Travel System or Not

[fuzed]

Hi guys, new to the forum, wifey is expecting, she's due end of Jan.

I've been looking for prams/car seats etc, I know NOTHING about anything at the moment.

I've seen the cosatta giggle 2 travel system and like it, but she keeps finding other random ones and sending me links to them.

What we need is a decent car seat.

A decent pram as well.

And then a cot (travel) to begin with, as we will be back an forth for the first year, her family are up north and were down south.

anyway, any recommendations on prams/travel systems. I know mothercare have the offer on the giggle 2 set, which is a very good deal.
I'm not sure what else I need to ask.

If you'll be traveling a lot then make sure it's something that fits in your boot with plenty of space for everything else.

Travel systems are handy but the only bonus is that the car seat can be lifted in and out of the car if needed and clicked into the wheels, ideally the baby shouldn't be in the car seat for long periods anyway as they need to be lying flat.

Try some out at a local store, Mothercare, John Lewis, Smyths and Toys R Us used to have a good stock to play with to see what suits although remember that you'll be using it on rougher ground and it will be heavier with a toddler in so try to factor that in.

On the travel cot front, we had a Koodi pop up travel cot which was fantastic as it was so light and compact. We had a 200 mile train journey 4x a year to visit family and this was no bother to lug with us.

Congratulations! Most buggies, with the notable exception of strollers rarely suitable for newborns, are ‘travel systems’ i.e. you can dock the car seat onto the frame. You often need to buy adapters separately though.

The main things to consider are; where will you use it e.g. only on town pavements or lots of off-roading country walks, boot space in your car, if you need to use public transport and your budget. Then go and play with some in store (John Lewis is good) and see what you like.

If your pram has a carrycot it might suitable for overnight sleeping so could potentially work for visiting family. That said, they outgrow the carrycot very quickly so a good travel cot will probably be a good investment; we have a Graco one bought from Amazon.

thank you for the replies... the pram/buggy's will be used when shopping, so almost 99.9% urban usage.

We'll look at a pram/carrycot combo, and maybe get a car seat separately then.

Any suggestions on what is a good range brand for car seats and prams?

I use the joie chrome travel system. I got a good deal for it from mothercare where I got the pram frame and pushchair, carry cot (which I used for downstairs naps) and car seat that attaches to the pram using the adapters provided. I went into mothercare to get an idea of what I liked and then took my husband the next day to see what he liked as well. It's always a good idea to try out different prams to see what feels comfortable to use, to put up and down, if the handles can be different heights for different users (I'm very short).

For a crib/cot I used the Chico lullago crib in our room. It was a travel cot, so easy to fold and to take with us to visit families, but had a good mattress as well for daily use. Mine was the old version so could only be used up to about 6 months, but the newer ones can be unzipped to make it lower and can be used up to 18-24 months.

If you're travelling long distances you definitely want to look into a lie flat car seat. You will need to be careful in checking that it does lie flat in the car and not just when in a travel system. Cybex cloud q for example lies flat outside of the car but not in it. I believe Jane does one that lies flat in the car.

If you get that you can also do away with purchasing a carrycot for your pram.

When purchasing the travel system just think if you're going to keep it for years or switch to a lighter stroller after 6 months which most people seem to do.

Also, go to shops and make a shortlist. Around black friday/pre & post christmas you'll find loads of deals.

The Kiddy Evo lunafix might be worth a look. It reclines in and out of the car plus unlike many lay flat seats it doesn't lay across the seats so takes up less space.

If you wanted to add it to a pushchair you'd just need to check the compatibility tool on the page to see what it fits :)

DD had the Kiddy lie flat car seat- would definitely recommend.

I've got so much to learn!!! Pretty scary, and exciting at the same time!!! Thank you for your input so far all! :)

I saw this and remembered this thread
bit.ly/2CuEHmI