[Closed] Pram time

Just get yourself down to John Lewis and try some out.

There will only be one or two that fit all your criteria.

Wheel size, as always is an area for debate.

We went to kiddicare (one of the scariest shops i have been to) and tried them all out.
We went for the uppababy vista in the end as it was the best built one in the shop.

You won't find a from birth one, I bet you have at least 2.
Bugaboo Chameleon was ace for me (bought second hand, 2 kids and sold for £50 less) but after a while I wanted an easier collapse, smaller buggy so got a city stroller. Just have that now, about done with it so soon to be pram free

remember to check it fits into your car boot. I..ahem..know someone who didnt...... 😳

We have an icandy strawberry it folds down easily one handed and will fit in the boot of a polo if you take the rear wheels off.

Make sure you look at how manoeuvrable the pram is in tight spaces and how easy it is to lift the front wheel with a baby in it.

Long shot and hope you don't mind but I've a one year old Silvercross pioneer to sell when I get around to putting an advert together!
Only selling it as we have another baby due .. Today actually! On the off chance you'd be interested ... feel free to send a message.

Either way, I can recommend it 🙂

http://www.silvercrossbaby.com/our-products/prams-and-pushchairs/pioneer/

We had a Mothercare travel system that survived two kids. It was a bit tatty after 5 years of constant use, but it never broke.

It was a 3 wheeler with 10" wheels. Very good off road, over kerbs and uneven pavements.

We've got some massive Danish pram, it's like a modern version of the old Silver Cross ones. Beautifully made but its massive so takes up all of the boot of my car and doesn't fit in the wife's. Is to large for some shops and is a liability in a busy street. It works in Denmark as they leave means and babies outside and don't drive so much.
Not that I was allowed any say in choosing it.
Rant over, but make sure the size suits you.

Bugaboo Chameleon was ace for me (bought second hand, 2 kids and sold for £50 less) but after a while I wanted an easier collapse, smaller buggy so got a city stroller. Just have that now, about done with it so soon to be pram free

I'll second that. Superbly well made, really easy to maneouvre, the big wheels can be at the back (normal pushing) or front (uneven terrain), the small wheels can be completely collapsed so you can pull it behind you (on the beach). Its cot is good enough for baby to sleep in, it will take a maxi-cosi car seat (godsend) and can be converted into a stroller. I had the original for my first two ten years ago, have now bought a 10 yr old 2nd hand one for no.3 (4 weeks old, he's asleep in it as I type this) and it's as good as new. Find a good 2nd hand one with a few accessories (raincover etc) for around 400 pounds and you'll never regret it

Well, it was a few years ago but we went through about 4 or 5 before we settled upon one that suited us.

We tried various different variants but my advice would be to get the smallest/lightest 'thing' you can.

We had a Maclaren (I have just had a look and they no longer make it!). It was a city or something like that. It would allow the baby/child to lie flat (if needed) so was suitable for the early months. It is all we used for our second son.

You can get very carried away with these things (particularly if it is your first child). I think there is also a certain amount of snobbery involved with child carriers!!

We have an old style Mutsy (4 runner?). It's a bit big, heavy and cumbersome in confined spaces. A light weight stroller would be better around a shopping centre. But the well built Mutsy with its 12" pneumatic tyres and in bulit suspension (springiness in the frame) is ideal for out and about families. Copes well with 'off road' paths and tracks and gives a smooth quiet ride on uneven pavements. Takes a pram/cot, car seat, bugggy seat. Seeing us though our second child now, just some scuffed wheels (just like the missus' car) to show for it.

Just read that back, I sound like a bloody marketing brochure 🙂

We've got a Babystyle Oyster 2. It was mainly down to what would fit in the cars and the Oyster is pretty much the smallest one that we found once folded.
We found it nice and easy to fold, is relatively light and manouevreable.

Dunno if it's the best but it suits us. We got the normal buggy bit and the carry cot base, which also suits us for when we go for walks in the local area.

We also looked at a Joie something or another, which was a similar price. I preferred it, but it didn't fold as small.
We also looked at a Gracco system that was on offer, but it didn't fold very small. It was impressively light though but still very rigid.

We are local to Kiddicare so went there and it was definitely worth it. Plenty of space to try them out, all of the bits and pieces, so you can have a proper look at them and you can take them outside and try them in your car.
They also start the warranty from your due date.

Uppababy Vista here too. In use now with our second child. It's from birth too and can even double up as a travel Moses basket to sleep in overnight.

Would definitely recommended. It's well engineered and lasting superbly.

Stumpy has just jogged my memory!! The buggy we ended up with was a Gracco Citisport (not Maclaren!).

A pram! no wonder the country is going to pot. Sooner they start walking is the sooner they start earning.

mrsfry...ours is only 7 weeks old, but already signed up for an apprenticeship with the local chimney sweep - trainee blockage un-plugger. She starts on the day after Boxing day... 😆

Do you really need one? We never bothered, just used slings. Much lighter and more compact - and much, much more practical on public transport and the like.

Stumpy01

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we have had a stokke, a phil & Teds, a bugaboo Chameleon, and now have a city jogger mini. Stokke was great for city and shopping centres. baby was really high, then snow came and it was hard to push around safely. So we got the Phil & Teds, and its been the best all rounder, been abroad numerous times and is really solid. On holidays byt the pool or beach its like a base station as you can load it with everything and drag it anywhere. Weighs a ton though, so borrowed a friends Bugaboo, and it fell apart. Plastic lugged main joint keeps failing. Seems really flimsy made. Mrs got a bad back and couldnt lift the P&T in and out the boot, so she got a city jogger mini, and its amazingly light and well built. We now have a secondhand city jogger doubler as we have number three on the way soon 🙂

Also worth thinking about whether you anticipate having more than one child in quick succession.

We ended up with a Phil & Teds three wheeled jobbie after seeing friends out in Tremblant who were moving their 5 week old and two year old around in -35 without any problems. Resale was / is good, and we're about to get shot of ours after five years and two Udderlets (often moved at the same time - you expand it with a second seat at the back). They're big-ish, but still very usable, and did us from birth all the way up with the cocoon thing (a hand-me-down from siblings).

It's been pretty good off road, although three wheels is not good on off-camber stuff, and it's pretty indestructable. The Dash looks similarish to what we have, but a lot more compact (which is a very good thing).

*however* one bit of advice from a group of complete strangers that I later realised was well worth while was: get a Mclaren-style (or Mclaren) folder that you can collapse, open and lift one handed. If you have a shedload of shopping, a baby and a wriggling toddler in a multistorey car park and some idiot has parked very close to your car, then it works out a load easier. It's also easier to fly with if you plan to go overseas. We inherited a Mclaren from the family, and last time we used it it was still going strong. It would have been less of a sod if it had been crushed, dropped or pinched by bag chuckers at various airports, too.

Hope that helps. Spend a bit of time working out what you actually want to use it for, what the transport linkages are like (we don't have much use for buses, living near a railway station and within walking distance of lots of amenities, and with access to a car, for example - we'd have got something smaller if we planned to use public transport regularly), how big you anticipate the family becoming if all goes according to plan, and whether it is practical. As Ben C points out above, a sling might do the trick, but additionally, it may not work for you, especially as they get biggerer.

We were bought a Bugaboo Bee - We've absolutely battered it in 3.5 years.
In that time the handle adjuster clamps have failed 3!!! times . £15 replacement on bugaboo website - but they are always sold out - you have to buy them for about £25 off some canny pram entrepreneurs , grr.
Despite that , it is way better than the cheapo Maclaren we bought for air travel.

If you want to save BIG money and want to buy a 2nd hand quinny zap , car seat ,cabio fix etc.....then give me a message!!

We had a Bugaboo Chameleon then a Phil and Teds when the second mini hanchurch came along, both were great and held their residuals well.

Have you considered buying 2nd hand? I got a Mamma's and Pappa's stroller style pram for ours (Pliko I think). I thought it was far better than the bugaboo style trendy ones - it folded up really small, converted into all modes without having to remove parts or put them on. It cost us around £800 at the time. My brother bought the same model 2nd hand - looked brand new and he got it all for around £200.

Uppababy Vista here. One month in and its a godsend being able to let the little one sleep in it overnight. Liked the fact that you got the carrycot, chair and car seat adaptors all in one go, and didn't have to buy extras.

Do you really need one? We never bothered, just used slings. Much lighter and more compact - and much, much more practical on public transport and the like.

I always thought that air of superiority I experienced around folk with babies in slings was either my own imagination or me projecting my shortcomings/guilt (for taking a pram on a bus) onto other folk - turns out it actually is a thing!

NINJA EDIT - i dont really do smileys/emojis but this post was intended as light hearted, before I get into trouble...

I'm vegetarian too, if that helps 😉

Natch!

We had an Uppababy Vista and it was great from birth to 3, only pram we needed but also used slings a lot too. Carry cot great for travel and letting them sleep and doing something else. Big basket for shopping and folds easily.

2 friends had one, both on 2nd kid with them now.

Bought a Maclaren as 2nd pram for my boot, used it 4-5 times, preferred the Uppababy.

Black Uppababy in good condition now for sale with red footmuff and car seat adaptors if of interest, drop me a mail!

And congratulations...

After a "from birth" one that does it all!

Unless you are planning on limiting yourself to just one child, I can assure you that there is no such thing. No matter what the manufacturers claim, their prams/pushchairs/buggies seldom last beyond a year-ish, and certainly can't do all the things you would like them to.

We have spent a lot on decent prams, off-road prams, fancy Italian prams, umbrella pushchairs... you name it; and while we have loved this or that feature of the different ones, there has always been at least something that meant it didn't function the way we needed it to when we needed it.

I would say to just find one you like, and add to it a cheap umbrella pushchair, and enjoy them until the disintegrate.

Uppababy Vista has been great for us. Number 1 used it a lot and now it's meeting number 2's needs as well - no sign of it falling apart. Very versatile as you can stick a car seat straight on as well. We use slings a lot as well but the distance into town is too far to carry them in

My best advice is to buy one secondhand - we got a Phil n Teds with all the accessories for about £150, and it was great for moving our new born and 2 year old. But if we hadn't liked it, we could've sold it on and tried something else.

You'll also want a stroller buggy for the car boot.

The birth - to - two - nippers things is problematic, but we ended up using a Phil & Ted's inline type pushchair which held a baby carrier lying flat, then expanded out with extra bits as needed. Ours is pretty hammered, but still sellable, I think. They're generally bombproof, and we've had one breakage (a plastic bit we dropped the whole weight of the pushchair on several times while loading it into the boot folded) in that time.

Biggest waste of money in the whole baby charade...

Too big to take through shops, cafes etc, takes up the whole bloody boot as well.

As soon as the wee one was strong enough to hold her head up, a littlelife back carrier for me, a wee stroller buggy for the wife. The baby carrier was brilliant, used to carry a wee mirror in my pocket to keep an eye on her, she loved being up high and seeing what was going on. Bought it second hand, and sold it on for the same money.

Our babystyle oyster 2 certainly did from birth.
Bought carry cot and never used it.
Just used pushchair and car seat. Pushchair suitable from 0 months.

Good piece of kit. When the next kid comes we will get the ride along attachment.

Had the double City Jogger. Was ace. Single one looks good. Think you can get spigots for it to fit car travel systems on to it.

Bugaboo Chameleon. Brilliant bit of kit. Very easy and light. Quality.

As soon as the wee one was strong enough to hold her head up, a littlelife back carrier for me

That's a good point - we bought one second hand for not too much, and it was great for walking in the nearby hills and further afield with two, if can get a bit tricky, however - they both wanted to be in it.

Thinking back, we also had a sling, which is great in certain circumstances, not so great in others.

The thing is, there's just lots and lots of baby s**t you can buy - but probably not that much baby s**t you *have* to buy. If you can, have a bunch of baby transportation options to hand and pick what fits your need. You may find you get given a lot of hand-me-down stuff by family, friends or friends-of-friends. We certainly did, and we're passing stuff on now.

Having 2 kids over the last 6 years, owning 5 difference prams and having tried most brands over that time my recommendation would be an [url= http://www.emmaljunga.co.uk/ ]Emmaljunga[/url] . The other is Brio but I’m not sure if you can buy that in the UK at the moment.

I would also go as far to say avoid Bugaboo; our own personal ownership experience is not good, and luckily their warranty replacement service is good.

Before we bought ours we tested loads of different makes and models and even stopped parents in the street and got their first hand experience of their particular pram. Excessive? Perhaps...

Everything pointed to a Bugaboo Chameleon. It felt right to us, fitted the car and everyone that owned one swore by them. The hold their value incredibly well but cost a small fortune brand new. We were in John Lewis testing one for the second time and I asked the lady whether they ever sold their display models... They had just had a sale and had a display model on hold for another parent, but she hadn't called in to pick it up, she was 24hrs late now. Can we see it if it's available and what's the price? 1 coffee later we're walking to the car with a brand new Chameleon for £400, under half price!

It's been great so far, 1 year in. Rolls very well and turns beautifully. Good luck with yours.

Thanks for all the replies so far, got loads to be looking at here. Not gonna dive in just yet, but might be in touch about some of these secondhand ones at some point! think we've got a day out at Deepdale coming up pushing prams around car parks!

Firstly congratulations!

Stokke Xplory here. Brilliant, and suitable from birth with the car seat.

Really flexible, sits nice and high, loads of adjustability, baby faces you, well made.

If you decide to go for it, we have a mint condition Stoke car seat and iso fix base in Black Melange (nice grey colour) that we could let go for a snip.

I wanted this http://www.outnabout.com/products/nipper-single.asp but wife overruled and we got http://www.jane.es/en/jane-catalogue/strollers/pushchairs/trider with the matrix light 2 car seat, it's a great system.

We have an Uppababy Vista, no idea what it's like to use yet as the child is due 2nd week in January. Looks nice, big basket gets good reviews so my wife says!? Just know it cost a lot! We did stop a woman in the Trafford centre a while ago who had one to ask her thoughts, she loved it!

Congratulations

My baby is 11 weeks now so I can't say I'm a veteran. We bought a Quinny Moodd and it's been superb so far, it opens easily by tapping the lever (one handed) it's light and wheels can be easily replaced if ever needed. It's an all black one so it can be touched up easily if it gets scratched. It's light and easy to manovure. It does seem a bit wider than others though.