Buggies v travel systems

s@sha

jellyhead wrote:

i saw somebody with a pliko today in town and it looks great. isn't that the pram that wins all the awards for being the best?

Yes, I think it has won some awards, not sure which though.

jellyhead wrote:

i hated the travel system, too hard to push and handles too low down for my tall husband, it was an old britax one. the only time i was glad i had a travel system rather than a buggy was when i had an asthma attack in town and needed to get a taxi to get children from school otherwise i'd have been late - i needed the car seat to take the baby in the taxi.

The Pliko Pramette has adjustable handles for people of different heights. Very handy! But you wouldn't be able to take the car seat in a taxi like you did, cos the car seat fits on a separate base. So that's a slight drawback, though you can buy separate bases to put in different cars that you might use.

jellyhead wrote:

my baby was out of his 0+ car seat by 6 months, and so was the baby down the road. at that age they're too young for a forward facing carseat, so i had to buy one of the birth to 4 ones which can go rear or forward facing. just used it forward facing today, he was rear facing before. travel system car seats seem to go up to around 9 months or 13 months but it all depends of the weight and size of the baby. in theory my baby should still fit into his infant carrier car seat because he weighs less than 13kg, but he's just too tall. if i'd bought a travel system i'd feel cheated by him being out of the car seat at 23 weeks old!

Yes, I feel the same. Mine's only 6 months but he's over 20lb (9kg) and although the M&P car seat is suppost to fit upto 13kg, he looks wedged in it now & his head is touching the top. I was reading the Which? report on car seats & they said that the size & weight of the baby is more important than their age, so as he's 20lb he should in theory be safe to go in a seat that goes from 9 months onwards. But I didn't expect him to be out of his infant carrier so soon!

Rachie_B

you just need to be careful though,as at 6 months or whatever he may not have the strength in his neck for a forward facing carseat in the event of an accident eg

mummytofour

Maclaren techno xt is by far my fav buggy of all time, thats after 9 solid yrs of buggy pushing.

Im just about to go back into double buggy land again any day now, but the xt will be staying for a LOOOONNNGGG time yet, for the times when I just have the one in the puschchair and the best part is it can be used by either a large toddler or a newborn.

crispeater

i've used the same carseat for my 2 children (still using it for the 2nd) which my sister used for her first born 9 years ago! lol its held well for 6 children. having that carseat meant i didnt have to pay out for a travel system. i didnt have much money (still dont) when my dd was born so i brought a graco pram from mothercare. my son who is 7 mths is using the same pram. i never felt the need for a travel system as the pram layed flat and i dont like seeing ickle babies scrunched up in a carseat, i like to see them sprawled out and with plenty of room..

goodluck and congratulations on your pregnancy xxx

oh and kiddicare.com are fantastic for baby stuff

jellyhead

yes i had a graco pram from mothercare for my first, it was still in use when he was 4 and was then passed on to somebody for when her grandchildren visit. it lasted well and was large enough for a toddler.

regarding forward facing seats - everything i've read says they really need to be 9 months or so to be able to use a forward one, for the posture, upper body strength etc. - not sure why, are they usually quite upright? mine has recline positions for when it's forward facing, so i use it slightly reclined, the baby is only 2 weeks off being 9 months but he falls asleep in the car so needs to be lying back a bit or his neck looks really uncomfortable.

s@sha

Rachie_B wrote:

you just need to be careful though,as at 6 months or whatever he may not have the strength in his neck for a forward facing carseat in the event of an accident eg

Thanks, Rachie B, and Jellyhead . Actually, we went to Mothercare today to have a look at the stage 2 carseats, and we were told exactly that. We tried out one seat in the shop, and the assistant asked his weight and age, and when she found out he was only 6 months, she said that even if he is the right weight,if he wasn't able to sit up confidently on his own for at least 20 minutes they wouldn't recommend a stage 2 seat yet, because the back & neck muscles are not strong enough. She said he is safer in a rear-facing seat for as long as possible.

We explained that we felt he seemed too big for his old seat, and she even offered to have a look at it in the car with our son in it to check the 'fit'. She checked all round him to see how tight the seat fitted & how he was sitting in it. She said as long as the top of their head is not above the top of the seat then they are OK. Once she removed the little hood (we didn't realise it came off, duh!) our son still has a couple of inches or so, so she said we should be ok for maybe another 2 months yet. But it's certainly not going to last till he's 15 months/13 kg (as Mamas & Papas claim)

I was quite impressed with their advice, as they were obviously more concerned with the safety of the child than making a sale; she could easily have let us pay £130 for a seat today And I came away happier knowing that our son is still safe in his existing seat. Well done Mothercare!

jellyhead

that's great. ours gave us the same advice, but pointed out the britax seat that's bigger and does rear facing too lol! i bought it cheaper from t'internet though.

pdoff

don't have time to read all so sorry if i repeat anyone! with ds1 we had separate car seat & pram & every time you transferred him he would wake up & scream for about half an hour so with ds2 (nearly 5 months) we got a graco mirage travel system for £99 & it is fab. really easy to move seat from car to pushchair - bought base extra as seatbelts in dhs car wouldnt go round seat - is bigger than a lot of 1st stage car seats. u can wrap him in blanket when go out, move to pushchair & unwrap blanket when get inside without waking him. both my boys hate the sling btw - nosey monkeys like to see & can't see much from sling. also when all snowsuited up it can be quite hard to fiddle them into - def wakes them up!! i would borrow one before buying. pushchairs are great for carrying shopping too - baby in sling & lots of carrier bags is not fun imo! the graco pushchair is quite light & easy to maneouvre, even in sportsworld which is a nightmare for prams! pushchair easily fits in my small car boot so think it will last till he is a lot older. hope this helps.

DLL67

The maclaren techno classic was definitely my best buy. My little one has been in it from birth, she is now 17 mths and I think it's great, lightweight, folds easily, includes cosytoes and raincover. Wish I'd had one for my other 2 children.

missk_ensington

If I were you I'd buy everything you can second hand (does your local paper have a night where locals advertise their things?) I must have spent no more than £500 when I was pregnant (and that includes baby clothes, bottles, cot, pram, steriliser, car seat, rocking chairs etc etc) and I am so glad! Most of the stuff was barely used. I bought a comfy pram that pushed easy and it cost me £40, it only ever got used when I went clothes shopping-the rest of the time I carried him in the removable car seat because it was quicker and helped me tone up!

Don't spend fortunes, especially not on clothes, (and if you really do get the urge but 3-6 months) Everyone will buy newborn and 0-3, then depending on when your due, Christmas will bring a load more stuff! I only spent about £50 in Asda/Matalan on clothes in the sale and I'm glad because I had no such most of it went into charity bags with the tags still on!