Hi Guys
I'm going to be a father soon, and have NO IDEA of any thing. What are the brand you guys would recommend for pram ( $400-800 ) , bed (no idea how much they should cost) and car seats ($500?)
Your recommendations are deeply appreciated !!
Thanks
Eddy
+1 Infasecure Neon from Big W. It goes on sale multiple times a year. Highly regarded and recommended in car seat safety groups on Facebook. Same seat as the Kompressor - just not pretty colours (that will show stains more). High markers for longer rear facing (look up ' rear facing' on youtube for videos on why you should rear face as long as possible).
FYI - If you have something on lay-by and it goes on sale our local Big W lets you go up and get the price adjusted to the lower price. Not sure if that's all Big W's but it's certainly not an issue at ours. I've also managed to go the day before a sale with catalogue in hand and huge pregnant belly on show, and put stuff on lay-by for the reduced price rather than having to go back the next day. Although I think the woman just felt sorry for me in that case.
Bedding - personally I'd just get it off Gumtree/Ebay. A lot of stuff doesn't get used so you can get as-new things for hugely reduced prices. You can get bassinets that have been used for only a couple of months by one kid for next to nothing, a lot of people don't like them because you can only use them for about 5 months - but they can be handy and worth it if you don't pay a lot then on sell. Cots that have barely been used (we got our $700rrp cot for $200 a few years ago off a woman whose kid had slept in it about 5 times, then our kid slept in it even less than that…next one is using it though) and just buy a new mattress (about $80). What bedding you want/use depends on your house layout, your lifestyle and your kid's temperament. We always favoured a baby basket next to our bed for the first few months, followed by a cot in our room until age 1. The cot would get used (in theory…first kid wasn't so keen) during the evening and then when baby woke for first feed around 11pm we'd go to bed with her and she'd stay with us after that.
Prams are also very dependent on what your lifestyle is like. I have been very happy with my Peg Perego strollers (Aria and Si). The current Aria isn't as good as the model I had though as they took away some of the best features. That's why I went with a Si this time round. I love the manoeuvrability, lightweightness and ease of putting them up/down. Not great 'off-road', not suitable for jogging and not really got a way of putting a second seat on - but none of these matter to me. If you are planning on having kids close in age then consider getting a pram that can be adapted to take two kids as most people end up selling their single pram for one of these for an age gap less than 2 years. Go to a baby store and just walk about with a few, try putting them up and down etc. Also consider your boot space and how well the pram will fit - or if you are city consider how easy it will be to get on and off public transport.
Congrats Eddy,
It was a great challenge to choose a good 'pram/car seat/cot and bed'. I started my research as soon as we knew about the good news. Kept looking for nearly 7-8 months…. different models, designs, different features, price range etc etc were very overwhelming for me too.
I am writing my experience, hope it helps.
Pram: I used Quinny from my son for the last three years, quite a nice pram(we are gonna use the same pram for the second baby too, who is a month old, pram still good.). Its quite trendy, very light, it is reversible and extremely easy to fold and unfold. The build quality is also good. The RRP for my pram was somewhere around $ 900, but had a sale/deal and ended up in getting it for around $300(may be a previous year model).
Disadvantages: No cup holder, luggage bay is not practical, no tray, also it has a set of rubber tyres which requires air to be pumped in every month or so.
Few of the things to consider while getting a pram.
—> No of wheels (3 vs 4)
—> Reversible (some prams are not reversible meaning, you cant make them both forward and reverse facing)
—> weight of the pram
—> Easy to Fold/unfold
—>Compactness while storing
—> features like cup holder, food tray, rain cover, luggage bay.
—> small wheels vs big wheels/ rubber wheels vs plastic wheels
Bed and Cot; I bought the baby's bed and cot from 'love and care' factory outlet (Revesby, NSW 2212). Brand new cot(RRP $350) and a very good quality bed(RRP $199) , both together costed me around $250-$275. The cot had a package box damage, but no marks or damage in the cot. The prices were negotiable in this place, if you live in Sydney/NSW, this place is recommended.
Car Seat: Sorry don't have any brand recommendation. I saw some cool car seats online, shipped from Hongkong etc, BUT they were not of AU/NZ standard, meaning you cant use them in Australia(just be aware of it). For me it was about the look and feel + the safety ratings + easy to clean. More cushion and more paddings made me feel that the car seat was more secure. I bought a Hipod (0-4 years), now i have got a 'Safety 1st - Custodian Plus II'. Both were around $200 each(on sale), and both are good.
Good luck.
regards
Bagath
I think most of the prams and cots you buy these days meet Australian safety standard, unless, of course, you buy them from overseas or some dodgy ebay sellers.
First thing you need to consider, are you going to have more kids. Many prams these day and add 'a seat' to an additional baby/kid, or attach a little 'skateboard thingy' for a toddler. Would you like to have those options? Obviously, the more options you can have, the more expensive it gets. But that will save you money in the long run.
I also recommend a pram with a baby capsule/baby carrier. The baby capsule clicks into the car (ie car seat), it also clicks into the pram, so you can move the baby in and out of the car without waking the baby.
I also like car seat that can change from rearward facing to forward facing, the car seat should last you 4 or 5 years…unless your kid is very tall.
Whatever baby capsule/pram you buy, make sure it fits in your car.
I bought my baby capsule & pram from http://belly2baby.com.au/ That was a year ago, best price I could find at the time, and free shipping.
I bought a Steelcraft Agile Plus, the baby capsule is (was) good, but I don't really like the pram, so I won't recommend it. But I still believe Steelcraft is a good brand, and reasonable price, it's just the design of the Agile is not-quite-right.
I wouldn't buy any second hand car seat, as it might have involved in a car crash, you can't tell.
Good luck.
Wow. Thanks guys. This is a lot of very useful information to digest. I might have to read it again twice lol. I feel I have a lot more knowledge already and therefore Ill know what to look for!!
A few things to add :)
Car seats: choose whether you want a capsule which attaches to your pram etc. These are handy for the first 6 months but I personally find you don't use them beyond that, so I wouldn't pick a pram based on the capsule. The pram is your best friend IMO and those first 6 months pass quickly without that many outings, whereas over the next 2.5 or so years you'll use the pram daily.
Some car seats are a lot bulkier than others but if you have a big car and/or only will have 1 car seat in the car it doesn't matter. Also decide whether you want to get a 0-booster seat, or a 0-4 seat and then upgrade to a booster, or a capsule and then upgrade to a 6mo-booster or 0-4 years. Lots of options!! It doesn't actually go by age though (the age is a guide only) it depends on height markers which can differ markedly between seats as others have said.
You can tell by handling a car seat how long it will last - eg I find the Mothers Choice brand to have flimsy covers and inserts which break down faster than say Safe-N-Sound.
Prams: the most important elements for me are ease of steering, lightness (as I'm quite slight of frame), width (I hate wide prams that won't fit through certain checkouts or which are a struggle to get through doors) and storage space (including a large, easily accessible basket below, ability to add a cup holder & hooks for hanging the baby bag/my handbag). Other things I consider important are the build quality, ease of reclining the seat, whether the seat reclines fully (essential for newborns obviously), whether the tyres require air and can puncture (an annoyance) and I like having a handle which you can switch over so that the baby is facing you at times (handy for babies, unnecessary for toddlers IMO).
Keep in mind that the cheaper brands of pram often come with extras (sunshade, rain cover, footmuff etc) but with your more expensive brands you may have to pay extra for these things. You might find at some baby shops that a certain brand is being pushed (eg all staff might recommend a Steelcraft Strider which is what the go was a few months ago at least), that's usually because the markup is higher or the manufacturer is offering a bonus to the store.
I find that as long as the pram is light weight, the folding/unfolding mechanism isn't a big deal because you learn how to use your own pram and get used to the folding/unfolding mechanism quickly.
Also wouldn't go for a light colour which will look grubby very quickly!
Cots:
These differ in price from around $150 to the thousands for a designer cot. As long as you're getting something sturdy, safe and painted/finished in non toxic paint/varnish, I wouldn't be too concerned. After that it comes down to appearance, type of wood and whether you want matching nursery furniture! I love the Stokke Sleepi based plainly on appearance, but it's exxy and sheets are much more expensive as they're not a regular shape. You will go through A LOT of sheets which puts me off getting an oval shaped cot ;)
ETA: Congrats on becoming a father soon!! :)
One thing that hasn't been mentioned in regard to prams is to check the height for comfort, particularly if you're tall. A pram that is too short and has you stooping to push it is going to be a back ache waiting to happen.
I agonised over the bloody pram/ stroller for ages. Wife wanted a bloody bugaboo. We actually ended up with Uppababy Alta.
I can't recommend it enough. We got a bassinet and stroller set for less than $600 (new). It's beautifully made, my short arse wife finds it easy as do I. Only negative is it takes up a lot of boot space but at its my first kid and first stroller I dunno if that's normal.
Stokke Xplory
How did you get it in the price range OP has given? I'm looking for this one.
I've had the Baby Jogger City Elite pram since birth for my now 9 month old, and it's been awesome
Baby jogger prams for us - first had a city elite, but changed to the select once the second came along.
if you're planning on more than 1 in a short period, recommend a pram that can have 2 seats. Love the select for this
A car seat that slots in to the pram makes it great with a second child. Depends how much you want to walk.
Pram: bugaboo donkey
Cot: boori pioneer country collection
Car seat: safe n sound meridian ahr
Expensive but you get what you pay for. Cot we got second hand , almost new just got a new mattress. Bugaboo donkey was used in single mode for 2 years and now we had another DS so we using it in duo mode. Love it!
Car seat play safe dont get second hand and always install it properly!
Hi guys. Thx for the advice. I got my eyes on iCandy strawberry $850for single or iCandy apple pear 2 for duo. $1200 More than what I wanted to pay for but it was really easy to steer and sturdy. The only bad thing is that it doesn't have much storage space which I think it's quite important too. Hmmm
Eddy, there are baby sales coming up in July/August. You can usually get fairly significant discounts on baby seats etc. I guess you don't want to hear that you missed some really, REALLY good prices at BigW online a couple of weeks ago? lol By all reports you'll be able to get a couple of good Infasecure seats for WELL under $200 (closer to $100,) at BigW in July.
Bear in mind that all car seats sold in Australia MUST meet Australian safety standards, so all are safe. Don't fall into the trap of buying based entirely on CREP results, because only a small number of seats are tested. What this means is that just because a seat scores highly on CREP, it's not necessarily any better than seats that have not been tested. Steer clear of Mother's Choice seats, because they have very low height markers, which will mean having to replace the seat well before you should have to. We had to replace a supposedly 0 to 4 carseat at 13 months because it had been outgrown.