My opinion on car seats for moms to be

desabean · September 2009

Just want to put my 2 cents in on this in case moms to be may find it helpful. We have the chicco 30 and ireally wish I had gotten a graco. When I first registered I thought I would get a travel system and liked the look of the chicco more. So when I changed my mind about the ts- I just decided to stay with the chicco. My issue with it is the canopy/ sun shade- it is so much smaller than the gracos that my friends have. It really limits us from being able to stay somewhere if we have to be outside and don't have our regular stroller- which has an amazing sunshades btw. Also, I noticed on krissy's post below someone saying they'd just carry the baby in the car seat....carseats are heavy with baby in there- probably too heavy to carry for your first few weeks of recovery, and after the baby starts gaining real weight it's too heavy again- so I do suggest a sng or something to put the car seat in. Ok- hope that is helpful.

TakYelgif · September 2009

Agreed!

For this very reason I got rid of my Chicco stroller the sunshade never covered enough!

TakYelgif · September 2009

oh and IMHO don't get a high weight infant seat, while it seems ideal after about 15 pounds that carseat becomes extremely heavy to lug around. My Graco infant seat went to 30 pounds and I cannot imagine trying to carry DS around in the infant seat at that weight it was heavy when weighed 17 pounds and we switched to the convertible.

howleyshell · September 2009

TakYelgif:
oh and IMHO don't get a high weight infant seat, while it seems ideal after about 15 pounds that carseat becomes extremely heavy to lug around. My Graco infant seat went to 30 pounds and I cannot imagine trying to carry DS around in the infant seat at that weight it was heavy when weighed 17 pounds and we switched to the convertible.

I clearly remember being stunned that we wouldn't be "getting our money's worth" out of our infant carrier because he was so far under the weight limit when we had to move him to the convertible due to height.

Most of them outgrow them way before they hit that limit or like you said they're wayyyyy to heavy to actually lug that thing around!

emmyloustu · September 2009

Great advice! Thanks mamas!

dusk42 · September 2009

howleyshell:
TakYelgif:
oh and IMHO don't get a high weight infant seat, while it seems ideal after about 15 pounds that carseat becomes extremely heavy to lug around. My Graco infant seat went to 30 pounds and I cannot imagine trying to carry DS around in the infant seat at that weight it was heavy when weighed 17 pounds and we switched to the convertible.
I clearly remember being stunned that we wouldn't be "getting our money's worth" out of our infant carrier because he was so far under the weight limit when we had to move him to the convertible due to height.
Most of them outgrow them way before they hit that limit or like you said they're wayyyyy to heavy to actually lug that thing around!

We seriously considered going right to a convertible and using a sling and non-carrier stroller, but DH seems to think that we may make it out to dinner at some point and want a place for the baby to hang out while we eat. I'm dubious of this plan, but we'll see.

howleyshell · September 2009

dusk42:
howleyshell:
TakYelgif:
oh and IMHO don't get a high weight infant seat, while it seems ideal after about 15 pounds that carseat becomes extremely heavy to lug around. My Graco infant seat went to 30 pounds and I cannot imagine trying to carry DS around in the infant seat at that weight it was heavy when weighed 17 pounds and we switched to the convertible.
I clearly remember being stunned that we wouldn't be "getting our money's worth" out of our infant carrier because he was so far under the weight limit when we had to move him to the convertible due to height.
Most of them outgrow them way before they hit that limit or like you said they're wayyyyy to heavy to actually lug that thing around!
We seriously considered going right to a convertible and using a sling and non-carrier stroller, but DH seems to think that we may make it out to dinner at some point and want a place for the baby to hang out while we eat. I'm dubious of this plan, but we'll see.

I really would get an infant carrier. They often fall asleep in the car and having to wake them to get them out to go grocery shopping (or even just to come into the house) isn't fun.

princessmah · September 2009

Thanks so much for this advice. We are registered for a Graco (as Baby Bargains gave it the best rating for infant carriers) but I am not in love with the patterns they have right now at BRU and I thought about switching to the Chicco instead. Your post has convinced me to stick with the Graco.

skoorbnibor · September 2009

just throwing out another opinion....

I choose chicco because it was rated better in an accident. That was my only reason. I could care less about any other features... safety was it. Now graco is safe, but chicco performed better (when I looked at stats, it might be different now!) It is the same reason I now have a britax. safety.

I like my chicco keyfit and when E was too heavy to carry, I just left the seat in the car, just like with a convertible. I didnt switch to a convertible until recently because he was within the limits (still is) and because i liked the recline better. When he was sleeping in the car, he was comfortable. Now in his britax, his head flops forward! I hate that! But I digress... I would NOT use a convertible for a baby under 6 months, but that is my opinion.

I also opted for the travel system and although I am fine with the cortina, if I had to choose all over again, I would have gotten a different stroller. I do have a lightweight silver cross pop now and we do use that a lot, but I also use the cortina just as much! I have no experienced any sunshade issues, but really, we avoid the sun, so I might be missing a major inconvenience here!

Just another opinion! : )

GypsyEsq · September 2009

Ditto Skoorb, we went with Chicco because it had the best safety rating. It is a heavy carrier but it either goes right into the stroller (we got the Trevi which is a bit trimmer and narrower than the Cortina) or DD comes out of the carrier and into a sling which frankly she prefers and I find much easier to deal with. We also got the Kidpotamus (know I spelled that wrong) Ray Shade which extends the sun shade almost to the tip of the car seat and/or stroller. It's fantastic. And it only cost $14. If we're somewhere without the Ray Shade we use a lightweight blanket to cover DD. So I think there are ways to get around the smaller sun shade and the weight issue. I want DD to stay in her infant seat as long as possible because it's more tailored to her size, but then again I'm all for keeping her rear facing forever if possible. Just throwing that out there.

LucyPevensie · September 2009

I loved my "heavy" infant seat too - and once Jack got bigger often would leave it in the car (like you would a convertible) BUT still had the option of taking it out and popping it into the snap-n-go stroller (which I loved) as needed. It was also rated better for safety than the smaller seat. So for us - the larger infant seat worked out great, and I'd use it again in a heartbeat!

scally · September 2009

skoorbnibor:

just throwing out another opinion....

I choose chicco because it was rated better in an accident. That was my only reason. I could care less about any other features... safety was it. Now graco is safe, but chicco performed better (when I looked at stats, it might be different now!) It is the same reason I now have a britax. safety.

I like my chicco keyfit and when E was too heavy to carry, I just left the seat in the car, just like with a convertible. I didnt switch to a convertible until recently because he was within the limits (still is) and because i liked the recline better. When he was sleeping in the car, he was comfortable. Now in his britax, his head flops forward! I hate that! But I digress... I would NOT use a convertible for a baby under 6 months, but that is my opinion.

I also opted for the travel system and although I am fine with the cortina, if I had to choose all over again, I would have gotten a different stroller. I do have a lightweight silver cross pop now and we do use that a lot, but I also use the cortina just as much! I have no experienced any sunshade issues, but really, we avoid the sun, so I might be missing a major inconvenience here!

Just another opinion! : )

Ditto this exactly!

Want a personalized experience?

My opinion on car seats for moms to be

Re: My opinion on car seats for moms to be

Choose Another Board

Search Boards