Prams. Are they a good idea.

[bakedpotato]

I keep feeling tempted by prams. Last time I stuck the newborn in totally reclined maclaren techno but got some horrid comments from old ladies and it really didn't look comfy despite the lambskin. and in any case, she didn't sleep well in it, so we ended up being tied to the cot for naptimes.

however, i live in an urban area with a few steps in front of my house, and prams do seem unwieldy, plus so expensive and i'd probably only use it for, what, 6 months or so? i don't need carseat/toddler seat etc. just carrycot and chassis. as lightweight as poss.

Any comments, suggestions, experience, please? is it a silly idea? I've seen a chicco cortina for a 'goodish' price. are these OK? i'd rather go for a 2nd-hander but delivery is an awful hassle.

I purchased a M & P travel system, my dh wanted a carseat and I wanted a proper pram so we compromised. I put my baby in the pram section of it, just recline it and let him sleep in it during day naps. I live in an urban area and have to walk everywhere and find it okay. There is nothing else on the market that I found suitable and sturdy enough. It's okay, quite expensive so I would recommend a second hand one. I had a second hand 3 in 1 M&P from the paper and let my mum have this, I actually prefer the second hand version, but there again it is handy having the car seat attachment, if you just need to nip in to a shop. You can just whip a child out of the car seat and put it straight on the travel system. If we never used a car at weekends, I would have stuck to the old second hand 3 in 1, though, it is much sturdier than the new and I feel better. Not so plastic.

I have a suggestion. How about getting one of the 3 wheelers which have a carrycot element as well?
I had a silver cross 3-in-1 for ds, and it was great and I loved it, but have to agree with all the comments below re how unwieldy it is and not very easy when the shops are busy (lots of tuts and evil stares from old bags who've forgotten what it's like to have to get round with a pram!). But we live in the town centre so I cld just go out easily. When I did go in the car with it, it took up the entire boot (and that's in a 5 series estate!)
So when he was 6 months we got a maclaren and never used the pram any more.
When dd was born, I'd got a Jane 360 3 wheeler. I couldn't justify the additional cost of the carrycot part, since we already had a perfectly good pram, so we used the silver cross again till she was about 2 months old and then I put her in the Jane, reclined flat, with a sheepskin to keep her snuggly.
I must say, with the benefit of hindsight, although the traditional prams are a lot nicer from an aesthetic point of view, I wish we'd started from the outset with the Jane + carrycot, and then we wouldn't have needed anything else. It is exactly the same as a pram when you've got the carrycot bit on, with the massive advantage of a swivelling front wheel, and it's narrower than a pram so much nippier round the shops. Then when the baby grows out of the carrycot you can just use the pushchair with seat flat, then up as baby grows. And it folds down really easily and is lightweight (for a 3 wheeler).
Obviously there are plenty of 3 wheelers which have a similar carrycot attachment, but I love my Jane and can't recommend it highly enough . Added bonus is ds used to straddle the footrest bit for a ride-on when he was tired, so avoiding need for buggyboard (which he was afraid of anyway)
Having said all of that, if you are interested in buying a very well cared for, hardly used Silver Cross 3-in-1, I have one available to sell!

We also bought the M&P 3in1 travel system and used all elements a lot as I walk a great deal, and did love the pram bit. However,.. they are big, and we're staying away for nights here and there, and found it was taking up a lot of the boot just with the frame (or chassis) - and we know how much gear these little people need for one night away so, finally, when we decided to go abroad on holiday last year we bought a Maclaren from Costco - was a bargain in comparison to the M&P system. Use it so much. Now expecting No.2 and will buy a Maclaren double and something like a snuggletoes to keep new born baby all, well, snug!

We had a Britax Practicale travel system with a carrycot that you attached for a pram, then there was a pushchair attachment for when dd was a bit older. There was also a rock-a-tot seat which could be used as a pushchair too. It was great for the first year, until we decided to go for an umbrella-fold that would take up less room. The frame is small and quite easy to fold up and move around, it's small enough to use on trains and buses, you can have it forward or rear facing, and I really liked it.

I have it for sale now, if you're interested

I loved, loved, loved my pram

I had a hideously heavy and unmanouverable 2-in-1 Graco Seville with ds1 - couldn't wait to get rid of it and get a buggy when he was 6 months old.

For ds2 I found an American pram (Cosco) on a cheap as chips website whose name escapes me. It was £85 complete with raincover, changing bag, and padded apron. It had a big wire basket and massive old fashioned rubber wheels (real suspension!) and it was fantastic! Ds2 was born in December so I knew it was going to be icy cold going to and from school (I don't drive) and I wanted him to lie flat. I really liked pushing it and I felt like a 'proper Mum'! he slept in it downstairs and I would push it up and down the dining room when he was fretful. It only lasted 6 months as by then he was sitting up and trying to throw himself out of it and I was really sad to see it go. Passed it on to my SIL as she borrowed it when they came to visit and loved it much better than her travel system.

So prams are rubbish if you drive a lot, use public transport, have nowhere to keep it in the house, and want something that will last longer than 6 months.

But prams are great from a comfort point of view - flat and so cosy, like being in a cot, great if you walk everywhere, fantastic for loading the basket with shopping, good for looking at your gorgeous baby all the time, useful to have in the house for sleeping, and just the best thing for that old-fashioned Mary Poppins type feeling.

It depends what you need from your wheels!

I cried when mine disappeared off into the sunset

another vote for the m and p 2 in 1, didn't bother with the carrycot extra because the pramette bit did the job well enough. DD who now 2 can still go to sleep in it, it is nice and long. Its great fro shopping especially with a toddler because they can face you and DD and i chat al the way round thhe shops. It fits fine on our buses and the only negative is that it does take up a look of boot space, so we've bought a lightweight buggy for holidays. Also because it was expensive i don't leave it in the pram cupboard at nursery.

yes, yes, yes, MM, you've rung all my bells. i don't drive, walk a lot locally, it'll be a winter baby so the cosiness is a key factor, and by 6mths i expect to be out of it and into the maclaren. it's a short term fix.( i reckon if i can train baby to sleep in pram initially, it should adapt to snoozing in the maclaren without too much difficulty. )

WWB, had a quick look at britax practicale and it looks neat. does the baby need to be strapped into the carrycot? or is it just a bed on wheels (which is what i want)? i like what you say about its relative nippiness.

i'm only interested in carrycot and chassis so will understand if you want to hang on for a buyer who will take the lot. where are you, let's talk ££. Do CAT me.

The carrycot can be used as just a bed on wheels.

Agree Katguk about the pushchair seat in M&P travel system being so huge, so it really gives your little one loads of space to sleep. To be honest, I've been please with both my M&P travel system (all elements) and my Maclaren. Wouldn't be without either..

wwb, can i ask., how long did your baby fit happily into the carrycot? would it last for 6 mths?

love my m and p will be digging it out again very soon for my bump - DD has pretty much out grown needing a pushchair now

She was sleeping in the carrycot part until 6 months, so I'd say yes - although by then she was using the pushchair part to go out in.

The carrycot piece has a flip-up support for when they sit up, I just preferred the support she got with the push-chair attachment. Which you can also have lying completely flat like a bed!

hmm. interesting. [stroking chin.]
do cat me.

Have catted you

I much prefer a pram to a buggy because I like to see my baby and the sturdier feel of them. I still have our Marmet coachbuilt pram in the loft - it's nearly 30yrs old and in perfect condition! By the time I had dd2 I used the car a lot more so bought a M&P 2in1, which fitted into my Citroen AX and was pretty light, 9kilo all told. I used it for dd2 until she was about 2yo. That's in the loft too - it's getting quite crowded up there.