Do you actually need a carrycot ??

[Praisebe]

Looking at buying a travel system in the next few weeks but im so confused do you actually need one with a carrycot or is it ok just have the pushchair car seat combo like a Graco Fastfold ? The one we like is only £89.99 brand new for the car seat and pushchair in a green colour but i also like a really expensive one called the Icandy Peach 3 which i think would be a better investment since we want 2 close together in age. Im tempted by both but they are so different in everyway yet fit our lifestyle perfectly. If we used a car seat stroller combo baby would only be in car seat about 30mins each time and I've got a sling to use as well when we're out and about but even for 30mins im worried they will be squished and uncomfy in a car seat and there chin flops down onto their chest so there airways can get cut off ?
Gonna leave this here my hormones are making me ramble on

Yes, baby needs to lie flat. Most importantly for breathing, as you point out. Also for their spine. Unless the graco one lies flat without a carrycot. Some strollers do.

Babies die if left for too long in those car seats. I hate seeing people pushing them around shopping centres like they're prams.

www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/warning-over-babies-sleeping-in-car-seats/

Yes that's what i thought too but I've also read advice saying anything else than 45mins is suitable and on the advert for these car seat combos they all say from birth if used with the car seat which implies they are a safe system

I was just having exactly this conversation. I think the whole travel system thing is odd. Why are pushchair manufacturers selling "travel systems", the only point of which is to keep the baby in the car seat when it would otherwise have been transferred into a carrycot or lie flat insert? I just don't get it. When the baby isn't in a car, take it out of the car seat, don't put the car seat on wheels. That link shows effects on babies' breathing and oxygen levels well under 45 minutes.

Which is a long way of saying, don't be too influenced by their adverts!

I have a icandy peach, and wish I had bought it with my first and then converted into the double. But, I'm not sure that it's great for car users - not the easiest or lightest to fold and put in a boot. I don't have a car so not an issue for me.

To be honest I bet you would end up buying them both anyway. I have a travel system style one (uppa baby vista) as I have two 18 months apart and a lightweight one for each child for when me and husband are both out with them. Sorry not much help!!!

Why Do they sell them if there not safe think I'll just go with the Icandy or something similar with a fast one hand fold and a carry cot instead

No. Ive not had one for either of my children. I just got the car seat and the normal pram attachment. It was a Mamas and Papas Urbo2 and the normal pram attachment could lie completely flat anyway so I just used it from birth for both children. It could face both forward and back as well. Ive had it for 4 years now and its been great from birth up to 2.5 years old for my son and am using it for my newborn daughter at the moment. The carrycots are just pointless faff and dont last very long. A waste of money imo. Just buy a pram which can lie flat so it suitable from birth.

No. 6dc & never had a carrycot.

Some pushchairs lie completely flat so the seat can be used from birth. I believe the Icandy is a bucket seat so doesn't lie flat and can only be used from 6 months. With Pushchairs like the Bugaboo Bee, you do not need to buy the full carrycot and instead can buy the Cocoon whilst they are tiny. I believe Egg pushchairs have an insert you can buy to put in the seat to make it suitable. Technically they are safe to use with a car seat, just not for any longer than 30 mins at first. And remember if you are driving somewhere and the journey takes 15 mins, then you could only use the pushchair for 15 mins after that.

I wouldn’t buy one again. DD got chucked around on cobbles/bumping up the curb/any rough surface in her iCandy carrycot. We also bought a babyzen YoYo that has a newborn nest (flat but with straps) or we used our lie flat car seat on the buggy frame. If you want something like the icandy I’d definitely recommend getting a lie flat car seat over the carrycot.

Nope. We had a mama and papa's zoom. Both my babies outgrew the carry cot by 8 weeks. We either had to use car seat or pushchair which thankfully lay flat.

I found pram shopping confusing too! So many options and you don’t know yet what features you will appreciate the most.

We initially thought we wanted a travel system with car seat combo but ended up prioritising a good off road capability over car seat compatibility and chose a Mountain Buggy Urban.

So glad we did. The carrycot is brilliant, we use it just like a little cot and means the baby can sleep safely wherever we go. Great for weather protection too (shady in sun, high sides prevent draughts and it’s easy to cover in rain. Can take it off the base if needed and carry it indoors as a temporary cot for an afternoon. It’s big too, our baby is 3.5 months old and there’s still plenty of room to grow. We were worried about him rattling around a bit when on bumpy surfaces but we just put a folded muslin with rolled edges in to support his head, which works surprisingly well.

I agree I hate seeing the baby all compressed in the car seat and want him in it the least amount of time possible. If we’d bought a car seat combo, I think we’d only have found it useful to attach the car seat a handful of times so far so pretty useless for us.

Other people may have completely different experience and love their car seat combos but we are glad we didn’t buy one.

I loved having a carrycot. Didn’t have one for dd and ended up wishing I had the biggest reading bring was that if she fell asleep in the pram I’d have to wake her up to take her outdoor clothes off. A carrycot is good protection from the elements so they don’t need big padded suits or anything. With both ds’s had a carrycot justvpopped a hat on some extra blankets the carrycot cover and off we went. When we got home or inside somewhere hat off easy to adjust blankets and baby slept.
They did all daytime naps in the carrycot in the house so they were rarely disturbed. Really was a godsend third time round when the other two had school so ds2 could just sleep and be wheeled out the house for pick up time.

Travel systems are really useful if baby is asleep and you're popping into asda for a pint of milk. Not much more. Guidance for car seats is until baby can hold and move their head confidently they should not be in the car seat for longer than 2 hours total a day, in 30 min stints.

I have the icandy peach 2 and used the carry cot until DD grew put of it at 4 months. You can tip the pushchair seat back to lie flat, although you may feel the need for a cover or insert as the chair is quite solid. I've known people who have done without the carry cot but out blankets in the pushchair seat so baby is comfortable whilst lying flat. Maybe having some rolled up at the sides will be useful too.

You dint need a carry cot, but the baby does need to be able to lie flat. Some prans can lie flat, some can’t. I used a carrycot on a pram with DS, but a cocoon with a lie flat stroller with dd.

A travel system is useful for transferring a sleeping baby from a car onto wheels for a short trip out.

Never had a carrycot. Just a car seat, a lie-flat buggy and a sling. So much easier.

I found the carry cot off our bugaboo really useful, easy to lift off the pram and keep baby asleep if you've been out, and good to carry sleeping baby upstairs too. You can sell them for close to purchase price second hand so I think it's worth getting one, especially if you're planning on two close in age. You might be best looking for a travel system that can be adapted to two seats

We had the carry cot part, but ds was tiny so just having him In the pushchair part (laid down flat) wouldn't have worked, because he was too small for the harness to be any good/safe.

If you like the £89.99 one, why don't you look at just a separate pram, there's a huge leap between that model and the icandy.

We never bothered putting the car seat on the frame because it was a fucking nightmare, but having a car seat that snapped in and out of the car was handy.

Agree a travel system is great for short trips but no you wouldn't keep your baby in a car seat for a long period of time. Babies need to lie flat, whether that's in a carrycot of buggy that lies flat.

My two were both in a carrycot and both outgrew it by 8/9 weeks but I wouldn't have changed it for the world - if anything it was handy at home because we didn't use a moses basket, just a larger crib for bedtime. Currently pregnant with third and due to age gap between youngest have bought a double that converts to single. When we use the carrycot we'll need to use a buggyboard which is fine, however if we have a longer trip out then I'd rather use the 2 buggy seats, so I have bought a special insert for the baby which will provide additional head support and coziness (babies like to be cosy and in a tight space).

As an aside - why do manufacturers sell things that aren't safe - well they don't generally speaking. However there are many baby products on the market that need to be used in conjunction with various guidelines, of which are not available with the products but that you find out about by researching. There are however some products on the market which haven't met certain standards to be deemed "certified" (for lack of a better word) but have passed certain manufacturer tests and is down to user choice (eg I believe the Perfect Prep machine is not endorsed by WHO & other relevant parties). And if you're not sure then posting on MN can be enormously helpful while you figure it all out.

I work in a pram shop and know exactly which prams you are talking about!

They are both so different!

Pros of the Graco - cheap, you won’t mind if it gets damaged, easy to fold into a small hallway/car etc.
Cons - the car seat isn’t great, the quality is questionable & it can’t be converted into a double.

The iCandy Peach 3 - this is a gorgeous pram, really high quality, it’s probably the one of the nicest we sell. You will need the carrycot though as the seat isn’t lie flat. You can get a really good car seat with these too (any brand), have you seen the Kiddy & Joie lie-flat ones so you can use them for longer as a travel system?
Cons - this has been discontinued so you won’t be able to find the second smaller carrycot & Seat you will need in the shops now, let alone in 2 years! You might find them second hand but not in the colours you need.

Carrycots can be great if approved for overnight sleeping as they can be used for daytime downstairs naps & when staying at grandparents etc. But if you and your partner are tall might not lay too long. The new ICandy Peach carrycot is huge!

Have you looked at the egg (you can use a newborn insert & it converts into a double)? The Silver Cross Wave & ICandy Orange come with both carrycot & Seat unit included & can be used in tandem mode.

Message me if you have any more questions, not trying to sell you anything, I genuinely love helping people find the right pram for them!

@LulusMiniEgg sorry to jump in but would you mind advising me of the pros and cons of the icandy orange for twins please? Your previous post came across so helpful re the peach so sorry if this is cheeky!

You don’t if the pushchair goes flat. I never had one.

I forgot to mention, I have a Bugaboo Cameleon which has a carrycot included. The carrycot on the Cameleon is very big and lasted my 91st centile son the full six months. I found it very worthwhile. Handy for if you're going out for dinner ect and baby is asleep. I had a January baby so he lookes lovely and snuggly in there. Although I also had the car seat attachment I only used this a handful of times.

No, two kids later it is still sat unused and gathering dust. As long as the buggy lies flat you really don’t need it.

Why Do they sell them if there not safe
Because profit is more important to some companies. There's loads of products which are not recommended by HCPs still for sale eg sleepyhead type things, cot bumpers, perfect prep machines.

I found the carrycot really useful. My DD screamed and screamed until she was hoarse everytime she was put in her cat seat (Maxi Cosi stage 0 one) so there is no way I could have pushed her round in it. We upgraded to the next stage car seat very quickly. I had a second hand Mamas and Papas Sola2 system but i bought second hand, it was so bulky we had downgraded to a City buggy as soon as we could.

Very few of the systems that can be doubles are really suitable for a baby and an older child because there isn’t much space. We have a City Select which is a good size and can be used as a single, but the best is the Bugaboo Donkey as it has lots of room and can be made narrower for use as a single. Like the iCandy they’re very expensive but have a look for second hand.

I also really like the Joolz Geo which can be converted into a double and it’s a good size. The Oyster Max is a cheaper version similar to the iCandy, a bit smaller overall but that’s good when you just have one baby!

I wouldn’t worry too much about the second child when purchasing though - you don’t know when you’ll have them, you can always use a sling for the baby, or a buggy board if the older one is a toddler.