Skipping the newborn stroller and attachment :D Britax B Motion

[Marumi]

We wanted one lightweight but sturdy stroller, that works from 0-4 without the need for any additional attachments! And I am so happy with our choice that I wanted to share and I am curious if anyone else chose this system?

I believe it varies depending on the country but in Germany we have this really inconvenient traditional system where you end up with a bulky, heavy newborn stroller, that later converts into a what we call "Buggy" by attaching yet another seat, which is good for about ten months. The first thing I dislike is that the newborn cot will hardly be in use while also babywearing much...kinda pointless. Then you need to buy a lightweight stroller for toddlers bc most of these convertabile systems are not good for an older toddler. In fact, last time we ended up with 3 different strollers!! The third bc my son got too heavy for a normal stroller, and even then pushing him was pure agony. I ended up carrying him for 3 years cause I hated all my strollers.

I live rural but very close to the big city (Frankfurt). So I travel the small town sidewalks as well as subways and busses in the city, stores and café's. There are café's everywhere in Germany so you want a stroller that can be easily pushed through a small café or folded up. Not to forget all the Medieval cobble stone everywhere...talk about waking your baby.
With two kids having a good stroller is very important. I had so many accidents where I got stuck with the old one and almost fell.

While searching I came across the Britax B-Motion and I got to test it today and compare it to so many other systems....I am IN LOVE! It is as lightweight as a Buggy, yet as sturdy as a big stroller. There are some great videos on YouTube to demonstrate it's functions. The seat can be reclined all the way for a newborn (and a pad can be added), so there is no need for additional attachments. Once the baby can sit up, it works as a regular stroller. The air filled tires make for easy pushing and bump free rides*. I must sound like an add by now. The canopy can be unzipped far so you can see your baby. The leg rest has a shape that works great for a baby with short legs (they are somewhat up) but also for a toddler that will simply bend his legs.
It was a great idea to bring my son because while many strollers feel great when empty, there was a huge difference with a 15 kg toddler, which is the max. weight. Also most leg rests don't work for an older toddler. With the B-Motion 3 (3 wheels) I was able to push my 4 1/2 year old around corners one handed with ease! None of the other strollers allowed me to do that. Even the B-Motion 4 was somewhat difficult to maneuver with him in it.

Kiddy Boards for toddlers can be attached, even the wide ones which don't cause you to run into them.
The stroller folds up by simply pulling the handle in the middle. I can easily carry it even pregnant (in heels) We live in an apartment complex so I will need to take it downstairs to store it. Price Tag - 300 Euros, so really not bad for 4 years of quality.

And in case anyone cares about such things: It has a big, sturdy basket on the bottom for storage, a pocket on the back of the canopy and Britax offers a small organizer/ cup holder which will fit a few essentials. And for me this totally eliminates the need for an actual diaper bag, because I hate diaper bags with a passion I collect designer bags so there is no way I would use a diaper bag instead. I honestly just put baby items and diapers in my regular bags last time . I also really did not need much AT ALL last time with the boob always ready so the diaper bag was way too big.
And I love the SIMPLE black. I have color matching OCD.

Really my motto is just to simplify this time around. So many things weren't needed and just annoying. I felt like inspector gadget or a mom- bot and eventually only carried a few diapers, one burp cloth, mini travel wipes. If you are on the go in the city a lot you want to cut down on things.

* Britax will stop making the B Motion 3 with air filled tires sadly. So if you want the bouncy feel, get one before they are sold out.

I have attached pics of the stroller and organizer (which keeps coffee warm and cold drinks and foods cold!). I am 5'5" and in heels so you can see it isn't a tiny stroller but not huge either. The other picture is the typical system used in Germany. Car seats aren't recommended for newborns here but last time we had a car seat stroller. We have a car seat still so there is no need to buy a system. We also don't use a car much. Train and bus is much cheaper.

Did anyone else pick something like this? If not maybe my review got you interested

 

[Gem1302]

I had one very similar for my DS we bought a travel system but sold it unused as like you said it was too bulky, this time though I found a nice lightweight system. My son still uses the same one he always has sometimes, although it is now need in replacing but he doesn't really use it that much now as he's happy to walk. It lasted us a good 2 years! He's always been happy in it and looked very tiny & snuggly in it as a newborn

 

[minties]

Sounds like a complex system with all those seats for difd ages! I had the Australian/New Zealand version of a britax b-dual which was good but large.

Here most people get a stroller where the back lies flat. I have a stroller from 2009 that is well made and goes to 35kg.

 

[Marumi]

I had one very similar for my DS we bought a travel system but sold it unused as like you said it was too bulky, this time though I found a nice lightweight system. My son still uses the same one he always has sometimes, although it is now need in replacing but he doesn't really use it that much now as he's happy to walk. It lasted us a good 2 years! He's always been happy in it and looked very tiny & snuggly in it as a newborn

It did seem very comfortable for a newborn! Plus there are additional pads that can be added to cover the seat belt.

Sounds like a complex system with all those seats for difd ages! I had the Australian/New Zealand version of a britax b-dual which was good but large.

Here most people get a stroller where the back lies flat. I have a stroller from 2009 that is well made and goes to 35kg.

I have seen the B-Dual! It is large, but I suppose most systems for 2 kids would be rather large? My son will be 5 in summer, I hope he will do well walking though he can be lazy :/.
Prior to these systems parents would buy 2 strollers. The downside to the travel systems is usually that the chassey/ metal frame is very heavy to be sturdy enough for the newborn attachment.

So strollers in Australia are generally fully reclinable for newborns? Not many have this feature here yet.

 

[minties]

All of the ones I have bought in NZ lie flat (or close enough), though you can attach bassinets or infant capsules to lots of them.

You can get little umbrella strollers that just stay upright.

 

[NZKiwi]

Yup I'm in nz and the stroller I'm looking at goes from newborn and up, infact the majority of them seem too. This is funny to me because so often being in nz we don't always have a lot of choice and shipping costs can be exuberant, so its kinda nice to know there is an aspect we aren't missing out on!!

 

[AngelofTroy]

That looks great! We have Micah's old buggy which fully reclines for a newborn. There is a carrycot you can buy but we decided it was unnecessary. Our newborn car seat fits onto the frame though.

 

[Marumi]

All of the ones I have bought in NZ lie flat (or close enough), though you can attach bassinets or infant capsules to lots of them.

You can get little umbrella strollers that just stay upright.

Interesting! We have a few reclinable strollers but not flat enough for a newborn. Attaching bassinets and such seems to become more common though!

Yup I'm in nz and the stroller I'm looking at goes from newborn and up, infact the majority of them seem too. This is funny to me because so often being in nz we don't always have a lot of choice and shipping costs can be exuberant, so its kinda nice to know there is an aspect we aren't missing out on!!

That is funny! I really wasn't able to find a system exactly like the Britax that eliminates the need for attaching a newborn seat! The store clerk even said this is the only stroller that lies completely flat, has air tires, folds up small and is lightweight at the same time.

That looks great! We have Micah's old buggy which fully reclines for a newborn. There is a carrycot you can buy but we decided it was unnecessary. Our newborn car seat fits onto the frame though.

I think the carrycot is what we call "Soft Tasche" (soft pouch) which is sort of a funny name but you basically just place it inside and take it out by the handles. In a way it also seems unnecessary to spend money on...the only useful part I can think of is that if the baby was asleep I won't need to wake him to take him out of the stroller. There is also a sturdy bassinet option.

 

[pinkpassion]

Kind of off topic but I read that you said it's not recommended for newborns to have carseats. So how do you travel them? This is interesting to me!!

 

[karry1412]

Thanks for the reminder! My mother-in-law bought us something very similar to what you posted & I forgot all about it! She bought it second hand & the tyres are flat so my Dad is working on it but he must have forgotten about it too. It is so hard to find something that suits - I honestly couldn't tell you how many I've gone through! I buy them all second hand. I think the most I have spent is €50 & that was on a fantastic system. The best one for my boy was a Graco I got for €30 but going to need to look out for a double now

 

[Rhiannon137]

Kind of off topic but I read that you said it's not recommended for newborns to have carseats. So how do you travel them? This is interesting to me!!

Definitely not true! I think the concern is the recent trend of people (esp in the US) leaving their newborns in the careseat all the time out of convenience. So many of the new systems pop out of the car, into a stroller, some even fit into swing frames. The carseat makes a convenient little chair in the house... Baby just gets transported around in its little pod and ends up being scrunched up all the time, rather than lying flat or being directly held. It's not great for physical or emotional development.

Babies always belong in a car seat in the car, though.

 

[Marumi]

Kind of off topic but I read that you said it's not recommended for newborns to have carseats. So how do you travel them? This is interesting to me!!

Like Rhiannon said. I just meant they are not recommended as only Newborn stroller solution. Our first stroller in the US, a Graco, only had a carseat for newborns. No lying flat option. I wore my son a lot when he was tiny so it wasn't a problem. But the problem really is that this convenience leads to parents leaving their babys in the carseat for too long.
We do have carseats of course but many parents will chose to transfer their newborn from the bassinet like shown in one of the pictures into the car seat only when driving. Modern strollers do have an option for attaching a carseat but it just isn't advised that babies spend a lot of time in it also because the organs have less room and the spine is in a weird position.

BUT, Germany was far behind when it came to rear facing car seats. Only newborns travel rear facing and closer to a year they travel in a normal seat. We had our son rear facing until 2 like the new recommendations say but German carseats are small.

Thanks for the reminder! My mother-in-law bought us something very similar to what you posted & I forgot all about it! She bought it second hand & the tyres are flat so my Dad is working on it but he must have forgotten about it too. It is so hard to find something that suits - I honestly couldn't tell you how many I've gone through! I buy them all second hand. I think the most I have spent is €50 & that was on a fantastic system. The best one for my boy was a Graco I got for €30 but going to need to look out for a double now

Wow those are very good deals!! We bought 2 strollers used last time but they broke so this time I wanted a great warranty. We don't need anything aside from a stroller so I splurged
I can imagine it is hard to find something suitable. So many things can be wrong with a stroller.

 

[pinkpassion]

I see what you mean now!! I think it's not just a carseat problem but also there are so many swings and bouncers and what not that people put their babies in. To each their own but I'd rather hold or wrap my baby I like it when I feel close and my dd always loved feeling close to me. I will say though the carseats do have a super awesome convenience about them. Dd is still rear facing in her convertible seat. I will keep her rear facing until she outgrows the limit.. which may be a very very long time as she can technically (even at 19 months) still ride in her infant carseat very comfortably (she's very tiny, only 2 % in height (I'm 4'11" so not unexpected) and still only 20 lbs) So she will be rear facing for quite a while I imagine!!

 

[Marumi]

Exactly! So many little "seats" for babies! I never used a swing or bouncer. Carseats of course are necessary for travel. My son also fit his first carseat for two years. He is only between the 8th and 13th percentile now in height at 4 1/2 so he still fits the stroller we got too . I was told he looks big in the picture but that is because I am not big either, my husband is just an inch taller so I think our children will already be small. I am not very short but a bit below average at 5'5", especially in Germany.

 

[karry1412]

My little giant is in the 90 percentile for height & weight - hence his variety of modes of transport!

 

[Marumi]

My little giant is in the 90 percentile for height & weight - hence his variety of modes of transport!

Wow for both even! My son was in the 95th percentile for weight and a bit bigger than average but the weight dropped when he began walking at 12 mths. He was so chubby and all breastfed.