stroller/car seat advice

vgreet

So I didn't even think about it...

Just realized last night that carseats have expiration dates.  DUH.  I know I should have realized this before, but SIL saved her carseats and a double stroller for us.  I was thinking I had major expenses taken care of, and was happy not to be looking at that bill.  No I realized her youngest is 8 and her oldest is 10 (he still was in carseats because he has CP.) No way are those carseats going to work for us.  So... Advice on infant seats/double stroller combos?  I don't want to go too $$$, but still want quality. I have a ford escape that will be the main family vehicle, but DH is 6'4" and always leans the driver's seat WAY back, so either need a seat that doesn't push too far forward or seats that can sit right next to each other. 

Any advice here would be appreciated.

TIA

vgreet

I should also add, the only places I can reasonable go and look at things are Wal-Mart, Target, and Once Upon a Child.  And those are 60 miles away.  Everything else is online shopping...

atc282

Now through Sun. it's the Trade-In event at Babies R Us. You could trade in the exp. car seats and get 25% each new car seat you buy. So it's a decent discount.

I really liked the Graco Snugrides we had for DDs. They weren't too expensive (under $100 each) and were compatible with the Baby Trend Double Snap N Go stroller frame. Also got that at BRU (about $100 new) but can easily be picked up for much less on Craigslist. We used those items for the first 6-7 months and then transitioned to a SBS stroller (Maclaren Twin Techno--got that on CL for under $100, t00) and we're still using that stroller at 22 months.

GL and HTH

macchiatto

I recommend the Graco Snugrides and the Double Snap n Go stroller (frame) for the early months.

What type of double stroller does she have for you after that? Hopefully it will work; the DSNG is relatively cheap and holds its value well (since it's just a frame, no seats to get ripped, stained, etc.) so even if you can't find one used, you can probably resell it when you're done and recoup at least half the cost. That way you don't have to worry about whether her double stroller is compatible with the car seats. The DSNG is really easy to use, fold, etc.

keg

Ditto pps.  The Graco Snugrides and a used DSNG for as long as you can do it.  If your sister's stroller works for you, that's great.  If not, you can take a few months to figure out what you'd like (another tandem, side by side, etc). 

kthappy76

I got baby trend flex loc seats and the double snap and go to start, both of which you can find at wal.mart or online for less than $300 total.

Rangergal9

We had the Graco snug rides and they worked great for us.  Ditto the Double Snap N Go for the beginning.  It's cheap and is easy to use until you decide what kind of double stroller you'll want once they are out of the infant seats.