prams/pushchairs/car seats - help!

[pixie17]

i am approaching the end of the first trimester and although it may be a bit early to be thinking about these things i ahve started to look into prams/puchchairs and car seats. All i can say is - what a mindfield!!! i cant make head nor tail of whats what. there just seems to be so much out there.

Ultimatley my husband and i are looking for best value for money as well as convenience. We like the sound of the '3 in ones', although they are expensive it may prove better value for money in the long run. Also there seem to be so many different car seats for different ages. Can you not get one which will last them all the way through??

neither my husband or I will be 'off roading' with them but we will be using a pushchari/pram to walk about with. we have a car so dont have to worry about publictransport too much. However, I do intend to travel to visit my parents by plane quite a bit so will need something pratical for this purpose. We see some of our friends/family going through several different kinds of pushchairs before their child is even 3 and this must cost them an absolute fortune which we want to avoid.

As for car seats, where do i start with this?

 

[inky]

Well, you're asking the right questions, so that's a start! The best thing to do is to make a list of the features you want in a pushchair and then take it along to somewhere like Kiddicare and ask for some advice and try them out in the store! You can also make sure they fit in your car (something I didn't even think about, thankfully ours did fit but there was a good chance it wouldn't have our car is tiny!). Also think about some of the less obvious things if you can - do you want to have a rear facing option? A window in the hood? A big basket? Those are 3 things I didn't think about until it was too late...

As for car seats, there are seats that are suitable from birth, I have the Britax First Class Plus which is suitable from newborn to about 4yrs old but we only started using it when LO was about 7 months old - we had a Silver Cross Ventura car seat until then which was part of the travel system we've got.

It really is a minefield, you just need to know what you want. You've got plenty of time which is good lol . Good luck! X

 

[inky]

Forgot to say it is worth investing in a seat that transfer from car to pushchair so if baby is asleep you don't disturb him/her getting them in and out of the car x

 

[Kiwi]

Hey hon ,

Like Inky, I have the Britax First Class plus carseat and my daughter seems quite happy in it. The only downside is it's really big so really have to leave it in the car which isn't so great when they're really little and sound asleep in it!

I do loads of travel with my little girl and thoroughly recommend the City mini jogger - it's really lightweight and folds easily with one hand (great when you're travelling on your own with a little one). We got it initially as a travel pushchair but have ended up using it all the time.

Hope this is some help - there's so much choice out there and no doubt you will get hundreds of different opinions!

x

 

[tinkerbell86]

i have a mamas and papas rubix which can be used as a travel system and has a carrycot which can be used as a bed for a newborn (my lo was in it till he was nearly 7 months) and then converts to a pushchair. It's light and fits in the boot of my car (which is a 106) and is about £400 without the carseat. i also have a silver cross linear freeway but this is alot more bulkier in the car!

 

[pixie17]

thanks for all your feedback ladies

 

[BevG]

ive been looking on ebay, u want a travel system one with car seat, car seat base and pram/stroller thing. theres tonnes of them on there, birth + and fairly cheap if u can find someone selling local that wants buyer to collect

 

[Maria1977]

I'm on pram #4!! I've not got the quinny buzz 4. I've only got the buggy seat, but you can get a carry cot and car seat for the frame. It takes the maxi cosi car seat (can't remember which ones, but there's 2 I think), and you can get a base for the car seat so you can just lift off frame and click into car.

Wish I'd had this pram first as it's such good quality and really light. Only problem for me is there is limited space in the basket underneath, which means I can't buy as much when I'm out n about. Probably a good thing really lol

xxxxxx

 

[jennilisanne]

I've got a silver cross 3d, it's a pram/pushchair/car seat and it's fab. Only thing it is a bit heavy so if we lived in a flat not on the ground floor it would be hard, and I need help with steps when out, but then most blokes are happy to be asked and feel like a white knight!

If you're gonna use it as a push chair with the car seat then have a look around, as some look clumsy if the car seat isn't meant to be used a lot, or you could get a car seat that stays in the car and get an easy to fold pushchair/pram.