[Closed] Baby on the way, talk to me about Push chairs/Car seats.

Buy a 2nd hand travel system as it'll have hardly been used (unless they've had more than one baby).
If you paranoid buy a new car seat.
We never used the cot attachment on it other than in the house (see chariot below). Handy but wouldn't have bought one new.

You'll be gagging to buy a lightweight pushchair ASAP anyway as the travel systems are big lumps in comparison. (7months and just bought a pushchair)

Baby Bjorns are ok but we never really used ours. Material sling is used more often but it's not used that much.

We spent a lot on a Chariot though which has had loads of walking and cycling use in the woods and moors (upto the age of 4ish) and soon will be able to go in the rucksack for going up mountains and places where the chariot is too cumbersome and large.

[i]That Baby Jogger looks great but we both like the idea of having the option to face baby if we want to. A most likely contentious topic so let's not go there today [/i]

Don't get too hung up on facing the baby. You'll only end up with something multifuntional and essentially useless after 6 months. Baby seat in travel system is good for this and handy around town and shops when your bored but once they are 4 months ish they will look around a lot anyway so forward facing is fine.

Leave it to your wife she will be the one pushing around on a daily basis unless she’s the bread winner. We went with the Bugaboo Chameleon set up with Maxi Cosi Isofix Chair which worked excellent, we sold Bugaboo after 2 years for about £80 less than we paid. We had a problem with one the straps on the Bugaboo they changed the whole chassis.

No 1 North child is due in August.

So far purchase (or deposits paid) have included:

*Bugaboo Chameleon
*Maxi-Cosi seat
*Maxi-Cosi Family Fix Isofix base (slightly future proofed)

Decisions are entirely based on what works for Mrs North, who is a petite 4'10", and so needs something light and easy to handle.

Oh, and she's bought me a BabyBjorn carrier.... 😉

Probably also worth pointing out that Mrs Lake is only a fraction shorter than me 😳

Holy crap, those Chariot Carriers look ace but £900!! Ouch.

buy a cheap one..........cos she will want a dear one.
but when the time comes round again.......you will deffo buy a cheap one.

Spot on advice from Ton

Its all to easy to blow cash on the first one, only to look back and think, what a waste of money!

But I guess its a lesson in life you have to go through 😉

[i]

Holy crap, those Chariot Carriers look ace but £900!! Ouch. [/i]

You haven't looked at the accessories yet...

I classed it as my new bike as it would allow me to get out more ;0)

Proper offroad needs big wheels that most stuff doesn't give you. But if your not in the moors etc then the bigger wheeled joggers should be good. Little wheeled pushchairs are comical at the first sign of a pebble.

I did only look at the CX sport one mind... rest are a little more reasonable.

I went for the Cougar as it's lighter. Although it probably isn't now I've added the extra front brake (including an extra bar) but very very useful for walking in hills.

Just want to add something that I think will prove key in a while.....

buy a pushchair that is agile/quick-turning etc. I reckon they'll love that 'weeeeee' feeling when you are quick-flicking the push chair around and down aisles etc etc. I'm already doing this!! 😀

dont get an isofix seat or one with a base that the carrier clicks into, it'll restrict you by not being able to use taxi's unless you cart the base round and hire cars when on holiday. none of the cars on offer in malta offered isofix. seatbelt option is more versatile.
theres a place in clevedon just by the motorway junction that sells new baby stuff at a discounted rate.

http://www.trendybaby.co.uk/index.cfm

quinny and phil and teds = pants.
we have a BOB Stroller(same people as the MTB trailers) from the states.
Mrs Flatfish loved it after i told her to wait till we got there and says shes glad she waited.

dont get an isofix seat

That is most certainly the one we will be getting for Zach's next seat. Seatbelt system is PITA.

Cheers for the link flatfishy, nice not to have to trek into Bristol!

But, Holidays? LOL
Taxis? LOL

😉

Sling for the first 3-6 months (depending on size) - far better than a pram.

Then small foldable pushchair (Petit Star Zia or Quinny Zap, both £120) for town use and an optionally something chunkier for outdoor/longer walk duty. We got a Maxi Cosi Mura for half price £150, which allows you to have the baby facing you - a good thing.

Don't get sucked into the Bugaboo/Phil and Ted thing, it's just not worth it.

Chariot are absolutely frigging amazing. You don't have to actually push them on the flat, they just roll along and you control them with a finger - seriously. And it's a bike trailer 🙂 Cougar is the most cost effective one I reckon.

Re Isofix, the Maxi Cosi one can be clicked into its base OR you can wrap a seatbelt around it old skool style, so works in taxis etc.

But best advice: get a sling first, then take your time figuring out what you want as you get an idea of what's needed. [b]Don't rush out and spend thousands before the baby arrives![/b]

Re Isofix, the Maxi Cosi one can be clicked into its base OR you can wrap a seatbelt around it old skool style, so works in taxis etc.

Also.. we have a seat that can't be removed from the car and it's not really been a problem. But then we do have a good natured baby. And taking her out without her waking up can be done if she's tired enough 🙂

if you want to get a sleeping baby, undisturbed, out of the car.

I worried that we'd have this problem (dont have the travel system) but I realised from before we paid out that he wouldnt be going in and out on a regular basis anyway. Say twice a week.

You don't tend to drive regularly with a newborn/newbie anyway!

You don't tend to drive regularly with a newborn/newbie anyway!

Ours goes in one car or another every day.

You don't tend to drive regularly with a newborn/newbie anyway!

We thought we might drive a fair bit (summer was approaching) so we got one of these
[img] [/img]

Except that rather than pay £700 we got it for £200 from eBay almost new.. we were damn lucky!

We got it because the lie-flat arrangement is really super comfy for the baby - like being in first class on a plane 🙂 And it really is a superb bit of kit going up to age 3 or so. Only down sides is it's not Isofix (although rock steady), and you can't take it out of the car.

However I always feel a bit sad when I see babies being lugged about in car seats like luggage. Whenever ours woke up getting her out of the seat, we put her in the sling and she soon fell asleep again snuggled up to Mummy or Daddy's bosom.. aah 🙂

I really do think slings are best for babies because of the warmth and closeness and the attention you can give - comforting hands, they can see your face, you tend to talk to them and so on. Can't get that being wheeled about in a pram.

My wife does - she goes all over with them to all sorts of baby events in order to meet other mums and so our girls get involved with other babies - she started doing it at about 3 months IIRC. The baby seats are in/out/in/out constantly.

Hmm fair point. Mine seems to just push him round everywhere (weathers good)

Can't get that being wheeled about in a pram.

Mine seems to just push him round everywhere

Get a double and sit in it with baby and get Mrs Molgrips to push the two of you then

Not a bad idea.. 🙂

Congrats all.. you're entering the most rewarding, scary, tiring and fun times of your lives...

Ours is 9 months old and I love more every day 🙂

Haven't read all responses, we went for Britax Vigour 3+.. it came with a carry cot, car seat (with Iso fix base) and a pushchair. Expensive but very very good.

Did someone say get a sling for the first 3-6 months? Best then factor in a few trips to the physio for the bad back you will get as a result!

Don't get drawn into buying the most expensive buggy, pram convertible whojamaflit thingy!

We had Mamma's and Pappas stuff and it was mediocre, but expensive (£500 15 years ago).

I'd go for a three wheeled offroady looking thing that folds down small.

Another thing we found useful for getting baby off to sleep was a cheap baby rocker (a bit like [url= http://www.preciouslittleone.com/product-information/56/10525/babyco-daisy-rabbit-pink-baby-rocker/ ]this[/url]. but not in pukey pink). Great device! Put whingy baby in it, and actuate gently with foot whilst watching TV, or whatever. Worked a treat! 😀

I'd go for a three wheeled offroady looking thing that folds down small.

Another thing we found useful for getting baby off to sleep was a cheap baby rocker (a bit like this. but not in pukey pink). Great device! Put whingy baby in it, and actuate gently with foot whilst watching TV, or whatever.

Best then factor in a few trips to the physio for the bad back you will get as a result!

Nah, only if you get a bad sling. This is brill, our littleun weighed 11.5kg at 6mo and I had no bad back or sore shoulders. She just got too damn big for it though being not well developed enough for her size, and the sheer weight was tiring, but it didn't put anything out.
[img] [/img]

OP. You need to start selling your bikes now. Pointless having alot of extra clutter in the house when you can't use them IMO.

OP. You need to start selling your bikes now. Pointless having alot of extra clutter in the house when you can't use them IMO.

I still use my bikes plenty.. it can be done. Just find something that works for you.

Again, living with the woods on your doorstep and actually being able to commute via them helps a lot 🙂

No problems with backs and slings here either, even though other half suffers with back problems.

9lb 4 when she was born so not exactly a lightweight either

I still use my bikes plenty.. it can be done. Just find something that works for you.

molgrips - Member

I still use my bikes plenty.. it can be done. Just find something that works for you.

Me too, I've manage a solo 24 hour and one 12 hour team race as well as normal riding in the last 15 weeks since my Daughter arrived.

I don't ride as many hours, so my focus is now on XC rather than enduros.. but that's as much about my wife as it is my daughter 🙂

I do as much activity as before but just in shorter bursts - still ride/run/surf plenty but I reckon training for hours on end is just a bit selfish if you have a little one. Try and restrict myself to two hours or less at a time (tricky for surfing).

We have a quinny buzz, because a friend had finished with it, so it was going free. It works okay. I've taken it on buses, trains, and in loads of cars. It fits a car seat.

I would think carefully about whether you need off road ability really. The buzz is a kind of off road compromise which is okay for me, you can go over the odd root or step (or recently I took on the local bmx jumps). For things like parks or wide woodland paths, you don't need an off road thing at all, it is only rooty singletrack or rocks where the smaller wheels will get stuck. I don't think the big wheels are a massive advantage in town. I take ours on singletracks because we have a bunch of nice walks near us where it makes sense to nip through shortcuts, but that is the only reason it is at all useful having the wheels as far as I can tell. Oh and also going down our road - which is an 18th century stone road, made out of massive lumps of gritstone, kind of like giant cobblestones, smaller wheels can get stuck in them. Other than that, we live in a very hilly town in Derbyshire, with hilly parks and woods, walk an awful lot (no car) and I doubt we really need it other than for being nice on our road.

The downside of big wheels and all that is that things are bigger and heavier, and you often need to take wheels off to put them in a car boot. For us, 90% of the use is pushing around, as we live right near town so it isn't a big problem, but it would be a bugger if you had a smaller car and drove much, or were pushed for space at home and needed to fold it often.

Oh, on the car seat thing, I think our car seat (maxi cosi one) can click into some kind of clicky base, but also works fine with seatbelts in taxis or other people's cars, and also clips onto the pram base, which is good - we use it way more than the carry cot add on for the quinny (I wouldn't bother buying that to be honest). So you get the best of both worlds.

If you do get a big pneumatic wheeled one, Schwalbe sell decent bike tyres & tubes in those sizes that don't get punctures all the time (I think they are called 'City Jet').

We also have a sling, which is often a magic sleep machine, so it is worth getting for that alone. We have a Moby Wrap, which is kind of a bit fiddly first time you use it, but seems very comfy, and very unlikely to give you a bad back. To be honest, I think people who don't have slings are more likely to end up with bad backs as they spend much more time carrying babies in their arms, which is more achey making. The sling or similar is also the only thing you can use to go on a decent proper walk in the country, unless you like lugging massive buggies over stiles, up rock steps etc. or want to limit yourself to sustrans style tracks.

Also, don't spend too much on anything, and buy things second hand if at all possible, even if you have rich grandparents. Some babies just don't get on with some stuff, and you'll end up selling things off / chucking them out (like our baby doesn't get on with the £100 Quinny carry cot), better to get 2nd hand so as not to have a big financial hit. NCT do 'nearly new sales', which are like cross between a big jumble sale and a fight* - if you turn up super early to them, you can get stuff very cheap. Our local one lets pregnant women in 15 minutes early too.

[three wheelers] Often very unstable when lifting over kerbs though.

Joe

*at our last one locally it apparently really did kick off between two people wanting to buy the same fancy pushchair!

Oh, and I haven't done any really long rides yet, but I've still got in a few off road rides, and about 100 miles a week on the commute, biking doesn't have to stop just because you have a baby around. Helps that I can do a decent 6-10 mile mountain bike ride in 45 minutes to an hour total, starting from our front door - a big reason why we moved to Derbyshire before having the kid.

Joe

Really? I can't see that being any hassle - you're on the two back wheels going up or down a kerb, same as any pram. How can it be less stable?

And the clicky base is an Isofix (as discussed ^^^^^^^^) 😉

To be honest, I think people who don't have slings are more likely to end up with bad backs as they spend much more time carrying babies in their arms, which is more achey making.

Yeah SOME slings are rubbish, some are great.

Re pushchair wheels - we found that the small wheels of the kind found on pushchairs that fold up small ie the Zapp are okay but if you have to walk for any period of time on rough pavements etc they are a bit annoying. Bigger or pneumatic wheels make it way easier if you have to walk somewhere for 15 mins or so.

Like I say, pneumatic 10" wheeled sturdier one for trips to the supermarket on foot, small plastic 6" wheeled one for round town (cos it fits in the car and is dead manoeuvrable in shops).

And the clicky base is an Isofix (as discussed ^^^^^^^^)

Ah, okay. The point I was making being that you can get a clicky base, on a child seat that also works fine with seatbelts, so you have all the advantages of both types.

Probably down to my technique, but when lifting up a kerb I tend to lift the back wheels so all weight is on the single front one. It is a double so quite a lot of weight is pushed onto the one (pivoting) wheel.

On ours, the front wheel sort of locks out, so it can only pivot a weeny amount, enough for turning smoothly, but not enough so anything goes weird if you go up things with it.

On ours, the front wheel sort of locks out, so it can only pivot a weeny amount, enough for turning smoothly, but not enough so anything goes weird if you go up things with it.

Can I just say one thing at this point. None of these are mine or Fatsimon's 8)

I Have a Mama's and Papa's Pliko, we were given the seat by a close friend so I knew it hadn't been in an accident, and I got the pliko from freecyle. We did purchase the ISOfix base for the car seat and personally I found it better than the base that was provided for seat belt use.

I was also told to stear clear of quinny's as they are pretty but not practical.

Personally I found TBjnr liked her pram to fall asleep in on walks into town, so one that fully reclines was a mist for me. I also found that being able to take the car seat out with her alseep in and clip it onto the pram without having to move or wake her up was a god send, I knew I could drive to town and get most of my shopping done without waking her up.

BUT - you will find all babies are different, I recently met a mum who's little one hated the pram, and they ended up getting one of those sideways sling things, I have another who's baby will happily sit in the pram but never fall asleep in it.

My advise - go with freecycle, try and see what works for you and pass on those that don't