Pram and car seat, where to start?

Hi everyone, I am about to start looking into a pram and car seat but I have no idea on what brands are good or particular types. Can anyone offer any advice? TIA

It all depends on what you are after and what is important to you.

A pram for me had to be able to have a toddler seat as I planned on 2 close together. I had a few friends with Phil and Teds and they loved it but didn't like where break was so in the end I got the Phil and Ted Dash as easier break to use and have loved it!

Do you want 3 or 4 wheel?
Do you want movable handle? Do you want toddler seat easy to be added?
Do you want air in tyers or solid?

Best thing to do is go to a big baby store and drive around the prams see how compact the fold and check will fit in boot of your car!!!

Car seat I got safe and sound meridian as it has great safety ratings and is birth to 18kg.

Congratulations and happy shopping!!

Thanks feeb, I hadn't even thought of moveable/adjustable height handles, that is a must have for both dh and I use comfortably... and checking the boot of the car... priceless advice! ;)

When we looked at prams, it was important for us to get one that could be used from newborn. We had a look at lots, most of them can be used for newborns but I wanted one that had a bassinet because some of the prams just "drop back" for newborns and don't look very comfy!

Same with our car seat, since we had decided not to use a capsule, I wanted a car seat that was newborn friendly, lots of padding and would last up to 18kg.

It really pays to do your research - I learned lots of things like many of the baby shops have websites and on the website things are cheaper. If you take the web price into the shop then they usually price match. Yay!

I don't have any advice, sorry. I am very interested in seeing what reply's you get though.

Definitely think about how close you would think about no 2. We got caught out with the beema q you couldn't add a toddler seat so we had to get a second pram.

For me next time, I'd get a car seat that is also a capsule that attaches onto the pram. When Mitchell was little it used to break my heart that I'd wake him up getting him out of the car into the pram. Also a capsule would have been very handy to take to friends houses etc when he was little for sleeping.

As for brands, I love my Bugaboo Bee.... Pricey, but the smallest I could find for my car and so, so easy to put up and down.

We just decided on the Safe n Sound Meridian!! Found the straps were easy to adjust no pulling moving seat around... And can use it from Newborn to 18kg...

We also decided on the Bugaboo Cameleon as its not as wide as the peg-perego or Strider etc I am all for easy moving around ailes in the shops rather than not fitting! It also goes from standard to 4wd and you can flip the bassinet and toddler seat either way via moving the handle or attatching it that way! HTH :)

Safe and sound are a good brand and they used to (don't know if they still do), come with a crash swap guarantee. I have heard people say good things about the infacare turn-a-tot. If you want a capsule system, look to hire one as capsules can be pricey for something that might only be used for 6 months. The NRMA publishes a brouchure about what they consider to be the safest car seats and you can find it on the net.

After much research, but no practical experience yet, we bought a safe n sound meridian for DH's car and I am hiring a Safe n Sound capsule from the council for my car for 6 months.

Re: prams - there's a lot to take into account
How tall are you and DH? - an adjustable handle is a must, unless it fits you both perfectly
How long is your stride - so many prams we saw we kept kicking as we walked because we both have long strides
Is the seat or handle reversible - I wanted to be able to have bub face me to start with, then be able to turn them out to see the world when they'e older. Check out the Mothercare spin - very funky, though it's a big pram
Ease of fold/ compactness - you don't want to be there for hours trying to get the thing down. Will you need to take it on public transport?
How high is the bassinet/kid seat - will you break your back bending over all day? eg the bugaboo cameleon is great, but it's too low for both DH & I. The Stokke explory has bub up high, but we didn't like the handle/stride or the storage bag (or the price)
Budget - I loved the Emmalunga but it was $2000. It was a bit easier to use than the pram we got, but twice the price
How "solid" do you want the pram? DH's favorite was a solid tank of a pram - we ended up with the Silvercross Sleepover Classic. It's a solid pram with big wheels - we found we ended up kicking the smaller wheeled prams
How maneuverable to you want it? Many prams can spin on a dime and will be easy to use in shopping centre aisle etc. The Sleepover classic wont, but will be great for footpaths etc
What terrain will you push it over? Shopping centres, beaches, footpaths?
What size is the boot of your car. Turns out the Sleepover doesn't fit in the back of my car, so we also got an ex-display Silvercross Halo to go in that. Doesn't have a lot of the features I wanted, but will do for short shopping trips when I'm not baby wearing.

Gl - we spent ages looking and researching. Also note many more are coming out in Jun/July.

Wow girls there is just so much to consider, I knew there was a reason I was putting it off, I find it a bit overwhelming :redface: I am also not looking forward to going to the shops to try them out because I think I'd have to go to Brissy to a much larger store to see more of a range. I am keen to get something which will fit a toddler and a newborn as we desire to have kids close together so that will be a must. Also things like hitting your shins on a bar :o Something I would have never considered unless it happend when trying it out, I hate it when shopping trollys do that in supermarkets!

So much great advice here, thanks so much, I will write a list for when I go and try them out.

I agree with Fiona. In hindsight I wish we had paid the extra and gotten the capsule which comes out and clicks into the pram (we got a birth to 18kg seat). So much easier when they've fallen asleep in the car and you just know that they are going to wake up the minute you unbuckle them - particularly if it's been a stressful trip to the shops and they've finally gone to sleep!!

Plus, if you are keen to have kids close together you will need to get an extra carseat anyway once bubs number 1 outgrows the capsule and bubs number 2 is ready to go into it!

I have a capsule for no 3 like the others have said wish I had for dd2. We do a lot of running around with swimming, day care and having to wake a sleeping baby was always a hassle and now we are swimming on two different days it will make life easier to just take the capsule out of the car.

Cherished I know just how you feel! We are starting to look at prams, car seats, cots oh my... there is so much stuff to think about.

I ordered the Choice baby buying book from their website yesterday and I'm hoping this will help a bit. Great thread!

We looked at the Choice book from the local library for advice - might be helpful.

We too decided to go the Safe n Sound Meridian AHR; it's by far the most $$, but we figured you can't skimp on your child's safety. And yes, it still has the crash swap guarantee. RACQ gives a bit of a discount for member and will also fit for free if you're a member and buy from them. Many baby shops will also fit for you.

Prams were by far the hardest thing to buy! Go to as many different places as you can Cherished - we found that hardly any places had the same types so it made it hard to compare prices, but we could see a bigger range. You really need to 'test' drive' as many as you can (both you and DH), and practice folding too. We found a lot were really wide and therefore tricky to manouvre through aisles in shops etc. Ours is reversible and has a bassinet for bub, then converts so will last for ages. But a friend found hers too bulky whe bub was larger and ended up just buying a cheaper, lightweight stroller. But if you want yours for two, that point will be irrelevant! And when you've decided, go online as you may be able to do a better deal (and a package deal if you buy together). Oh, and start stalking people when you're out and about - everyone we asked was really happy to tell us what they liked/didn't like about their prams! GL

[QUOTE=JLeigh29;2315906 And when you've decided, go online as you may be able to do a better deal (and a package deal if you buy together).[/QUOTE]

Absolutely second that. Find exactly what you want and go online to find prices the savings can be pretty good. Or even take the online prices back to the baby store and see if they can match. Also if looking for a pram that can suit 2, check the stability of it with a toddler seat attached just to make sure, it can sometimes affect the handling.

more awesome advice from the BB girls!

Cass do you mean that you can get a car seat that actually matches the pram ie the car seat / capsule actually fits in the pram as in it's part of the pram? Sorry if I've misunderstood you... Or do you mean that you can take the capsule out of the car and sit it int eh pram so make sure it will fit in the pram? Sorry I must sound like such a donkey lol

Hi
I have a Steelcraft Strider DLX

Car Capsule clicks on and off the frame, then you have the seating unit and you can get the Bassinet that attaches.

I have two other kids, school runs, sports etc to go to the capsule in and out of the car attaching to the frame has been invaluble as I don't have to wake bubba up.

The Bassinet was also where he slept for the first 6 weeks, I just brought a stand for it.

Quite wide but very easy to steer and fold etc.

If your thinking of two close together then have a search on the Steelcraft Strider Plus , almost the same pram but allows for a second seat to be attached, capsule etc can still be used as with the Strider DLX.

Hope that helps

Shar you sound like you have your hands full! A few people I've spoken to have said the Steelcraft Strider Plus is good so I will 'test drive' that out too.

I think I'm leaning towards the safe and sound meridian car seat. I haven't been into a shop yet to look at one so I'm wondering if if has a capsule type of thing which you can just take out if bubs is asleep?

I also love the look of the Phil & ted prams! I have found a shop on the coast which stocks them all plus a few more (including hte steelcraft strider) so I will go and try them all out too. Then keep my eye out for end of financial year sales not only in retail shops but also online :dance:

Addittion later on: OK I asked a lady at work and she's informed me that the safe and sound meridian doesn't come with a capsule thingo so we will hire one for a few months 1st than switch over ot the meridian :)

I would go with a pram that you can have a th option of the toddler seat, I personally like the strider and have one, I originally had a 3 wheeler jogger that reclined flat and DS hated it, he would never sleep in it! In the strider tho he sleeps so well! It also has the option to have bin facing forward or facing you and the option of having the bassinet which is great for going out as DH and I would just take the basinet out and DS would just sleep in that. If you go the strider DLX you can have the baby capsule attachment too. There is the take 2 which is a double pram where the toddler sits on the front. The newest one out us the strider plus and that is the same set up as Phil and Ted with the toddler seat at rear but you can still get the different attachments and have rear facing. It's my pick but each to their own! The only thin I have heard bad about the strider is that the wheels are a bit wide and the brake is quite hard to pull up but the wideness is no that bad and the brake is a bit firm but I don't find it a problem. If you are keen you can get them reallly really cheap on eBay. Also the car seat I would say if you want a cheap but versatile option the mothers choice one that you can get from most department stores is good, it has the insert that cuddles them in and also is rearward facing so you can use it as a baby capsule and it's cheap!!! If you can maybe wait for the baby bumper sales that target, kmart and big w have every few months. They usually have them really cheap there!! Good luck.