First time mum pram/pushchair recommendations

[PinkLemonade25]

Hi all, first time parents here and getting quite overwhelmed with the amount of choice for pushchairs/prams/travel systems. We went for a JL appointment, which was useful, but have still come away feeling confused about what we really need. Here’s a little about us and hopefully someone here can relate and help us with some recommendations:

• We live in the suburbs of a big city in a small-ish house - space is tight
• We enjoy long walks in the countryside with the dog. We’re due a winter baby so need something robust that we can push over terrain/grass etc
• Equally we do spend time in the city and need something easy to manoeuvre around shops, cafes etc
• Hubby and I are quite tall so need something comfortable
• We don’t want something ‘fussy’ with lots of bits and pieces and attachments
• It has to be lightweight and easy to chuck in the boot. We were drawn to the uppababy Cruz2 + bassinet but I worry it’s a tad too heavy/bulky
• We’d like it to longevity and take us from newborn to toddler
• Happy to pay for the right system so open to all recommendations budget wise, but don’t want to buy stuff we don’t need

Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

I always recommend Cosatto (I promise I don't work for them!). Our original Wow travel system is all ready for DC3 whose arrival we are imminently awaiting, over 6.5yrs after we bought it for DC1.

Get a pram/system that suits the majority of your daily life. You won’t get it all in one system.
I bought a sling for the dog walking as the pram just didn’t cut it and was then caked in mud and I didn’t want it in the house or car.

Occaro from mamas and papas. It’s seen us through three kids already and a 4th on that way. And we got it second hand!

it’s unbreakable

I’d describe where we live in a similar way. Victorian terrace with a narrow hall. We have a Cruz 2 and love it- baby slept in the bassinet for the first few. Just sad that it won’t convert to a double so currently trying to decide if we can get away with a buggy board.

We have loved our Joie Versatrax, which we first used with a bassinet and then with the standard stroller attachment. We live beside a country park near London and the pram has been brilliant for muddy, off-terrain walks and for visits to London. It also has a very roomy storage basket, which is so useful. It folds down flat very easily and we often fly with it – though it goes in the hold, not overhead. It fits in our car boot easily, but we do need to remove the back wheels if we're trying to fit luggage in, too. So it might not be suitable if you have a smaller boot.

When I had babies/little ones, the one thing that I learned was that having swivel wheels at the front of the buggy made life so much easier than having fixed wheels - you can steer the buggy round the corners rather than having to lift the front wheels off the ground to turn it.

That said, my dses are 27, 29 and 31 so buggy technology may have come on since my day.

Congratulations on your impending arrival, @PinkLemonade25.

ICandy Peach is amazing, highly recommend but on the more expensive scale.