@soberkfell : Please don't turn forward until at LEAST 2 years of age. I know they look scrunched up when they get bigger, but their legs won't misform or do anything weird. If you forward face too early, their little weak necks can't support their melon noggins during a crash (even low speed). The Nordic countries rear face even longer (age 4!!), and really, the longer you do it, the safer for the kiddo.
We were lucky to receive the Chicco Key Fit 30 travel system as a baby shower gift from my co-workers. I sometimes wonder if I would have preferred to have one of the convertible seats that switches from rear-facing to forward-facing; however, I LOVED having my pumpkin seat to be able to pop DS in and out of the car and carry him into wherever I was going. I also liked being able to buckle him in indoors before facing mother nature, be it extreme heat, cold, rain, or snow.
DS is 21 months old Thursday, and is still rear-facing... his pediatrician said to not turn him around until age 2. My husband is worried he's going to be bow-legged with how he has to prop his feet up on the back of the seat. Any STM's turn their kids around before 2 years?
Lol....your kid will not end up bow-legged. In my car, we had DD rear-facing until she was a little over 3.5, even on long trips (over 1,000 miles one way). She was fine, and actually would sleep longer in the car if she was rear-facing, than she would forward-facing because of the better recline of the carseat while RF. We had a Britax Pavilion convertible, but because we wanted to RF her longer, we ended up ordering Diono Rainier carseats. In my husband's truck, it is a little harder for extended RF behind the driver and passenger seat (and the truck manual says no carseats in the center for LATCH), and we needed to be able to put up one side of the 60/40 backseat anyway for the dog and for when he needs to use it for work (so she had to be behind one of the seats at that point and not centered). I want to say that she was RFing in there until age 2.5, and then we switched her around. She could sometimes stretch her legs over the sides of the seat, or sit criss crossed, or put her feet on the back of the chair. But even until 3.5, she never complained about being uncomfortable.
But that is coming from someone who has three family members that work as police/fire/paramedic, and I have heard nightmare stories about kids FF as soon as they hit the 1yr 20lb (or whatever the carseat states) minimum limit, and the condition they are in come accident time. I know there is one country (I want to say it is Sweden, but I cannot remember exactly) where they RF until age 4, and it is rare that a child is injured in a car accident. And like one of my family members mentioned, the worst she has seen with ERF-ing, is a broken leg and some bumps and bruises (and that was in a car that was T-boned and rolled several times). She has seen worse injuries from children under the age of two, forward-facing, that have been rear-ended by someone going less than 40mph.
Pre-kid, I rolled my eyes at people that ERF'ed.....and then I became the parent that just realized it is better safe than sorry.....
I loved our Graco Lite Rider stroller (travel system). It's SUPER light with a huge undercarriage basket. For our 2nd car, we had a Snap N Go (Graco car seat fits fine), which is also very light with a lot of storage. I'm not one to get the most expensive/fancy stuff. These things were durable for our purposes, traveled well, and fit in our cars.
Once DD outgrew the infant bucket seat, we switched to a Diono Radian 100. It's very slim (can fit three across) but HEAVY. However, I've traveled (by plane) multiple times alone with DD. Thank God I only had to get from curbside to the ticket counter with the car seat. (you can buy carry straps separately).
My daughter has always been in the 99% for height and we didn't switch her around until after she turned 2 years old; i probably would have kept her rear-facing for longer but i didn't make the best choice when purchasing the seat. Yes she looked all scrunched up but i knew she was safe.
Thank you, @lcking82and @PhoebeJune1984! I'm not in any hurry to turn him around, but I appreciate the ammo for discussing with my husband! My arguing point has been that we trust DS's doctor, and if she says to not turn him around until age 2, then he will continue to sit RF. Having some studies to refer my husband to, will be helpful! And bow-legged or not (please note that I truly don't think RF would cause this anyway - it's just my husband's concern), it's better than any of the injuries DS could sustain if FF and in an accident.
Once DD outgrew the infant bucket seat, we switched to a Diono Radian 100. It's very slim (can fit three across) but HEAVY. However, I've traveled (by plane) multiple times alone with DD. Thank God I only had to get from curbside to the ticket counter with the car seat. (you can buy carry straps separately).
My bosses have twins and were doing an international flight. I told them about the Diono's and they ordered two and the straps (they got the Diono RXT, and I own Diono Rainier....which is the same weight). When they hooked the straps on them, I wanted to see how heavy it felt and tried it out. I was actually surprised, it doesn't feel as heavy when you are carrying it on your back, as it does when you are just carrying it in your hands.
I have a graco click connect travel system...first off the infant carrier is too heavy. Secondly, the graco jogging stroller is cumbersome and difficult to steer because the front wheel keeps locking up. Total waste of money...I liked the graco lite rider but it didn't seem to stand up to wear and tear....the thing looks awful, not sure I can keep using it.
We have the chicco keyfit 30 for our infant seat and have no complaints about it! We loved it. DS was a small infant and was under the height/weight restrictions until he was about 11 months old. Even so, he was usually too heavy to carry him around in the seat, plus he's an active guy and hated being trapped in the thing if we weren't in the car. At 11 months we bought a convertible Graco Forever. So far we have no complaints with that either! If a parent doesn't need the convenience of moving the bucket seat between cars or into and out of destinations, I'd totally skip the bucket seat and jump to the convertible. (We liked the convenience of letting DS sleep when he was an infant though. So if he fell asleep in the car, we could bring him into a restaurant and he could continue sleeping. You wouldn't be able to do this with a convertible!)
For a stroller we have the Baby Jogger City Versa. I love love love the Baby Jogger strollers (brand name, not type of stroller FYI). Test drive one around and you'll know why. They turn on a dime which means you can navigate with one hand. They also (almost all models) have a handle that adjusts for height so tall/short parents will appreciate it. The reason we love the versa is because the seat parent faces AND forward faces. DS is just over a year and we almost exclusively used the parent face option while using the stroller.
For 2.0 we need another stroller. We're likely going to get the Baby Jogger City Select Double. This stroller also allows for forward or parent facing. It can fit both the infant seat (Chicco with adapter) and a seat for DS1 and isn't one of those more unwieldy side-by-side strollers. I wish we'd paid more attention to our plan for the small age gap because we would have just purchased the Select double from the get-go. Ohh well! Now we'll likely try to sell the Versa.
Alright ladies, two questions...
A. City mini or spend the extra $100 and get the gt? We go to the theme parks a LOT.
B. Britax B-Safe 35 elite or Chicco KeyFit Zip?
Edit because I hit post too early
@Dolewhipper, I'm partial to the Chicco Keyfit so that would be my vote and I'd personally skip the GT. If I remember correctly the biggest difference between the mini and the GT is the wheels. The GT has nice rubber wheels while the mini has the standard... non-rubber? wheels. We have the versa which has the standard wheels and I have zero complaints. Rubber would be better for lots of off-roading, but around theme parks and in our concrete jungle world I think the standard wheels work just fine. It definitely wouldn't be worth $100 to me... but we don't off-road with the stroller. We baby-wear for those events.
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014! DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
Also car seats expire so do not pre-buy them early.
@BettyRu, I just want to point out that 'pre-buying early' would not be bad unless one is buying for a yet-to-be-conceived child..... MOST car seats expire six years from the date of manufacture, some last up to nine. Cautioning people against buying a car seat now for their baby due in July is ridiculous.
This of course doesn't apply to people buying USED car seats, that's an entirely different ball-game with a whole host of considerations to take into account in addition to the expiration date.
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014! DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
Question: I have a 2 year old who will be almost 3 by the time the next LO arrives...should I buy a double stroller? Would appreciate any advice from mom's who already have 2 kids -- I'm not sure how this is done with more than one
@rnyland1I would if I were you! Especially if you have any family trips planned to the zoo, mall, theme parks, etc. 3, 4, and sometimes even 5 year olds need that break occasionally! Having a seat for them would probably be worth it.
If you are a babywearing family and think you'll wear your youngest 100% of the time, then I'd say there's no need for a double. We're a babywearing family but every once in a while Momma (and Dad!) needs a break so we like having the stroller when we just don't want to wear anymore.
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014! DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
If you are a first time mom, I recommend going somewhere like babies r us. They allow you to test your car seat in your vehicle to insure proper fit. Then you get a good feel for what you like what fits your vehicle and most are trained to help show you installation. As a car seat tech I cannot stress the important of that. More often then not lots of parents don't have proper cars eats or have them installed properly. Starting early gives you a chance to really look around and find something that your comfortable with and works for you.
One more thing to add about carseats - avoid all black because they get so hot. I had a December baby and she baked in hers all year around, but especially the summer months. It wasn't something that even occurred to me at the time I registered for it.
One more thing to add about carseats - avoid all black because they get so hot. I had a December baby and she baked in hers all year around, but especially the summer months. It wasn't something that even occurred to me at the time I registered for it.
I had a Oct baby, and we had zero issues with black fabric in her carseat during the summer. We are going with the Peg Perego in Onyx (all black) for this one, and it will be a summer baby. I think that it really depends on where you live (how the heat is), and the type of fabric. I live in the PNW, where summer time is only 2-3 months of heat, and it isn't even really hot compared to other parts of the US.
One more thing to add about carseats - avoid all black because they get so hot. I had a December baby and she baked in hers all year around, but especially the summer months. It wasn't something that even occurred to me at the time I registered for it.
I had a Oct baby, and we had zero issues with black fabric in her carseat during the summer. We are going with the Peg Perego in Onyx (all black) for this one, and it will be a summer baby. I think that it really depends on where you live (how the heat is), and the type of fabric. I live in the PNW, where summer time is only 2-3 months of heat, and it isn't even really hot compared to other parts of the US.
@PhoebeJune1984 - We are in Philadelphia so it's pretty freaking cold in the winter and not hot all year around. This was just my basic observation that someone may have a kid that runs warm (like mine). I do wish I would've picked a carseat other than black for that reason.
One more thing to add about carseats - avoid all black because they get so hot. I had a December baby and she baked in hers all year around, but especially the summer months. It wasn't something that even occurred to me at the time I registered for it.
I don't know why I never thought about this! I changed my registry from the Chicco keyfit zip to the new one that has a more breathable material (only $10 more).
Pretty sure we're going with the UppaBaby Vista. It's spendy, but every single review I've read said that you won't need multiple strollers, that this one does it all really well. Plus it grows for up to 3 kids (we plan to have 2 kids pretty close together so we don't want to have to buy a whole new stroller 2 years from now). I'm willing to pay for the right product, and so this has become our choice. I'd rather pay once for one item that's going to last for next 5 years than spend over and over again on items that aren't built to last/don't fit our needs.
@chanfa this is amazing, thank you! And thank your hubby we're going out this weekend (hopefully) to look at some stuff so this is definitely helpful as a guide.
PSA (especially for STMs or moms of multiples)- The Diono Radian 100 will be on an Amazon Prime Early Access Deal at 11AM! You can fit three of these across!
I personally like to use an infant seat at first but then this seat is the only one you'll EVER need after. Some use it even in the newborn stage, but you lose the convenience of taking the baby in/out of the car in the seat and allowing them to stay asleep that way without disruption.
ETA: the Olympia seat at 11AM as well... and the Rainier at 3PM
@chanfa - thank you to you and your husband! That is helpful. I'm torn between the City Mini and the Chicco Bravo, but that's just looking at them on paper. I am 5'2" and DH is 6'8" so it will strongly depend on what stroller works best for both of us!
Recommendation for all new moms, make sure you see if you can try the car seat in your car before you make the purchase. My top 2 car seats I want don't fit in my car I have a Honda CR-V. Well they do fit but a front passenger would not... And all car seats are final sale. I am glad I tried.
There is also a website (I don't know if it was already mentioned in this post), that carseat techs break down. Like literally rip the covers off of most of them, give you all of the pros and cons, tell you their top picks for infant/convertable/booster/etc, you can do side by side comparisons, etc.
I have been shopping and researching strollers all weekend. I ended up falling in love with a smaller stroller than I had planned on. I originally was looking at the Bugaboo Buffalo and the Stokke Trailz - thinking that the offroading capability would be necessary. When I tried to fold them up they were so complicated and heavy :S I tried out the Bugaboo Cameleon and think that is going to be our pick. It was far lighter than the off roading ones and super easy to adjust. We have orderd a Nuna Pippa car seat, which has an available adaptor for this stroller....my only question, I thought we weren't supposed to use a car seat in the stroller because it puts the baby in a crunched up position? Has anyone else heard this? One store I went to strongly recommended against the car seat/stroller combo - but when I went to BRU this seemed to be all they sold?
I'm from Calgary also and I'm curious where you got the advice regarding the baby being squished when you put the car seat in the stroller? If baby is not squished in the car seat when it's in the car, I don't see how they could be squished because the seat was moved to a stroller. I'm just wondering if it's the same high pressure place I have been. But that advice is totally ridiculous if you ask me.
I have to consider both these again as a stm. I borrowed my sister's infant seat for DD and it's now expired. I really recommend Car Seats for the Littles on facebook as well. I was recently reading about dozens of infant seats installed in compact cars and the space they each required. They have great advice on purchasing, installing, and using seats. It's my go to every time I have a question.
We bought a City Mini for DD and I really like a lot about it. It's lightweight and folds easily. It was perfect for my needs: walking in the burbs. But we used it a lot. I walked a lot for exercise and I've worn down the wheels, the handle cover has split, and my now toddler has spilled all over the seat. I may look into replacing it. Honesty, we were rough on it and it walked hundreds of miles. For the price, it was a great buy. I'm not sure if I want a stroller with an option for DD#1 to stand/ride sometimes as she will be 4 this summer.
This thread made me super nervous that the carseat I ordered (on sale, the Snugride 40) wouldn't fit in our Honda Civic Hatchback without one of us being super uncomfortable (we're both tall). It came today and it fits fine! The passenger will have to sit up straight, but we'll survive. Thank goodness.
Question- does anyone have any experience painting a stroller? The one I bought on CL is a faded orange color, and I'd like to paint it black. I would LOVE any paint type suggestions if any of you have tried this.
Thank you @elenabrent for bringing back this thread because I have a question too! For yours I would think maybe sand it down to make it "gritty" and then maybe a spray paint for metal? I honestly am not sure though. ETA I posted before you edited lol. I would think the canvas you can dye first, buy fabric dye, mix it up and let the canvas soak in it, wash it, and then use even just fabric pens to add a design if you want to. All that stuff will be at any craft store. Be careful with the paints though, for xmas I did all diy crafts and I did a couple mugs and the paint pens were so much more potent than expected I ended up sitting outside to finish them with a scarf over my nose just in case.
My question is for moms with a newborn and a toddler, did you go the route of double stroller or single stroller with that bench attachment in the back for the toddler? I hardly use the stroller for ds anymore but I do use it in crowded places if I need him "contained" and not running around breaking stuff, ie. the big e/big fairs. He's turning 3 in a couple weeks though so I'm thinking this summer he might be that much more mature I don't need to buckle him into a stroller and distract him with a toy to keep him from having a conniption. Also I run warm so there's no way I'll be able to wear the new baby for extended time periods this summer outside.
Re: Car Seats and Strollers!?!?
A. City mini or spend the extra $100 and get the gt? We go to the theme parks a LOT.
B. Britax B-Safe 35 elite or Chicco KeyFit Zip?
Edit because I hit post too early
Here are some links you can show your hubby:
https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/aap-updates-recommendation-on-car-seats.aspx
https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/2015/07/3-out-of-4-parents-forward-face-too-early.html/
https://csftl.org/rear-facing-car-seat-myths-busted/
But that is coming from someone who has three family members that work as police/fire/paramedic, and I have heard nightmare stories about kids FF as soon as they hit the 1yr 20lb (or whatever the carseat states) minimum limit, and the condition they are in come accident time. I know there is one country (I want to say it is Sweden, but I cannot remember exactly) where they RF until age 4, and it is rare that a child is injured in a car accident. And like one of my family members mentioned, the worst she has seen with ERF-ing, is a broken leg and some bumps and bruises (and that was in a car that was T-boned and rolled several times). She has seen worse injuries from children under the age of two, forward-facing, that have been rear-ended by someone going less than 40mph.
Pre-kid, I rolled my eyes at people that ERF'ed.....and then I became the parent that just realized it is better safe than sorry.....
Once DD outgrew the infant bucket seat, we switched to a Diono Radian 100. It's very slim (can fit three across) but HEAVY. However, I've traveled (by plane) multiple times alone with DD. Thank God I only had to get from curbside to the ticket counter with the car seat. (you can buy carry straps separately).
For a stroller we have the Baby Jogger City Versa. I love love love the Baby Jogger strollers (brand name, not type of stroller FYI). Test drive one around and you'll know why. They turn on a dime which means you can navigate with one hand. They also (almost all models) have a handle that adjusts for height so tall/short parents will appreciate it. The reason we love the versa is because the seat parent faces AND forward faces. DS is just over a year and we almost exclusively used the parent face option while using the stroller.
For 2.0 we need another stroller. We're likely going to get the Baby Jogger City Select Double. This stroller also allows for forward or parent facing. It can fit both the infant seat (Chicco with adapter) and a seat for DS1 and isn't one of those more unwieldy side-by-side strollers. I wish we'd paid more attention to our plan for the small age gap because we would have just purchased the Select double from the get-go. Ohh well! Now we'll likely try to sell the Versa.
@Dolewhipper, I'm partial to the Chicco Keyfit so that would be my vote and I'd personally skip the GT. If I remember correctly the biggest difference between the mini and the GT is the wheels. The GT has nice rubber wheels while the mini has the standard... non-rubber? wheels. We have the versa which has the standard wheels and I have zero complaints. Rubber would be better for lots of off-roading, but around theme parks and in our concrete jungle world I think the standard wheels work just fine. It definitely wouldn't be worth $100 to me... but we don't off-road with the stroller. We baby-wear for those events.
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014!
DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
Baby #3: EDD, April 16th, 2016
This of course doesn't apply to people buying USED car seats, that's an entirely different ball-game with a whole host of considerations to take into account in addition to the expiration date.
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014!
DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
Baby #3: EDD, April 16th, 2016
If you are a babywearing family and think you'll wear your youngest 100% of the time, then I'd say there's no need for a double. We're a babywearing family but every once in a while Momma (and Dad!) needs a break so we like having the stroller when we just don't want to wear anymore.
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014!
DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
Baby #3: EDD, April 16th, 2016
DD #2: EDD July 2016
DD #2: EDD July 2016
Let me know if anyone is interested and I can share it with them!!!! \
ETA: He also included manufacture warranty time frames
@mckcak23
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/138wHngFS9OHhMJiVLltpV5FzKOKc_URC-8J4w6RqhLY/edit?usp=sharing
Let me know if you guys can view this!! Strollers on first tab, car seats on 2nd.
There are 24 strollers that he listed and 15 carseats.
no problem! Glad it can be of use for other people!
I personally like to use an infant seat at first but then this seat is the only one you'll EVER need after. Some use it even in the newborn stage, but you lose the convenience of taking the baby in/out of the car in the seat and allowing them to stay asleep that way without disruption.
ETA: the Olympia seat at 11AM as well... and the Rainier at 3PM
www.carseatblog.com
They already have their recommendations up for 2016. But this is what the review looks like for the Chicco Keyfit 30 (I am just using it as an example of what the reviews are like): https://carseatblog.com/5364/chicco-keyfit-30-review-infant-carseat-nirvana/
DS: EDD, December 19th, 2014. Born, December 19th, 2014!
DD: EDD, July 18th, 2016. Born, July 19th, 2016!
Baby #3: EDD, April 16th, 2016
We bought a City Mini for DD and I really like a lot about it. It's lightweight and folds easily. It was perfect for my needs: walking in the burbs. But we used it a lot. I walked a lot for exercise and I've worn down the wheels, the handle cover has split, and my now toddler has spilled all over the seat. I may look into replacing it. Honesty, we were rough on it and it walked hundreds of miles. For the price, it was a great buy. I'm not sure if I want a stroller with an option for DD#1 to stand/ride sometimes as she will be 4 this summer.
Also, I prefer black seats. I like black everything. I live in GA, my kids did fine.
ETA: want to paint the canvas.
ETA I posted before you edited lol. I would think the canvas you can dye first, buy fabric dye, mix it up and let the canvas soak in it, wash it, and then use even just fabric pens to add a design if you want to. All that stuff will be at any craft store. Be careful with the paints though, for xmas I did all diy crafts and I did a couple mugs and the paint pens were so much more potent than expected I ended up sitting outside to finish them with a scarf over my nose just in case.
My question is for moms with a newborn and a toddler, did you go the route of double stroller or single stroller with that bench attachment in the back for the toddler? I hardly use the stroller for ds anymore but I do use it in crowded places if I need him "contained" and not running around breaking stuff, ie. the big e/big fairs. He's turning 3 in a couple weeks though so I'm thinking this summer he might be that much more mature I don't need to buckle him into a stroller and distract him with a toy to keep him from having a conniption. Also I run warm so there's no way I'll be able to wear the new baby for extended time periods this summer outside.