Help! Very Tall, bad back, carpel tunnel suffering new mother needs a pram!

[SanitysSake]

Dear All,

I am about to be a new mum and I am losing the plot with this pushchair/pram/travel system malarky.

Wonder if anyone can help?

WHY oh WHY are all prams/pushchairs so close to the ground? And HEAVY!

As it's now 2017 I'm filled with lots of hope that there are more options out there.

Consequently, does anyone know of a pram for tall people (6ft+), which has a high seating position, that potentially could be a 'system', that is light enough for someone with a bad back to lift with a baby on board. Easy to move and collapse. Have suspension and would be suitable for a new baby and hopefully grow with it?

Am I asking for the moon on a stick?!

I have a small car with a small boot and am thoroughly confused and utterly despondent about what to get.

I have looked at the Stokke Xplory - but it seems very heavy and perhaps too big for the boot of my car.

I looked at the iCandy Apple 2 Pear, but it is quite heavy and big.

If anyone could help, I'd be eternally grateful. x

Hi Sanity

I have a very similar set of issues - weak back, small car, first time mum to be, total confusion...

I went to a free John Lewis nursery session (2 hours with you, your partner, a personal shopper who explains stuff and gives you no pressure to buy). She was awesome. She asked me about my back and how we wanted to live with our baby, and then told us that we didn't really need a travel system. She recommended:

• a car seat that stays in the car and spins towards the door (we're looking at the current Cybex Sirona which is suitable up to 4 years old) so I won't have to twist to get baby in and out. She pointed out that even for mums with good backs, twisting and lifting a baby car seat plus baby in and out of the car can be a real stretch, and often they can only comfortably do it after they've recovered from the birth and until the baby gets too heavy
• an ergonomic sling suitable for a newborn with an inset, then remove inset and it 'grows' with them
• a lightweight buggy that is easy to collapse and will fit in a car, with a newborn carrycot for the first six months to a year. Not having to find one with a suitable car seat opened up so many possibilities!

By chance, we sorted the last one quickly - we got a second hand Graco Evo that is simple to fold, fits in our small car (just!) and is light for me to lift in and out. I don't think that is right for you as you sound taller than me, so you'll prob need one with an adjustable handle. But we were impressed with Graco as a brand, of the 'lightweight' buggies it folded easily, was newborn adaptable, but felt more solid than a lot of the lightweight ones.

I loved the City Joggers, but the newborn carrycot was titchy (DH has a thing about using a newborn carrycot). Not one of the Silver Crosses we tried would fit in our car!

Can you go to a Kiddicare or a Mothercare? I found both were fab at just letting you play with buggies - collapsing, folding, pulling back up, fitting in boot. Both also had weighted dolls, so when I tried the Maxi Cosi Pebble (just to see if I could lift a baby in a newborn car seat), DH pointed out that I wqas listing to one side like a drunkard and that we couldn't afford the osteopath bills. When I tried a good sling with a weighted baby, I was ok.

Hope that helps!

sockgate, you're a legend, thank you.

I have been to Mothercare, Baby's R Us and a private retailer. All were fairly lacklustre on the height issue. Even the Mothercare boss said 'Oh no, we don't stock those.. or those.. yes and we don't have those in stock...' So pickings have been really slim.

Funny you should say that about John Lewis. We have booked ourselves in for one of those sessions this Saturday - so hopefully we'll get the sling experience too. Although in fairness and at this point, walking for more than 20 minutes is a struggle.

I am leaning towards the lightweight buggy idea.. I didn't realise some of them could be used from birth, thinking they were all from 6-9 months onwards. The city jogger did seem relatively easy to move about when I gave it a quick swish, if a bit low. Maybe I should have a closer look.

I had originally thought about the Orbit - as they have a 180 spinning seat that goes on the base pram unit and the car - but they're apparently very heavy and they've just shut down their business!

Thanks for the recommendation on the car seat - that will be a must for me. Lifting anything is going to be a struggle - and not least because I have a horrible set of stairs to negotiate on leaving/returning home with the baby and then the recovery time post birth.

Thank you for the ideas. Lots of food for thought. I think I shall now focus my search elsewhere and ditch the travel system whim. In my heart I knew I'd be reaching for the stars to find everything that ticked the boxes.

x

We are getting the cybex Priam because of the same reasons

My Oh is 6'6, we have the uppababy Cruz which is quite high in itself and has and extendable handle. Baby #2 is 18 months now and I think we have used it most days for the past 3.5 years...

Take a look at this Baby Jogger City Mini GT with 3 bigger wheels (lovely to push), it has an adjustable handlebar which is a good bit higher than the regular BJCM.

The baby jogger premiere might fit the bill - I haven't had a play with one but I know it's similar to mine (the baby jogger versa) but lighter and with an extendable handle. When looking at buggies do make sure you have the legroom when walking - this is as important for my tall husband than the height on the handlebar. If you're not fussed about parent facing then the out and about nipper of gt version of the city mini are both very good.

Mamas and Papas Armadillo Flip XT

Does everything you need!

I've just bought a Jane Epic. I think all of the Jane pushchairs have the child's seat higher up off the ground than many other brands (its one of the listed features).

The angle of the handle for pushing the pushchair has seven different positions.

Having said that I'm 5ft4 so I can't tell you what its like to push as a taller person.

I wouldn't recommend the compatible matrix car seat / carrycot to you as it is heavier than others, but the compatible Jane Koos carseat is supposed to be particularly lightweight. You could then buy the Jane Micro/Nano carrycot and you'd have your complete system.

There are some good deals on all of these packages at the moment (I reckon you'd be able to get the lot for £600).

I haven't actually used the system yet as baby isn't here but I've set it all up and it looks convincing. I've pushed the Epic pushchair around a shop and it seemed to have lighter/easier handling than many others and seems more compact despite having good off-road wheels.

The Jane Muum pushchair which is slightly cheaper would be probably be sufficient if you were going to be sticking to pavements.

Mountain Buggies have an adjustable height handle.

Watch out for umbrella fold buggies, although suitable for newborns they're not really suitable for heavy use and the wheels can go quite quickly making them hard to push (a brand new one in a shop will feel fine though)

I'd think about prams designed for jogging as they tend to have a high quality smooth push and still be reasonably light. The weight itself is not as important as pushability.

I agree about car seats though, def don't bother ever lugging one around on top of a buggy.

Another vote for the Mamas & Papas Armadillo Flip XT. We got one because it's light, easy to fold and compact when folded. Not many shops have it in stock though - we had to go to our nearest Mamas & Papas shop (an hour's drive away) to look at one.

It's won a Mother & Baby bronze award:
www.motherandbaby.co.uk/reviews-and-shop/pushchairs-and-prams/travel-systems/mamas-and-papas-armadillo-flip-xt

We also liked the Uppababy Cruz which we tried in John Lewis. But you can't fold it with the seat rear-facing (you have to remove the seat first) and it's bulkier that the Armadillo Flip XT when folded.

Also see www.madeformums.com/reviews-and-shopping/10-of-the-best-lightweight-buggies-under-6kg/1504.html

Bare in mind that a high seat might be benfitical when tiny, but once they are around 1 most could get in and out a lower down pram themselves so actually easier long term

Something like bugaboo bee is worth looking at. It is lightweight, but has long adjustable handle for tall parents and long leg stride space.

Def don't try putting car seat on pram as way too heavy lifting. The swivel cybex sirona mentioned is good

Also look at the new cybex mios due out. The carrycot is fair high, but it's light

My friend is 6ft tall and has a husband who is 6ft 9 and they have the Uppababy Vista. Their DC is also super super tall and I imagine would have grown out of most pushchairs by about 18 months (size of a 4 yr old at this age) but the Vista was still roomy enough.

I know this thread is about pushchairs but it inspired me to look at swivel car seats and I really like the look of the Recaro Zero 1. It's new and annoyingly there don't seem to be any reviews apart from this one.

My dh and I are quite tall. We have the mamas and papas armadillo flip xt and are extremely happy with it.

My DBro is 6'6" and DSis 6'. Both used mountain buggies with adjustable handles - SIL is a mere 5'1" and this worked for her, too; they used a carry cot in the buggy for the first few months. DBro & DSis both have back issues. I might have converted DSis when she turned up to visit with some god-awful thing; one push of my MB & she was sold (I don't work for them, BTW ). Really, really easy to manoeuvre.

They look biggish, but go into the back of a Mazda Demio (shapeful admittance of ownership of a very practical grannymobile).

NameChange30 we always end up on the same threads . I've been eyeing that up and hoping people review it soon! The one review I did read said there wasn't enough recline for a newborn, which put me off.

Hi sock!
I saw the comment about the recline - maybe it depends how much space you have in the back of the car as to how far you can recline it? It's a shame it's only available to buy online because ideally you'd check that in a shop.

The mountain buggy swift is worth considering. It's lightest of the range, carrycot high up, but seat mid way so toddler could climb in.
Only thing is handle isn't super high, but apparently they will be bringing out a new model soon with high adjustments which should solve that if you can wait a few months

The Mountain Buggy Swift is a fab little pushchair (well as much as I can tell from the test drive in the shop) but even at 5ft 4 the handle struck me as on the low side.