London mum to be - which pushchair should I buy?

[FMCOH]

Hi
Im expecting our first baby in July and so understandably have started to look at pushchair options.

I dont drive but do live near a large number of shops and other amenities such as restaurants so am keen on walking a lot with baby.

So many options, some of which seem rather expensive. Any suggestions for products that are good for walking on pavements, manoveuring around shops, while also good for the occassional bus and tube?

Willing to spend money on the right product. Ive been looking at the Quinny Buzz 3, as i like the baby facing option and also the ease at which it seems to collapse and pop up again.

Thanks in advance,
Fi

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Hello,

We've noticed this thread is quite old now, and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing buggies and travel systems to help new parents find the right pushchair for their LO.

Read our round of the best pushchairs for the latest recommendations and advice.

Hope that helps!

MNHQ

Bee, definitely. Have a Techno and a Bee and the Bee was infinitely easier to get on buses with.

Hi Everyone
I am also a London first time mum-to-be, due in May, and looking for similar advice!

I think my pushchair requirements are pretty similar, with the addition that we will be travelling to Canada for a wedding about two months after the baby arrives, so need a pushchair that will travel easily.

I am assuming that carrycot attachments for pushchairs cannot be taken as luggage on flights, but that car-seat attachments can be checked in. I'd be grateful if anyone with experience of this could confirm if that's true?

In which case, I assume we should probably either (a) look for a pushchair that lies flat and can therefore be used from birth without the need for a separate carrycot attachment, and is easy to take on holiday; or (b) get one with a carrycot attachment for regular use, but leave the carrycot bit at home for the holiday and make do with just the carseat attachment while we're away.

If anyone has been in a similar situation and can offer advice or recommendations, particularly as to whether it is sensible to plan your entire pushchair purchase around one two-week holiday, it would be most welcome!

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions!

bugaboo cam provided you don't need to fold it often
or maclaren techno

you can check in buggies and car seats
I would recommend a travel bag for your buggy though to protect it from baggage handlers

Ahhhhhh poor you, are you just scrolling through endless pages of things that look the same, and.... how much!!
My experience of buggies on the tube and buses in London is a nightmare, I think the Buzz is easy but a bit bulky and doesn't fold down with the seat attached I don't think, which would be awful on the bus.
A sling or a backpack maybe for the bus/tube until it's old enough to just sit in a little umbrella folding thing, and then just get whatever you like for out and about. I like my abc - 3 tec a lot and it faces both ways. I'd definitely get one that faces both ways, my first would never sit in his one that didn't face me, and I also found it frustrating on busy noisy streets when he was older that I couldn't here him cause he was facing away.

Thanks for all the helpful tips, and a BIG apology to FMCOH for jumping onto her post with my query. I've never really used a forum before and not sure of the etiquette - whether it's best to tack my question onto a similar query or start a new but almost identical thread? However, I'm sure some more experienced posters will point me in the right direction if I have inadvertently done the wrong thing and caused offence!

Sounds like the Bee with car seat attachment might be a good option for me, as we will be using the car on weekends for longer journeys, as well as public transport for general out-and-about stuff.

Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for the suggestions to date. It looks like the bee is a very popular choice!
Useful to know about the car seat as well as my husband does drive, so for trips to visit friends and family, supermarket run, etc I should check out the dimensions for car seat, and folded buggy in the boot.

MarquiseDeMerteuil do offence taken, I'm new as well so we are all in it together!

Ive just been reading some reviews on mothercare for the Bee as well. All very positive, just need to shop around for the right deal, but plenty of time for that!

Thanks again,
Fi

I'm a londoner and, like you, don't drive. Consequently have do a lot of walking and bus-ing. I also go on regular car journeys with family.
If I'd known what I know now (ds is 19 months) I would have got the bee before he was born. Easy to get on and off bus, fits easily into the pram area on London buses and easily fits into small car boots.
I've heard good things about the babystyle oyster too.
All the best with your hunt!

PRINT OUT AND TAKE WITH YOU!
13. Access and carriage of passengers in wheelchairs, buggies and pushchairs
13.1.1. We want to make travel on our bus and Underground services easier for everyone,
including disabled customers and those with young children or buggies and pushchairs.
13.1.2. For information about travelling with assistance dogs on our services, see Section 14.
13.2. Buses
13.2.1. If you are a wheelchair user, you can travel free on any of our bus services at all times and
can board through the centre doors of a dual-door bus. If they have not already done so, anyone
accompanying you must immediately go to the front of the bus after boarding to show their ticket
or pass, touch their Oyster card on the yellow card reader (see clause 6.8.) or to pay their fare.
13.2.2. Low-floor buses are designed to allow wheelchairs and buggies, which are no wider than
70cm and no longer than 120cm, to travel unfolded in the wheelchair space. Please make sure
that your wheelchair or buggy is safely positioned within the designated area. We cannot carry
wheelchairs which are heavier than the weight limit shown on the ramp or beside the doorway, or
some motorised scooters (those with handle bars) which are too large to fit into the wheelchair
space. The driver will tell you if it is unsafe for you to travel in your wheelchair on a particular bus.
For everyone?s comfort and safety, unfolded buggies cannot travel in the gangway.

• 53 -

13.2.3. Wheelchair users have priority over everyone else for use of the wheelchair space, since this is the only place in which they can travel safely. If someone in a wheelchair wishes to board, and the wheelchair space is occupied by standing passengers or buggies, standing passengers will be asked by the driver to make room if possible, and buggy users will be asked to fold them and put them in the luggage space or keep them by their side. 13.2.4. If you use a wheelchair or buggy, you should be able to board any low-floor bus unless (in the driver?s opinion) it is so crowded that there is no room for you to travel safely. You will only be refused entry when it is absolutely necessary, but no-one already travelling will be asked to get off the bus. 13.2.5. If you are using a double buggy you can board through the centre doors of a dual-door bus but, before doing so, you must first get permission from the bus driver. If you have not already done so, you must immediately go to the front of the bus after boarding to show your ticket or pass, touch your Oyster card on the yellow card reader (see clause 6.8.) or to pay your fare. 13.2.6. All our bus services are now accessible to wheelchairs, buggies and pushchairs. Heritage Routemaster buses, which operate some extra journeys on part of routes 9 and 15, are not able to carry unfolded wheelchairs, buggies and pushchairs.

do NOT buy a Buzz, they're frigging awful. I HATE mine, and I live in a little town in the Cotswolds. A quinny buzz in London will be a horror.

Was going to say Bugaboo Bee, but the M&P Sola looks extremely good. I would buy this if I had another kid.

i have a mountain buggy swift, which i used from newborn (ds now 6 mo) which is a compact three-wheeler and i often take it on the bus and tube - chunky wheels great for bumping up and down stairs, easy to steer, quick fold. i ummed and aahed about getting a bee but i ended up having a very long baby so i was glad i didn't!

Hi, i think you should be looking at the bugaboo bee, small footprint, easy fold, baby faces parent, light and will carry a car seat, new bee plus is coming in april we have seen it recently and it looks great.
mountain buggy swift, slightly larger, no car seat adaptability but easy to fold and will stand on its handle bar for storage, great with carry cot option as baby is nice and high and faces parent.
Maclaren XT, great from newborn seating position, great sun hood for the summer, inexpensive compare to the others, easy folding and good carry handle.
if you are london based we have stores in sw11 and kt1 all with these in stock and you can take them for a spin around the block. Hope this helps

I live in london and am pregnant with dc3

I have 2 maclarens a techno classic which I used from birth and then swapped them to the triumph at 3 months. They are light easy to fold and easy to bump up and down stairs.

If I was buying now I would prob buy the maclaren xlr with carrycot and carseat adaptors for from birth then swap to a quest at 3 months or so.

but alas cannot buy new buggies as really don't need them as they are both still in great condition and used everyday for 4 1/2 years

I live in London and have a Stokke Xplory, but then I am mad.

I prefer to take DD in a sling if I'm using public transport - I never wanted to be the woman stranded at the top/bottom of the stairs at a tube station waiting for someone to help me with the buggy.

Given my experience, I would say a Bugaboo Bee would be the best option for you (new improved model out anytime soon). Maclarens are handy but personally I view parent-facing as an absolute must.

Slings are great when you have a small baby (unless you are a fan of routine) but not really an option for all day or children much above 5/6 months in the experience of most people I know.

I have Stokke Xplory too - find it really easy to use on tube escalators when you do the collapsing on to two wheels thing. Fine on buses too, although I do usually travel outside rush hour.

It is FAB for walking around, still going strong two years later but I do also have a Maclaren Techno for journeys where I know I am using the tube a lot and/or going to stations with no stairs.

Having owned a Mountain Buggy, a Quinny Zapp, a Phil and Ted's Vibe and a Maclaren Techno XT (I am not a pram hun, honest!!) I can honestly say I could have gone straight to the last one (Maclaren), as it offers a mixture of my favourites aspects of the other three.

My son was born in August (so you'd have an extra month on me with your July birth) and with the Mountain Buggy reclining almost flat, I found I could get away with laying him on a sheepskin and not forking out for a carrycot etc.

However my daughter was born last feb and therefore as it was a much colder time of year and I also needed the two seat facility for them both, I got the Vibe which I have since sold and now use the Maclaren all the time. It's a bit more luxy than the others Maclarens, has bigger wheels and a great hood that folds right down over the front when they are sleeping or to provide sun shade. It's easy to get on transport, light, easy to fold... I turned my nose up at them previously in favour of the fancy 'urban' buggies but really, it's all you need!

Hi, have a look at my past on Stokke Xplory. If you loke going into cafes, this is great as handle lifts up to bring pram close to table, and elevated seat means can be used as highchair for feeding. Also good on buses etc. Great wheel design that allows you to retract wheels so that is only on 2 and can lift up and down stairs :-)

Micralite Toro gets my vote. I use it on buses all the time. Lightweight and folds in one piece when in stroller mode. I use it on buses all the time. Shopping bag not huge though.

I'd say the Bee as well. I take mine on the bus all the time and have been on the tube as well. It doesn't take up a lot of space. It is still light enough (7.7 kg) to carry up and down the tube stairs with my near 10 kg baby in it. But then I'm tall and reasonably strong. If smaller, I probably would have used a sling more when out and about. My baby slept well in the Bee's newborn snuggle as well.

I have a 2nd hand Quest now, which I got as a travel buggy that could be abused by airlines (my Bee got a bit crunched by airline last time I flew). I don't like it anywhere near as much. I really don't like the fact that I can't see my DD in it and am constantly walking round the buggy to look at her. My DH also complained that the handles on the Quest aren't tall enough so he kept hitting his feet on the back of the pram. He's now more convinced of the benefits of the Bee.

Only downside is the fact that my DD will likely grow out of the Bee as she's fairly tall, but the Plus seems to address this.

Another vote for the bee here.

My DS is 11 months old, I live in London and I went through 2 pushchairs before deciding on the bugaboo bee. I didn't get it straight away as it was expensive, but I wish I had as my DS is so happy in it, it is light and easy to manoeuvre, and it fits on buses etc easily.

I got mine secondhand from someone on mumsnet (I couldn't have afforded to buy a new one) and it is in perfect nick apart from a couple of minor scratches which would have happened in the first few weeks of using a new one anyway.

MarquiseDeMerteuil - I took my Bee to Canada with my 10 week old. She was also born in May so same age as yours will be.

Wheeled it up to the gate, travelled fine that trip though Air Canada was a bit rough with it on another trip (fixable though). Travelled about with it no problem. DD was happy to sleep in it and it was easy to sling in the back of a car. However, I had a car seat waiting for me when I arrived so didn't have to worry about carrying one with me. The sunshade for the Bee was excellent in Canada as it kept away and the sun and dealt with bugs, of which there can be a lot.

However, I think you can take both pram and car seat up to the gate of most airlines - Air Canada for sure - and check them at the gate. However your pram has to fold in one piece so carrycot prams would have to be partially checked.