightly stick out but its not really a problem.

We also used this as a Moses basket for months so it was great to travel anywhere with! I think it converts quite a modern buggy into a traditional Pram for a few months pretty well!

Its a bj product so i would assume is compatible with most of their buggies -should be on their website. hope that helps!

Ignore her politely I'd say!

The norm in Germany are the huge 4wheel "double bed on wheels" style prams so you are bound to get people recommending them!

I have a BJCS and love it. I have stairs where I live and haul it up and down without a problem. I can't do it with my twins actually in it as its too heavy and awkwardly weighted, but they are 2 years old so not sure if I could lift any pram with them in it. Not an issue for you, but am mentioning that I tackle stairs with it without a problem. I used to use the carry cots and also pull it up and down stairs with just 1 child in it. It's a fantastic, sturdy pram, that's great in all terrains (Norwegian snow is apparently not a problem, according to a friend who also has one). I have had mine for 2 years and still love it. I am seeing more and more of them.

Baby Jogger prams = the best pram I have had in 15 years of having DC's, and over 30 prams. I luffs my BJCM.

Smile, nod and ignore MIL.

The only thing I will say is that if you weren't worried about the size and weight of the pram, Hartan Racers are extremely sturdy, great for DC's up to around 2yo, have huge shopping baskets, and can be pushed through fairly deep snow.

(I had a Haryan Racer bought from a Herman friend before the BJCM. Only gave up on it because DS3 got too tall. It was the second best pram I've ever had...)

But given your needs, I'd definitely say the Baby Jogger.

Haryan = Hartan. Herman = German. I seem to have far finger syndrome today.

FAT finger syndrome.

I've bought one for dc3 due in July, I liked how easy it was to switch between one and two seats as I'm a childminder so don't always need 2, although I now will as have a baby starting full time after my maternity leave. I liked the small fold of it as it needs to go in my ford galaxy boot with all the seats up which it will, and I can't say the carrycot seemed that small just normal sized.

I love mine can't wait til July to use it, can't believe I've managed not to yet but want to keep it so its new for dc3.

It's unessesarily long imo

Having also lived in Germany I know what you mean by the huge 4x4 prams.

A few others I know available in Germany are:
the britax range ( has option similar to twone),
the abc range ( some large, but the newer range is nicer ie the viper ( looks good off road as well as smaller) or lingo
Also the bugaboo range - but more expensive. The new carrycot folds down for getting in car, and you can add snow tyres to the front instead of the standard smaller wheels making it good off road/ in snow. We use this ourself and it's Been good on the german trams/ by river/ in busy high streets/ over cobbles.

My Select is red .

I have a love/hate relationship with it really. Its lovely to push with one seat or the carrycot, light, nimble etc. But its a bugger to push with two children in, especially in its longest form with carrycot and seat. I think I will like it better when DS2 is big enough for the seat unit. The carrycot is perfectly big, btw, DS2 has lots of room at 4months old.

My real problem with it is despite being billed as a big seat, DS1 at 2.7 is too big, his head touches the frame of the hood and his feet hang comically off the edge, he looks perched rather than snugly sat as the seat isn't deep enough for him. Also its very big as a single.

It does have an enormous basket which is useful for shopping without a trolley.

But, honestly, I'm already looking forward to going back to a normal sized single pushchair when DS1 is ok with walking all the time.

massive thanks ladies for coming back to me - you have confirmed really helpfully we have made the right decision and now can relax. I know it sounds daft stressing but it is such a lot of money and so on, you just tend to think about it forever weighing up the pros and cons etc. It is also good to know that it works well with snow (thanks bunnymother) since we get tons of the stuff here every winter.

Just wanted to say in case my post sounded off, and was like an essay - I really don't mean to sound in any way rude to people overweight - it's just when she kept going on about the size of her babies, and how enormous they all were, and her sisters too, so I would definitely have a large baby as a fact (and I was like er what, why? it is looking normal so far on the growth scans...) and then I spoke to my sister, who is a doctor, she pointed out that statistically people who are overweight have bigger babies, and this was probably why they were all a lot bigger on her side of the family, if you see what I mean. She also helpfully constantly rubs my bump when she sees me and things like this - she is really lovely but has very firm ideas... I will smile and ignore, as DH has a long practiced habit of doing!

Thanks again!!

I love my BJCS :) I walk loads and it is so useful with the massive basket for the shopping :)

I think you know the pros and cons of the BJCS well (just from your comment about the kerbs and leaving the chassis downstairs).

LOL re the giant baby! My sister was nearly 14lbs and her two were under 7lbs! My son was nearly 10lbs and he was in the BJCS carrycot fine until he was 6 months old.

Just put your fingers in your ears and go "laa laa laa" and trust your own instincts.