Advice please on travel systems🍼❤️

[Popbee]

Dear mummies, I’m getting so excited now. Nearly 34 weeks and have got most of the things for our little one but the prams/ travel systems is a bit of the nightmare.

Have spent hours reading old blogs and online reviews and honestly not a bit wiser.

With Morhercare shut and Kiddicare gone too. The only option for big pram place is about 2h drive or smaller pricier shops near by. Would be great to know what to look out for and tips and what to avoid?

Could you recommend a brand and make that you use and happy with and preferably not over £700 for travel system if that’s possible ?😁xx

Thank you ❤️

[KayCan]

Hi, we ordered pram/travel system back in November (after 20 week scan, on delivery for March). We had a very good sales rep in John Lewis ie: she was really knowledgeable and not after a hard sell. We spent 2 hours with her. One thing she did say was what works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another. I had in mind that I wanted compact, but tried this out in the store and looked ridiculous! Realistically that was never going to happen as I'm 6ft tall and hubby is 6ft 5in! So we tested a few and we found that the uppababy worked for us, along with maxicosi car seat etc. Which fits onto the chassis. The whole package however was £1200 so not cheap. My advice would be to go somewhere to test them out, there are some really good deals online but investing in one of the biggest purchases for your baby, you really need to invest some time into choosing what's right for you. Think in essence what I'm trying to say is that you could get some replies recommending certain brands but they might not be fit for purpose for you.

It's so exciting though, and good luck!! Xx

[Popbee in reply to KayCan]

Thank you xx

[Hidden in reply to KayCan]

Just jumping on your thread Popbee hope that's okay - KayCan do you remember if there were other brands that would have been an option you as a tally ? I'm just shy of 6ft myself with history of back issues so on the hunt ...I'll look into uppababy but that quite a bit of cash to spend...I heard the 3 wheeled ones people jog with have taller handles did you find that? Thank you !! p.s. I have literally started looking at prams so equally overwhelmed by this 😅

[emmab178 in reply to Hidden]

Look for dutch or German brands. We went with a joolz, significantly higher than the normal UK ones and grateful we did at 5 11 and 6 3

[Hidden in reply to emmab178]

Thank you! Great suggestion

[KayCan in reply to Hidden]

It is really overwhelming! I didn't see any others that ticked all our boxes on the day but I've seen an oyster, which comes in a bit cheaper and might be worth a look at. Looks very similar to the uppababy, and has adjustable push bar etc. There are some brilliant bundle deals online if you can get to a shop to give them a test run first. Good luck with finding what you want xx

[BethJ7]

I would agree with KayCan. Before going to look at travel systems, I did loads of research, watched endless YouTube videos etc and thought I had my heart set on a particular pram but when I tried it out, I hated it and found it really fiddly to use. You need to see it and feel it for yourself and make sure it fits in with your lifestyle e.g. having it fit into the boot of my car was really important to me (which resulted in us getting a bigger car but that’s a whole other story 😂) whereas my friend uses public transport a lot more so weight and a compact fold was more important to her. Also future proofing is another consideration; some travel systems will give you the ability to add an extra seat unit if you plan on having another baby ‘shortly’ after. These tend to be more expensive to start with but come with most things that you need to convert into double as your family grows so less outlay overall, but if your not planning on extending any further or having a big break, then there’s no point in considering these. Other good thing to check is the resale value - we checked on eBay before we settled on ours. If there is a good 2nd hand market, with prams in a good condition, you know they are well made, sturdy prams and also you can make some money back in a few years. It is a nightmare picking the right pram and there is almost too much choice and too many people with opinions(!?) but you’ll be stuck with it for a long time if you don’t like it so best to make sure you make the right choice! Hope this helps!! Good luck!

[Popbee in reply to BethJ7]

Thank you Beth.

Very good points. I spent half a day reading reviews and watching YouTube 😂... better travel to shops then. Yes we will need bigger car anyway. Went camping last year just 2 of us and the boot wasn’t big enough😆

Thanks again. Your advice is much appreciated xx

[pinkie93]

Get something you could manage even when exhausted and in pain, even though it sounds depressing. You might feel great after birth, but you also might have a really hard time and long recovery, if that is the case you do not want to be lugging around a heavy, hard to manoeuvre pram!

One thing I would strongly recommend is a carrier, I have to ergo baby which was pretty pricey at £120 (got it for £95 in sale). But my boy never cries in it and it's comfortable for me.

I can't really advise on prams as we never bothered with one, they are so over priced! I use the bus a lot so a joie pushchair (suitable from birth) was way more practical and I only paid £54.

It all depends on your personal situation, just don't feel pressured into buying something expensive that isn't right for you.

[Popbee in reply to pinkie93]

Thank you Pinkie93.

I think that’s is what I was avoiding... hard sale in shops. But you are right got to go for what’s right for me.

Good point about post natal.

Thank you for your advice xx

[Cheekymonkey85]

I absolutely love my cosatto wow. I don't have the matching car seat though so haven't used it as a travel system. I do however, have a bit of a pram collection (I'm a childminder) & I have a britax b agile that I used with the britax babysafe car seat when nipping out sometimes as the chassis is a bit smaller if we needed extra boot space etc. I do like britax prams, & everything is easy to use etc

[Popbee in reply to Cheekymonkey85]

Thank you for your advice. Good to know about the compact version. Might need that🙂

Thank you xx

[MissEd]

Deffo something compact. We had tbe oyster 2, i loved the look of it and so handy to put the car seat on in the early days however, very big and bulky with the pushchair part. Ive just got a silver cross stroller (my lo is 1 year now) and its changed my life being so light and compact! Lol

[Popbee in reply to MissEd]

Thank you MissEd. It’s so much easier to get the right thing if have at least idea which pram to test first. 😆 There are few out there 😄

Thanks x

[emmab178]

We did all the testing, joked that my husband knows how to take them all up and down! You basically need something that fits into the boot of your car. If you've got no boot space that's your main criteria.

In hindsight. We shouldn't have had the bassinet for an extra £150. She was in it maybe twice as if we'd stayed over night i took the next to me instead.

Personally I'd go second hand. These things are far too expensive and hardly used by some as they are quite clunky and people usually swap out for the umbrella type pretty quick.

[Scarlett13]

I bought a second hand icandy peach 3 travel system in great condition through eBay for a total of £400 and love it x

[Popbee]

Thank you x