Advice needed for car seat, stroller and cot

[willneott]

Hi all,

I've been tasked to choose which car-seat, stroller and cot for my baby due in August 2014.

Would appreciate if you would share your knowledge with me.

I've been through some basic info and would like to know more on local parents choices.
eg; popular brands in Singapore, locations to buy these baby equipment.

I'm looking for the below items;

1) Car-seat (Forward & rear facing convertible with booster)

2) Stroller (Standard-size allowing 2 end facing)

3) Cot (70cm x 140cm, at least 3 adjustable height with no drop sides)

Do share your experience with me. Much thanks!

 

[Yin Fun]

you can visit baby fairs, you can go to baby and kids shops like "mothercare", "kiddy palace", "mothers work", ikea has a good ranghe of baby furniture too.

 

[xinxiao07]

I used a few brands of stroller and hopefully you can get some tips.

1) Combi Well-carry
It's lightweight at only 4.6kg, 2-way view on baby. Not too smooth on the wheels when reverse handle (facing baby).
With near-full canopy.
But it will fall backwards when you hang the diaper bag if baby is not sitted in the stroller.
It's also too squeezy for your baby as he/she grows. FYI - my boy outgrew the stroller at 3mths.
One-hand close and open. Stands alone when closed.

2) Capella Adonis
A little heavy at 8kg (but if you don't take bus then it's alright).
Long enough for my boy to sleep flat and support the legs (I don't like his legs to dangle outside the stroller) with full canopy.
All 4 wheels are 360 degree turn so you won't have a problem when moving around when reverse facing, just that you have to lock certain sets of wheels when facing each direction.
Just that the backrest is not upright enough when sitting, it's slightly laidback so tends to slouch.
One-hand close and open. Stands alone when closed.
Not bad to keep one.

3) Quinny Buzz
My year 2011 edition quinny buzz fell backwards once when my boy wasn't sitted in the stroller.
The seat is good, my boy fits well, no sliding down or slouching.
But too bulky, takes up the whole car boot space. And the need to pump the tyre regularly is too tiring for me.

4) Maclaren XLR
Long and comfortable seat with full canopy.
Falls backwards if hang heavy diaper bag when baby is not sitted inside.
Heavy and cannot stand alone when closed. The claimed one-hand closure is not so true.
Don't like the wheels to be "touching" the canopy when closed.
Defintely not suitable for taking bus.

5) Peg Perego P3
This one is my favourite.
It's about 8kg heavy. Suitable to take till 25kg baby.
One-hand close and stands alone.
Full canopy only when sitting position, half canopy in sleeping position.
I would say this is the most sturdy stroller. Never topples.
If you need to travel by bus, you may want to opt for the Pliko Mini (but with a very small under seat basket).

 

[xinxiao07]

I used a playpen instead of cot because there is so much bedding to wash for using a cot.
But a cot is higher and that would be better for your back after your birth.

But I would say that for the first 6mths, my boy sleeps on the bed with me. It's only daytime that I leave him in the playpen to sleep while I do my stuffs at home.
Till 18mths, I put him in playpen to play his balls and toys while I do the chores. No worries on knocking his head against the wooden cot.

If you wanna get a cot, you might want to get a convertible to toddler bed one.
And drop-side would be good, if you place the cot next to your bed for ease of night feeding.

 

[candyxiao]

Definitely Peg Perego. Never toppled and when child is older, can stand on the small back step for thrill. Quincy is three wheeled, problem gg up escalator. Maclaren is too light

 

[Lay Hui]

Agree with xinxiao07 regarding the playpen. From past experience I've realized that playpen is actually more practical than a baby cot.
Reasons as follows:
1) Playpen does not require cot bumpers which can get difficult to fit to cot. Sides can flap down which defeats the purpose.
2) A playpen can be folded and moved/kept much more easily than a cot. Important in case you decide to change the location of where the baby sleeps to a different room/upstairs to downstairs.
3) A playpen is equally comfortable for the baby as a cot if you use the right mattress. Baby mattresses of various sizes can be bought online.
4) Playpen usually costs less than a cot.

The disadvantage of the playpen is that is is low and and bad for your back. If yours or your helper's arms are not long enough it will also be difficult to carry baby in and out of playpen until baby knows how to sit up.

 

[mumof1011]

Hi,

My boy is sleeping in a cot with no drop side. It was ok for the first 6-9 months, but once he learned how to pull himself to standing position, I had to shift the cot to the lowest position and from then on I really could feel the strain whenever I have to carry him in/out of the cot.

As for strollers, I've used both Maclaren XT and Peg Perego P3. Both are front facing only. Peg Perego is more stable and stands upright when closed, but it's quite heavy, so if u r travelling alone with ur baby, I don't think you would want to bring it on a bus anyway. I've tried carrying it up a flight of stairs while carrying my baby in a carrier and I thought it was quite taxing.

I bought both strollers from baby hypermart at kaki bukit. There is a wide range of stollers there and u can take u time to choose, try pushing the strollers ard, and learn how to open/close them. The staff are quite friendly and there's free delivery