Which pram/pushchair? Please help.

[JennyWren]

Hi. I'm expecting my first baby in June and I'm starting to look at prams/pushchairs. I have a list of features I would like to have, but I am having trouble finding a single pram with all of them. Does this mythical pram exist, or am I living in Cloud Cuckoo Land? What I think I want is a pram/pushchair with:

• Lie flat for newborn, but option to sit up later
• Child facing toward the person pushing the pram, although possibly with the option to face forward later on
• A single handle which arches over, rather than two separate handles, IYSWIM
• Lockable, swivel front wheels
• Air-filled tyres (my friend has recommended I go for one with airfilled tyres because where we live the paths are really bumpy and she found that her baby couldn't settle in the pram because it was so bumpy, and she wound buying a second pram after her ds was born. I can't really afford that, so I want to get it right first time!)

It is this last bit which seems to be hard to find. The only ones I have seen with these tires are either the ones with four fixed wheels, which I don't want, or three wheelers, which all seem to have the baby facing forward, which I really don't like, especially when the baby is little.

Is there any hope for me? Please help if you can!!

Thanks!

Mine had all those features except the air filled tyres and was bought nine years ago (!) so it can't be that hard to find. Have you checked all the main manufacturers? It can be a bit of a mysterious new world when you first start looking for baby things, but a bit of research will surely find you what you want. I'll leave you in the capable of hands of more recent mums, and BTW, congratulations on your pregnancy!

this covers everything i think my only concern would be the weight of it once the child is older it also seems very bulky

Might be worth considering a Mountain Buggy Urban? You can fit a car seat into one of these if you buy the extra clip so that at first they can face you, or you could buy the carrycot for it. I think it scores ticks in all the other boxes too.

mountainbuggy

We have one, and it's great for long walks, the only thing is I've found a clapped out Maclaren to be far more practical about town!

Hi Lonelymum, thanks for your message. I have found pushchairs with most of those features - you're right, it is not too hard. It's just the tires I'm concerned about really. Where we live, most of the paths are stony/muddy paths rather than smooth concrete ones, and as I hope to be walking a fair bit I want to make sure my little one is comfy. I can't be the only one with these concerns, so hopefully some manufacturers have catered to that, but I have reached the point that I just don't know where else to look. My friend has recommended a shop where they have a large range to look at, but I figured that Mumsnet would have even more experience - don't let me down you guys, please!

Gosh. Just looked at the link and realised what air filled tyres would entail. Do you get punctures with these tyres? It would be a real bore having to mend them!

you can get some gunk stuff to put in the tyre - the same as for bikes apparnltly - halfords sell it

The other thought I have had is that we also live in an area where there are lots of rough paths, and I found it didn't stop my baby sleeping. Sometimes, the rougher the path, the better for getting a baby to sleep. But I am not trying to put you off your purchase.

I have a Mountain Buggy and a McLaren. The Mountain Buggy is a lot easier to push on rocky or muddy ground. If you plan to walk a lot, you will find a Mountain Buggy (or other inflated-tyre pram) easier.

And yes, you get punctures once in a while, but not often. Changing a tyre isn't that hard.

The hassle with the Mountain Buggy, I find, is its size. Mine is the normal kind, not the urban, and it's just massive. I don't take it over to people's houses generally, and I don't ever take it in a car.

Thanks everyone for your quick replies. I've just been looking at the Bebecar Multipla AT - it does seem to tick all the boxes. I was a bit concerned about punctures, but if I can deal with a puncture in my bike tyre, I should be able to deal with one in the buggy. There is a stockist in the town I work in, so I'm going to try to get there at lunchtime one day to have a play.

Does anyone have one? How do you find it?

I have a Quinny Freestyle. I think it's great! We bought the pushchair and if you can imagine the part the child would sit on comes off as it is attached with poppers. We also bought a Maxi Cosi citi car seat which just clicks on to the pushchair frame, very handy when your out and about in the car and we also got a carrycot which fits on to the frame so you can have the best of both worlds! We used the carrycot until DD was big enough to go in her cot.
It has got 3 wheels, they're inflatable and we've had one puncture in 15 months also the front wheel moves and it has one handle which arches over with a bell on it!!!
The only downsides with it is that we had to pay an extra £30 for the weather sheild and now dd is 15 months we find it a bit bulky but it's still a fantastic pushchair!
Hope that helps. Good luck!

Message withdrawn

I have a Jane 360 which fufils most of your criteria, the pushchair part faces away from the person pushing but you can use a car seat (both the rebel/lie down matrix)or a pushchair attachment for quite a while to get the baby to face you.

I definately prefer the air filled tyres, it makes it a dream to push and I think that this is more comfier for LO, though she likes the bumps! I have put something called slime in my tyres to try and prevent punctures, it was about £8 for a bottle which did all 3.

Was going to shout about the multipla AT but it seems you've already been alerted to it

Another vote for the Jane Powertrack 360 with the Matrix carseat. The carseat goes on the chassis, either as a lie-flat carrycot or you can make it sit up, facing you. When they're bigger (6 months or so) you put the seat unit on the chassis and that is forward-facing.

Its a 3-wheeler and is lovely! One handle, which is a pain to hang shopping off, but easy to steer one-handed (which doesn't matter at the mo but will when you have your second ).

Front wheel swivels all the way round so easy to manoevre - easier than my tiny little Maclaren buggy actually, in spite of being wider and longer. Its not much heavier than the Maclaren - only 8kg. But it does take up the boot space (you can take the wheels on and off fairly quickly if you need to but its still a pain).

Its here but I wouldn't recommend buying from these people (have a search for the threads on them). These people are cheapest - have just bought from them.

Thanks again for all your help. I've done a bit more research and I've found four models that seem to fit the bill:
Bebecar Multipla AT
Bebecar Racer AT
Bertini Bidwell
I'coo Platon 4

NameChangingMancMidlander and Yorkiegirl are happy with their Multipla, but has anyone got any of the others? Any feedback on those would be great, also if anyone knows of a 'real-life' stockist for them IYSWIM. Even though I may buy online to get a better price, I really want to try-before-I-buy in a shop.

I will get there, I know I will...

Quinny have a Freestyle 4 in Europe atm (not sure if available in UK yet) Quinny site Click on Europe flag under Language and then Freestyle 4 plus. You can even add a second seat to it.

Another vote for Quinney Freestyle's. I've got one for my DS and it's great - especially as DP & I very different heights (over a foot between us) It's also designed for older / heavier toddlers - upto 18Kg vs 15Kg with M&P, MacLaren, Chicco etc...DS loves his so much that he climbs in at home for his naps! On the downside, they're wide & heavy so I'd predict problems on buses and if you have a small car.