Help Choosing a Pushchair

[MrR]

Hi,

My wife and I (I've always loved saying that since we first got married!) have a two month old DS. We originally planned carrying him in a sling for the first six months but a rapidly growing baby and bad back are now conspiring to make us buy a pushchair/pram earlier than planned.

We're looking for something we can use from now until DS is a few years old, and ideally we'd really prefer something which allows DS to be rear-ward facing.

I think we've narrowed the products down to three -

1. the Quinny Buzz
2. Mothercare Excursion
3. Mothercare MyChoice (effectively rebranded My3/My4)

Do you own any of these three? If so, what are they like on a day to day basis? Do you have any other suggestions?

All the pushchairs seem to be ok but inevitably sales assistants just seem desperate to sell us something so tell us that every pushchair we look at is amazing rather than being realistic about their pros and cons

Thanks in advance.

What about the bebe confort loola or loola up?

.LOVE To help you MrR but i've got two nippers so we've got a phil n teds, but hope some one helps you! And how sickenenly sweet is your post? Bleurgh! (she said, jealously!)

don't own one, but picking up on your sling thing.,,. what kind of sling do you have>>?

a really good sling should not hurt your back,even if you have back problems, despite size of baby.
I have big babies and can still carry my 16 month old in a sling very comfortably.

can highly recommend a stretchy wrap such as the moby (that's what I had and used with my whopper till he was about 7 months old)

First things first.
I know of very few people who have just 1 pushchair. Most people I know/ speak to at work tend to change their big first pushchair for a smaller umbrella fold stroller before their dc is 18 months.
Big pushchairs get heavier to push with older children in them.
I'm going to assume the car seat isn't going to be an issue, you already have one?

I'd look at the Maxi COsi Mura.

Can be forward or backwards facing, lie flat, easy to reposition (even if the child was asleep), suitable for use with the car seat too, nice feel...

I am just about to order one and had a mess about with one today.

I wouldn't go for the Quinny Buzz just yet - ok for an older child, but not as young as yours.

Can't comment on the others sorry.

Agree with DifferentID - I'm just about to get my 3rd...

I have a big buggy / pram for serious walking (dog walking) got it off Ebay for £30 so don't care if it gets muddy etc.,

I have a Quinny zapp for travelling (used it with the car seat until very recently)

Am just about to get the Mura for day to day use.

Am guessing you are a man and are therefore taller than the average woman (sorry if this is totally wrong). I am 5'9 and found the loola wrecked my back, it was just too small so I was hunched the whole time I was pushing it. I think many people dont think about height but its been a huge deal for me! I have the Britax Vigour which I love, its so easy to push and I get loads of comments on how nice it is. Downside is I dont think its from birth as the seat doesnt lie flat (dont get this as babies curl their legs up but anyway, not sure) and it doesnt fold small.

Sorry if it makes things more confusing but this is the main problem I have had with getting a comfy pram so thought I would mention it

haribosmummy, have you tried picking up the mura? it's pretty heavy!

Yes, differentID, I know it's heavy, but I use the Quinny for travelling... I just want to the Mura to walk around town and look pretty and have somewhere for DS to sleep or sit if he's tired.... I'm sick of having to take the (frankly filthy!) dog walking buggy with me!!

The Quinny is fine when we are on the move and DS is in and out of it, but I don't like it for long periods cos it just doesn't seem that comfortable and it's not very stable (I suppose another thing I like about the Mura!)

@ haribosmummy
I know of someone where I live who has a Mura. It's like a bleeding tank!
I'll admit it's a good looking pushchair.

I wouldn't recommend the Quinny, not very comfortable and unless you have a big baby the look a bit lost!
I had one but then changed it and bought a MacLaren Techno XT, I now it's forward facing but it's a great buy and Junior loves it

Totally agree with Tootles about the Quinny - DS is 8 months now and it still doesn't seem all that comfy!

The Maclarens certainly do seem to get a good write up.. But, they do nothing for me, I'm afraid.

DifferentID - I am so vain!!! and my DS is a total PFB so a good looking tank will be right up my street (Not sure whether I should grin more than blush or blush more than grin!!!)

What colour are you going for?

SOrry about the hi-jack MrR!

The black one. tried it out today and DS was VERY comfy in there!!!

MrR - I would recommend the Quinny zapp for the 'wheels' if you have a maxi cosi car seat... it is SOOO handy to pop the wheels up and they are so light / small, it's possible to fit them into any car... I use the Quinny on aeroplanes quite a bit and it comes into it's own at times like that. You cannot beat the speed at which it folds down, the size or weight of it.. It's SOOO handy!

if you want a 3 wheeler look at the Mia Moda Elite- seriously fab!

don't bother with rear facing, as long as you regularly interact with your DS when he's out of the pram it won't affect development, and once they hit 5/6 months they love facing forward and seeing the world. I would go for a nipper 360 i you walk a lot, a maclaren xt if you take public transport/use the car a lot, and a phil and ted sport if your planning another one in the next three years.

Hi all.

Thank you very much for your good advice.

Sorry for making you sick Yousaidit - I'm being sickly sweet as I'm feeling guilty and down as I'm about to start working away from home again for the first time since DS was born. I've got to be as nice as I can to my lovely wife - its the least she deserves (and you never know if she'll read this!!)

Thisisyesterday - we've got a premaxx sling which goes over one shoulder. It proably wasn't the best type of sling to get but since the baby was born I've injured my back and I think any sling would be a struggle for a long period of time.

I did look at the Mura but it looks a little bulky for us, but a lovely looking beast.

Gigglinggoblin - I'd have loved to take a look at the Britax vigour, but we can't find any local stores which have one for us to test. I've phoned around all of the local stores and only one has got any ordered but they're not due to arrive until end of Feb.

Naomi83 - I'll take a look at your suggestions.

I think my DW is currently erring towards the Mothercare Xcursion but we're still open for alternatives. I have to say, finding the right pushchair is much harder than trying to find the right car!

Thanks again to you all for your understanding and help.

we hae the buzz, actually its our 2nd got 1st with DD, 3.5 years later replaced but we had buggy board on back for our DD when DS1 arrived, loved it so when DS2 came along we got another, did consider phil and ted but DS1 is a big walker and uses buggyboard with it. Only complaint is I dont think its as sturdy as our original, slightly cheaper feel but its much lighter and easy to manouver also having the maxi-cosi atachment a god send, my DS2 is 17 weeks and we dont use pushchair bit yet as so easy using seat