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January 2012 Moms
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Help with car seat/travel systems! So confused!
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Re: Help with car seat/travel systems! So confused!
We are going with a car seat that pops into our stroller base for the first few months...... (Quinny Buzz)...
We got the MaxiCosi car seat that goes with the Quinny stroller.. so it's so much easier during the first few months instead of taking the baby in and out....
...I personally don't like the car seats that fit into the whole stroller basket.... they look a tad too messy and bulky for me. (sorry)........So when LO outgrows the Maxi Cosi, we'll just pop in the Quinnty stroller seat and upgrade to a bigger car-seat.
Travel systems are usually a bit less expensive than buying the seat and stroller separate. You will also have less issue trying to figure out what car seats are able to fit in your stroller if you buy a travel system.
However, buying separately gives you more choice of different car seats and different strollers. stly wise, comfort wise and size wise....
Just measure your trunk first ok? Make sure whatever you get will fit in your trunk no problems.
DD 1/3/2012
BFP 5/21/2013 MC 5/24/2013
BFP 7/16/2013 EDD 3/27/2014
We got this, https://www.target.com/p/Graco-Snugride-Infant-Carseat-Plus-Stroller-Frame-Little-Wonders/-/A-12327401?reco=Rec|pdp|12327401|ClickCP|search_page.banner_1&lnk=Rec|pdp|12327401|ClickCP|search_page.banner_1
When she outgrows the weight limit on that infant carseat, we'll get a convertible car seat like this one https://www.target.com/p/Graco-My-Ride-65-Car-Seat-Cuddle/-/A-12442784 and a stroller like this one https://www.target.com/p/Graco-Literider-Stroller-Aspery/-/A-13024144
I was super confused also as to whether or not to get a travel system but after reading so many reviews about how bulky the strollers are I decided on something more lightweight (the car seat just snaps right on to the stroller). Also most of the travel systems I was looking at only came with an infant seat, so I'd still need to buy another seat when she outgrew the weight limit. That was also a turn off to me.
We ended up registering for the Chicco Keyfit 30 Carseat and the snap chicco stroller that goes with it. We also registered for the Babyjogger rather than those "all in one systems" because the tires are more durable for grass, sand, parks, zoos ect...We have a golden retreiver who is high energy and love the outdoors. Those tires in all all "in one systems" are fine for sidewalks and the mall ect. It really just depends on your lifestyle.
We did this exact same thing too. We are buying a nice jogger as my husband likes to run 4 miles every day. He's going to be a SAHD so we both think that is important for him to keep up with his personal lifestyle and yet include the baby. :-)
To answer your question, the benefit of a travel system is that if you are taking LO somewhere and they fall asleep in the car seat, it's easier to keep them in the carseat and just attach the seat to the stroller. Otherwise you have to take LO out of the seat and transfer them to the stroller, potentially waking them up. It is also cheaper to buy them together than buying the carseat and stroller separately. The strollers tend to have a lot of features such as a reclining seat and lots of storage that the cheaper strollers just don't have.
The downfall of a travel system stroller, as has already been mentioned, is that it's bulkier than the cheaper accordian style stroller. If you do get a travel system, you may end up getting the cheaper, smaller stroller whenever LO is big enough to support their head because it's easier to transport (although it won't have as many features).
With that said, we were gifted the Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat and the matching Chicco Cortina stroller. If it wasn't given to us, there's no way we could have afforded to buy it for ourselves. It is a really nice set though as the car seat will last until LO reaches 30 pounds, and the stroller can fit a newborn up to probably a 4 year old. It is bulky, so we may end up with a cheaper accordian style eventually for out of town travel.
It's all what you want. We didn't like the traditional travel systems because they're big & heavy. They also take up a lot of space, even when folded.
We got the Britax B-Safe infant seat & the Britax B-Agile stroller. They are sold separately but function as a travel system. The stroller is only 15 lb, drives smoothly & folds flat.
It completely depends upon your preference. I hear lots of complaints about travel systems.
I personally am not a fan of keeping my baby in the carseat for extended periods of time, so a travel system was not for us. With DS1 I used the Peg Perego Uno stroller and the Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat. I was able to use the stroller from day 1 because it laid flat and if I had to, the carseat could fit safely inside of the stroller. We got a BJ City Mini later on when he was about 8 months and we were going on vacation and use that most of the time now.
With this one, I need a double stroller bc my son is only 2. We got the Baby Jogger City Select with the bassinet attachment and the carseat adapter, so I can use it however I want.
Your best bet is to go to a website like strollers.com or something and input the criteria you want. For instance, I wanted a stroller that laid completely flat so it could be used from day 1 and had a reversible handle. That narrowed down my selection, then by price, brand, and reviews, I was able to narrow it down further. Then I went to the store to test them out, and my favorite was far too heavy, and my runner up ended up being the winner. Go try them out in person before you make a decision... some area really bulky and heavy.
As for the carseats, they are all safe. The Peg Perego is really heavy. My husband is a carseat tech instructor, and he went for the Chicco Keyfit carseat, if that tells you anything.
Daughter #1 - February 12, 2010
natural m/c March 11, 2011 at 8 1/2 weeks
Daughter #2 - January 11, 2012
Ectopic pregnancy discovered November 6, 2012 at 6 weeks
Daughter #3 - January 19, 2014
Started our exploration into the world of international adoption June 2012. We have no idea what this is going to look like but we are excited to find out!
We have the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat and plan to use it with the Baby Trend Snap N Go stroller until we figure out what kind of travel system or stroller we want. My friend gave us the snap n go and I've heard from other friends with kids that it's really easy to use when you're dealing with a new infant.
It's all about personal preference. I originally thought I wanted a travel system, but I found the stroller to be huge and heavy- not something I was looking for when already carrying a baby and stuff
We opted for the City Mini with the Chicco Keyfit30. I liked being able to choose my two things separately yet they still work together.