Choosing a compact pushchair for use from birth

[gdc]

Hi. DF to be, come 10 July. Feeling rather flummoxed regarding choice of pushchairs. We live in central London, in a small one bedroom flat, and currently don't own a car. I'm looking for a backward facing pushchair suitable for use from birth (ie capable of fully flat), possibly a 3-in-1 (although I'm not sure that this is absolutely necessary?), but above all else I want something that is relatively light and compact, both when folded and open, and is able to be opened/folded easily. Adjustable length handles would be good as I am quite a bit taller than my significant other. If possible I would like this to work with a travel seat as well (don't want to have multiple devices in our small flat!).
Any thoughts much appreciated. Budget is reasonably flexible, assuming it's worth it! Thanks in advance.

silver cross do a good one that meets your requirements - as does mamas and papas
www.silvercross.co.uk/our-range/pram-systems/linear-freeway/

and

www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product_advice/travel_systems.php

hth

bugaboo bee
or maclaren techno if you can ditch the RF requirement

bugaboo bee
fits all your requirements and i love mine

Could you consider just using a sling / carrier? Soooooooo much more straightforward for city-living and the baby will almost certainly love it!

I'm due in August and getting a Bugaboo Bee but the other one we considered was a BebeConfort Loola, which is cheaper than the Bee. Decided against it as it's slightly heavier and didn't have as good reviews. I don't think it has adjustable handles either.

Many thanks for your suggestions. Some comments:

I have heard not so good comments about the quality of Mamas & Papas for their prices.

The Silver Cross model is perhaps a bit bigger/heavier that I would like.

Bugaboo Bee - these are meant to be rather small for the baby, certainly in comparison to their "birth to 4 years" claim, but otherwise look quite good. Maybe this is the one - nothing's ever perfect is it!?

Slings will definitely be used as well!

you don't need rear facing, you will only use it for a few months, and the extra weight and space taken up by a rear facer will drive you mad in a one bedroom flat, esp once the baby is in there too. you want a maclaren XL, or if you want a car seat that clips in, a maclaren XLR with matching carseat. (both lie flat, and have adjustable handles, and light enough for tube use) if you don't need the travel system I wouldn't bother with one, and insted get a maxi cosi car seat, as they have the best safety ratings and are lightweight to strap in taxis/friend's cars etc. save the money from buying a hulking mamas and papas or silvercross thing, and put it towards a baby carrier or sling (pick one each that you love if necessary-my DH loved baby bjorn active) you also might want a sheepskin or comfy liner for maclaren to make it nicer for newborn (not that you'll use it much in the beginning once you have a carrier you love.) You don't need the pram bit, it'll just take up unnecessary room. Don't get it to use as a moses basket, instead get a travel cot with bassinet, that way you can fold it up when you don't need it and you'll have a playpen for future use. wishing you lots of luck, buying for babies is a minefield of people trying to get you to buy unnecessary products.

naomi83 - thanks for the advice re carrier/sling/pram/travel cot etc, that makes a lot of sense.

I'm afraid I don't understand how the rear facer of the Bee takes up extra space/weight? It seems reasonably compact when folded down.

Also, is it not possible to use a car seat twith the Bee?

Mamas and Papas Luna with carrycot?

I think naomi83 is talking about rear facers like the M&P & the Loola

forgot to add yes you can use a car seat with the bee

That's why I said with carrycot, turns it into a rear facer when the baby is little. Anyway, just a suggestion.

i loved the idea of the bee until i tried it in a shop and the assistant couldn't fold it. it also looks cramped so you'd end up buying a second buggy anyway

I adore my bee, I can't get across how much nicer than any other of the 15+ prams I have had it is . It folds and opens for you...it is like magic! So nice to have evn a three year old facing you so you can hear them when you are chatting. My 30lb 16month old and 36lb 3yr old both fit fine. I cannot see for the life of me why you would need the nest thingy though, just footmuff would be fine. Google Lesters for that for £380. Not a fold for the bus buggy, but most from birth ones aren't.

bebe confort streety meets your needs,you can use the pushchair lying flat from birth or buy a carrycot,and the car seat comes with it,

Well I had a chat with Mrs gdc last night, and she seems pretty set on rear facing, so I guess this takes me back to the Bee, but I shall now investigate the Bebe Confort Streety (thanks sazm).

It has to be rear facing for so many reasons one being the speech development, the child needs to see parents lips moving in order to copy so if they spend any amount of time in the pram they are missing out on that interaction, plus eye contact is nice for parent and child when talking to them. I also liked to see my baby breathing it stopped me worrying.

I would get the bee personally and then re think when the baby is around 18 months, nobody has the same pram from birth to 4 that i know of.

OT slightly... I know you don't have a car... but have you considered how you're getting home from hospital? Ours won't let you leave without a car seat... unless you live in a walkable distance.
Hopefully you will know someone you can borrow from.

congratulation btw!

GDC - I'm going through the same trying to find the perfect pram for us!

don't have any children yet, so it's all speculation, but these are a few that I'm considering:

Bugaboo Bee
I'coo Targo
Britax Vigour 3+
Micralite Toro
Bebecar Ip Op

We live in a 2br ground floor flat and don't have a car - so that means lots of walking and taking public transportation and we've got a lovely park nearby, so I'm really looking for something very light with robust wheels that lies flat (really would like to avoid buying a separate carrycot as it will just take up space!), folds compactly with seat unit on, takes the carseat directly onto the chassis and can be forward or rear facing.

There are pros and cons for each. The Toro really sounds ideal for flat/city living, but is only rear facing with the carseat or separate carrycot attached.

Someone just recently mentioned the Bebecar Ip Op, which looks absolutely ideal, but a quick Google search shows that it won't be easy to find an in the flesh retailer where I can go and try it out. Same is true of the I'coo Targo. I'm slightly worried about the size and sturdiness of the Bee (by the way, according to something I've seen/read you can attach the carseat on top of the seat unit or remove the seat unit and attach directly to the chassis, which seems a pretty good idea). The newest Britax has a lie flat option and I think that at the moment, it's our front runner, but again, we've yet to go try them all out (I think we'll be going Easter weekend)

Good luck!

You can get a taxi home from the hospital with the baby in the pram, do you seriously think they can stop you leaving with your child ?

why would you put your newborn baby at risk by putting them in a taxi with no carseat?

if you want to take them in a car,then they should be in a carseat,

If you leave our local hospital in a car then lo must be in a properly fitted carseat,
the only way you can take them other than that is walking with lo the pram,

Thousands of people travel every day in black cab taxi's with babies in the pram, not a normal mini cab type car. What do you think the hospital would do, put the baby up for adoption if you don't have a car seat ?
Back when I had my first a long time ago we caught the bus home, no biggie, people do get their knickers in a twist.

i just dont understand why people would put their newborn baby in that situation, you can get a cheap carseat for £40,why on earth can you think your baby is worth less than that?

I think you're being a little over the top there hun.
And for what it's worth I wouldn't, but then I wouldn't risk a £40 car seat either some of them would do more harm than good.