Too soon to buy Travel System?

KMJames15

Hey ladies! I will be finding out the babies gender next Saturday, Halloween!!! Babies R Us has the cutest perfect Travel System i would want for a baby girl and Target has the perfect one for a boy. They are both on sale and i know they will not be in stock much longer. I want to get one after my appointment. As long as i check for an expiration would you think its okay to get it  now??? I am a FTM and i am very picky! I have had my eye on these for weeks and i just have to have it for my baby! Not really looking to get other stuff until Christmas but i love the TS i have had my eye on! 

jasmineahenderson

Are you planning on having a shower? Because if so I might wait. Most of our big ticket items were bought for us by family and friends with our first one .

yodiggity

I would wait personally because it's going to be 5-6 months closer to the expiration date than what it would be if you wait til closer to when you're due. I don't know if you can see the expiration date before you purchase it but I'm sure they sit on the shelf for a little while too. So potentially, you could have a car seat that is a year old before you get to you use it.

Ready4theParty

Are you going to have additional children? As a Stm I would recommend going gender neutral and looking more at the seat regulations instead of color. I noticed the weights and inches varied considerably from seat to seat. Some only went to 15 lbs while others went to 30.

With most seats having the expiration of 5-7 years you could probably get at least two uses out of it. DD only stayed in her carrier for a year before we swapped her out to a bigger one.

cmjenkies

^Nothing on the shelf is going to be THAT close to expiration at this time.

fourtsixand2

It seems like you already made up your mind to buy the travel system.  

Either way, if you really think it's a steal you won't find again, go for it.  But, you also should consider that you'll have friends and family who want to help shower you/baby with gifts.  Sometimes several people like to go in on gifts together to get larger/more expensive items.

If it were me, I'd wait and see what I got at my shower, but that's just my opinion.  If you financially can afford it and want to just go ahead and check it off the list, go for it!

RoseShadow873

Is a travel system just another word for car seat?

mrstrax

RoseShadow873 said:

Is a travel system just another word for car seat?

It's a car seat and a stroller that the seat clicks into.

NachosAndPeaches

I highly recommend gender neutral for such a large item.

randilea0110

I say go for it! IIt won't expire before baby out grows it, and if you really aren't planning on having any additional children before it expires, it really doesn't need to be gender neutral. If you have the funds to pay for it and know that it's exactly what you want, get it while you can and while it's on sale. 

I happen to have purchased a graco stroller a couple years ago when my SIL forgot to bring one for my nephew. I purchased it in a gender neutral color (thinking that if DH and I ever had children we could use it) and started looking online a couple weeks ago to see if I could still purchase the matching car seat. Turns out I can still get it on amazon! When DH's parents called and asked what he wanted for his birthday last weekend he told them about the car seat and had me send them the link. It should arrive next week and our travel system will be complete! 

pinottoparenthood

Also, in case no one has mentioned this, travel systems suck. The strollers are huge, heavy, bulky, and awkward. You're way better off just getting a snap and go for use with the carseat and then a stroller that you really like... because you will be using your stroller LONG after your child grows out of the infant carseat. 

Ready4theParty

@KMJames15 I am not trying to be mean, but it sounds like you are only picking a travel system out only based on looks. Have you looked into the safety ratings one these units?

Very few, if anyone, will take a used car seat due to safety concerns. So you might have a hard time finding someone to take it.

I agree with pps that if you can financially afford it, go for it. I also recommend registering your product with Graco. They do an awesome job of letting you know if that item is recalled.

NachosAndPeaches

Actually all car seats are tested and pass or fail, so they are all equally safe that we know of, if they are installed properly and used properly.

There are two carseats that tend to not be safe for newborns, I forgot one (will find out shortly), and the other is baby trend infant seats. The bottom shoulder slat is generally too high for any newborn. Straps must come from at or below shoulders while rear facing, and until babies grow several inches, baby trend infant seat straps come from above. Unless you have an abnormally long baby (and it has to be long torso length, more so than overall length). The seats are safe once baby fits into it at a few months old, but not until then. For this reason I discourage anybody from buying this seat.

NachosAndPeaches

Okay the other non recommended seat for newborns is the graco snugride 22. The 30, 35, and 40 are all fine!

KMJames15

jasmineahenderson i will have a shower but i will be the one buying the higher priced items. My mom will get a crib but i dont have a lot of friends or family in the position to be able to spend lots of money on high priced baby gifts. I also dont want to leave that up to them and have it on registry and no one buy it. I  will leave the little things to the shower. But the big things i will buy. 

KMJames15

Its a Graco Travel System and the site says their card seats are good for 5-6 years. I can return up to 90 days after purchase. I think i wanna buy it so so i can get the one i want on sale and neatly check the expiration date under the carseat and if it expires soon i will return or exchange within 90 days.

KMJames15

Ready4theParty i will be 23 in February so i do not plan on having any more kids, at least for the next 5 years. This was unexpected since not on BC but i will be on BC after this baby. I look forward to another baby or 2 in the future but not with the next 3-4 years. As long as i can use the car seat with the TS at least until they baby is 12-18 months i will be satisfied. I plan on donating the Travel System if not yet expired to a mom in need once the baby out grwos it.