Compact pram for small flat?

[Cariad007]

We live in a one-bedroom flat in London and although it isn’t tiny we would like a pushchair that takes up as little room as possible. Also, we are on the first floor so need one that isn’t too hard to take up and down a flight of stairs. Any recommendations for a pram/pushchair that we can use from birth and isn’t too expensive? Or would we be better off using a sling? We don't have a car either so would need one that we could go walking with.

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Baby jogger city mini - was fab when I was living in a flat! Definitely get a good sling though as well as you won't want to be faffing with the pram just to nip out to shops / local baby group etc. Don't get something like a baby bjorn, a Moby wrap, or Ergo will be much more comfortable for both you and the baby :)

Thanks Rockchick! Is the City Mini adaptable for a newborn too?

I think there's a carry cot, I only got it when DS was old enough to use the seat though. I'd stupidly bought a big travel system when I was pregnant, totally impractical!!

Bugaboo bee. The problem with city mini is that if say 6 month old is lying in pram you can't bounce up stairs as will bang head when reclined.
As the bugaboo bee patent faces their head will be the other side away from stairs so easier and safer.

Although def get a sling to avoiding having to take pram out every time, especially when small

My issue with the bee was that I couldn't figure out how to fold it and carry both the pram and DS upstairs at the same time, and didn't want to leave pram outside unattended, or DS upstairs alone. BJCM easy as one handed fold and carry so had DS in one arm and pram in the other :)

Rock chick- that's the thing, you don't have to fold the bee as can safely bounce it up one flight of stairs with baby in as head is away from steps/ lightweight/ they are always strapped in.
Also isn't the baby jogger really long with laid flat? Ie it wouldn't fit behind pole on bus so takes up a fair bit of floor space. The bee is the only one that will allow x3 buggys on bus If x2 are bees I think

We've gone with BJCM GT in our small flat. Looked at the Bee too but it seemed far less robust and much more of a faff to fold flat (plus doesn't actually fold up that small in parent-facing mode). Baby not here yet so can't tell you about pros/cons, but can tell you that if you shop around online you can find BJCM GT for £260 (£329 in JL) and BJCM for about £220 so pretty reasonable as prams go.

Oh also - BJCM is suitable for newborn without carrycot, but if you want to use carrycot to have parent-facing for a few months you can pick them up very reasonably on eBay with very little wear (mine was £25) as babies grow out of them so fast.

Bee light enough that I can carry it upstairs with 8mo still in it, agree it doesn't fold well tho

Look at the new Oyster Gem - its tiny folded. You would need to use a carrycot (detachable) for the first six months) but after that it folds as a one piece. The Baby Jogger City Mini is a good option too. If you use a Bugaboo Cocoon - or another baby cocoon or soft cot inside then you can scoop the baby out in that to carry upstairs. The seat is suitable from birth though. Depending on when you are due, the new Babyzen YoYo 0+ will be out I believe early next year. In your shoes, I would be buying that!

Wot's wrong with a good ole McClaren.

Used same one with all my 3, from birth, fits on bus behind pole and two additional massive buggies can fit on. Can wheel it down bus isle from the front too on hopper, double decker, single deckers etc.

Bop bob up and down stairs (but make sure you get one with the handles in a comfortable position for you for this), and bop bop backwards up the stairs too. No heads hit stairs. Folds umbrella style though can usually just wheel behind a door or something.

DH carries McClaren with 15month in it, but I bop bop.

McClaren here too they even come with a shoulder strap to carry them :-)

I live in a London flat. I'd go for a good sling (Ergo/Beco/Boba/Manduca not a baby bjorn) and just use that for the first year. Unless you want to carry a lot of shopping home regularly, slings are far easier on buses and the tube. By then you'll hopefully have figured out if you need a parent facing option (we did until age 2) or if your dc is happy facing out in which case a bjcm would be a good choice. We started with a maclaren but have only started using it successfully at nearly 2yo- DS used to scream if forward facing, and tbh I missed seeing his little face too.

forward facing is very useful for being able to eat chocolate without sharing, especially if there is a hood.......

We are in the same situation, although not London, and went for the Quinny Buzz. It folds really small so is not too imposing when folded in the hallway, and it was the lightest one there was. It's been great, though the shopping basket is too small (fixed with one of those big clips to hang stuff off the handle).

But actually, we haven't really used it the way I thought we would. When the baby was in the car seat attachment I carried both halves up separately, leaving the wheels down under the stairs and then coming back for them. Since he has been in the big seat though, if we come back when he's asleep I bump him backwards up the stairs very slowly and wheel it inside. This is made possible by the gigantic back wheels!

So my recommendation would be to find something light and with big back wheels!

Also second the poster who said a good sling. The moby wrap was brilliant when tiny and we now have a boba which is fabulous. Lots of freedom to just hop out the door.

If you are looking at maclarens the BMW one looks fab and is even lighter than the quest but loads of features. No suspension though which is my only real bugbear with the quest.

Actually apparently the BMW ones do have suspension. Now I wish I had one instead of my quest. I think any flat dweller would find this a good buggy for a toddler. Less than 6kgs is about as light as a buggy can be.