Teutonia Spirit S3 - accessories (footmuff) dilemma

[kludge]

Hi,
We have decided I want a Teutonia Spirit S3 for our November arrival. Since they take 8-10 weeks to order, we are going to order our choice of accessories at the same time as the pram.
This is where the dilemma begins.
We want to use it from birth - the shop say even though it's not a 100% fully flat recline (it's almost flat) that it's okay for newborns without the optional carrycot. Does any Teutonia owner have experience with using theirs for newborn without the carrycot?

Our list of accessories to order so far is:

1. Tario car seat with base (as it meets more stringent safety regs than the UK standards)
2. Nappy bag (mostly just because it clips nicely to the handlebars )
3. Apron
4. A footmuff - but which one!! They do a winter footmuff, a summer footmuff, all-round summer footmuff (with or without a fleece inlay), all-round combination footmuff, or even the vario-plus or soft carrycots convert into footmuffs!

Arrrgh, too many choices. If anyone has a Teutonia footmuff, some advice on which to get would be much appreciated before I go insane. Our closest stockist is an hours drive away, and although we've been there and tried out the pram, we stupidly didn't spend any time inspecting the array of accessories.

Is it worth ordering anything else while we are ordering a pile of things? Weather protector/sun set?

i don't have experience of this particular pram but I would get the carrycot personally.

Hiya,

I had a Teutonia for ds2 and it's very well built, lovely thing

I'd suggest the cot is a good idea because presumably it lifts out? So you can transfer a sleeping child from pram to floor or vice versa without waking. Very useful!!

Also it'll be more padded and softer to lie on - without, the flatness is great but it'd be a trifle hard, iyswim. The cot might even have a mattress insert.

Footmuffs - I'd not go for the extreme one, they're made in Germany and the wonters can be absurdly cold there, so go for a more midway one.

I'd seriously go and have a look at them though, if there are so many.

We just used an old footmuff from a different pram, you don't have to have the same make.

HTH!!

winters I mean!!

Ah yes I see it, don't bother with the 'proper' carrycot - get the soft one. Much more useful! Especially because it turns into a footmuff later with zip down the middle.

That's all you need really I think...

Thanks, NationalFlight. Good to hear positive feedback on the Teutonia too - so few people seem to have them so getting reviews is kinda difficult.
I think the soft carrycot comes with a mattress in, will check that though.

okay - silly question - if i order the soft carrycot, do i still need the apron?

Ah. I didn't see the VAario plus cot before!! My goodness how many different footmuffs!!

Ok. Revised opinion, either the soft or vario plus carrycot (depends which you prefer I think)

Apron is for later, when child is a bit bigger and not using carrycot. You won't need it but it might be nice if you're not using the footmuff one day but it gets a bit chilly.

Raincover - definitely, it's very good (we have one)

Maybe sun shade thing, but you could use a parasol or generic sunshade instead.

I wouldn't know which footmuff to go for really, but I think the soft carrycot converts to a perfectly good one.

Confusing isnt it!

Looking again I'd say definitely get the vario plus. It has the Alvi mattress included which will be really nice and soft, a harder edge to protect the head whilst carrying it, and also converts into a footmuff. Sorted!

I think the vario plus one looks nicer, but the soft one will be more practical and fit in my little car easier than a carrycot with a rigid frame. I assume the soft one just fixes to the buggy seat, and the Vario plus one fixes directly to the chassis. (Another thing to check!)

There are just so many different combinations of things to get for prams, and since this is our first baby, we don't have much of a clue about what's necessary and what's a nice-to-have. When you say you have the raincover, do you mean this one? (Looks, err, very weatherproof!)

I know I'm going to need another trip to the pram shop - I just need to go with a shortlist, otherwise the spending will get out of control!

Yes yes that one, it's great!!

We have iut in red!

The vario goes into the seat unit as well, I am pretty sure - that;s why I suggested it was a good compromise, iyswim. You'd have the seat flat and clip that in using some little straps or something.

The edge bit in it will be removeable anyway I expect, or squashable

Check with them, though.

Seriously the idea of having a little carrier thing you can just lift out of the seat is SO useful with a small baby - they can be put down in it at home, then if you suddenly need to go out you can pick it up and clip it in, without waking up your baby.

Brilliant

Unless of course you need to go out in the car, in which case you'll need to wake them up to transfer to car seat!

Thanks ever so much, it's amazingly helpful to have advice from someone with experience of what's useful and what's not.

So I think my shortlist is now a car seat + base, nappy bag, an apron, a carrycot and a weather protector.

Babies are expensive little things...

No worries! Nobody ahs ever asked me about Teutonias before, I have been waiting for this moment

Hope you enjoy your new LO

You might be better off with a Shade-a-babe or Mountain buggy sun mesh, also act as insect nets. Parasols and the like are never in the right position to cover the whole baby, especially as you change direction so many times when pushing the pram. I saw so many babies recently with their legs and feet totally exposed to the sun due to ill fitting parasols!

Rain cover a must for a winter baby.

Vario plus looks like a semi-rigid frame, whereas the soft carrycot more like a Phil'n'Teds cocoon. Vario might be a better choice for overnight sleeping if you go to stay anywhere, also a comfy downstairs bed in the early weeks when you want your baby close by. I think the vario fits into the pushchair seat, like the soft one. Check the website again.

Agree that you don't need to have the same make of footmuff, there are thousands to choose from out there!

Yes, we don't like parasols; you can get a Teutonia non-parasol shade, but i can't see how this protects much other than the face
Sunset. Think we'll skip on it and get a one of the all-over type you mentioned, girlywhirly.

We were wondering whether we might actually get the Vario plus, and then not bother getting a moses basket. We also wouldn't need to get a footmuff, as the Vario plus converts into one.

3 birds with one stone...

we got the fashion carrycot and it had it's own apron and non pvc raincover and clips directly onto the chasis. the only problem with not using a carrycot would be that the straps would be too high for a newborn. then got the all round foot muff-is good as there are 2 parts for a winter and summer footmuff, they just zip out. the sun parasol is good as it clips directly into the seat unit and has a button to move it rather than having to bend it iykwim. (order it now though as it takes 6 weeks to order as well!) we got the apron and used it quite a bit in the winter when ds was sleeping outside. the only other thing i'm going to get for this winter is the hand muff. it looks really warm and much easier than putting gloves on and off! hth and we love our s3.

oh and we got the maxi cosi adapters added. even though i said i'd never keep ds in the car seat and always put him in the carrycot it was handy for nipping into the shop, etc.

and don't forgot your maclaen buggy for later when your big pram gets too much to lug...

Oh yes, the carseat adaptor should have been on the list, almost forgot about it, thanks!

I got so excited yesterday, was out shopping and I saw one! The first time I've seen someone with a Teutonia 'in the wild', and it was a Spirit, too! I almost ran after them to ask their opinions, but thought they might think I was a nutter.

LOLOL at 'in the wild' Sorry

Welcome to the brand new world of 'prammage'

What I mean is now you have succumbed, there is no way out...

Just had a look at this, one thing I would say is that is one of the heavist pushchairs I have ever heard of!! It looks like it has fab suspension so won't feel heavy to push but honestly to lug that in and out of the car how on earth can anyone do it?

I walked everywhere with dd and only rarely use the car but then I never used the big pram in the car anyway.

I would defo get the carrycot, love the fact that the seat is reversable, very unusual for a 3 wheeler. Looks lovely but I would not buy it at that weight!

Hiya,
we're getting a spirit s3 too, and we were going to get the vario soft carrycot as it has a rigid frame and could be used for overnight sleeping, hence no need for mosesbasket but as it doesn't click onto the frame, it's "inserted" into the pushchair iykwim, so when you fold the pram down, you have to remove the vario first before you can fold it! Took up too much space in the car that way so opted for the Fashion Carrycot instead. We went to a local nursery shop who stocks these, and they were fab, and it's not that heavy at all actually! If you haven't already i really really recomend going and trying it out, folding, unfolding, inserting the carrycot etc etc seeing how the pram could work for you....hth, maria

Hi. I was just wondering how long you all waited for your teuts. i've just ordered one and im secretly hoping that the 8-10 weeks waiting time is a bit exaggerated and it might arrive a bit earlier.

mine took 9 weeks. it arrived on the tuesday and ds was born on the sunday!

We're very interested in buying the Teutonia Spirit S3 but we'll have to order it online as we couldn't find any agents here.

Could someone tell me the measurements of it when folded please?