Question about Travel System Pushchairs

[Linnet]

We need to buy a new pram for baby due in May. I would like to get a travel system but have a question about it I thought some of you wise mumsnetters might be able to help me with.

Dh and I don't drive and nobody in our immediate family actually has a car. With this in mind would it be worthwhile buying a travel system?

The reason I ask is that I've been looking at them on the mothercare website and have seen one that I like the look of. But it keeps mentioning a car seat base that you leave in the car all the time. Since we don't have a car it seems to me that we won't need a car seat base but, for the odd occasion when we are in a car i.e bringing baby home from hospital or the odd occasion in a taxi, can you put the car seat into a vehicle without the car seat base or does it not work like that nowadays?

We have a dd who is now 6 and when she was a baby you just put the car seat into the car and strapped it in with the seatbelt. Can you do this with the car seats nowadays or do you really need to have this base?

We don't have a Mothercare where we live so I can't just pop in and ask them but do plan on travelling to the nearest one sometime soon. But in the meantime I thought I'd ask your advice.

Has anybody got any advice? recommendations? makes to be wary of etc?

Hi Linnet! IMO car seats are really bad for babies backs. Since you don't own a car I think your average travel system wouldn't work for you and would cause your baby potential back problems
What you need is a 3-in-1 like this one then you can chose to leave the car seat aso you can lie the baby down flat and have the baby still facing you. They look much posher too.
The car seats with the base HAVE to be used with the base. Which means keeping the base with you. You can buy extra bases to keep at grandparents houses, but really I don't think this sort of pushchair will work for you.
HTH

Realistic stick thin stomach lady pushing the pram! Sorry irrelevant.

Some of the carseats with bases have to be used with the base, others don't. Ours can be used either way, but it's a lot easier to get it reclined far enough for a really small baby with the base, which is adjustable. (Ours is a Graco, but I'm in the US -- dunno what's available in the UK.)

Linnet i have the graco sterling travel system which is the same as the mothercare travel sytem(my friend has it for baby same age as mine)to answer your questions yes the car seat can be used rear facing without the base so you can just pop it into car home,taxi etc.I have used it for dd since she was born and added cosy toes and blanket for when she was small baby,personally i love my travel system,dd is now 15months and i occasionally use a stroller which she hates so she obviously loves the travel system too,the only drawback i have found is that when folded they are very bulky and difficult to lift/fit into boot of many cars.
HTH

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if it is a graco (ours was a voyager graco) with the auto base ( we purchased separately - did not come with autobase)

• they do not need to be used with the base - we can use our graco one with or without the base. We originally has a base in each car and it made it more convenient toj ust clip the seat into the base - However - if we needed to travel by cab then the base stayed where it was and we just clipped it in via the seatbelt.

I don't understand why you would consider a travel system if you don't have a car? I agree with Bekki, get something smart and practical that lets the baby lie as flat as possible at the beginning. I also thing they're ugly.

Linnet - we dont run a car either - but I can still recommend a system - you'll still be getting taxis and travelling in mates cars wont you? We have a maxi cosi citi taxi system - cant recommend it highly enough - \here have a butcherswww.nurserygoods.com/go.html?main=products/maxitaxicitigrizzy.html{} The maxi cosi citi car seat is fab and really easy to fit in any car you might travel in. You can fix it directly to the chassis without a buggy seat and you get a lovely light but sturdy/stylish/baby facing-you-buggy.Without a car you'll need a buggy you can push round the supermarket with the basket hooked over the handles (without uppending the buggy)this does the job beautifully - also the buggy handles flip down really cleverly so it takes up hardly any space on bus and everyone around you goes "oooh!" lovely when youre out in cafes because your baby can sit right up at the table with you. It all folds away really small too. buy it! buy it! buy it! Am I gushing?

sorry, I can never get the hang of links ... here you go

Sorry, didn't realise that you meant to use it in other people's cars, doh!

Went to our nearest Mothercare yesterday to look at the travel system and ask questions about it.

The girl who we asked for a demonstration didn't know if we had to have the base or not but thought that we probably did. She then went on to show us a Graco model which comes with a base and gushed on about how great it was because of xyz etc. I had looked at this graco pushchair online and asked her if the bar at the front was removable for when the child was older and she didn't know, have since found out that it swings open. Also she told us that this Graco pushchair was good because it can be used from birth as it lies flat and I quote here

"all children need to be kept lying flat on their backs until they are 12 months old!"

I stopped listening to her at this point but dh was quite taken with the travel system and thinks that we should buy it.

This morning I got up and phoned another Mothercare branch in a different city and spoke to a very nice lady who told me that No we don't have to have the Base they only sell them as makes life easier to put the baby in and out of the car, rather than fiddling about with seatbelts etc. I can see the point totally and if we had a car I would get a base but for the odd occasion when we're going to be in a car we will be ok without the base.

Thanks for all your advice, help, recommendations and links.