Do you even need a pushchair?

[JamDad]

Hi all,

Baby is still a bump, so I’m just trying to determine what we really need.

A car seat is essential.

We don’t really go shopping and buy most things online, so we’re mainly going to be between car and people’s houses, with a bit of strolling in the park.

Can we carry a tiny one in one of those papooses and not need a push chair?

Or maybe we just need a car seat and a very lightweight stroller?

What do people think?

Like someone else mentioned my dd didn’t weigh enough at first for the sling and wrap I’d bought. So yes definitely in those first few weeks I needed the pram, would have gone stir crazy having to stay in for three weeks or only use the car.
Then for me the sling was lovely for short trips, nipping to shops, off road walks. But I found shopping trips easier with pushchair, I never managed enjoyably eating with dd in the sling, I found making sure she was warm (autumn baby so winter time) but not too warm in shops etc more difficult in sling, found crowds (Christmas shopping) difficult in sling and didn’t want to risk walking in ice etc with dd in sling.
I’m only petite which I think contribute to some of my issues. Although I didn’t find carrying dd particularly heavy I did feel cumbersome having dd on my front and a backpack on my back. Struggled with coats too and maybe slightly vain, but what I wore in general. On top of breastfeeding the sling added another mix to sutible fashion for me.

I do know people who’ve not used a buggy at all though. A few mums from breastfeeding group and they managed fine. One used to have baby in front wrap and toddler on her back! I was amazed but it worked beautifully for her.

You do not need to buy an expensive pushchair. They come on sale regularly on local facebook groups, at NCT second hand sales, and a new stroller that reclines flat can be found new for £60. www.argos.co.uk/product/7033094

Bought a second push chair. Used it once then ditched it. Slings and back packs proved so much more convenient for toilets, cafés, trains etc. And it was a good workout for me

Goingonandon(etc) DH and I decided to look at something similar in the Mothercare showroom. The assistants actually got the manager to come out and rebuke us for even considering it

Honestly, people do horrified looks at the idea of using something like that rather than with a carrycot add-on. You can of course just ignore them, but how many people do you know who have used something like that from birth?

LisasimpsonsBFF I really haven't seen any good second hand deals actually, despite looking. £500 RRP models go for say £350 on Gumtree in London, and without the warranty. Plus you still need to get v expensive add-ons, but I will keep on looking.

Haven't RTFT yet so others may have made this point but you may be able to get away with it if, as others have said, you wear them in a sling from birth so get used to their increasing weight.

Then, from when they are walking, you don't need to carry them so much anyway.

My aunt and uncle got rid of my cousin's pushchair when she was 1/basically as soon as she started walking, as they were living in Shanghai at the time and they found the pushchair more of a hindrance than a help in city living. By the time we took her to Legoland, when she was aged just over 3, she was a BRILLIANT walker. We barely had to pick her up all day (and anyone who has been to Legoland knows there is a LOT of walking involved). I'd x100 rather have that than these 3-4-year-olds that you see still being pushed around in a pushchair rather than walking.

I bought an expensive travel system pram/car seat base/ push chair when pregnant with dc1 and barely used it her as she screamed when put down flat in the pram, so I carried her everywhere in my arms! She could sit securely by 6 months and I bought a bargain umbrella fold which she used.

I actually started using the travel system bulky push chair more once I had dc2 when dc1 was 2, for dc1 when she was tired, as I mostly used a sling for dc2. In between I had a triple push chair though as I child minded and had 3 under 2 during office hours for 14 months :)

I'd say that there is no need to buy a push chair in advance - play it by ear and buy one if you find you need one. They're hardly a hard to find item! You might well not need a pram, and just buy a cheap umbrella fold push chair once your DC can sit unaided.

My 18 month old has only just done his first steps in the last few weeks. It'll be a while before he's able to walk outside.

With the benefit of hindsight, and if it had only been me, I wouldn’t have bothered with our fancy travel system, and just gone with the cheapo fold up buggy we got when DD went to nursery as I much preferred the sling. However, DH and DGPs needed the pram from birth - and I needed them to be able to take her out! A lot depends on where you live too - driving vs public transport etc

Op you seem to be presuming you'll always be together as a family, what happens when you or your wife are on your own with baby? Presumably one of you is taking parental leave and one returning to work almost immediately, is the at home parent never going to leave the house? Honestly don't under-estimate the amount of "stuff" you need to carry around. This can be really hard with baby in a carrrier

In my opinion yes you do need a pushchair, I had one and a baby sling carrier, when I was pregnant I thought lo would always be in a sling carrier but I had a c section and had a lot of pain after so used the pram more, I couldn't have carried her everywhere, congratulations on your pregnancy xx

I have twins of 11 months and carry them in a sling rather than use the buggy. Loads quicker to be out and about!

"Stuff" isn't that bad. My DD was undiagnosed egg intolerant so prone to poo explosions. Could still get all necessary stuff in a town sized rucksack, including clean clothes for me.

Found sling way easier pottering to local shops and in bad weather as I had her inside my coat (I used a zip us in panel) and when I got inside just opened my coat rather than needing to get layers off.

You can get summer weight soft structured carriers too, I will admit that stretchy wraps can get warm.

I have never been interested in walks where a pram would be possible - woods and off road tracks please! Tramping around a tarmac path is only really tolerable if running with others or for a specific pace goal. Every parent and every child is different but if you are into off road walks (stiles, kissing gates, narrow paths rather than country park accessible routes!) a pushchair will be less useful than the right sling!

i think you can buy a car seat that has wheels on it i can't remeber the name of it,but the wheels fold up underneath it and it fully functions as a car seat

Mind you a baby wearing coat for winter will cost more than a cheap lie flat pushchair.

I had a brilliant babywearing coat, from Diddymoss I think, with a detachable panel which I used with dc2 and 3. It cost at least £100 but that's probably 50p per wear.

Dc2 especially pretty much lived in a sling every single day from 10 days old (I had a cesarean) til he was 8 months old, and was an autumn baby. It was great having my hands free for my toddler, and the baby wearing coats actually look decent, you can tell it's a baby under the coat not an extra 3 stone... You can also move the panel to accommodate a toddler on your back.

Slings aren't cheap either especially if you have a bit of trial and error finding the right one for you. My babies were big newborns and I preferred woven wraps, but a friend gave me one which was a panel of material with ties for dc3 which was also great. There are so many types though. I had a horrible structured one with dc1 which cut into my shoulders and gave me backache - what are they called? The type baby shops sell? I didn't know about wraps and thought that was what baby carriers were. That was £40 in the bin.

Zip us in panel about £30 if you already have coats you like. Specialist baby wearing stuff way more expensive though!

fuckedoff actually I'd forgotten but you're quite right - we live in a commuter town close enough to London that London results came up in our radius on gumtree, and the prices were shockingly higher in London than in our town - people were selling the pram we got for £140 for more like £4-500, and I agree with you that I wouldn't have paid that for second hand. If you have friends or family who live elsewhere it might be worth having a quick look in their area. We did also buy a complete set (frame, carrycot, pushchair, cover) so that we didn't have to buy an add-ons.

I hoped not to need a buggy for ds, but then I got bad SPD and could barely walk, couldn't add baby weight, and couldn't drive or get a baby seat out of a car for six months, so buggy was a godsend.
When dd was born I'd weaned ds off the buggy and didn't use it for about 6 weeks from her birth, but then found it was handy for all the clobber that came with two children and errands, and it was nice to put her down sometimes. I used a carrier until she was 8 months but then she liked pulling hair and punching me in the face, so buggy it was.

Barely used a pushchair till 18 months. Ds hates it but loved the sling.

Hard to say on the sling/pram thing. I've had one child hate slings and love prams and two boys that hated prams and loved slings. So I always had both to have options. Sometimes when out in the pram if they cry and you can't settle them, grabbing the sling from the basket can be really handy. Newborns just want to be close to you sometimes not laid on their backs when they have a lot of wind and stuff, and if they have reflux then it can be even more uncomfortable.

Pushchair is so important - you won't want to be carrying a heavy 15 month about, especially when the weather is hot! You could get a small one though, it doesn't have to be a massive great travel system. We had so many pushchairs, I kept seeing others that I liked but in the end I wished I had just kept the one I liked best (McClaren XLR) all the way through and could have saved a fortune!

I find all this "YOU MUST HAVE A PRAM!!!!" stuff a bit silly. I'm a wheelchair user and will have no option but to use a sling as I can't manoeuvre the chair and a pram. I'll make it work

Thinking back 25 years no way could we have managed without the pushchair - we had a couple. A heavyweight one for long walks and an aluminium one for travel. We used the lightweight one until DD was 4! Lugging babies about in car seats does not help pelvic floors! Sling was great to start with but as babies get heavier they need to be comfortable and so do mums.

One issue I hadn't thought of was how much milk babies bring back up! DS loved the sling but he was forever bringing up milk and drenching me and the wrap. In a buggy it was just a quick mop up with a muslin but in the sling it was a total pain as I would be covered, he would be covered and it would be covered and I would have to unpeel the whole thing and sling it in the wash!

abigboydidit I just used a towelling nappy on my shoulder after a breastfeed.