What pram for all these steps!?

[pollymaria]

Hi Mums, we're currently expecting our first, and I'm looking for advice on getting out in a buggy when steps are involved, as the only way into our house is up 20 stone steps.

There's no doorstep once at the top so the only choice currently appears to be to teeter a buggy very precariously across a step while wrangling with a gate lock and a newborn! My boyfriend is adamant on revolving the whole buying process around a buggy's wheels and foreseeable performance on these steps.

It's difficult to escape the feeling that we're the only people ever in history to have had a baby whilst living in a flat accessed by steps! I've considered folding the buggy to hoik it up, or using a sling, but still need a hand free to unlock the gate (whilst buggy sways on the step face...).

Any advice would be very welcome please! Thanks!

Move?

Or park the baby at the bottom and then go up to unlock and open gate before returning baby and buggy.

Or sling.

But mainly move. (Unhelpful)

Bee. You can just pick the whole thing up with the baby in it. I would solve the door lock issue by going up, opening it, and then going back for the buggy.

Actually, rethinking that, probably not too safe to carry it up twenty steps with baby on board, that's a significant flight. Carry baby up, dump in cot, go back for buggy.

My DIL leaves the pram in the car she also has a lot of stone steps, it is not easy.

Thanks folks! I hadn't actually considered leaving the buggy at the bottom and nipping up to open the gate. Not sure I'd feel safe leaving the little one down there. But taking them out, going up, and going back for buggy would be such a faff. Especially in wind and rain! And it's quite a bumpy ride up for them in the buggy.

Leaving it in the car is worth a try, but if I have lots of bags on the buggy, I'm going to have my hands full getting them and a baby in!

I'd consider popping them in a high-sided cot and doing two trips. Is this seen as safe with a little one?

I would get a small crib or Moses basket to go as close the the front door as possible to put the baby in while you manage buggy and bags up the steps. You may find a good sling is your best bet when they are very small.

I would leave in the car, we lived in a flat when we had our first and the pram didn't once come up to the house, saved on storage room and saved our backs having to lift it up and down. We got an isofix base for the car seat so it lifted in and out easily and carried him up the stairs in that.

We used to live on the third floor of a complex with no lift. I used to leave the pram in the car and carry baby up in a sling... I used to find the baby Bjorn easiest for this as I could leave part of the harness on under my coat then quickly pop baby in as soon as I had sorted the pram. I used to get shopping delivered to avoid lugging loads of bags up the stairs. On the occasions when I hadn't ordered shopping, I would leave bags in the car and run back down for them when baby was napping and bring the monitor with me, or get DH to bring in bags from the car when he got home.

You could get a travel system so that the car seat goes on the pram chassis, you can then take it off to carry baby up steps and indoors, leave baby safely in car seat and go back for pram and shopping. It would be a bit dangerous to balance a pram with baby, and especially if loaded with bags, while you open the door.

Baby jogger city mini will be your friend here. The one handed fold is so easy.

I candy strawberry has a v light carry cot to dump wheels at bottom and carry up.

But only a solution till 6 months and I had 70 steps and a c section so ended up moving!

My pals in flats leave buggy at bottom/in car and sling/carry up.

Round here lots of flats with big Common entrances and buggy Central in the ground floor hall so guess that's how it's done.

Bugaboo Bee 3

Leave it at the bottom and carry the baby up.

Or use a car seat, or a carrycot that you can detach from the pram chassis and carry up. Leave the baby safely in it indoors while you go and sort things out at the bottom again. Or use a playpen, or cot to contain them while you go downstairs.

If you have a small lightweight pushchair, you can carry the whole thing up with the baby in (at least when they're little), but it might not be the safest option, especially if you need one hand free at the top.

If you get a pushchair with big chunky wheels, it will get too heavy for you to bump up very quickly - voice of experience.

If you just use a standard buggy and bump it up, you will knacker the wheels very quickly.

Once the baby is 6 months, you might want to get a Hippychick hipseat for carrying them up and down stairs. Quicker to put on than a sling.

If you have a car, probably best to leave a slightly older baby strapped into it while you put the pushchair, and any shopping that can wait away in the boot. Then carry the baby up the stairs.

Babyzen yoyo 0+. Folds tiny one handed with strap over arm like a bag. So you can carry baby or put in sling quickly whilst you sort door with pram folded on top step, then pram over shoulder and walk down, flick pram open and put baby in. Folds tiny so when in house it can also just go in a small cupboard out the way

Babyzen YoYo2 or Baby Jogger City Mini Zip. Fold both at the bottom and carry both baby and pushchair up at the same time.

Thank you all so much! It sounds as though leaving the buggy in the car is the done thing. I've bought a sling that I can keep on all the time, so think I'll pop baby in that and leave the pram in the car.

You wonderful folk you ;)

Sounds like a good plan :)
u might also think about a pram with detachable carrycot one thing I did while dd still fitted in the carrycot was leave chassis at bottom of common close and carry the cot up and down. Had a good handle so I felt safe with one hand for the banister even in wobbly new mum terror days! This does mean u can leave sleeping baby sleeping and go home for a cuppa

I was going to say keep the buggy in the car but everyone has beaten me to it. It's also fine to pop the baby in the cot then go back downstairs for the buggy if you prefer.

The only thing I found annoying was that dd usually woke up when i lifted her out of the buggy then screamed to be fed. Therefore I would get something with a detachable carrycot that you can carry up the stairs in the early days.