Travel

Deciding how to transport your baby can be tricky, and you may feel that you have a lot to buy. You will need a car seat for trips in the car, a pushchair or pram for travelling on foot, and possibly a carrycot to carry your baby from A to B. Travel systems allow you to buy everything you need in one go.

A travel system is a type of pushchair that is compatible with a rear-facing car seat and usually a carrycot. The car seat and carrycot can both click in and out of the pushchair, which can be handy when you have a sleeping baby who you don t want to wake.

Although travel systems may seem expensive, buying one can be an economical way of buying both a pushchair and separate car seat. The carrycot can also be used as an alternative to a Moses basket for your baby to sleep in at night when she is very young.

• You can move your baby from your car to the pushchair without waking her up.
• You only need to make one purchase decision: you can get a pushchair, car seat and carrycot in one go.
• Your baby will be facing you in the pushchair.

• You will need to buy another car seat when your baby outgrows her first one. This could be as early as six months .
• It can be tricky to fit the car seat to the pushchair chassis on some models. Make sure you try before you buy.

All pushchairs sold in the UK go through rigorous tests to make sure that they are completely safe for you and your baby. Travel systems are therefore perfectly safe to use. The accompanying car seat and carrycot will also be held to the same standards as those sold separately.

However, if you are buying your travel system second hand, it is not a not a good idea to use the car seat. You won t know the history of the car seat, and whether it s had any damage. This means it may not protect your baby fully if your car is in an accident.

Even if there are no visible marks on the car seat, it is always best to buy a new one. Here are some final top tips for you:

• Make sure the car seat that comes with your travel system fits your car perfectly. Test it out in your car, rather than on a model in the shop. Your car may be a different size and shape. If you can t find one that fits, you may be better off buying a separate pushchair and car seat.
• Check that the travel system s components can recline enough for your young baby. Newborns need to be kept as flat as possible.
• Think about the size of your home. Travel systems tend to be bulky and could block your hallway. You also need to think about where you are going to store all the different components. If storage is an issue, a travel system may not be for you.

Last reviewed: February 2015