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Hawaii Babies
Poll: Which infant carseat did you get?
We are in the process of deciding which carseat we will get. We went back to the store yesterday to look at car seats again. We are torn between Graco and Britax. We are planning to get a Snap N Go and Bob Revolution stroller and both carseats work with the BOB. Graco Snugride is cheaper but Britax has the best safety rating. We do not want to short sell our kid, go the cheaper route and compromise safety (although Graco also has a good safety rating). However, if we're only going to use it for a few months and transition to the convertible seat, should we just get Graco and save the $ for the convertible seat?
Also, if we choose Graco, do we get Snugride 22, 30, 32 or 35? I saw this post which discourages getting Snugride 35. She made a good point about having a hard time carrying the carseat + weight of the baby. I am only 5'0 so lugging close to 50 lbs (carseat and baby) will be tough for me. Aahhh! Decisions, decisions. Any thoughts will be appreciated :-).
Which carseat did you get?
How old was your LO when you transitioned him/her to the convertible carseat?
Thank you!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Poll: Which infant carseat did you get?
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
We have the Peg Perego, which goes up to 30 lbs, 30 inches. I will report back tomorrow how big Alexa is after our Dr appt, but I don't think she is anywhere close (16 lbs, 26" is my guess) and she's 9 months already! At this rate, she'll be in her infant car seat until she's a year!
That said, MOST of my mom friends transitioned around 6 months, some even earlier (big boy babies). Alexa is the last one still in her infant seat.
Now on your question... I would go with the Graco. MOST of my mom friends all have the Graco seat, which is highly rated for safety as well. I did read that Britax is better for the regular carseats and not so much the infant car seats. Was that in Baby Bargains?
Anyway, if you get the Graco, go for the Snugride 30 or 32. I agree that 35 is too heavy. Alexa is only 16 pounds and she's already getting too heavy in her car seat!
Note that if you get a Graco seat, you wouldn't get the Snap 'n Go, you would get the Graco stroller frame. It's the same thing, just that the Graco frame only works with Graco car seats.
I would also mention that I probably should have saved our money on the Peg Perego and bought the Graco seat too. That said, the PP is an awesome seat!
HTH!
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
Combi Connection
We transitioned my oldest when she was 8 or 9 months and my youngest when she was 4 or 5 months.
I just got the regular Graco Snugride. I didn't want to spend a ton knowing that she would outgrow it rather quickly. I think we'll be able to use it until she's about 8 months or so. (Malia just posted that she kinda regretted getting an expensive infant seat so maybe she'll chime in here.) It's already quite heavy for me with her in it and she only weighs about 14-15 lbs. Actually, Brady even complains that it's heavy.
We bought the Britax Roundabout 50 a few days ago when Jaime posted about the deal at Target. It was only $50 on clearance and gets great ratings. We'll just transition her whenever she outgrows the infant carseat.
Which Britax are you looking at? Will it work with the Snap N Go?
We have the Snugride. We just use it in the car and don't carry it out - like Christine said, it's heavy and ridiculously hard for me to get in and out of the center seat with baby inside. Personally, I don't find the infant seat convenient, as I have trouble carrying it and think it's easier to either wear baby or use a regular stroller.
A's 2 months and actually starting to look big in it, though I'm sure it'll fit him for a while more. We have the Britax Marathon and I look forward to switching to that... would have used it all along if the Snugride hadn't been given to us.
We bought a Safe-n-Sound, which is a Britax that's been re-branded in Australia.
We skipped the infant seats altogether and have had them in convertible carseats from the start (we knew we wouldn't be taking them many places for the first few months, nor would we want to carry them around in the seats and our convertible seats are rated for newborn onwards anyway).
We got the Graco Snugride 35. I know it's going to be heavy, but MH was convinced that we're going to have a tall baby (we're both tall), and that we'd be able to use it longer. I'm pretty confident in our decision. Yes, it's a little heavy, but it honestly didn't seem any heavier to me than any of the other ones (carrying them around the store empty, that is). Anyway, it's cute, feels very sturdy and safe to me, and is compatible with our stroller.
No matter what, I know we'll still need a convertible seat at some point, it's just a matter of when.
We'll be getting a Graco Snugride too, b/c it seems like every single mom I know (and trust) IRL has one and recommends it - figured I could do a bunch of research, but will likely end up with the same decision, so I'm just going to save myself the time and stress! Plenty of other things to research and stress about, this one seemed like a no-brainer. Haven't looked into the different sizes though.
skipped the infant seat. I always wear him when we are out and about and have recently started to use the strollers.
first years true fit (installed behind the passenger seat in my Jetta) I really like this seat. We have now switched this one to DH's new car because I found the Combi Coccoro for my car. I LOVE it's smaller profile b/c Jack can sit rear facing, in the middle seat of my Jetta. It only goes to 45lbs but by that time he will be forward facing and I will probably buy another True fit.
remember, all seats have passed the same safety ratings and it can only be "safest" if used properly and fits your child and your car well. The Britax seats come out slightly on top not because they have some secret ultra protective technology but because they are easy to install and a little more fool proof/forgiving - according to the safety tech and from things I have read online so do not thing you are short changing your child!!
Both seats we have are properly installed and fit Jack well. He is 15.5 lbs and ~26" at 16 weeks - if we had an infant seat he would not be in it for much longer.
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
not silly, I wondered the same thing!
The true fit has a head roll insert, but the installation tech said if you do need something extra the best thing is to roll up some receiving blankets (even in an infant seat) to keep the baby's head/neck safe. Both of the convertible seats we have have at least one extra insert for the infant stage to help the seat fit the baby better.
I got the Chicco Key Fit 30 (30 lbs 30 inches). Ashton is still in it ...I really need to move him over to the convertible seat since he is 30 inches at this 9 month well baby check up. I think the Chicco has more padding (comfort) over the gracco and they were both rated about the same in baby bargains which is why I went with the Chicco.
we have the chicco key fit 30 as well... i just looked at the growth charts to see when she will outgrow it and at this rate she will be 30" by around 14 months or so....so it'll be a while before we switch over to the convertible seat....that said, many babies transition earlier and i have also read that some don't like their infant seats and need to switch even earlier. i also have to say that at 14lbs i am already having a hard time carrying her around and would much rather just carry her in my arms or in my carrier now. when she was itty bitty i'd take her in it to get groceries but now i just put her in the shopping cart (with her buggy bagg)
i love the chicco and it has worked well for us. my only complaint (and it's listed in baby bargains) is that the canopy doesn't shade them at all - it's too small. but i fixed that easily by getting her sunglasses
but you could easily do a window shade in your car if you wanted.
and i agree that all car seats are safe as long as you buy them new. they have to meet the same safety requirements. some have extra padding and what not and some have side impact protection but otherwise they're the same. so don't feel bad if you want to get a cheaper car seat.
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
thanks for all your insights!! from what i have observed (at least from this board), the boys outgrow their carseats earlier than the girls? i'll have to have a discussion with DH about this. i am leaning towards getting the regular Snugride since i do not want anything too heavy. i doubt that my LO will outgrow her carseat early especially if she takes after her mommy's height
.
another stupid question
. do the carseats already come with the base or do you have to purchase that separately?
thanks!
We a Graco SnugRide32 in Zurich. I didn't know they have a 35 now, eeps! Libby is about 20 lbs. and she's heavy in that thing! And we've both got some height on us...I cannot imagine being petite and carrying her in it.
In retrospect I wish we would have just gotten the Britax Marathon...we have used the SnugRide as a carrier a few times, but certainly could have managed without it since I have a Moby-style wrap that I put her in when we're out shopping, dining, etc. rather than carry her around in the carseat. We also got the Snap 'n' Go stroller frame on consignment for $35 and I am glad we didn't buy it brand new since we've only used it a handful of times too. Again, we usually wear her when we're out and about.
Libby is >95% for height and weight (26 inches and 20+ lbs. at 4 months) so she'll be out of the Graco sooner than later and we'll get a Marathon by Britax since they are the best rated for tall children. (The shouder straps are more accomodating for taller kiddies). We'll save the Graco SnugRide32 for baby #2.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
not a stupid Q! they do come w/the base but you can get a 2nd one if you want it for your other car. we didn't get one and have done just fine with the car seat in only 1 car (mine)
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
ahh good to know! we only have one car so we don't have to get an extra one. thanks jaime!!
Not a stupid question.
My seats came with a special insert that fits the carseat, but it wasn't quite small enough so we also tucked some small receiving blankets between the side flaps of the insert and the carseat so it would hold them more snugly. I'd say we only had to do that for the first 3 weeks or so, though.
Good to know, thanks
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
Our convertible car seat comes with an infant insert too. If you get one that doesn't, you can also get one yourself like this.
We have a Safety 1st convertible car seat that we used from day 1. We figured that since the baby outgrows infant car seats fairly quickly, we didn't want to get two seats in a row like that (esp since they're not cheap).
Our only stroller is a hand-me-down travel system that came with an infant car seat, but the car seat is too old (manufactured in 1999) so we can't use it safely as a car seat anymore, so we just use it as an infant carrier/stroller system/and for his naps at home. If didn't have that hand-me-down travel system for our stroller, it might be worth it for us to invest in an infant car seat...but since that wasn't the case, I feel like it was an unnecessary purchase for us since the convertible car seat we got can be used for newborns.
Just following up...
At her 9-month appointment, Alexa weighed in at 16 lbs, 12 oz and 27" long. Her current seat is good until she's 30 lbs, 30" ... So she's got a way to go. I bet she uses it until she's a year old.
Also wanted to chime in that I NEVER use the infant car seat to "carry" her in. Waaaaaay too heavy and bulky for that, even when she was a newborn.
We do keep the car seat in the house tho, and carry it out to the car. The reason we do this is 1) it's easier to put her in it inside than in the car; 2) she's happier when we put her in her seat inside vs the car; 3) it's cooler inside so the seat doesn't heat up.
In the winter, we kept the seat inside so we could put her inside, zip up the fleece liner and then carry her to the car all toasty warm instead of take her into the cold and then put her into a cold seat in a cold car.
After driving to where we are going, we then put the infant car seat into the Snap 'N Go stroller frame or I put her into a carrier. I couldn't forgo the car seat in favor of a carrier because we DO need to take her in the car... I can't walk everywhere!
Also wanted to clarify that while I think we could have saved $ and gotten the Graco instead of the Peg Perego, I am very happy with our PP car seat and it's a good value that we'll be able to use it for a year. And, technically, we're not out $ since it was a gift........ :-)
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
Someone (Married2MrWright???) posted once about the insert they bought that was like this - apparently if they had used it, it would have voided the warranty on their carseat, so that's something to look out for, depending on what brand your seat is. I'm not sure why an insert would and something like a rolled up receiving blanket wouldn't (maybe because the blanket doesn't attach to the seat?) but that was the case, from what I remember.
we got the graco snugride. I don't think there was a number after it last year when I got it - it was either the snugride or the snugride 32 I think. We got the regular one, and don't you know it, DS is in the 75th percentile for height.
I don't know how much heavier they are, but by about 4 months, I was getting really tired of carrying him in the carseat - I make MH do it most of the time. I say buy a snugride and save the money for a convertible.
We're thinking he'll be out of the height limit by the end of summer, so probably 9 months.
Ohhh hmm, I didn't hear about that =/ Sorry. Yeah, better make sure it won't void the warranty on the carseat! Our insert came with our seat so I guess I thought these inserts would all be okay. Hm, good to know...definitely something to look out for! Thanks for pointing this out!
the inserts that come with the convertible seats (usually at least one to help infants fit better) are fine - they are original portions of the seat and have been tested during the overall testing of the seat for safety.
It's the after market inserts are the ones that have not been tested because they are not part of the original seat, same with "seat protectors" and the like.
Like PP, not sure what the difference between rolling up a blanket and placing a headroll contraption is - but maybe the distinction is that the blanket is not "modifying" the seat in any way since it's not actually attached?