I have been given the responsibility for researching the best pram/buggy and car seat for our imminent arrival in December.

Whats good? Happy to go high end if it means its good quality and will last, but not just for the sake of it.

Not even sure what I am looking for I assume you can buy both that will last them through. i.e. a buggy that suits newborn to toddler? likewise for car seats?

BeSafe for car seat has come top of the Which car seat tests. Currently £99 at Mothercare.

We went for an Uppababy pram/travel system thing as the pram can be used as a moses basket to sleep in over night as it has a vented mattress and vent flap. It also comes with the adaptors for the car seat to connect to it. Oh, and it also comes with inbuilt sunshades so you don’t have to buy the extra sun brolley’s etc.

Really impressed with both, but you’ll get a myriad of recommendations.

So the bit that makes life easier is having a car seat that also attaches to your buggy. This means you can go to the shops with the mini-me in the car seat, and when they fall asleep, which they will inevitably do even if the journey is only 10 minutes, you don’t have to wake them up to do the shop.

Most pram systems will have adapters that let you mount a Maxicosy baby carrier as this is one of the most popular one on the market.

The other thing we found very useful is a pram system that has both a carry cot and a push chair. We bought a second hand Quinny off eBay that had both and we used the carry cot as the little-uns cot for about two months, just by our bed. It was also handy whenever we went somewhere as the carry cot was always the bed away from home.

Quinny are very good but pricey but they are easy to pick up off eBay. Ours has seen us through two kids although we did end up replacing the frame and wheels as the first one ended up being a little wobbly through wear – but bear in mind it was second hand and had already been through two kids!

all you need to know is that pram travel systems or whatever you want to call them are the most overpriced pieces of junk you will ever see! Just think what bike you could buy with the money!

My one recommendation, put pride aside and buy a good one off ebay as there are a lot and you will save a packet. Put the money saved towards little ones first holiday.

Infact this goes for everything kid related. There is a ridiculous market for second hand as new baby gear at a fraction of the new price. Get it all secondhand and it will pay towards a bigger house or a full holiday or 3!

Not sure if im just tight or hate having my pants pulled down. Oh and most of it you dont need in the first place.

We have had an Oysetr for the two of them, worked and lasted but £450, pah! And for doubles, the second hand as new mclaren someone in Wilmslow bought because their Phil and Teds had a puncture was the best buy, £100 thankyou very much!

Our Quinny got pretty rough and needed a new frame. We live on a cobbled road which probably did it. I wouldn’t say they were very robust. I wouldn’t buy one for the money even second hand (ours was free, and was very welcome, but I wouldn’t buy one).

Lots of people get a Maclaren or similar small folding pushchair at 3-6 months, as they are way more practical if you don’t actually go offroad all the time (most don’t work for teeny babies).

We never used the big pram, as we live somewhere hilly, and it just didn’t work for our baby. We used the ability to bung the car seat in, and then later on got a foldy up Maclaren.

Whatever you buy pram / travel system / pushchair wise, second hand is good – ebay is full of people who buy some beast of a travel system, use it for 3 months, then get a cheap folding pushchair and sell on the travel system dirt cheap.

Unless you live in some miracle place full of wide but extremely bumpy and rocky tracks with no stiles, don’t bother with off road ability – that is what slings and baby carriers are for, and it just makes them bigger and more unwieldy. In practice hardly anyone goes offroad with a buggy (and once they’re older, you can make most bike trailers into a running buggy for offroad anyway).

Second hand pram maybe, second hand car seat – be very very wary. May have been in an accident, generally booted down steps etc.

My advice having plumped for what seemed to be an amazering deal on a Silvercross Deluxe do everything travel system is check how much the sodding thing weighs before stumping up your cash!

14 months other heaving a pram that appears to be made from scaffold and carefully weighted down with lead makes me wish we were a little less hasty with our purchase.

Also, if you car takes one, try and get a travel seat with an ISO fix quick release base. Makes it so easy to get travel seat in and out…

I’d avoid the combo ones if I were you. We went for a fancy do it all Mamas and Papas thing when the first arrived. It was a reversible pushchair that converted into a pram and could have a car seat clipped into it. Jack of all trades and was a pain in the arris.

The second was due along very shortly afterwards so we ditched the M&P and went for a Phil and Teds Explorer with a double kit and attachment thing for a Maxicosi car seat. Much better. We borrowed a cocoon thing (they’re about £60 IIRC) for the new born and it was quite adequate.

The thing with prams is they don’t need to lay flat for that long in scheme of things so any pram type function quickly becomes irrelevant. Whatever you go for I would focus on the pushchair function and being able to clip a car seat on.

I’d recommend the Phil and Teds with a cocoon for the new born and the car seat attachment, but that’s because we have one. Whatever you go for, unless you’re going to walk everywhere (we intended to but didn’t as it was winter and too cold), worry less about the pram side of things.

Edit: Isofix +1, weight +1. Also consider how small it can fold down.

Second hand pram maybe, second hand car seat – be very very wary. May have been in an accident, generally booted down steps etc.

Yip. Definitely would not touch a second-hand car seat unless i knew the owners and history of it. We were gifted a second car seat from a friend but would not have bought one from ebay, or taken one from a well-meaning stranger.

Maxi-cosi Pebble with iso-fix was our first car seat, and will be used again in December.

We have an Icandy Peach which we got after scouring the land for best prices and got John lewis to price match. Expensive, but very good and highly manourevable. Had the maxi-cosi attachments too for those short trips to the shops, so as not to disturb the wee one in the car seat. Not being patronising, but you only keep little ones in the car seat for a short time initially (2 hours max IIRC).

We had our little one arrive two weeks ago. Got the besafe car seat. Brilliant as it supports the little ones head and doesnt push the chin into her chest like a lot of car seats do that I have seen.

We went for an icandy peach for a couple of reasons. Its easy to push and extremely maanouverable but the real reason…… I couldnt bear to spend multiple trips to a pram shop to try them all out and having her indoors change her mind multiple times. Just asked the shop what the best two were they said iCandy or Bugaboo and that gave Mrs Waller her choice 🙂 Flipping expensive but boy it was worth it. One visit and job done!

We’re looking at the Mama’s and Papa’s Sola, looks like it will fit the bill for us.

The Mama’s and Papa’s factory outlet is well worth a look, display models start at arround £130 with a warranty. We are just looking out for one we like to turn up there and we’ll buy it.

A little early perhaps, but when you get to the next stage of car seat at approx 10months old, make sure it has a recline function as they will ALWAYS fall asleep and without that they tend to slump forward instead. I can recommend all the Maxi Cosi Range, we’ve had one for every stage and they’ve been great.

organic355, just been through the same thing.

We wanted to have an Iso-fix base for the car, which I thought would minimise our choices for compatible prams. It doesn’t.

Long story short, we’ve gone for the Uppababy Vista with the maxicosy cabriofix carseat and isofix base.

The pram comes with everything included and quality wise it is comparable with icandy and bugaboo. However, it is cheaper because it doesn’t have the street cred. It is above the other two on Which? too.

This is the pram that dooosuk commented on above. Seems he was happy.

Good luck!

Like all new parents, you will buy an expensive, fancy pants pram. After you’ve used it for a while, you will buy a Mclaren fold up buggy, which is far more use. For one thing, they fit in a normal car boot and leave room for some shopping.

Maxi Cosi “travel system” for when the baby is newborn, then a Phil & Ted’s when they are a bit older. And then one of these:

It would almost be worth being a breeder for that alone 🙂

Long story short, we’ve gone for the Uppababy Vista with the maxicosy cabriofix carseat and isofix base.

The pram comes with everything included and quality wise it is comparable with icandy and bugaboo. However, it is cheaper because it doesn’t have the street cred. It is above the other two on Which? too.

Yep, I think the brand is new to the UK but seems to be taking off. We’ve seen quite a few others on our travels around Manchester.

The iCandy one we looked at was too heavy we thought. We weren’t bothered about bugaboo.

Uppababy has everything and has a decent pushchair with it. You even get storage bags for the pram part for when you lob it in the loft. Puncture proof tyres, locking/non locking front wheels and a big shopping basket at the bottom if that’s a consideration.

UppaBaby Vista and a MaxiCosi seat set up here. Oh, and a Maclaren Techno XLR for holidays. V happy with all of it to date.

*Edit – UppaBaby aren’t that new to the UK. John Lewis have been doing them for a couple of years. V popular in the US of A, though.

UppaBaby aren’t that new to the UK. John Lewis have been doing them for a couple of years

It’s all relative. I’d say that’s reasonably new when trying to move into a crowded and passionate market.

True, and a very valid point!

One thing we found with it was it is rather wide. Not much use if you’re on and off buses. However, can easily get a week’s shopping in the base! Also, the carry cot being used as an overnight sleeper was great for all those inevitable trips to show off the new arrival to friends and family!

Like all new parents, you will buy an expensive, fancy pants pram. After you’ve used it for a while, you will buy a Mclaren fold up buggy, which is far more use. For one thing, they fit in a normal car boot and leave room for some shopping.

A stroller wins hands down for convenience. Having said that we went for a Mountain Buggy something or other. Has been a great buggy and has been used a lot. Decent sized wheels for towpaths and rough-ish terrain. Also goes flat for sleeping in and has a nice sleeping bag accessory thing. Also has a decent sun mesh cover and a good rain cover. It’s also quite light, narrow and very manoeuvrable, and easy enough to collapse. The car seat adapter thing is a bit rubbish so we didn’t bother much with that. And there isn’t much room in the tray underneath. I’d still give it a good recommendation though. Mrs Blobby likes it too and she’s quite hard to please!

Edit: car seat we got a maxi-cosi pebble with the isofix base thing. Has been good for us. Having it in two bits is actually very handy when it comes to getting the seat in and out of the car, and when swapping between cars.

Our starting point was car safety – preferably isofix as you know it is better in a crash this meant a permanent car base… Which is brilliant when the little one is asleep the last thing you want to do is be fiddling with seatbelt straps over the car seat (and waking them).

This meant we went maxi cosi. They do bases that have both isofix and bormal seatbelt fittings.

This meant a buggy that had maxi cosi adaptors. We ended up going bugaboo (which is shagging expensive) but we love ours. Agreed lots of friends did change to a mclaren foldable buggy but we haven’t as we really like the chameleon.

Regardless of make/ebay or whatever. Start with ease of car use/safety

I should have said – all depends on your own usage – we don’t do public transport (that’s not a Maggie Thatcher statement) it’s because of where we live.

We did Quinny Buzz / MAxi cosi Cabrio
Then S/H Phil and Teds when the 2nd came along
We Also have a really good Stroller which we got when No1 was a bit bigger and we wanted to go on holiday.

Isofix is so much easier into and out of the car, not an issue when they are 6lb straight out of hospital, but really noticeable 9 months later.
2nd gen car seats, we got a maxi cosi one that swivels and its an absolute godsend ;o)

We got a Uppababy Vista. Very solid, very good under pram storage (it becomes very important…), and the baby is quite high up so you’re not killing your back as much. Now, is it REALLY required? No, it was a bit of a luxury.

It fits a pram (so from when they’re newborn) and then fits a buggy style type and also the car seat. It was a very good purchase. Very solid. For car seats you can live without an isofix base but it makes life a lot easier. Maxi cosi Cabriofix is a good car seat and around/less than 100 quid.

For the rest: if you ever want a rear facing car seat (i.e. when they get a bit older/and if you want a second car seat that can swivel 1/4 of a circle there’s the Cybex Sirona. Quite handy and saves your back a bit. Pricey though.

Oh and get a Snoozeshade that covers the car seat. Brilliant for blacking out the environment for the little poomonsters.

Oh and get a Snoozeshade that covers the car seat

Probably not required if you buy a car seat which has a sunshade built in….like BeSafe. Extra money saved 🙂

We did the whole first year, travel system, clothes, toys, furnished the nursery, mclaren stroller, car seats for multiple cars etc for £200. Not cheap stuff either, we were turning it down and had plently of choice of makes, people even delivered some stuff!.

Ebay, friends and work colleagues all contributed, parents cannot wait to get this stuff out of the house once the kid has outgrown it, the depreciation is near enough 100% except on trendy stuff or phil n teds.

I can’t say I regret not spending a fortune on a ‘travel system.’

We were in same position. Baby due in amonth. Saw the one we wanted then got it (brand new) on ebay with more bits and bobs thrown in than any brick and mortar shops. So worth going to shops to try em out and see what is manageable for you and the mrs to manage.

We didn’t like the combo things, we found using a sling to be much better with a baby. Far nicer to be snuggling and cwtching with your babe as you shop then wheeling or carrying them about like luggage. They wake up when you get them out, but soon go back to sleep all warm and cosy.

The sling covered the first 6 months, which meant we had way more choice of pushchair after that – we had a Maxi Cosi Mura which allows them to face you at first, and lie flat. Far less clutter that way I reckon.

We also had a Quinny Zapp for town use later, that got way more use than the Mura and is better than a McLaren imo.

We went for the uppababy vista, isofix family fix base and maxi cosi seat. Would thoroughly reccomend it all

Unusually many uppababy purchases…

I went for a maxi cosi seat, with the isofix base, don’t underestimate the ability to not wake your baby after a car journey! Coupled with a bugaboo chameleon, i was quite happy with the fact I could drop the car seat onto the frame, or set up a pram in 30secs, that I could then put micro bits in to sleep while we were in a pub etc.
Working well for nano bits as well, and will be selling it on when he’s at pushchair stage as there are easier pushchairs to use (folding, off road etc)

Just go to mothercare and throw yourself at their mercy.
Consider use, four wheels are more stable but three better off road, solid tyres obviously dont puncture but are crap off road. We got a mother care my3 system, used daily walking the dog. Does lie down pram to.upright buggy and the car seat thingy fitted in it. Very durable until I slammed the boot on it and bust the chasis but that was replaceable. Its big and cumbersome so the little buggy was bought for £50 but that buggy cannot do the dog walk. No idea what it cost my mum insisted on buying it!

If you don’t want buy new get yourself to a local NCT nearly new sale (http://www.nct.org.uk/branches/events/nearly-new-sales). We did the usual new parent thing and went to mothercare and spent £550 on a Quinny Buzz and Maxicosi car seat. We then saw the Quinny in one of these sales about 3 months after minimatt arrived for £80.

They are also very good for cheap clothing as well, not that it matters for the first few months as you’ll get given a LOT of outfits.