FFS ….. Prams

If all goes well I will be in posession of a baby at the end of April early May…..

We’re going pram shopping at the weekend and it’s an absolute minefield. Usually typing into google “best xxx 2016 U.K” brings up some good options to shortlist and do more research, but doing that for prams just BLOWS my MIND.

The Mrs wants something that is easy to fold, robust and can adapt so she can clip on one of those lay flat car seats. Not bothered about being able to jog with it as we have a Charriot lined up for running / biking duties

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can any dads / uncles / brothers give me some recommendations

Whatever you get it’ll be wrong in some obscure circumstance that you only encounter a few times a year so your hormonal wife will insist you buy a second sh***ing pram so now you have twice the number of prams cluttering up the hallway.

That’s my experience HTH.

Don’t over think it. We got one of these Zezu

It did the job perfectly from pram to buggy. Little guy is three in Feb and spends more time on my shoulders now than anywhere else. If you want the latest and greatest the Zezu probably isn’t the best, but me and Mrs Funkmaster figured a pram is a pram. If it works as advertised alls good. Don’t be tempted to spend the GDP of a small country.

My wife wasn’t anything like described in the post above 😯

Congratulations by the way 🙂

To the OP, thank you for not calling it a farking stroller <sigh> We are not bloody Americans…

UppaBaby Vista did excellent work for my two. Solid tyres, reduced maintenence! Big basket for shopping, and/or baby paraphernalia. Carry cot is good for sleeping from birth, excellent for early travels, family visits etc. Plugged a Britax car seat in to it as well.

Very pleased with it overall. Only little downside? It’s fairly wide.

We bought a second hand iCandy from Gumtree. Was in near perfect nick with all the accesories – moses basket, car seat, covers, etc. Still cost about £400, but new price would have been near to a grand! 😯

Has been great though, took us through from zero to 3 years. She now doesn’t like pramming it anywhere. But bar a few knocks and scrapes it’s good to go for the next one.

You defo get what you pay for with prams – a lot of our friends went cheapish, and ended up buying another due to fit, or practicability, etc. However, the iCandy seems to be solid, folds small, fits through most doors easily, and has lots of storage space (you won’t realise how much stuff you need to carry!)

We started with a babystyle oyster. Pretty standard pram. We now have a babyjogger summit x3 and it’s awesome. I saw a couple with one at IMBC last year and got chatting to them about it, ordered one for us a few days later.

It has pneumatic tyres and 3 wheel suspension for off road duties, lie flat for use from birth, will take the little one until we no longer need a pram, can be used in conjunction with the car seat, under seat storage and best of all… One hand folding, just grab the strap in the middle and lift and it collapses in one manoeuvre.

Don’t rule out a pram designed for jogging, they have plenty of neat feature that make them worth looking at.

http://babyjogger.co.uk/product/summit-x3/

Second hand, don’t spend a fortune. Mini cp HATED, like properly royally HATED the pram. Hated being on his back, hated being enclosed. screamed…. As soon as we could use it in stroller mode (i.e. sat more upright) he was great. Maxi Cosi Cabrio car seat fit on the pram chassis, that’s useful. He liked being sat in that.

TBH though, me and the other half find it way easier to chuck him in the sling if we’re going anywhere. A pram/pushchair is a right faff.

FWIW we’ve got an Oyster pram/stroller convertible thing. It’s relatively light, folds to go in the back of a Yaris (chassis only – for use with car seat) and the tiny mrs-cp can deal with it.

Main tip of sproggage….. There’s A LOT of bullshit surrounding baby stuff, get and do what works for you.

And ENJOY, it’s bloody brilliant!!!

7 months old the other day….. First go in new bed today, and he was in this position with 20 seconds!!!!

sam by Ceep[/url], on Flickr

IMHO you’ll use it far, far less than you think you will – either get one you can attach the car seat to, or get the cheapest you feel comfortable with.

Limited options if you want a lie flat car seat that ties into a travel system. The Jane matrix used to be the one.

If your anywhere near Devon we’re about to sell ours. One careful owner, not been puked on too much.

What we have now (though #2 spawn is now getting too big for, despite easily tired legs) is a Baby Jogger Mini GT.

We should’ve bought the pram version of same but balked at the new price, so ended up with variously an elderly Silver Cross travel system and a knackered iCandy off the ‘bay.

We bought an uppababy vista 2nd hand, seems good, tho our baby is still a couple of weeks away (argh!)

However, i’ve since noticed this on hotukdeals and it is pretty much identical, and only 200 quid brand new…
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6217426
http://buggypramreviews.co.uk/britax-smile-review/

Had i realised, I would have bought that instead!

Silver Cross – pram and pushchair.

I candy peach. In special mothercare teal. And the special lay flat pram attachment. And the converters for the car seat. And the muff to keep the feet warm. And a fricking cup holder. And a set of lezyne lights for walking when its dark and 2 rain covers and oh yeah 3 months later he has grown out of the lie flat bit so its in the loft…

Well that was what i was told we had to buy. Its actually really good. V smooth. Big basket and looks posh. It folds really easily and had a shoulder strap to lug it about Resale value is pretty strong as well. Its one area i wouldnt scrimp on. You dont realise how much you will use it everyday of your life for the next 4 or 5 years so it needs to be top. Best of luck!

Three children down, youngest now 6. Best buggy we ever had was the City Jogger. Relatives have an iCandy job and I despise it the couple of times I pushed it. Being tall with a decent stride I found the City Jogger good at not bashing my shins. https://m.johnlewis.com/baby-jogger-city-mini-3-wheel-pushchair-black-grey/p/1125626

Mrs njee20 did epic amounts of research on this and we ended up with the Bugaboo Buffalo, which seems very good so far.

Check the dimensions on the UppaBaby, iirc they’re huge when folded.

Just make it easy on yourself and get the one your misses wants, then buy a Maclaren for when it’s about 9 months old, and that’ll see you through.

Another vote for a babyjogger; littlePhiiiiil has been in a babyjogger city mini GT which has the same folding mechanism as richardkennerley up there and it’s awesome. Pop the little clip before you’ve picked it up and the thing unfolds in one motion; fold it up again just by lifting the handle, you can get the thing in the boot while still holding the baby. It’s chunky enough to go off road, suitable from birth (lying flat while strapped in, unlike lots of (all?) pram attachments out there), has lots of luggage space underneath, lots of mud clearance, can fit a car seat and is cheaper than a lot of buggies out there. We use ours a lot.

Having seen various others since we got ours we’d choose the same one again.

If you’re tall, make sure you can reach the handles and push it comfortably. Otherwise you’ll kill your back.

I’ve got no idea on what basis ours was chosen. We got a good deal apparently for a 2nd hand Silver Cross Wayfairer off ebay, I don’t really understand it. We use the car seat for the pram or buggy or wtf it is. The car seat has a newborn insert in which ensures he does fly out which ensures he does not fly out in emergency stops. The other bits (with the exception of the raincover) sit in hallway unused. The car seat is used even when the car isn’t. Folds up & down easily enough. Not so great off road though but otherwise fine.

tldr; leave it to the other half to choose.

Best thing we ever had (15 years ago) was an alu McLaren stroller…thing of an old style push chair from the 80’s
Fold up one handed, weighs nothing, easily handles any city/town situation. We got the cargo net for underneath the urchin seat and that was invaluable. I really don’t understand the expensive “system” buggys. A small light foldable push chair wins every time for me.

UppaBaby Vista did excellent work for my two. Solid tyres, reduced maintenence! Big basket for shopping, and/or baby paraphernalia. Carry cot is good for sleeping from birth, excellent for early travels, family visits etc. Plugged a Britax car seat in to it as well.

Very pleased with it overall. Only little downside? It’s fairly wide.

Same for us (although 2nd on the way). She slept in the carry cot for the first couple of months, friends loaned us the wooden stand thing – will likely do the same again. I’d go a bit smaller/narrower if I was using buses and trains more, but otherwise a good compromise if you walk a lot but still want to get into shops, etc. The front wheels can lock straight ahead so it’ll plough through bumpy tracks, sand, mud, etc that defeat smaller-wheeled pushchairs.

Downsides – it’s not small folded, although it fitted fine in a 1-series boot with the wheels on. And they’re expensive to buy although we got a good chunk off as the new model year was coming in – looking at what they go for ebay though we’ll get half of that back at least.

We got a cheap secondhand Maclaren for a holiday which is good for chucking in the car “just in case” and leaving outside the nursery. Not for younger babies though.

IMHO you’ll use it far, far less than you think you will – either get one you can attach the car seat to, or get the cheapest you feel comfortable with.

It’s very lifestyle-dependent. We live 20 mins walk from town so I’d usually rather walk, and when she was little (and would sleep in the pushchair) I’d go out for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning to let her sleep and give my wife a short break. We’ve got a huge amount of use out of it, and one that I can walk comfortably with is very much worth it.

Another vote for babyjogger here: one hand fold is great, car seat adapters useful.

Our city mini (I think) doesn’t have an adjustable handle, so I can’t stride out while pushing it without catching my toes (6 foot tall) so maybe try one if you taller, but tbh it’s not an issue.

Don’t worry too much about off road abilities: they are all poor at it. Use a carrier for that IMO!

I can highly recommend Emmaljunga’s 3 in 1 system. In fact it just so happens I’m selling one on eBay/gumtree. Special price obvs for a fellow stwer

Just picked up a Bugaboo Buffalo this afternoon. Bought second hand with extra hood/cover plus maxicosi car seat. A good deal but it appears to have put the brakes on bike purchases for a while (like the rest of the scenario hasn’t….) 8)

Did the rounds of the various pram places. Narrowed it down, realised paying full whack seemed mental, happy to go down the 2nd hand route. All good so far

My “order” isn’t due for delivery until June though, so plenty time for inevitable panicks/mind changes!

We got the Quinny Buzz Extra on offer in Mothercare (£50 off rrp + a free Maxi-Cosi Pebble car seat)
We also bought the “pram” bit that fits into the same frame, which was awesome when
MiniG was really little, and was also used as his travel cot for visiting etc.

He is almost 2 now and the Quinny is still great, use it on country walks and the bigger wheels cope with rough stuff really well.

The official advice is that under four weeks they should only be in a car seat for no more then half an hour, then two hours (I think) max above that.

We never bothered getting a seat that fits the buggy, it’s never been a problem just moving her between buggy, sling or car seat.

Just to add, you can get a carry cot for the babyjogger. I’m 6’3 and I’ve no issues pushing it.

Don’t worry too much about off road abilities: they are all poor at it. Use a carrier for that IMO!

This is dependent on you and your baby. Ours wouldn’t sleep in a carrier, and she couldn’t sleep in the babystyle oyster if we were on a bumpy path. We live right on the edge of a 5 mile footpath network which is just bumpy enough to keep her awake without the suspension of the new pram. Me or the wife are out pushing for a couple of hours most days so a pram we’re happy with is essential to us.

Yep whatever you do ensure you test it out before buying. Also baby carrier for off roading. We had a baby bjorn that is still going strong after giving it to a friend even though it’s now 13 years old.

Uppababy Vista worked/working well for us, still in use with no2, while no1 rides on an attached buggy board. As others say, solid tyres = less faff.

However, we also picked up a 3-wheel jogger style double from a charity shop for 40 quid. Best money ever spent. Looks a bit rough but great suspension, pneumatic tyres (which yes I’ve punctured, lots of times), and generally solid.

And because 2 ain’t enough, also have a folding McLaren buggy from gumtree because my new-to-me “family” car (a MINI, naturally) has a glovebox where the boot should be.

Uppababy vista here too. Was absolutely excellent.
Soul destroying as it may seem, get in and try some. I found some a real pain to fold up, some (like the candy) weighed a ton and the mrs could barely lift it. Some were dreadful value (mcLarens was like buying a flipping audi; no standard options).

Ultimately alot of these things boil down to fashion and what pram your wife will want to be seen with when she’s with the other mums. Not criticising this, its a reality. For our first we had a Maclaren Pliko which was a great bit of kit. Based on a stroller design but was like a transformer the way you could configure it to a flat pram, forward facing pull out car seat, rear facing pull out car seat. The best bit about it was it was all contained and all folded nice and small. A really nicely engineered piece of kit. But for child number 2 the wife was dead set on a Bugaboo for no real reason other than they were the fashion item of the time and they could like turn dead easily. I managed to get one second hand and I didn’t think much of it at all compared with the Pliko. Much larger and more clumsy, you had to dismantle it to fold it up (take wheels off, take off the seat/pram bit off the frame) and even then it folded up to a package that was much larger and a more awkward shape than the Pliko. Also the big chunky wheels were clumsy and pretty useless off road and eventually the pneumatic tyres got punctures and just became a PITA. But anyway, that’s man’s thinking and it has no place in this decision.

So i’d just go with whatever your wife wants, if not then you’ll just end up buying twice.

We’ve got an iCandy Peach. Only had the baby a couple of weeks – but the pram is ok so far.

When you say lay flat car seat with have a Kiddy Pro Evo 2. It lies flat on the buggy and in the house – just not in the car. There are a couple of versions that do lie flat in the car but they need a lot if space behind the front seat to fit reclined. They are also a bit heavier.

Happy with our choices mostly though.

The only thing with the Peach is that the cot thing that goes on it needs about 4 hands to get off – you have to press 4 buttons and lift it off at the same time.

Does the pram actually fit in car and your hallway at home, if not…

And once they’re sitting up you’ll mostly use a stroller-type buggy, this is worth paying for something decent as you’ll get a couple of years out if it.

We got a secondhand Silvercross travel system. It’s definitely more town oriented, it rattles and wobbles badly on the country lanes by our house.

She’s just over 4 months now a I think the Silvercross days are numbered. She’s quite petite but fills her travel cot.

We bought an Out n About nipper, much better for walks around the country lanes and forests. And it will take the car seat too.

My wife has family near Peterborough so we went to the massive kiddicare there and tried everything. Ended up with a Jane Matrix Travel System which was great for our two. Particularly liked the matrix lay flat car seat when they were very little. Saw a few friends with upright seats when the babies couldn’t really hold their heads up and it always looked a bit dodgy. This one lays flat but can then be adjusted to an upright when they get older. The pram was good on and off road. Even had mechanical disc breaks!

Thanks to all the fathers / people who just really like prams – much appreciated

I’ll digest all the info when I’m getting paid at work tomorrow so thanks for all the responses as all the associated research will keep me well away from being productive for atleast a couple of hours (I’ll blame the uks productivity being in decline due to brexit or something)

Don’t get a pram. They are a posey waste of money and space. We got an all terrain buggy with a swivel front wheel. You could use it level like a pram and then when they get a bit older you could tip it up and use it forward facing like a buggy. Folds up and goes in the car easy as. Ours was a mothercare one that was passed on to a friend so it really lasted several sproglets.
http://www.mothercare.com/prams-and-pushchairs/mothercare-xtreme-pushchair-travel-system—red/785964.html?cgid=prams_pushchairs#sz=12&start=27

Silver cross Surf 2.

We got the whole lot off eBay only around 5 months old for about £550 – considering new it was a grand or so it was a bargain.

The travel system with the isofix base is brilliant. But the best bit is the pram chassis itself, has an air shock so its super smooth, brilliant off road as well as on road – no air tyres to go pop and handles brilliantly.

If you can snag a not too old used one in fine fettle then you’ll be onto a winner.

…just realised the Surf 3 is out so you may be able to find some bargains in Surf 2s.

In a similar position and we are veering towards Out n About Nipper. A friend with one loves it and is on second set of tyres. Another wishes she got one, instead of one for town and one for the farm.
Cheaper than a lot of comparables, and lighter as it uses more ally. Even got suspension.
And it fits in the back of the Panda.