Lie flat travel system??

[pickleandflux]

I'm after some advice, as we are feeling a bit bamboozled by all of the options for prams. We live in a rural area, and so car journeys will be fairly frequent (takes about 30-40 min to get into town). I've seen the Jane Matrix Light 2, which would allow the baby to lie flat in the car and also doubles up as a pram. I've read that it is heavy though, and am not sure about the idea of lugging it in and out of the car all the time. My question is, do you find that it really matters to have the option of moving the baby from the car to the pram undisturbed, or am I just as well looking for a nice pram with a separate car seat? I know that you are not meant to leave the baby in an upright car seat for long, which was the other reason I was thinking about the Jane one. Ideally also want a pram that can handle "off road", as we like country walks.
Any tips or hints would be very welcome for us first time parents!!!

The Red Castle Sport Shop n Jogg Disc 2 might be what you're looking for, here's a review...

www.littlestuff.co.uk/reviews/red-castle-sport-buggy-product-review.php

It has a lie-flat car seat and is very good on rough terrain. I loved mine!

I never had a car seat that I could use on the pram wheels. It's not essential at all. If the baby stirs as you move them from car seat to pram (or vice versa) they usually settle down again when you start pushing the pram (or driving). I think it also helps to get them used to being moved, I have always been able to get my sleeping toddlers out of their bigger, fixed, Group 1 car seats without them waking.

You need the car seat that fits best in your car so that it's as safe as possible. It's no good just getting a car seat just because it comes with the pram. There are also lots of good birth-4 years car seats that save you money instead of buying an infant carrier, possibly a base for it and then a separate Group 1 seat.

Some of these seats stay rear facing until the child is 4 years old (or 18kgs, you need to go on weight for car seats), which is much, much safer than having a young child in a forward facing seat please read this for more info!

Well I've got an adaptor to plonk car seat onto buggy frame which I have used a sum total of never in the past year so I don't think you necessarily need to be able to transfer.

Buggy shopping nearly gave me a stroke so I ended up asking experienced friend who just said "baby jogger".

I went for the city mini GT and haven't regretted it for a second. It lies flat so no need for carrycot (though you can get one if you really want). I stuck a mamas and papas newborn inset in it for when DD was teeny and got rid of it when she started wanting to sit up and look around. I use a wallaboo footmuff in it for cold weather (had to cut a few extra slots for straps but no biggie).

It's a three wheeler with a one handed fold (I lurve the one handed fold). I could hold DD, fold buggy and chuck it in boot one-handedly few weeks after C-section so I was impressed.

Forever air tyres so good on all surfaces and won't puncture. I'm semi-rural and have used it in town, on gravel, on forest paths and through the odd reasonably smooth field and it's been great.

Lovely basket underneath that I can fit a good wee shop in and a hood that comes down far enough to often not even need to use raincover.

Downside is you can't make it parent facing (can peek in the roof windows at her though) and it doesn't have the "look" of a traditional teeny baby pram but I got over that. I also found it didn't sit as bolt-upright as I'd have liked now DD is older but I got some little clippy straps on eBay recently that sorted that out perfectly and DD can now snoop to her hearts content.

Got maxi-cosi car seat with adapters for it too (never used as mentioned).

Buggy shopping is HELL. So stressful. I was just delighted to have someone tell me what to get so I could close the zillion open tabs on my internet browser and stop trying to weigh up different randomers' opinions online.

But then again this is just another randomer's opinion for you! Hope it helps though!

I had a lie-flat car seat (Britax) because we do long car journeys a lot, I didn't have the matching pushchair. The car seat was too heavy to take out of the car often and that was never our plan. DS like most babies would usually fall asleep in the car and I would either pick him up, carry him inside and pop into Moses basket (still asleep) or transfer to pram (still asleep). I could also put him into the car seat and do up straps whilst asleep. It was never an issue. I can count on one hand the number of times I wished for a car seat on wheels. The lie-flat seat was invaluable for us - we loved it and can wait to use it for DC2 :)

I was just looking at this Matrix Light 2 carseat.

Looks like a lot of un-necessary fuss with regards to lying flat IMO. But that is not my reason for posting.

I notice that when in lie flat position, the carseat appears to be lengthways across the backseat of the car. It is therefore not rear facing.

I would be supremely concerned about the safety in not being rear facing. The reason rear facing carseats are safer is because they make a safe 'cocoon-like' space for the baby (between the back of the baby carseat and the back of the actual seat in the car) where the baby isn't squashed in the event of a crash.

If this Matrix Light carseat is side-on, lengthways along the seat. I can physically see just from looking that in the event of a crash there is much less of a 'cocoon-like space' in the event of the car being involved in a crash. The baby seems far more exposed.

Thanks for all of your ideas. I like the idea of finding a car seat that might last a bit longer, and stay rear facing for longer. I'm sure you're right that most babies settle quickly once moved and start getting pushed in the pram. Choices choices!!

If I was starting again I would go for a fixed in the car option too, one that could last rear facing until 5ish if possible.

Our car seats stayed in the car for various reasons over time, unfortunately it never had the effect of training the dc to be moved and remain asleep for us so I suspect that's more luck of the draw.

Another option for moveable infant carrier type seats is the kiddy lie flat one, I've forgotten the name. That's lie flat and rear facing, afaik most of the other lie flat infant carriers are fitted horizontally across the rear seat.

Thanks all. The more I think about it, the more I doubt if I would need to remove the car seat from the car. If doing a quick trip to the shops I could pop the baby into a baby carrier rather than faffing about with a pram. For longer trips out I wouldn't want to leave the baby in a car seat anyway. Thanks again for all the tips x

It's quite useful being able to transfer directly onto pram chassis but then again you don't miss what you've never had. I second recommendation for City Mini GT! (or normal version) Bloody brilliant buggy.