Need advice on a stoller/car seat. Looking at the Chicco Cortina travel system and consumer reports rated the car seat very high.
Does anyone have this and is the travel system really the way to go?
If you could buy any stroller/car seat for a new baby, what would you buy?
Thanks
Re: Stroller?
we really weren't happy with some of the strollers that came with the travel systems, and they were all really heavy.
we opted for the graco snugride carseat and bought a baby trend stroller frame.
So Tasty, So Yummy
Like Melissa, we opted for the Graco Snugride and purchased a separate car seat carrier stroller frame. This scenario is perfect for young babies who aren't yet sitting up. This type of stroller is cheap and lightweight - very easy to use.
If you go this route you'll eventually have to buy a different stroller for when baby can be in the stroller without the car seat. Once you have an older baby you may have a better idea of what type of stroller will work best and carry you into toddlerhood, et cetera.
If I had to do it all over again here's what I would do:
1. Buy a Snugride (top safety ratings and reasonably priced) and a stroller FRAME ONLY to pop it into. It's quick, easy, and everything you'll need for quick trips until the baby grows out of the Snugride.
2. Buy a jogger. I just purchased one, and it's SOOO much better than a regular stroller for walks and trips to the zoo. If you try to push a regular stroller over a crack in cement, you'll understand the value of real tires vs. plastic wheels. (You can get a bar to put across the jogger so that you can snap your Snugride into it for outdoor walks.)
3. Buy an umbrella stroller (I'm leaning towards the Maclaren Volo - 8lbs.) for quick trips and mall trips. You can use when the baby can sit upright.
If you don't want a jogger and an umbrella stroller just get a "Baby Jogger City Mini." It's light weight and appears to be outdoor friendly. I think you can also snap your Sungride into it.
I thought I needed a full sized stroller, so I have a Peg Perego Pliko P3. I hate it. It's useless. Too heavy to drag in and out of the car for mall trips and travel, too plastic-y for outdoor use. (VERY rough ride outdoors - hated it immediately!)
I hope this helps!
ditto. This travel system is so much lighter and a lot easier to maneuver than the other TSs we tested. And we still use the stroller even now. The front tray has also come in handy for toys, snacks, sippy cups etc.
Ditto all this, and especially what you said about the umbrella stroller. I also have a full-size single stroller that I rarely used and regretted purchasing.
We have been very happy with going this route - although we had the Graco SafeSeat, a hand-me-down stroller frame, the BOB Revolution jogger, and the Maclaren Quest. ?The only thing I might change is maybe getting the Graco Snugride instead, as it is smaller and not as heavy (but I did kind of like having DS in the infant seat a little longer).?
That's alot of strollers! I have one all purpose stroller. The Bugaboo Frog. It is as light as an umbrella stroller, works as a snap & go for an infant carseat, and has wheels like a jogging stroller, so it is all-terrain and can be used for jogging/zoo trips etc. I would go with that instead of the 3 different strollers.
And ditto the other when they say the travel systems are big and bulky. You only use the infant carrier as a mode to transport the baby until they're like 5 months old. They get too heavy after that. So you won't even use the travel system after that. Spend more time and money on the actual stroller and then find a cheap infantg carrier that fits into it.
Everyone's different. ?I never thought I would have "a lot of strollers" - but different things work for different people. ?SIL gave me her snap-n-go (free), and the Maclaren was a gift. ?DH is an avid marathon runner, so we purchased the BOB later on closeout from the previous year. ?We have been happy with and gotten good use out of all of them.
I have a friend that still uses her Graco Metrolite with her 2 year old and is very happy with it, and it's her only stroller. ?You just have to figure out what works best for your situation.
I will be a voice of dissent :P
While I wish we had gotten a different one, I have been very pleased with our decision to get a travel system. I used the infant carrier with DD until 10.5 months, and even used it snapped into the stroller until then. I actually miss being about to do that.
I will say I wish we'd gotten a different travel system. Or maybe gone the route bpaullo went, which was to get the Chicco Trevi and purchase the Chicco Keyfit carrier separately. The Trevi is a smallish full-size stroller (if that makes sense), folds like an umbrella stroller, and can carry the Chicco infant seat. I don't like our Graco travel system. The infant seat was fine, but there are several features about the stroller that annoy me. Not to mention that I now think the fabric is ugly
I have to agree with MGR, we have one stroller with several components. It has wheels like a jogging stroller, but it isn't nearly as big. And it has the all terrain wheels, so that isn't an issue.
I would rather die than go for a jog, so I would have felt ridiculous buying a jogging stroller
So Tasty, So Yummy
in place of a snap n go type stroller - i just have a variety of wraps and slings. but i understand that isnt for everyone.
our only stroller is our phil and teds sport. we did get the carseat adaptor which is nice because a lot of times she just falls asleep on the way to the park and i dont have to wake her up to put her in the stroller.
we haven't yet found a usage for an umbrella stroller (granted, she's only 4.5 months old) but if we find that we need one, we'll purchase it then.
i can say though that if you want to do any jogging or off sidewalk walking, i'd highly recommend a jogging stroller. bobs are the most common i've seen at memorial, the snap n go frames, travel systems and everything else i've seen there just don't look as if they handle very well.
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