Lightweight, compact, London pram, from newborn

[abbaroony]

I am expecting my first baby and feel overwhelmed with the options for prams!

We are looking for:

• something compact - to fit in our car but also if we need to fold down on the tube / a bus and even just getting on escalators etc in tube stations
• something lightweight and easy to manoeuvre - mainly with public transport in mind - but still with good build quality - we don’t want it to feel too flimsy (which some of the mega lightweight - compact prams do to us)
• something that has a ‘proper’ carrycot, for newborns, not just a cocoon
• can be folded & pushed with 1 hand (non-negotiable)

Budget is not too much of a consideration, we just want to get the right pram for us!

If anyone can recommend something they think might work, I’d be really grateful!

Everyone I know who lives in. Entrap swears by the Babyzen Yoyo. Wouldn’t have worked for us as we needed something a bit more rugged but I was very jealous of the size and ease of pushing/folding! It’s even small enough folded to count as hand luggage on a plane.

No idea where ‘entrap’ came from - should have read ‘Central’!!

Bugaboo bee. Has all of the above. We are in a london flat and it's done well for two DC

Yup, my part of London is a sea of Babyzens. We didn't use it from birth (we had a Bugaboo Bee) but swapped to it after about a year and now I much prefer it.

Oh I think you do need 2 hands to fold actually. Otherwise definitely meets your spec.I also wanted a proper bassinet which is why I didn't go for the YOyo

Bugaboo bee. Although we used the cocoon from birth and it was perfect, didn't need the bassinet.

Bugaboo bee was perfect for me - I had a c section and could use immediately, can run it around on buses trains tubes etc. I needed two hands to take off bassinet and fold, but now DC has moved to the seat I can fold one handed. We have the 5 and I think the 6 might even be easier to fold.

Thank you all

It was the lack of proper carrycot on the babyzen yo-yo that put me off that one too @YukoandHiro, I hadn’t realised it wasn’t a one hand fold though. I would have probably got that after 6 months otherwise as it ticks so many boxes, and you’re right, they must be popular for a reason @Dollywilde!

I also didn’t realise the bee had the option of a bassinet rather than just the cocoon, so I will look into that, thank you @mutedrainbows.

I thought the Babyzen had a bassinet? We didn't get it but my SIL used it from birth and I'm sure they had a bassinet that clipped onto the frame.

Bugaboo Bee or Yoyo. In my part of south London these are the ones you see most.

We have a cybex mios - I’m small (under 5ft) so I really wanted something lightweight that was easy for me to lift and fold but like you felt the likes of the babyzen just felt a bit too flimsy for a newborn. You can get a carry cot but it only folds obviously with the seat pack. It has a very small basket underneath which is the only annoying thing but I guess that’s the compromise for something compact and light.

SW London here and nearly everyone i see has either the Bee or the YoYo. I have an uppababy vista v2, which i LOVE (huge basket as i don't have a car and massively sturdy for all the walking i do) but it fits none of your criteria and looks like an absolute tank when parked next to the bee or the yoyo at baby classes . I do get jealous when i see the yoyo's on the tube, taking about the third of the space of mine!

The babyzen has a proper carrycot

www.naturalbabyshower.co.uk/collections/babyzen-bassinets

The yoyo you need two hand to fold down the handle - but you can safely do this with the baby still strapped in. Then the end of the fold is very easy one handed. I live in another country, but one advantage is that they fit through the ordinary metro gates - so no need to go through the special pram and large baggage entrance. They are absolutely not made for off-roading and will feel flimsy if you try to take it on rough ground. On smooth surfaces they are excellent and extremely easy to steer. When if you need to physically carry a pram plus baby anywhere (in public transport where there’s no lift or to apartments with no lift) it is hugely important to have as light a pram as possible. Post birth your pelvic floor will thank you. Get a carrier that clips (so not a sling/wrap) and you can put the baby in that, fold up the pram and walk up whatever you need to/get on a packed bus.

Bugaboo Bee 6 - you can purchase it with or without carrycot. The babyzen yoyo is popular but very unstable on anything that isn't smooth concrete. Also in comparison to the Bee it is cheaply made. Check out the Bee here: pramsy.com/collections/bee-6 and use code MUMSNET5 for 5% off :-)