Do I need a proper pram?

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Or will a from birth stroller with a footmuff be fine?

Money's pretty tight at the moment I can't see why we need a bassinet plus I'm going to be using public transport a lot so I think an umbrella fold would be easier but I don't know if I'm missing something because everybody else seems to go for proper prams?

Argos have several suitable from birth buggies. Cuggi Mapple at £59.99 - it comes with apron style cover which make it more bulky to fold. Or for £39.99 without apron and get a more snuggly cosy toes.

I would have loved a carrycot but they are not essential and if money is tight are an unnecessary expense. A sling is all you really need... you could wait until your baby has been born and you see what everyday life is like then before the expense of a buggy. Ideally you could hang on until your baby is cheapo umbrella fold buggy size .

I had a lie-flat Jane for my first, but I felt the baby was very exposed at that height when dogs were approaching (and I like dogs). For my second I bought a secondhand pram for the first few months because of that uneasiness. (Turned out to be a blessing as DD2 had reflux and the pram allowed the cot part to be angled up.)

DC2 is 5 months now and I can count the number of times he's been in the pram on both hands. Honestly we just use the sling the majority of the time, and if I'm out with both and DD isn't walking, we take her small yoyo rather than the double buggy. He isn't really a fan and likes to be held so it wasn't originally the intention but it has been ok. The few times I've needed to put him down, dentist or physio appointments, he's just sat in his car seat for 20 mins so it's been fine. I expect as he gets bigger, we'll use the double pram more as DD is only just 2 so quite little. You could probably do without until 6 months, then get a normal stroller. We got a stretchy wrap off amazon for £15 ish and as long as you tie it properly, really tightly, it's no strain on your back and he's a big baby!

We have a joke nitro stroller that I got for travelling on train, trips away etc. DS is 9m old (and is small for his age) but the straps on the nitro are a big big for him. He's also forward facing and quite low to the ground in the joie.

I know theoretically as lie flat they are ok form birth but DS would have been too small for months and months after he was born, and I wouldn't be happy with him being facing away from me and so close to the ground.

If you're going to go for a stroller I'd maybe look at other models. It's a shame about the lack of second hand prams near you! Keep your eyes peeled for one though as they do often pop up! Congratulations.

Other option as well if whether you have considered using a sling whilst baby is very small? There's often sling libraries that run where you can get advice and try slings out either for free or for a small fee.

Ask on freecycle for something substantial to get you through the first few months?

I hated using slings and something better than a buggy is far better for the first few months.

The P3 or silver cross 3D rearface at birth and are usually cheap 2nd hand?

My Nan has this superstition that you shouldn't bring a pram in the house before baby is born.
She always buys the grandchildren first pram and school shoes.
So I had to get something in the mean time, car seat on eBay £10 pram for £15 fb market place.

Also I had a sling.
I don't believe in spending to much or getting loads of baby bits, but a pram they can laid down is better. Go secondhand and offer a lower price, also people should give you priority on the bus with a little one

We just used a lie flat buggy that was suitable from birth, plus a sling. No bassinet. We use public transport a lot, and it was one of the lightest we found, weighing less than 6kg so it was easy for me to carry down stairs etc, up on to a train, on my own. I didn't find it problematic to strap my DD in, and I never had any problems with dogs getting close or with her being close to the ground. We didn't have a car seat, as we don't drive, so the buggy was best for times that a sling wasn't suitable. Ours came with a footmuff, but we didn't use it for the first few months (summer baby) - blankets were fine.

We've only very rarely needed to fold the buggy, even on public transport (we're in London, so if the buggy space is full it's only a short wait for the next bus). Ours isn't an umbrella fold, but still a compact fold, and although it needs two hands it can be folded very quickly.

I wouldn't have wanted my 5lb8oz DS in a Joie Nitro. Most of the reviews say it's a pretty bumpy ride. It was convenient for the first 4 months to put him into the carrycot on something with a bit of stability in the wheels, especially for longer days out. I know you don't want a removable car seat but now mine has outgrown his and I have to wake him up to get him into the buggy for supermarket etc. I miss it!

I wouldn't have been without my Cosatto travel system. 10 month old is currently napping in it in the living room.

I have four sons, aged 13, 11, 9 and 1 month.

13 year old - travel system that did everything but go through a door properly. It was super wide, heavy, clunky and very impractical we were always in the car and if I wasnt I was on public transport. My son grew out of the cot part at about 6 weeks old and I ended up going through several cheap strollers... instead of pushing round a huge clunky one. Regretted not spending the few hundred pound on a better stroller instead!

DS 2 - got a Maclaren since I learnt from past experience and laid it back with a footmuff it lasted him until he was able to walk! However I didnt like him not facing me and he looked so tiny and uncomfortable to be facing that way from newborn.

DS 3 - Phil and Teds as DD2 still sometimes needed a pushchair if walking long distances so liked the idea it could look like a single if the double wasnt in use. It looked super comfy for a newborn even though he wasnt facing me. But I sold it when he was about 6 months old, it was too big, heavy and unpractical and bought a mamas and papas stroller instead.

DS4 is only a month old and there is nearly a 10 year gap... so I forgot my experience with prams and went and bought the MyBabiie mb400 travel system. It is nice and light, easy to manuever with just one hand, however at the rate he is growing the cot attachment will be redundant soon and wish I had learnt my lesson!

I think the BEST idea would be a world/parent facing stroller which fully reclines. But I didn't learn!

Yes stroller is fine its all I ever used

I just had a sling and later an umbrella-fold stroller. Didn’t have a pram.

If I had my time again I’d just get a 2nd hand sling and 2nd hand MacLaren. I think MacLaren do a newborn insert for some of their strollers.