Please please please can you recommend a pushchair for me.

[Cies]

I know this has been done 20 million times, but I'm new at this game and there are SO MANY choices out there.

Our situation:

Expecting pfb in November.
Live in flat with a SMALL lift plus 8 steps before the lift.
Have two small cars - Citroen Saxo and Renault Clio.
During the week don't use the car much, but at weekends like to get out of the city and go for a walk in the country.
Have a dog so will be walking the dog daily on pavements and grit tracks in the park.

I envisage using a sling for most daily trips popping in and out. We have shops very close by, so carrying shopping not really a problem. Big supermarket shop will be done by car.

I'm not interested in a travel system, seeing as we use the car so little.

I've thought of two options:

Buy a Maclaren Techno XT and use from birth with footmuff and sheepskin.

Buy a cheap second hand pram to use till 4/6 mo. Then buy a Maclaren pushchair (maybe quest?)

How much will I regret not having baby facing me at first? Will baby be ok in Maclaren in winter?

Any comments or suggestions most welcome. Thanks

I'd go straight for a techno. When DD was tiny she always slept in the pram so didn't really look at me.

She then went into a Quest at about 5 months and it's not really a problem for us her facing outwards.

I did like the travel system aspetc of things though, which is why we did pram then quest, but if you don't care about that then techno all the way IMO.

Oh, we don't use our quest for very bumpy terrain, it's no good for that, no suspension and wheels too small for long grass so we revert back to the big pram for that.

The techno has much bigger wheels than the quest though iirc.

What's the Techno like for bumping up steps?

I don't know as I haven't got one but the Quest is v v easy for that. Spect the Techno is a bit harder as heavier but nowhere near as hard as a proper travel system.

Have you looked at the Bugaboo Bee? It's quite small and can be rear facing but I don't know what it's wheels are like for bumpy terrain thinking about it.

No, I haven't looked at Bugaboos at all. I seem to have a sort of irrational aversion to them because they're so popular and because I've read so many threads on here of people saying they would go Maclaren every time.

The Techno XT is awesome. I got a second hand one on Ebay for £50, and have never looked back (after being disappointed with a Quinny Buzz and a Phil and Ted's Sport).

It's by far the comfiest and lightest to push, and DS loves it. It's also damn resilient, as I take it every day down a rutted gravel track and bump it up and down steps with no damage done. (Which isn't bad given it was 4 years old when I bought it!).

HTH

If having the baby facing you at first is an issue why not look at the Maclaren XLR with the soft carry cot. The price difference on the XT and XLR also makes it worthwhile as the XLR comes complete with liner and apron!

Thanks for all the help so far.

I had looked at the XLR but then read that it's heavier and more unweildy (sp?) when baby is older. But I'll reconsider it...

I love my Loola Up but would not recommend for carrying longish distances folded or bumping up steps. Sorry I know that's not much help!

I would say if you'll be using slings a lot not to worry about the parent facing buggy, because you will be doing that face to face interaction on the sling journeys.

lots of walking + stairs = a need for big air tyres imo.

Much lighter to push and anything with small wheels is a total pita on non flat surfaces. Grit and chips make small wheels grind to a hault.

I would go for anything that just fits in the lift/your boot with big wheels and mostly keep it in the car tbh.

I'm in exactly the same position! We're thinking of a Mountain Buggy Swift at the moment mainly because of the wheels.

Are the Maclaren wheels really suitable for grit/dirt tracks? And what is the suspension in them like?