Newborn pram suggestions? 4 flights stairs + London buses!

[JasmineLondon]

Can anyone suggest some pram/buggy options please?

I'm 29 weeks with DC1, due in July, we live in a 1bed ex council flat with 4 flights stairs to the front door. Don't have a car and expect to be out on London buses most days.

Looking for something as light as possible, and parent facing for when baby can sit up. Oh, and as big a shopping basket as poss! We've seen loads of bugaboo bees roundabout here but the baby seems to lie very low and seems a bit open to the elements?

Thanks for ideas!

You see lots off bees because it's the lightest, narrowest, most compact version of what you want. The Icandy raspberry is supposed to arrive in the next couple of months. I cannot find the weight but something like the my child floe may also be vaguely suitable. The Icandy cherry is light too and the basket is enormous. The stokke scoot is higher than the bee but narrow and compact.. It weighs more and is harder to steer. It all depends what you want and need most, then you find out what you can compromise on. Fwiw many many people find the bee low but fail to find anything comparable so put up with that aspect.

Thanks v much ihateparties ... I will have a look at those you mentioned. Thinking maybe we could use a sling wrap for the first few weeks and then get a bee, might feel more confident about having baby low down after he is a few weeks old?

Micralight fast fold. its light folds with one hand and you can bounce the back wheels over curbs etc with ease. comes with universal car seat attachment

There are some pics here showing how some people have used maxi cosi and britax adapters to add micralite or britax carrycots to the bee. These combinations haven't been safety tested, the adapters themselves with the car seats on obviously have. Might be something to think about?

Hi Jasmine. We are also up 4 flights of stairs in London. The best buggy we've owned for bumping up the stairs is a micralite- it's light and the large back wheels and way it is balanced really help. I used to bump DS up when he was napping. We had a bee for a while, but it was no good for bumping up stairs as the wheels aren't cushioned enough.

For DD I mostly used slings for her first year or left the buggy at the bottom of our stairwell and carried her up. The Ergo worked well for us.

If you got a buggy with a light/soft carrycot, could you carry that up to your flat when the baby is little and leave a buggy frame downstairs?

Thanks front loader, really helpful. So would I bump the buggy up the stairs with him in it only when he gets to 6 months or so, and before that when he's in carrycot I have to take it off and carry it up so he stays flat?

Sadly nowhere to keep the base downstairs as the stairways are narrow, housing assoc doesn't let us in case of fire hazard. Also slight fear that things get pinched easily in London.

Parties - just after you posted mentioning the iCandy cherry, a lady on freecycle has offered us her cherry including carrycot! Only drawback is back wheels need replacing. Loads of google posts from users whose candy lost their wheels, us buying replacement parts is not an issue but the safety concern is. Anyway, going to collect it and see. just working out how we get an empty buggy up the stairs will be a useful lesson

The stoke xplory bumps up stairs very easily. The shopping bag expands but is not very big. You can use it front or rear facing. It can lie flat so you don't need a carrycot unless you want one. We had dd in summer so didn't need carrycot.

Hi have you considered a sling? Mei tai style is great and about 30 quid.

Or Joie prams, google em, I've got one that is less than 6kg & folds super small (lies flat too). Good price too, I love mine

Hi, I'm a foster carer of babies and I use the bus a lt. I have an icandy cherry and love it - I know there are sometimes issues with the wheels but otherwise they are great. They have a massive, easy access basket, and the pushchair faces both eYs and is easily adjusted. They have a very tight turning circle so you can manoeuvre into the smallest soace and on and off buses easily.

I had an original cherry complete with the falling off wheels. I was annoyed that Icandy wouldn't talk to me (I had moved 200miles from my retailer, who they wanted me to go through) so we just fixed it ourselves and got on. I gave it away when we had finished with it, a friend used it for a year or so, then she gave it away. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still wheeling around somewhere. I too would use a sling quite a lot of the time and in your position would totally get a babyzen yoyo 0+ to carry up the stairs. I hate bumping stuff, even if it's something quite suitable.

Babyzen yoyo 0+. It folds tiny and can be carried in shoulder like handbag.

So keep sling underneath, and can take baby out, pop in sling. Then fold pram in one button and walk upstairs easily

Thanks for all these options, am trying to find pram showroom in London so I can try them all out. Sling and lightweight buggy def seems the way to go.

I collected the iCandy cherry from the freecycle lady, pushed it home without the back wheels and then the front wheel came off too! I've always been a big buyer of secondhand, been buying baby clothes from the Fara Kids shop etc, but now thinking to get a pram new from shop to get best chance of safety etc.

Anyone in London need free spare parts (ie anything but the chassis with wheels) for a mulberry iCandy cherry?! Carrycot ok but mattress needs cleaning, footmuff ok, stroller seat ok and needs a clean.