Up to my ears in carseat/travel system searching....

daniek2407 · October 2011

I tested out quite a few travel systems at Babies R Us and I fell in love with the Graco Quattro and a couple of the Chicco systems. I hate to spend that much on it, but the car seat goes up to 30 pounds, when most are only 22 pounds. I know a lot of you are getting Uppa, but, unless I find out that is like half off, I won't be getting that one haha.

What is everyone else thinking about getting????

gisa886 · October 2011

Do you have a Burlington Coat Factor in your area? That is where we found our Graco travel system. It was less than at BRU and the quality was just as good.

Johlise · October 2011

The Uppa was on Zulily for $300 something... not sure of the exact price but it was a lot cheaper.. till monday. They only had Red left as of this morning though. Worth checking out if you can get it now.

daniek2407 · October 2011

gisa886:
Do you have a Burlington Coat Factor in your area? That is where we found our Graco travel system. It was less than at BRU and the quality was just as good.

Hmmm... I think the closest is about 1 1/2 hours away, but it's the city I have to see my OB and hematologist at so I may just have to check their selection out. Thank you!

I was on Zulily today, but I guess I overlooked the Uppa.. will have to see about it. Not sure that I could make the decision to buy one before Monday though. I'm such a researcher.......

katcarls · October 2011

I would skip the travel system. The strollers tend to be heavy and bulky, not fold and steer as easily, and be lower quality. There are a lot of really good strollers that can be used with infant car seats. Some good options are: Baby Jogger City Mini, Britax B-Agile, and Inglesina Zippy.

I love my Inglesina Zippy which is $310, but everything is included: bumper bar and snack tray, parent cupholder, car seat adapter, and rain cover. It has all the features you could want but it's only 20 lbs. and it has the easiest one hand, standing fold. Here is a review and video.

For infant car seats I would stick with Graco or Chicco. I really liked our Keyfit 30 which we were able to use for 13 months. Very easy to install and use and it was comfy for DS. I didn't think it was that heavy either, I was still able to carry it when he was 20 lbs.

ETA: You could also watch CL or consignment shops for good quality used strollers like Phil & Teds, BOB, Bumbleride, Baby Jogger, Britax, and UPPAbaby.

dojo1 · October 2011

Ugh.. I have been avoiding the search on strollers like the plague.. travel systems, umbrellas, "normal" strollers. I'm totally overwhelmed. I feel drawn to a travel system despite the fact that so many resources tell me its not what I need.

I know I want an infant carrier that goes from car seat to stroller, but is that a travel system after all or should I be looking for something else that will magically take care of the troubles I'll apparently face (but that I have no real grasp of now)?

All I know is that most of these buggers are really expensive and I'm not interested in shelling out a cool grand for one.

Mrs.Teddy · October 2011

We have a graco quattro travel system, we use it because we have it. But in hindsight I wish I had gotten a stroller I loved and a separate infant seat. I think it's absolutely necessary to have something to put the infant seat in even if that is just a snap and go frame. Had I known more and had more options ( I'm from canada!) I would have gone with a Phil and teds or baby jogger and had more options and just gone with a plain seat. I do love that the graco seats go to 35'lbs tho, that will be helpful next winter so we don't have to deal with the cold weather and cinvetible car seats. We will be reusing our travel system, look at all your options if you find one you love then go ahead.

daniek2407 · October 2011

Thanks for the advice, and keep it coming! It's so overwhelming for FTMs... and being such a researcher and less of an impulse buyer, I may run this to the ground before I make a decision. I feel like Graco has way more to choose from than the other brands, and I know it's a good brand as well. I just want to make sure I get as much use out of it as I can, before I have to upgrade when LO gets bigger. I'm glad I've started looking now.... maybe I can make a decision before April gets here haha! One good thing is, I do have my crib picked out, and that's an accomplishment!

wewillservehim · October 2011

We skipped the travel system. We have the Graco Safeseat goes to 30lbs and 32" tall. We loved it and although we moved her to a convertible DD (22 months) is still under the weight limit and just a few inches over height. I have too many friends who had to swap to a convertible seat before LO was a year and I loved that if we wanted to we could keep DD in her seat and carry her inside depending on the weather or if she was sleeping.

We got a BOB Revolution stroller and just recently sold it for an Uppa baby Vista since it suited our needs better.

Keep researching and find what works best for you, I researched forever:) Also I found that AlbeeBaby.com has some great deals.

Luvmy2sons · October 2011

I used a Graco travel system for both DS's and I had no issue. I didn't find it bulky, or poor to steer. I liked the storage on the bottom. The double stroller (I had a Graco) however, was awful and I sold it when my DS2 was about 5 months old and I could put him in a double jogger.

For me, I just can't see spending over $500 on a carseat and stroller, when the stroller we only used until each DS was a little over a year. After that, I used a Combi lightweight stroller because it folds up almost as small as an umbrella stroller, but has a seat recline/basket under, etc.

I need a new infant seat because mine expired from when I had DS1. I may or may not get the matching stroller, but my stroller is pretty worn after 2 DS's, so it may be nice just to have a new one.

lgw526 · October 2011

We are getting the Chicco - it's top rated on consumer reports, easy to use and we have friends that had it for their 3 year old and it held up really well for them. I'd rather pay a little extra for the comfort of knowing it's safe.

kkfeb04 · October 2011

daniek2407:

I tested out quite a few travel systems at Babies R Us and I fell in love with the Graco Quattro and a couple of the Chicco systems. I hate to spend that much on it, but the car seat goes up to 30 pounds, when most are only 22 pounds. I know a lot of you are getting Uppa, but, unless I find out that is like half off, I won't be getting that one haha.

What is everyone else thinking about getting????

We have the Graco Quattro Tour and we love it. I don't find it too bulky or anything. His car seat only went up to 22 lbs but he outgrew the height way before the weight limit (he would've only outgrown the weight at 15 months where he outgrew the height by 6 months-he's very, very tall for his age). We still use the stroller for all of the shopping, walking (unless we take the trike which is definitely harder to handle than the stroller), etc. We have a lightweight stroller also that is NEVER used. It's just much easier for us to use the travel system stroller. I love how much I can put in the basket. We'll use the carseat for this LO but we are looking at getting a double stroller.

wils0482 · October 2011

I have the Chicco travel system (with the Keyfit 30). I love it! We use the stroller all the time, and have no issues with it.

However, I probably could've gone with the smaller seat (the 22lb one). My son outgrew the 30 at about 7-8 months, due to height (30 inches). There's no way a kid would make it to 30 lbs in the infant seat, I just can't see that being possible. They'll outgrow the height limit WAY before that. Just my opinion.

funkymonkeyohyeahhh · October 2011

We're getting the City Mini stroller. We love how lightweight it is, the large canopy, the ease of fold up, steering, and price. We aren't getting an infant seat (going straight to a convertible) so that's a non issue for us.

Most strollers you can use with an infant seat if you just buy an adapter bar. Another option is a snap n go frame (which can be purchased for really cheap especially used), and then you can get a stroller you want for later use.

Christina_Diane · October 2011

We have the B-Ready and we plan to use the B-Safe infant seat and keep LO in the infant seat as long as possible. We decided to go with the B-Ready because we plan to have 2 more kids ideally all about 2-3 years apart in age and we wanted one good stroller that would grow with us.

Before I decided to spend more $$$ on a stroller, I was looking at the SNG and a small umbrella stroller. I'll probably still get a small umbrella stroller for traveling and such.

Musiclover2012 · October 2011

3 Years ago with DS I bought the Chicco Key Fit (up to 30lbs) carseat and the Chicco Trevi Stroller Travel System.

My only complaints were: That model of carseat had a LAME short canopy shade thing that has since been improved to provide better coverage for baby and the Trevi stroller can sometimes be a pain to steer, otherwise we were VERY happy and it is top rated and the carrier was light enough to carrry DS in for a long time and stroller was easy to open/shut and lift in and out of car. DS used that carseat until he was like 1 year 4 months. I had 2 friends that ended up with BIG boys who had to buy a new carseat at like age 7 months, I kid you not.

sometimesalwayschaotic · October 2011

I have a Chicco car seat and use it with a Snap and Go. I got if for $20 on Craiglist. I then invested in a Maclaren. I love that the Maclaren Triumph is only 11 lbs. It's so easy to get in and out of my trunk. The sun canopy really stinks on the Maclaren though. If I could do it again I would get a Britax B ready or something that can be turned into a double stroller. If your worried about cost, look on Craig's list. It's a great way to save money!

daniek2407 · October 2011

Cost isn't as much of an issue, because obviously safety comes first, then convenience, but I would like to keep it under $300. There's just too many options. Like my mom always says, back in the day when she had me and my brother, there was like one or two of everything to choose from. Would make things a lot more simple lol!

For pp who said height requirement would be met before weight, thanks for making that point... didn't think about it that way.

I really need to narrow it down to maybe 3 choices and that would make it easier. I DO need something that isn't as heavy (course I know when LO is added, it will just get heavier period), because I'm already at the chiropractor weekly, fixing years of damage done to my neck/back/shoulders, resulting from not having gone when I should have (ugh).

This may be a stupid question, but did you find it necessary to have a car seat for DH's car and your own? A family member is giving us a Graco car seat and base (not sure which model), but it is only a couple of years old, and I don't believe she ever even used it. I was just thinking we would use it for DH's car and get something newer since I would be the one with LO most of the time. Just saves us from switching car seats, making sure one of us has it..etc. Since you never know what can come up, I'd just hate for one of us to get stuck without one.

Thanks for your input ladies!

Edited to add: Just found the convertible seats....this is a whole different option that actually makes more sense to spend the money on. Correct???

This is seriously the only thing I'm having a hard time choosing.. until we get to bedding of course .

kkfeb04 · October 2011

daniek2407:

Cost isn't as much of an issue, because obviously safety comes first, then convenience, but I would like to keep it under $300. There's just too many options. Like my mom always says, back in the day when she had me and my brother, there was like one or two of everything to choose from. Would make things a lot more simple lol!

For pp who said height requirement would be met before weight, thanks for making that point... didn't think about it that way.

I really need to narrow it down to maybe 3 choices and that would make it easier. I DO need something that isn't as heavy (course I know when LO is added, it will just get heavier period), because I'm already at the chiropractor weekly, fixing years of damage done to my neck/back/shoulders, resulting from not having gone when I should have (ugh).

This may be a stupid question, but did you find it necessary to have a car seat for DH's car and your own? A family member is giving us a Graco car seat and base (not sure which model), but it is only a couple of years old, and I don't believe she ever even used it. I was just thinking we would use it for DH's car and get something newer since I would be the one with LO most of the time. Just saves us from switching car seats, making sure one of us has it..etc. Since you never know what can come up, I'd just hate for one of us to get stuck without one.

Thanks for your input ladies!

Edited to add: Just found the convertible seats....this is a whole different option that actually makes more sense to spend the money on. Correct???

This is seriously the only thing I'm having a hard time choosing.. until we get to bedding of course .

This one is hard to judge until the baby is here and growing. No one would've expected that my husband (at 5'8) and I (at 5'6) would have the 29.25" 6 month old (he was only 16.5 lbs) or the 35" 18 month old (and only 24 lbs).

We only got a carseat for one car. We call that car the Kalvinmobile. Whomever has him (only DH and I) has that car. The other car is a coupe and it would be extremely difficult to get him in it since he's still rearfacing.

At 5.5 months I knew we were going to be outgrowing the infant seat, I bought the Graco MyRide 65, since I knew I was going to extend rear face him. I think he actually liked that better, it seems more comfortable and definitely has more cushion than his infant seat. He transitioned well and we are still rearfacing in that. He's close to the height limit on RF but I'm hoping we can make it to 2. I think I spent $130 on the MyRide at BRU on sale.

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Up to my ears in carseat/travel system searching....

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