Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pushchairs

Join our Pram forum for pram advice. Plus read our round up of the best pushchairs currently available.

Original poster

Will I miss parent facing option?

31 replies

Kstar8 · 14/06/2016 11:33

I'm torn between a Baby Jogger City Mini GT and the Baby Jogger City Versa (not keen on premier or select as folding size appears larger)!

For months I was so sure it would be the City Mini with the deluxe for for first few months but my DH is worried about not being able to have baby parent facing if we want. Did anyone with a BJCMGT miss this or is it really not much of an issue?

It's not a given that we will find a car seat that's compatible with BJ to use as parent facing as my car is quite small therefore this will dictate what seat we can get away with.

Advice much appreciated!

OP posts:
Zaurak · 15/06/2016 14:11

I am really glad I got parent facing - ds gets really upset if he's world facing.
The versa is pretty big - and heavy. I have an easywalker mosey. It's good but not perfect.
Someone on another thread posted this, which looks really good

cybex-online.com/gb/pushchairs/baliosm.html

creamoftomato · 15/06/2016 14:16

I had BJCM with my first baby and thought it would be fine - he outgrew the carrycot at about 4/5 months but honestly I thought it sucked having him face away from me when he was still so wee. I ended up selling it and buying a M&P armadillo flip which can face either way and still using it now with baby 2. I do sometimes miss the great handling of the BJCM though.

MaisieDotes · 15/06/2016 14:16

I have had DS2 (4m) world-facing since 10 weeks (no choice, I use a Mountain Buggy Duet and he grew out of the carrycot) and I absolutely hate it.

I am trying to train DS1 (21mo) to walk places so I can stick DS2 in the parent-facing single.

Also just bear in mind they can't go long in the car seat, a couple of hours max. So it might not be a replacement for a parent-facing option anyway.

CaitAgusMadra · 15/06/2016 14:25

I have BJCMGT and am using it now on my second baby. I love the handling and fold of the buggy.

I used it from a few weeks old for DS1 (using the lie flat and a buggy snuggle) and TBH never missed the parent facing. There is a handy window you can use to look in on them.

This time I use it either on its own or with a Kiddy car seat on adaptors. The car seat is a lie flat one so have used this instead of a carry cot. DS2 is 8mo and still has plenty of space in the car seat (and he's 98th centile for height).

It's really down to personal preference at the end of the day

WordGetsAround · 15/06/2016 14:28

I think you will miss it. It's not just down to personal preference - it's down to the type of baby you have too!! I'm choosing a new pushchair for DC3 at t moment and my main consideration is parent facing - even though that means not going for loads of excellent pushchairs out there.

CaitAgusMadra · 15/06/2016 14:41

Yes true, I've had 2 babies who were/are always very content in the buggy just watching the world go by or snoozing. Pity they weren't so easy going in other respects Wink

Zaurak · 15/06/2016 15:20

Ones I've seen that look good and are reversible

Easywalker mosey
Bugaboo bee
Cybex balios
Armadillo flip/xt
Babyjogger premier

We've never put the car seat on the base (ds hates the car seat)

MaisieDotes · 15/06/2016 16:29

^ There's also the iCandy Raspberry which is the single I have.

Original poster
Kstar8 · 15/06/2016 17:34

Wow thanks for all the replies!
I'm certainly not keen on using the car seat in place of a parent facing seat but I had seen some people do this.

I'm keen on the Baby Jogger models as I like the folding system and they fold up to a manageable size as I have a small house and car. I won't be getting public transport and want a fairly robust buggy (rather than a compact city style) with decent wheels/easy to clean for doing lots of walking which is why BJ appeal.

Plus I cannot bring myself to reach the prices of the big brands like icandy and bugaboo as we are tight for money.

I didn't know if it was something that babies get used to as they don't know any different so it's interesting to see that a few of you said the little ones didn't like not being able to rear face!

OP posts:
MyBreadIsEggy · 15/06/2016 17:39

I've got a silvercross pioneer at the moment and only put my 13mo world-facing for the first time today Blush We are expecting another baby in Novemeber, and have got an iCandy Peach Blossom, which I my has the option for her to world-face in double mode, so thought I had best give it a try, and she loved it!! She was looking around, pointing at everything, chatting away to everybody.....I now realise it was me who was a wet blanket about her being parent facing, not my toddler Blush

RequestInUse · 15/06/2016 17:43

I'm made up withy MotherCare Xpedior. Does lay flat, parent and world facing. Car seat slots in with no adapters and the basket is massive!

RequestInUse · 15/06/2016 17:43

And relatively cheap to some models Smile

Buglife · 15/06/2016 17:46

I just turned my nearly 2 year old back parent facing in our Silver Cross Wayfarer because he was getting really cross and now he is happy because he can chat to me! He was parent facing until he was 1 and it's a god send for checking asleep, whether they've sicked up a bit, and just because honestly I couldn't not watch him to see if he was ok, happy etc and talk to him.

sickofforgettingpassword · 15/06/2016 17:50

Quinny zapp xtra2... Baby number 4 and the best pushchAir I've ever had! Parent or world facing, and folds very small!

Zaurak · 15/06/2016 18:38

Baby jogger city mins are fab and if they parent faced I'd have one in a shot...but... Ds cries inconsolably if forward facing so there's just no point.

Original poster
Kstar8 · 15/06/2016 21:29

Well you've given me some more to look into! Whatever I end up with, it will be prentice facing as it seems better to have it than not at all. Thanks!

OP posts:
Hufflepuffin · 17/06/2016 00:06

I have the versa and love it but it's not a buggy to regularly take on the bus if you travel at busy times. It's a compact fold for a big pushchair but it's still a bit of a beast! I miss parent facing when I use my other buggy, dd doesn't give a shit.

moggle · 17/06/2016 09:51

We got the GT with the deluxe carry cot and I only missed parent facing for the first few weeks she was in the pushchair. We took her out of the carrycot at about 5 months. She just loved being able to see where she was going and once I saw how much she loved it I never minded not being able to see her. The windows in the hood are great, you can easily keep an eye on them; and if it's not raining or super sunny then you don't need the hood up and I find I can talk to DD easily.
However I know that plenty of babies and even toddlers do prefer to face mum/dad and you never know which baby you're going to get! For us the GT has been great and will last us until she doesn't need a buggy anymore and that (for us) outweighs the couple of months I might have kept her parent facing in a different buggy. We originally wanted the Versa but the ease of folding the city mini changed our minds. My friend has the Versa but her daughter still was sitting facing out from about 6m, and it's that bit more bulky and awkward than the CM that they use a Maclaren now (our girls are 19m).

YellowShockedFace · 17/06/2016 09:55

www.babyjogger.com/product/vue-lite/
Would this be any good?

Original poster
Kstar8 · 17/06/2016 09:57

Aaaaghh Moggle! You're changing my mind again!! Shock
Just when I think I've made my mind up! It's so hard, I do love the folding of the CMGT.
I think the folding of the Versa is still decent compared to something like an uppababy vista it just has one more folding action than the CMGT.
I'm also trying to pick carpet and all kitchen appliances for our house renovation but picking a pushchair is harder than all of those combined Sad

OP posts:
ChocChocPorridge · 17/06/2016 09:59

Would you be able to wait for the baby and see what they like?

Neither of mine were particularly interested at looking at me - and I used a mei-tai carrier - from birth, DS1 craned his head round to look where we were going! I only ever had him facing me when he fell asleep! And DS2 spent his time if facing me doing his best to pull my glasses and hair out, so he faced forwards too (and gave passers by his best interrogating stares)

Original poster
Kstar8 · 17/06/2016 10:00

Thanks yellow, I'm really wanting the pushchair to do lots of walking with, including parks/muddy paths so the more substantial models with suspension and GT wheels are what I am after, rather than a town/folding buggy. I won't be getting public transport with it so it doesn't need to be so compact.

OP posts:
Original poster
Kstar8 · 17/06/2016 10:04

Thanks choc! I've got those ftm nerves and either the house renovation, I feel like I want to try and control things by getting the pram right early on! I'm sure it's not necessary.
Definitely want a sling/carrier and hope to get to a sling library. Do you recommend doing that after the baby's born to see which one suits or can I get one before?

OP posts:
lalath · 17/06/2016 10:05

I had parent-facing with DS, and we both loved it. For DD, it's only parent-facing until 6 months. I was quite sad about this (we bought the pram/buggy because it had too much else going for it given our situation), but she screamed hysterically whenever she was in it. At 3 months I put her forward facing and the screaming stopped happier.

I would never have believed it but it seems that some babies really do prefer to face outwards from a very young age.

moggle · 17/06/2016 10:21

Sorry Kstar!!! I guess I'm looking at it from a different perspective... DD is a proper toddler now and looking back I can see that those short times when i worried about her being parent facing or not were really just a tiny blip in the whole scheme of things. But at the time it did bother me, and when we were researching buggies it was a big thing for me, so I don't want to belittle your conundrum at all. I'm just glad we haven't had to go out and buy a new buggy like loads of our friends have.
Definitely, the Versa is much easier to fold than most other buggies of that style!!
The city minis are really commonly available second hand because they're so popular - so maybe get the Versa and if you find later on that baby/toddler is happy facing out and you could get away with something lighter and easier to cart about, then you can easily get something second hand be it a CM or an umbrella fold buggy.

Oh one other thing... I obsessed about pram choice from really early on in pregnancy but I never clicked buy until about 30 weeks. DH was so fed up of me talking about it, but he admitted last month that it was all worth it in the end, because we really did get the pushchair that was right for us. So I would say don't rush into buying straight away, keep mulling it over a bit. (although with the Versa - I think they have stopped producing them as it's being replaced with the Premier? - so you might see a bargain on it!)