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Austin Babies
Snugride 32 vs. Keyfit 30
Trying to get my ducks in a row so I can start budgetting, making lists, etc ...
Graco Snugride 32 vs. Chicco Keyfit 30
I'm leaning towards the ones that last longer because I'm 5'8 and DH is 6'1 and we aren't petite people so I doubt we're going to have a tiny child. Any reasons I shouldn't go with a 32 or 30?
I know that the Keyfit is a little more expensive, but I like the fabrics better, and Consumer Reports gives it a better safety and ease of use rating.
Any reasons I'd regret spending the extra money and should just go with the Snugride? Is it just as good?
ETA: I also like these because you can get strollers that they lock into. Any experience with the strollers for either?
Any other thoughts? TIA!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Snugride 32 vs. Keyfit 30
The Blog
Ditto. We got the regular Snugride with a 25 pound, 29" limit. DS is already 27" so he'll be needing to be moved into a convertible in the next couple weeks. Even though he is only 17 pounds I can't imagine trying to lug him around in an infant car seat. But I am also a weakling and can't carry a whole lot and am short so I practically drag the thing on the ground.
As far as the car seat/stroller combo, we bought one for my IL's. I think we got the Melbourne set. The car seat worked out great but I noticed that the stroller was a little hard to turn. Maybe there are different levels of strollers by Graco and we just got the entry level version. So I'd definitely play around with the different models they have at the baby stores. The one my IL's have isn't the best in the world but it'll do in a pinch.
B&W Photo by Wildhouse Photography
this. also my son was on the skinny side and he outgrew the height limit before he did the weight limit. weight-wise, he could still fit in the regular one...he's 16 mo and only 20 lb -- but even at 20 lb there is no way I would be carrying him around in a 20lb seat!!
LMAO! Okay, my idea of what babies weigh is seriously skewed. I'm sitting here thinking that a 6-9 month old baby would weigh between 20-30 pounds. I'm guessing from these posts that I'm waaaay wrong. Hahaha, shows what I know!
This changes things ... cause I like the Graco fabrics on the regular sized ones, like the Zoey or the Platinum (yes, simple simple simple).
Seriously ... how do people have babies without The Bump? Thanks, y'all!
You go me.
FWIW, at 15 months Caroline was 26 lbs, which is the 75th-90th percentile for a girl.
The Blog
I have the Keyfit 30 and while we love love love love it....I'm ready to switch to a convertible. DD is freaking HEAVY in the seat, even my 6'3" jacked up DH is starting to struggle. I think the Keyfit 30 is the heaviest seat on the market.
I don't think you can beat the stroller though. I liked it so much more than any Gracos at the store. The seat locks in, it rolls easily, folds up easily, etc, etc.
I'd still recommend the Keyfit, despite my complaints that I'm a tiny person stuck with a monster baby.
Dx with endo & blocked left tube - TTC #1 for 29 cycles before miracle BFP, #2 - Surprise!!
My TTC/PG blog / Panda Phenomenon Explained
DD is only 4 months old, but I'll give you my opinion. We went with the Keyfit 30. We're the opposite of you & your DH in that we're both pretty small (I'm 5'4" and DH is 5'9"). But more than the height/weight thing, I went with safety and it has one of the highest safety ratings, so that beat everything else out for us.Yes, it is heavy and I definitely wouldn't want to carry her around in it for lengthy periods of time, but, like Chandley, we hardly ever carry her in the seat unless we're going to a restaurant or somewhere where she'll need her own seat.
I also have a stroller (Uppababy Vista) that has a Chicco adapter and so we just stick her seat in the stroller and go. I really like that feature. It keeps me from having to transfer her from one seat to another. Since she's still young and little, this has been a lifesaver in case she's sleeping or something.
We went with the regular KeyFit because the height limit is the same as the KeyFit 30, the only difference was the weight limit. DD didn't outgrow it until she was over a year old, and that was only by height. She has now outgrown it in weight, but if we had gone with the KeyFit 30, she would still have a ways to go.
That being said, while I like the KeyFit, I wish I had picked a Graco because it is compatible with way more strollers than the Chicco. Chicco is compatible with very few strollers. This wasn't an issue for me until I started looking into double stroller options that would accomodate our infant seat. I used the travel system stroller with DD, and I liked it fine. It was actually part of the reason I picked the Chicco over the Graco; Graco strollers are tanks.
I have the Snugride 35 (I think it's a couple lbs. more than the 32) & it is HEA-VY. From what I recall, it's even 5 lbs or so heavier than the Chicco, but I could be wrong. As rec'd by my copy of Baby Bargains, which also really advocates the Snugride, I just got the Graco stroller frame. The authors kept saying how obnoxious the travel systems are, and the frame is pretty easy, though not awesome or anything. At least it's inexpensive too, and I like the safety of how it actually clicks & locks into place with the Snugride, because it's made for it. Some of the other stroller frames only have a strap thing that seems very scary & unreliable to me.
Anyway, I wish I had a lighter infant car seat (not necessarily the Chicco) & some fancy stroller that accommodated it.
We have the Keyfit 30 and we moved DD to a convertible right around 13 months because she was over the height limit (but she is still well below the weight limit at 21 pounds).
I will say, though, that we hardly ever carried her around in her infant seat. We've been using carriers and/or a stroller for quite a while, but we unexpectedly dropped to one vehicle (a pick-up) and the infant seat just worked better for us in the back of the truck. We probably would have moved her to a convertible seat sooner (for her comfort) but the small footprint of the infant seat was too convenient for us.
Also, the Chicco infant seat isn't compatible with a lot of stroller systems. I bought a Graco snap&go stroller frame off CL and the Chicco didn't "snap" into the base. It still fit (and was still safe enough, IMO) but if you're looking for a car seat that truly snaps in, I would go with another brand.