Graco Snugride 32 vs. regular

jacensgirl

Does anyone have opinions about these?  The amazon reviews say the 32 is really heavy and doesn't fit grocery carts, etc..  We got the convertable carseat that goes up to 65 pounds on our registry, but need an infant carrier for the first 6 months.  I want something that will fit the snap and go stroller that won't break my arm with him in it. 

budgetbride26

We have the regular snugride and I was very happy with it. Honestly, my baby was a big baby (was always in the 90th percentile) - I can't imagine lugging around the heavier car seat.  We moved her to the convertible seat around 7 months, cause she was way too heavy as it was, and was outgrowing the seat.  The regular fit great in most shopping carts (even though you are not "supposed" to put them on there, I did it all the time and never had a problem.)

Mrs.PeachyKeen

There is about a 3lb difference in weight between the 32 and the non-32.  Other than that the 32 holds a baby to 32 lbs and 32 inches long - not sure about the other one.  Basically your child can stay in it longer than the regular one (I will use it in the car until my baby outgrows it, but probably will stop hauling it out of the car at about 6 months) 

I am waiting to get the convertible since they expire after 6 years and I want to use it with 2 kids if possible so I am waiting to buy until I am ready to use it.  I plan on rear-facing for as long as possible as well and some convertible's are huge rear-facing.   

MrsKLB

I personally don't think it's necessary to have the 32 since there's a good chance you'll move your LO to the convertible seat before they reach the 32lbs or 32" limit.  We just moved Brady to a convertible seat a few weeks ago (at 6.5 months) because he is getting big for the infant carrier.  He's almost 20 pounds and about 28.5 inches, though, so as you can see we didn't make it to the "32" limit.  So, if you'd prefer the less heavy one then go for it.  Just my 2 cents...

GreekyPie

After going back and forth, I got the smaller Snugride (22 lb). It is considerably lighter, but not only that, I think the Snugride 32 is too long to be practical as an infant carrier. It was so much bigger and more bulky to me that I wouldn't not get the convenience factor out of it. I'm fine with using the smaller Snugride for a shorter amount of time, since baby will outgrow it sooner, because of the ease of use when he is small.

JoelsGirl07

I have a 32 and it has fit fine on carts, strollers, slings at restaurants, etc. I didn't feel like it was that heavy. I stopped carrying it in and out of the house a couple weeks ago (We have a lot of stairs and DS hit about 14lb.) We bought a convertible but haven't installed it. We will put the snugride in our second car and the big seat in our "baby" car. I like the seat, and I think it was completely worth the convenience factor. I can still take it in stores if E is sleeping.

NewBlue

My sister got the 32 and I got the regular.  She and her husband are tall and she was afraid her LO would outgrow the regular one quickly.  She switched to a convertable before he outgrew it.  Fact is, once they reach 22 lbs you don't want to be carrying them in the carrier anyway.  She also mentioned what a pain it was that it wouldn't fit in grocery carts.

slwprincess

I think I'm in the minority here, but I would go for the bigger one.  Yes, once the baby reaches a certain weight, you will not want to carry them around in that thing very often.  But the convenience of not having to wake a sleeping baby is worth it for the occasional times that you would have to.  I would just leave the carseat in the car and take the baby out (like with a convertable carseat) most of the time.  We got the smaller snugride b/c it was lighter, but Gavin outgrew it lengthwise at 9 mos (still hasn't outgrown it weightwise!).  I was so sad.  It would have been wonderful to keep that infant seat for even 1 or 2 more months just so that we wouldn't have to wake him when we went into a restaurant or whatever.  I've already told DH that I will be buying the biggest infant seat ont he market with our next one... I still miss that thing every day.  Also, I believe the Snugride 32 is being phased out and replaced with the Snugride 35.  The seat itself weighs the same, but it holds a baby up to 35 lbs.