Which pram? In a muddle about strollers, carrycots, overnight stays....

[RhymingCrickets]

Hi everyone, I'm expecting my first baby in April and have been looking into prams and strollers, but the further I get, the more confused I get! I'd be so grateful for any advice.

I live in an upper flat with a narrow hallway, don't drive and am likely to be travelling quite a bit on public transport relatively soon after the baby arrives (including alone longer distance on trains/planes).

I really like the Babyzen Yoyo (with newborn setting) for all these reasons but various people have advised me that it's a godsend to have a detachable carrycot so that you can easily remove the carrycot, with sleeping baby inside, once you get home, and use the carrycot for overnight stays as well.

What do other people do about overnight stays with a very small baby?

Does anybody carry the Babyzen 0+ up the stairs, complete with sleeping baby? Or use it as an overnight sleeping option? (Is that safe?)

I'm sort of thinking that it's great it fits on a plane as hand luggage, but what would I do about a place for the baby to sleep when we are at our destination? (I'm planning to use a Bednest or Snuzpod at home; don't think I trust myself to actually share a bed with baby). Would a stroller that also has a carrycot be better (like the Bugaboo Bee 3/5), or is it impossible/prohibitively pricey to take those on planes with the carrycot?

Other questions are whether anyone has happily used a world-facing stroller from birth? Or foregone pram entirely in the early months, in favour of a sling?

I think these are my main criteria:
Lightweight and compact
Suitable from birth
Foldable with relative ease (e.g. on a bus)
Detachable carrycot suitable for overnight stays (?)
Ideally available second hand (so not latest 2017 model)

I'd really welcome any advice from the shrewder and more experienced!

Personally, I prefer a lie flat seat to a carrycot because they are a pain in the backside to store, they tend not to have straps for baby and if you're folding it's another bit to lug about.

We used a Koodi pop up Moses basket for overnight stays. It folds away tiny so can be chucked in a rucksack.

As long as the seat lays flat you can absolutely put a newborn forward facing and I have many friends who exclusively use slings from birth to 3 because it suits their lifestyle better. I used ours a lot up until 18 months and found it a god send for public transport.

I live in a first floor flat. With Dc1 we had a pram with a separate carrycot and I liked it because I could carry her sleeping up the stairs. However, I stored the base of the buggy in the car boot outside. Another downside is that I kept carrying her up the stairs in the seat when she was much too heavy and did my back in.

With Dc2 we used a sling when he was a newborn and started to use a stroller from around six months. Generally I think this has worked better.

Dc2 never slept anywhere except my bed so we never needed any kind of travel cot.

If you want a stroller with a parent facing option, have a look at the baby jogger Vue.

I didn't realise how important it was to have parent facing until I had my baby. I hadn't really thought it mattered to much but I took advice from my mum and was so pleased I did. I used to walk a lot and adored gazing at her, it was also much easier to check she was ok. I didn't switch either of mine to world facing until about 18 months

My baby wakes up in the pram as soon as it stops moving so having a detachable carry cot wouldn’t really have made much of a difference. A good friend on mine has the baby zen yo yo and it’s great for smooth pavements/ shopping etc but isn’t so good for parks etc.
I was lent a baby Bjorn carrier and my baby liked it from around 2 months - he is very heavy in it now though. I also find it good to have a pram if I’m meeting people out so that we are both more comfortable. Before buying a sling I would wait until your baby is born and try some at your local sling library - it is a myth that all babies like all slings and they can be very expensive!

Oh for over night stays we just take his sleepyhead with us and he sleeps in that.

Thank you all - really helpful. Several points I hadn't thought of, too. I would certainly have gone out and bought a sling beforehand, so it's very useful to hear it's usually best to wait, and go to a sling library with the baby! Also, the koodi pop up moses basket looks great!

I'm in a similar boat to you rhyming, pushchairs have changed loads since I had DS1 11 yrs ago! Still love my caboo close carrier, so easy to use and comfy to wear. I'm liking the icandy orange I think because I like the carrycot option, but I only use public transport rarely.
Our baby will be sleeping in an amby baby hammock as all 4 big brothers and sisters did :) packs much smaller than a travel cot

Reading your first 2 paragraphs I was going to suggest the baby zen yoyo. It’s as near to perfect for what you describe as you’ll find (in my opinion).

Have a look at the baby jogger city mini. Folds very flat with genuine 1 hand fold so easy with limited space and public transport. Also an absolute dream to push and very sturdy.