Please use small words - newbie!

[Mississippilessly]

I wondered if you could please direct me/give me some ideas about what kind of pram would be best for us. I am expecting my first baby in September.
Thus far I basically know:

• We won't get the use out of a travel system as we have little need for the car seat to attach to the chassis. Therefore I think we are looking at car seats that can grow with the baby more? Is that right?
• I need some decent wheels as I suspect we will be walking with it quite a bit
• Ideally it would have the capacity to go into a pram suitable for two as the plan (watch this space...) would be to have another one quite quickly.

I think 2bh we will use a sling a lot so that may feature in our logic.
Budget is negotiable.

Any pointers you could give me I would be most most grateful. Thank you!

Why do you not think you'll use the car seat on the chassis? I used it so much when DS was born. Meant not needing to move him out of seat if he was sleeping?

Don’t you own a car OP?

I do own a car. But given the limits on how long a newborn can be in a car seat I can't see how much use I will get from it. I have a shop a 5 minute walk away, drs surgery the same, park less than 2...

Uppa baby vista. It's fab! I'm now using it as a double with a nearly two year old and a newborn and would recommend. Good but wheels for off roading too. Massive basket underneath. Excellent sunshade hidden in the hood. Comfortable seat from baby to toddler. Good recline for when baby is sleeping. Can't rate it highly enough.

Now I used mine a lot but I had to drive to most places, even parks, library, coffee shops, playgroups but then I’m the type who would feel completely isolated if I could take LO anywhere in the car. The travel systems are very useful but lots of people do manage without them.

Up to you OP but I definitely valued my travel system. I have a Venicci and my DS is still in the seat and he is over 1!

If you want two kids fairly close together I would definitely get a baby type car seat. If you get one of the following - maxi cosi, cybex, joie, kiddy - then you can get adaptors for almost any kind of pushchair later if you change your mind and feel like it would be useful. The exception is the Britax pushchairs, which only take a Britax car seat.

Yes, the limits are small and you wouldn't want to overuse it, but it is really handy to be able to bundle them up in the seat when it's cold before you leave the house (you can't put bulky coats on under the car seat straps) or to be able to bring the seat inside if they are sleeping in it, especially once they get past newborn and the limit increases to 2 hours. Having it doesn't mean you need to use it all day.

I rarely used the car seat on the pushchair frame and could easily have done without it, so I agree it's not necessarily a good investment.

How do you feel about second hand OP? You could get a really good single that way and it wouldn't matter so much if DC2 came along fairly quickly. A single isn't such a bad idea anyway as at some point DC1 wouldn't need pushing any more and you'd need a single for just DC2.
I have a 2yr gap between mine. I got around 6 months use out of my double before going back to the single with a buggy board for DC1.

Personally I'm a massive Mountain Buggy fan as we do a lot of off road walking. They aren't the prettiest of pushchairs but they are hardy and have kept going through thick mud when my friend's Bugaboos have ground to a halt
I have a Swift (single) that was bought as a far-from-mint second hand and is still going strong (DC2 is 22mo), albeit looking a bit tatty now, having only needed some new bearings last year (Cheap! £15 plus 30mins to fit).
I had the Duo for our double as it has much bigger tyres compared to the Duet (an awesome double/single to double), which was also bought second hand and eventually sold on for what I paid for it. Bargain!

I have never used a car seat on my pram. Both of mine have been in a Britax Dualfix from birth.

If you're planning two then I recommend the Uppababy Vista. Great as a single and very easy to covert to a double. I have 22 months between mine and it was great for the first 6 months after my DD was born. I have now sold it and purchased a bugaboo bee 5 with a buggy board as my DS was outgrowing his seat. The bugaboo will last DD until she is 4 and is much lighter and smaller than the Uppababy was, whilst it was sturdy, functional and great as a double it was a bit of a wagon and filled my entire boot!

I didn’t have a travel system and never felt the need for it; I wouldn’t have wanted DD in a car seat for long and if I popped into the supermarket I would put the car seat in the trolley
I love my bugaboo but it wasn’t cheap

Vista or icandy peach - but the peach costs so much to convert to a double you may as well buy a single and then a double!! The vista seems more like an actual single. Baby jogger city select is another, but it’s quite bulky for a single.

All of these will take an infant car seat, so you don’t need to make that decision now. I never used mine on the chassis anyway.

I think I could have done without a carseat on the frame, but I rarely use a car as I live in the middle of town.

I have the icandy orange and overall I'm really happy with it. It converts to a double, is very easy to push, the carrycot is suitable for overnight sleeping so we didn't bother with a Moses basket. The basket underneath is huge which I love and the hood is more substantial than the icandy peach.

Oh yeah, forgot about the icandy orange! That one sounds great as it has a built in place for your toddler to stand so you don’t need a buggy board.

Wow thanks so much everyone!
We have no problem looking at second hand. I have my 20 week scan on Thursday, hopefully all will be well and we can go and have a look at some suggestions.
Thanks again.

Yes, I must admit I wonder at these super expensive prams which claim to save money as they convert - I wonder whether it wouldn't be cheaper simply to buy a separate single and double, and sell the single later if you want since by the time DC1 outgrows the buggy completely, DC2 will be fine in a smaller, cheaper single.

Most people IME get the big travel system for a baby and then a more lightweight umbrella fold buggy later. I did use both until DS outgrew them but if money was short to buy the double - no contest.