Panic over travel system / pushchair purchase - desperate for advice!

[JAC2010]

I have today purchased the Quinny Buzz 3 travel system (with Maxi Cosi car seat and base, and the Dreami Carrycot)- advised by Mothercare. Was very excited until I read the dreadful reviews on mumsnet! This is my first baby and I am to be honest, clueless. Please share with me your recommendations for a suitable pushchair / travel system - will cancel Quinny order for replacement product when I know what I should be going for. Thanks in advance - and Happy Easter!

a teutonia? we have the spirit s3 for ds and still use it daily and he's 2 this month! we have a maclaren but only use it if we have to, i hate it. harder to push, can't get at the basket when reclined, doesn't rf and not as comfortable for ds.

we got the fashion carry cot as i wanted him to lie flat when he was tiny and we used it for sleeping when we were out and sometimes at night but mostly co-slept. you can also get car seats adaptors fitted for the tario(teutonia seat), britax or maxi cosi. these were handy if i was nipping into the bank or something which didn't take long.

good luck with the search-it took me almost 16 weeks to choose my pram and it only arrived the week ds was born.

YY agree Northeastnorah.

Everyone I know ditches £400+ pram dooberry when DC is about 1yr and goes for a Maclaren umbrella-fold stroller - cost < £100 (a lot less if you like) and folds up easily, fits everywhere etc. Think about it - when did you last see a toddler in a big pram? They are all in strollers.

We actually used a 3-wheeler (Instep Nipper, very good if you need an off-roader) after the Maclaren broke as we wanted something we could take up big hills.

We had a £250 pram when DS1 was born but if I did it again I would use a sling until 4mo at least and then use umbrella fold.

I don't like seeing babies in car seats on top of prams either, personally.

The sales assistant at Mothercare did demo the Maclaren XLR and said it was suitable from birth. It was £250 but as I mentioned before, seemed a bit flimsy. Yet friends are supportive of going the Maclaren route, I have to say. XT or XLR?

If I can get the Bugaboo Bee for £300 at John Lewis, would that be a better bet? The criticism of the Bee so far, seems to be that child grows out of it quicky - apparently addressed by the new Bee Plus, but I have not seen it yet, nor do I know price.

I used a Bee until dd was 2. She still fits in it but the straps are tight, that's the only reason I had to ditch it although I'm not convinced that wasn't user error
and there was something I hadn't done. She's average size and there is bags of space there otherwise. I would definitely recommend it while it's going cheap. The older Bee is still a damn good pushchair and with my futuristic dc2 I will be using it from birth (dd was 13 months when I got it).

John Lewis don't have any of the £300 Bees left in stock. That is because they are now stocking the Bee+, which is much better model than the Bee. The seat unit is bigger, it can be expanded for when your child is older, can be rear/forward facing, yet still folds as small as the original Bee.

INO, I'd get one if I was starting again with prams. Maxi Cosi fits on it.

There is evidence which suggests the long you can keep the baby rear facing the better it is for it's speech development so I ruled out the maclarens on that basis but I want something which would be as lightweight and easy to fold/store so the Bee ticks all the boxes, being a greedy mare I want the Stokke too, but if I can only have one I think it'll be the Bee.

The Bee+ isn't really much bigger than the Bee the main difference is the way the hood attaches and it just folds up smaller for when they are little so if money is an issue I'd go for an excellent condition old Bee 2nd hand - save you money all around.

I always used a proper pushchair as we walk loads of places rather than being a car user so lifestyle does have a huge influence on what suits you best.

I would always recommend that people buy their bigger pram/pushchair 2nd hand simply because until you actually have a child you don't know what you really want. I would have loved to use a sling but a bad back prevents this unfortunately.

Might be worth checking out the iCandy Cherry. Carry cot for first few months, then the buggy which can face either way. DS is 2.4 and still happy in it (on the occasions we still use it).

Fairly compact in the car, good over slightly rough terrain and excellent big basket for shopping! It fits the maxi-cosi car seats too.

Wouldn't be suitable, IMO, if you were doing a lot of bus / train journeys. It's easy to collapse but comes into 2 pieces which I think would be a pain on public transport.

I would NOT get a maclaren for a newborn personally as they are light and will boing about. Also I prefer a newborn to face me and have the security of a carrycot.
I would get a big pram with carrycot new or second hand and later a lightweight pushchair. You will get your moneys worth from a bigger pram if you have another child and most do take a buggy board.

personally i wouldnt like a newborn in something with better suspension and more secure than a maclaren from birth. Agree to go the 2nd hand route and older bee with the wings again is snugger than the new bee + for a newborn.

Another vote here for the iCandy Cherry. It is lightweight, can manoeuvre with one hand, has carrycot, maxi cosi compatible, and has the option of front/rear facing.

My DD is only 4 months so I haven't used it as a pushchair yet. The downside is that she is growing out of the carrycot now despite being slighly under average weight for her size. But I am using the car seat on the chassis until she is old enough for the pushchair, and this is working well.

We don't have a car, so walk everywhere. What I really like is the large shopping basket. I have taken it on the tube and the train a few times. In terms of travelling I will be getting an umbrella pushchair when we go away simply because I don't want it to get damaged by baggage handling.

I paid £500 for the whole lot about 5 months ago, so you should get it without the car seat for within your budget.

Honestly my best piece of advice? BUY SECOND HAND. For your budget you can get a lovely bugaboo cameleon with all accessories, and NOONE other than you will know it wasnt bought new. All of the fabrics are fully washable so no worries about cleanliness for a newborn.
I've had a quinny buzz and believe me you will be getting rid of that within the first year as its just way to big round the shops, takes up loads of room in the boot and the carrycot is not all that generous.

i got a 2nd hand bee on ebay. i love it! much better than the massive thing i had with dd.

Sorry I didn't mean use a Maclaren stroller from birth.

I meant use a sling from birth and a Maclaren stroller from 6mo. As I say, IME lots of people ditch the £££ pram by 1yr anyway.

I was meaning a £60-£100 type stroller tbh, not one costing £250.

Just googled the Bugaboo Bee "Note: the Bee + will be out soon, this is the old-style, hence the low prices" - £420!

I agree with some here actually, consider getting a big pram with carrycot 2nd hand as they will be in excellent condition (ours was) then sell on at 9mo, if you don't want to go for a sling.

This time I had a McLaren xlr with Recaro car seat to make travel system but still used wrap sling more. ( 3rd child - mega expensive travel system ditched at 4 months first time round!)

agree with buying second hand, totally and utterly. i have a bee now because it's lighter, had a jane nomad with dd1 and dd2, and it's now doing sterling service for a friend. big fan of the bee and i don't much like our maclaren (which i keep in the car and reckon is third hand) because it's a pita to steer one-handed.

I would snap up a bee from JL at £299. You can order them at that price and buy a cocoon for your baba,Or you could get a baby nest or similar made for you at snunkie or poshbugs to go on a bee. here

Or look at the for sale boards on here. There are a lot of bees about on the board at the moment because of the bee+. They are often like new with all the accessories. Ebay have got some cracking stuff on at the moment too.

I meant the same as Clary not use a maclaren from birth. Not used a Maclaren myself anyway.

I have a Maclaren XP which I have used from birth (with a Maclaren cosy toes and a sheepskin) it has been perfect,

and it will mean you never need to buy another pushchair later when you realise that you want an umbrella fold pushchair as I did the first time round. I bought a travel system first time round and ditched it after a few months because it was so big, bulky and heavy. whereas the Maclaren is light, folds small and can be stored away in my little house and was much cheaper.

personally I don't think babies should be in a car seat for too much of their time so I prefer to transfer them out of the car into the pushchair where they can lie flat

every time i put dd into the maclaren i miss talking to her, and she's eighteen mos now. i just cannot imagine never having had that eye contact etc with her when she was a baby in a buggy. suppose it depends how often you use the buggy though, we do walk a fair bit.

Lots of good advice but I wouldn't worry about getting a pushchair that the car seat can sit on. Young babies are meant to lie flat anyway, they whouldn't be left in the car seat too long.

Some great advice from all of you - big thanks! Keen to check out the Bee Plus but apparently no one has stock yet in order for me to even see it!

you can get a lightweight carrycot for the xlr you know?

I'd get a buggy you like and a second hand or cheapish air tyres type prame for the first few months...or borrow one...or buy and resell.

Babies need suspension or they spend the whole time doing the moro reflex.

Once they are a few months old this stops being so frequent and you can move onto maclaren, whatever.

But suspension is really really good for the first bit. Thereafter, maclaren, mountain buggy, whatever you like really.