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Pushchairs

Join our Pram forum for pram advice. Plus read our round up of the best pushchairs currently available.

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Original poster

How important / useful is a parent facing puchchair / travel system?

35 replies

Romilly70 · 21/06/2010 07:44

I am pg with DC1. Going through the horrors of choosing a travel system.

These are what we have narrowed it down to & why - please bear with me....

We live in the countryside in France, so mainly use the car, so car seat is most important; maxi-cosi seems to come out on top, i am keen on maxi cosi loola up as it takes maxi cosi carseat, seems to fold small and is parent facing - very important to me. Also has adjustable handles as DP is 6'2" and I'm 5'6".

Here's the crux, DP thinks we should buy Hauck rio plus as it is cheaper, lighter and folds small and you do not have to remove the pushchair bit to add the carseat.

I could compromise on all the above (as the Hauck car seat got a good rating in WHICH? But I hate the idea of my baby facing away from me.

DP (who already has 2 DC) says that in the carseat the baby will face me anyway, but I am not keen to leave him in a carseat for ages as I would like him to lie flat so that I he can be comfortable and I can admire see him. DP says that older children get bored and want to face away but I thought it was supposed to be good to be able to chat to them whilst you are walking around...

So my questions are:

How important is it to you / and or your DC to face you (& at what sort of age)?

sub-question if you have the Loola Up; do you find it folds up small enough?

thanks!

OP posts:

ArthurPewty · 22/06/2010 20:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Romilly70 · 23/06/2010 04:53

Thanks Gauchita!
Does the streety fold up relatively small and how heavy is it?

OP posts:

thumbwitch · 23/06/2010 05:11

Parent-facing very important to me. It took ages before I let DS face away from me - but I can't help you with what system to use because I was using a M&P PrimoViaggio travel system, given to me by my friend. Great system but the buggy itself was, heavy cumbersome and a bitch to fold down sometimes (took careful tilting). It pushed well though and was good to take to the supermarket (we were in walking distance from ours).

Iirc, I think Ds would have been at least a year old before he started facing forwards, possibly even older. (Can't remember exactly )

mamaloco · 23/06/2010 06:21

Hi I have a chicco trio enjoy fun. It is a travel system, quite cheap. The pram bit faces you up to 9kg, the car seat faces you too, very easy to put up and down. The wheels are umbrella folding (you need 2 hand but it is easy too) and can be stored upright. It is very light weight for a travel system, and the handles are high enough for me and my DH 5'8" and 6'2"
www.chicco.com/ProdottiChicco/SchedaProdotto/tabid/87/ProductID/386/language/en-US/Default.aspx
DD1 wanted to face the world after 7 months so went to a maclaren, I didn't have the chicco then, DD2 is still happy facing me (5 months). having the child outfacing doesn't stop you interacting with you went they can seat and turn their head. I still talked and sang with DD1, and she waved at everybody like the queen

HotSprocket · 23/06/2010 06:41

I have a loola up and love it! I know some people say it heavy and bulky but its not as if you are carrying it around. It folds up small enough to go into a small car and not take up much room in your house. Its size was one of my worries too but it has not been an issue at all.
The handles are great. My dp is 6'2" and doesn't even use it on highest setting.
We have used both the pushchair and car seat attachments from birth and dd likes both but seems much comfier in pushchair bit. We did get a head hugger for the pushchair bit to make her comfier but she is 8 weeks now she doesn't even need it now.
Parent facing is lovely, i didn't think i would be too bothered but it means you can keep an eye on baby without having to stop.
As a pro for the loola i like that she can go in the pushchair bit from birth as when you put a small baby in a car seat they seem very squashed up. She is already alot better but in the first month or so i really was not happy with her being in the car seat so was so happy to have the pushchair option.

Gauchita · 23/06/2010 08:13

Romilly, when you fold it without the seat attached it's tiny; with the seat it's bigger but not too much. We have a Yaris and when going out with a friend of mine we can fit our streety and her loola up in our car

I think it's 7kg when folded with the seat. I don't know if it's one of the lightest but I can put it in the boot by myself

I loved being able to put DD in the car seat when she was tiny. If she was asleep in the car I didn't have to move her or wake her to put her in the pushchair, I just took out the car seat and attached it to the chassis.

SagacityNell · 23/06/2010 16:18

HotSrocket - How on earth did you get the LOola up intoa small car? IT takes up half of the boot of our Volvo estate!!

Thought of another downside of the Loola Up - it doesn't sit up straight.

Multimummy · 24/06/2010 11:06

sagasityNell really? I had the standard Loola (briefly!) and when folded it went into the bit of boot space in a zafira (with all seats up and in use!..okay it was a squeeze - but it went - and the boot could still be shut!
Yes the standard Lool doesn't go so upright either. It was a lovely well made and padded seat and frame - but it was cumbersome/difficult to unfold (with seat rear facing) in my experience. Mostly I just couldn't cope with it's inability to reverse up the slope/steps into my house without the wheels splaying so far I was worried they'd break! However had I lived somewhere where this wasn't necessary I'd have probably kept it. It was very comfy for our baby.

FlyMeToDunoon · 24/06/2010 11:21

My first two children were in an old M&P three in one and could rear face. With DD3 I had a P&T and then got her a maclaren xt which is a great pushchair but I felt we had both missed out on the rear facing bit so I got her a couple of different ones: Britax Vigour, Hauck Infinity. there might have been more [pushchair enthusiast here]
I really enjoyed having her facing me even at 2.5 years as we chatted and sang away to each other, I could see if she was tired and dropping off and she didn't seem to mind not seeing what was coming as she could see so much anyway.

jellybeans · 24/06/2010 23:43

I have a parent facer and used it rear facing until 18 months when DS wanted to face forwards and was leaning his head round to see!! DS was always sick with reflux and choked so it was a safety issue aswell as being so nice being able to watch him/chat to him. My older twins faced forward (not much choice with twin prams!!) and had speech delay so I wanted to be sure to do as much as I could to help DS speech.

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