What brands are good?

Hi guys,

My DH and I have started looking around for prams and car seats and other stuff to buy for our first little bubby but we have absolutely no idea what we are looking at. I've tried to find review sites but they are a few far and between. I can gets lots of descriptions but no reviews.

So I'm sending a call out for :help:. What brands are good for car seats and prams and what, about from it meeting Australian Standards, should I be looking for?

The shop assistants are driving me crazy.

Thanks guys,

Luv Dan.

Did you have a look at the Choice website? I saw some interesting things there to consider when choosing prams ,cots etc. I think they also had info on the safety standards too.

I dont really have any other ssuggestions though, sorry.

basically darl, they are all much of a muchness in the big brands.

Look for something that is convenient for you.

Example with a pram, make sure its got big enough storage basket, the right height for you and dh, easy enough for you to collapse etc.

Talk about timing _ I just wrote a whole email to my SIL a few days ago about this very subject. I sent her through a list with regard to prams:

1. Height of the handles. You can get some that adjust - you might want to think about one of those. It will make your back ache if you push the pram and have to bend down or reach up.
2. 2. Carry capacity. I have a nappy bag which hangs off the handle. If you are thinking about this option check out the weight balance. Without bub in the front, the pram tends to tip if I have the bag over the handle. This is a huge consideration. The more you can carry the more crisis you can cope with!
3. Weight. If you are going to be lifting the pram in and out of the car or up and down steps this is a biggie. If not, it is not so important. However, don't forget you will have a baby in it as well so if it is difficult to manoeuvre without anything in it steer clear!
4. Forward or back facing. I didn't consider this and then got another cheap pram after bub came along. I didn't realise how much I wanted to be able to see him. I just didn't trust myself to hear him cry in noisy places and that sort of thing. I also had some weird fear of him being snatched (the fears of a new mum!). I felt more secure with him facing me. Some prams have handles that transfer front to back - I would have got one of those if I had known then what I know now...
5. Angle of back rest. I wasn't sure about this one at the time and still am not sure. Not many have the ability to lie right down. Apparently newborns are supposed to lie flat. We just used a head rest and a nearly flat one.
6. Accessories for rain and wind etc. Some come with and some you have to buy separately. It is a bit like getting married - they squeeze every last cent out of you! I found out that an umbrella will not cover me and the baby and it is difficult to push the pram whilst walking next to it to prevent bub from getting wet.... They key here is how easy are they to get on and off and where do you store them!
7. How much shade is provided by the visor. Stick a doll in the pram and take it into the sun. You will be amazed at how little shade they actually provide. You can always wrap things around or hang them off until the little darling is old enough to pull them all off!
8. The last (but one of the most important - obviously no order was applied) is how easy it is to walk behind. To check this properly you need to be able to walk at normal pace. You will be amazed at how many prams cause you to step short. Don't just walk around the shop, make sure you can stratch out your steps to whet you would normally use in a reasonable stride.

This was all I could come up with. I own three prams - all hand-me-downs. The Jeep is my fave: three wheeler. It has a spot to put coffee near the handles which I love. It also has a massiva capacity underneath. A friend of mine has a Phill & Ted (and she raved about it) but that one was out of our price range and then we got the Jeep...

It is a hard decision! Good luck!

I"m sure it's been said, but make sure it fits in your car! We were able to take the pram we were looking at, out to the car to make sure it fit in the boot!

Have you looked through the recomend a product/product feedback forum? There's heaps of threads about differant brands in there.
For car seats we've got safe n sound for both our babies.

We had trouble with a car seat that was designed for smaller cars there fore it was a smaller seat. I didnt take into account that DH is 6'4 and I am tall as well in the reclining position for newborns she could jump off the back seat so we ended up turning her around alot earlier than I would of liked. We bought a SafeNSound for DH car and love it, all my friends have sns carseats and have never had problems.
Prams well that is another story 19 months and 5 prams and 1 stroller down I still havent found the "perfect" pram
Bec

Prams - The only thing I think I can add to very informative post a few above mine, is if you plan on more kids, espeically with a smallish age gap. get a pram that can adapt to take 2 kids. A toddler seat option. I have a childcare trio (can get them in target) which has a toddler seat. Then you also have the more espensive options in your Valco & Phil & ted brands.
But in all honesty I think the childcare trio is just as good as those other more pricey brands (actually i think its an exact rip off of the Valco). But if you likely to have more kids, get a pram that can take a toddler seat.

Car seats - mmmmm The reversable type I think are the best. I have never used a baby capsule so I can't really comment on them. Although I did see fisher & price have a new capsule that is suitable for up to 12 kilos. Most others are only up to 8kilos. Doesn't seem like a big difference but it is. If I had to get a new car seat now, i would consider this capsule. But I think It would be out weighed & I would get the Hipod one that target now carries which is a reversable seat. But is much taller then the others so once in a forward facing position they can stay in that seat longer. The one I have now, even though they say are suitable up to 4 yrs, really only lasted till about 2 1/2 yr as my boys got to tall & their head was higher then the back of the seat. Evan is 4 now & would still have extra room to grow in the hipod seat.

DH made a comment the other night about how he is glad I am not one of the women who go out & buy heaps of shoes. I said no not shoes, but prams & car seats! LOL

I did use (lucky enough to borrow one) a capsual until Amber was about 8 weeks. I just found it so easy to be able to take her inside in it if she fell asleep in the car and when we were just calling in somewhere it was easier to take her in that (and not disturb her) than trying to get the pram out etc. She was always very very content in it aswell. The only downside I found was when she was 8 weeks - she was just toooo heavy in it! Hence the reason she moved on to her reclining seat.

I do believe you can hire the capsuals relativley cheaply from the Red Cross.

The best thing about my pram (a Beema) is that it doesn't tip when I have my nappy bag on the handles. Completely stable. There are a few 3 wheelers around that aren't that front heavy.
Anyway - it comes down to personal preference. When you are out and about and see mums with prams, strike up a conversation and ask them what they think of their prams.

i have the mothers choice 3 wheeler with toddler seat too, same thing as fi's, and its brilliant, very easy to manouvere - except that when you put a toddler seat on it, there's not alot of room in the back..I've heard very VERY good things about Phil and Ted, but they're quite pricey...

Thats one thing I noticed about the mothers choice 3 wheeler as well, that when the toddler seat is on there isn't alot of room. But the Childcare is pretty roomy, well my 4 yr old doesn't complaine.

I know on the Gold Coast, the ambulance station hire out baby capsuals for about $56 for 6months,which is what i did. They are clean & the ambo's fit them in ur car for u. Its just a enexpensive way to go if u were going to use a capsual. Plus like susan said up there, if bubs falls asleep in the car u can easily take the capsual out without waking it up.
I bought a car seat which i'm not that happy with....babylove i think......the arm things always get twisted which is a real pain in the bum. But i'll be getting a booster seat soon so i just put up whith it.
Umm prams.....i recomend, like the other ladies said, find one thats easy to fold up,fits in the car,is the right height & has big storage basket(i used to fill mine up). I have a mothers choice stroller now which is gr8 except its a bit short for DF:)

As far as car seats go I would recommend Safe n Sound as a brand. When we bought our pram before having #1 I had a few things I wanted - reversible handles so that bub could be facing us when small, then facing away when bigger, it had to be a four wheeler (not keen on 3-wheelers, no particular reason just a preference of mine) and it had to be fairly light weight and able to fit in the car without needing to take the wheels off or anything. We ended up getting a peg perego venezia, which I love and still use to this day. Only problem is it isn't able to be fitted with a toddler seat, which is an important consideration if you want to space your kids under 2 years apart.

I have a 4 wheel pram here from Target, they are worth $280 if i remember rightly... It's barely been used, just needs a good clean, as its been in the garage. If you want it, its yours-we never used it as we had a similar style. It has reversible handles, layback and big basket underneath. I just want to get rid of it!!

I've just started looking at this too - just bought the Choice book on all this stuff!!

Only got as far as prams. I plan on having kiddies close so I need to get one with the toddler seat. Phil & Ted's didn't get a thumbs up from Choice but according to "the Book" its their third choice - a Steel craft and something else I can't remember came first but they still had reservations about them too. There is a note in the book that the manufactures of P&T are addressing the design problems - to do with kiddies getting their fingers caught in wheels etc. Hopefully by the time we're ready for them this will be done?

I have 3 friends with bubs at the moment - 2 have Phil & Ted and one the Valco. All love them but the big thing for the Phil & Ted is that its apparently one of the narrowest and so fits through regular checkous - the Valco doesn't!! Its also about 2.5kgs lighter than the Valco.