When the time came we bought a Graco travel system from Mothercare. While there's nothing wrong with it as such I wouldn't necessarily do so again. As far as I can tell the great advantage of the travel system is the fact that you can take the whole car seat out and plonk it onto the pram bit without disturbing the child by taking them out of the car seat and putting them in the pram bit. Brilliant if they're asleep 'cos you don't wake them up. In practice I would question the value of this - I can't remember any occasion when I did this. Babies fall asleep in cars - waking them up when you get wherever you're going to put them in the pram isn't generally a hardship and if they're tired they'll fall back to sleep pretty quickly anyway. If you're taking them somewhere where you won't be putting them in the pram (like home or someone else's house) then you can just take the whole car seat out anyway without removing them. The pram bit of the travel system we got is quite big so you have to fit a massive pram bit in the car when you can get smaller pram bits which aren't part of a travel system and if they're not suited for new borns then you can always put them in a carrier or just carry the car seat until they're big enough.
What you'll do if you buy a travel system (unless you've got loads of boot space) is use the travel system until they're onto a group 1 car seat and then buy a more compact stroller. You might as well buy a compact pram bit and seperate car seat so you can continue to use the compact pram as they get older rather than letting the pram bit of the travel system gather dust in the garage while you use your newly acquired second pram / pushchair.
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Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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Thanks for that - my thoughts on the 'travel systems' (which in itself is an awful expression!) seem to be similar to all in one TV, video, DVD players - look a good idea, but have flaws which you have identified through experience. Choice now narrowed significantly!
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Thank you also for that information. We are also in the market for all things babyfied at the moment, and I was considering one of those all in ones, but the analogy to the all in one TV Video DVD players is a perfect one, as I'd never consider one incase something goes wrong with one part!
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We were very happy with the travel system, where you have a chassis and various 'seats' that clip on depending on use and age of child. The best thing is a car eat that fits onto the chassis.
PS do not buy a Bugaboo. Very expensive and very awkward.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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"the travel system, where you have a chassis and various 'seats' that clip on depending on use and age of child"
Now that sounds a better idea - mine was just one seat & the chassis. Bet they cost a bit though.
"PS do not buy a Bugaboo" - yes just get 'Fashion victim' tatooed on your forehead, cheaper and sends out the same message!
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Soupytwist !
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Graco is what we use, and we've bought it three times (Chile, Brasil & UK).
Firstly the stuff is good quality, works, does what it says on the tin, and seemingly safe for the child. Equally ours have found it comfortable and various angles, adjustments and the like have worked very well as they have grown.
I love the fact that you carry the whole chair with you leaving a base behind in the car, and which clips onto the pushchair.
THe ability to pick them out of the car and put them next to me in a friends house/restaurant/train/wherever without going through the wake up & sleep process is invaluable. I know it can be done, but its easier just not to face it.
I find that taking out the whole seat when it is positioned and anchored approriately is more than a little hassle, and putting it back in is a royal pain. It also has the advantage that you can, as we did, buy extra bases and switch between cars pretty easily.
Unlike Matthew I frequently carry the cot into the house/restaurant/pub/whatever with a sleeping child in it. And I find it a very valuable thing.
The push chair is a largish one, but that's a good thing. Firstly the McClaren buggy ones are not comfortable for little children to sleep (head lolls about) or larger children to sit with toys (no tray or stuff). Secondly the advantage of the Graco pushchairs is that carry all your shopping, bottles, nappies, clothes, cloths and coats so while you may be pushing a larger pushchair, you are carrying virtually nothing.
We've had our pushchair in and out of a number of cars, and never had an issue getting it in a boot.
THe Greco quality tends to mean that it will get used for future children, as ours did further reducing the cost. However all of our cars a quite large, so I might not notice anyway.
You need to consider your own lifestyle. Matthew and I obviously lead different ones and therefore what works for one of us does not work fo rhte other, so who knows what would work for you.
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Delighted to say that I agree with Mark (No FM2R).
We used the Graco double tandem pushchair when child #2 arrived and it was verygood and the single ones are excellent. We did not have a base for the car seat in the car, it just sat in using the seatbelt, but maybe there are different/better/safer systems now.
As Mark says, the best thing is getting the baby in and out of the car without waking it. You can do this by taking the car seat out and putting it on the chassis - withoug too much disturbance of the child.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Another vote for the Graco travel system, not much cop on buses we found when you had to fold it down, but other than that, it was fine.
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If you are brave enough - ask the members of the Bad Mothers Club (the name is ironic by the way). www.badmothersclub.com in the retell therapy section (forum)
What they (we) don't know about prams and all baby related items isn't worth knowing.
Hope it's OK to mention the website as non-competitor to HJ. Be warned there is no restriction on bad language in posts.
Sorry I can't offer personal advice as makes/models have changed a lot since I last bought a pram 9 years ago.
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We used the mammas and pappas travel system, it worked very well, as posted by other people having the ability to just unclip the seat from the car and into the buggy is great. The only thing I would say is tack your car to the shops and try all of them for fitting. We had no problems with the in-car part of the system, but the buggy was a fiddle to get into the boot of the car and used up all of the floor space. When we changed cars to a smaller one it was even more difficult requiring it to be lifted in at a certain angle etc.
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Just bought a Graco booster seat though previously had Britax baby and car seats, always found that Britax fitted in various cars best, i.e. both whatever I had and whatever the wife had a the time, shied away from the baby seat that clips onto the buggy type system, some times you want to take the baby out of the car seat ant put him/her in a buggy, other times you want to car the baby in the seat, i.e. I endorse the comments mad about seperates.
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Yep, We use the M&P travel system as well. But agree fully with taking the car it will be carried in for a test fitting. The pushchair bits of travel systems can be quite large, fits in easily to a Laguna and an Omega, but wont fit in the boot of a 3 series BMW, so we had to get an "Umbrella" Pushchair for the grandparents (to push, not sit in, were not that cruel). Also go for one with large wheels, it makes uneven ground alot easier to go over.
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