stroller/car seat...what to do?

spartyparty · September 2012

(Baby wakes me up early even on a Saturday-I think he lives on my bladder- so I'm up posting at 6 am!)

Anyways, we have some incredible friends who have been giving us all of the things they are done with from their baby who was born last January (they have 3 kids and are done). The other day they gave us a Chicco infant car seat with two bases and a snap and go stroller. We are currently registered for a Gracco travel system.

Should we still get the travel system so we have a good stroller and two infant seats- one for each car? I realize this defeats the purpose of the bases, but I will do daycare drop off and DH will do pick up so I think we would need two infant seats anyways, right? Or- should we just get a good stroller that isn't a travel system and figure out a way to make the one infant seat and two bases work with daycare (I imagine we could leave the car seat there maybe?) If you think we should just get a separate stroller (not a travel system), any recommendations?

TIA!

BigFoot80 · September 2012

As long as you trust them that the infant seat has NEVER been in a crash, and it's not expired, I would take the seat and bases. You don't need 2 infant seats, you just need 2 bases - 1 for your car, 1 for DH's car. The travel systems usually have big, heavy, bulky strollers. Since you have the snap n' go, I would register for a lightweight stroller to use when baby is about 5 months or so.

I didn't have the daycare situation, so I'm not sure how that works, but can you not drop off LO in the carseat and leave the seat there for DH when he picks her up?

JennV514 · September 2012

I would accept the snap and go, and register for a nice single stroller for when baby is a bit older. Maybe a good umbrella or jogger.

ungraceful13 · September 2012

I'd take them as long as it hasn't expired or been in an accident. Our daycare has you leave the car seat there so that way whoever is picking up has a car seat. I think they go under lo's crib.

kenna_4 · September 2012

JennV514:
I would accept the snap and go, and register for a nice single stroller for when baby is a bit older. Maybe a good umbrella or jogger.

this.

spartyparty · September 2012

Great I'll do that then. That's good to know about the daycare too. Any recs on strollers to get that aren't travel systems? I'd like to update our registry.

2PuppiesHon · September 2012

I would just double check with your daycare to make sure you can leave the carseat there - some you can and some you can't.

nycitygirl1 · September 2012

sparty426:
Great I'll do that then. That's good to know about the daycare too. Any recs on strollers to get that aren't travel systems? I'd like to update our registry.

You could get a lightweight umbrella stroller (they are usually used 6 months + but it depends on the model). We registered for an Uppa Baby (they have all different models). Or you could get a jogging stroller. If you go with a jogger, some of them are able to seat newborns with a car seat adapter. We got the BOB Revolution and with the car seat adapter we can start using it right away.

janecanadian · September 2012

sparty426:
Great I'll do that then. That's good to know about the daycare too. Any recs on strollers to get that aren't travel systems? I'd like to update our registry.

It all depends on your lifestyle and how you will use your stroller primarily. Are you a runner, do you travel lots, do you live in an major urban centre and walk every where, will you use your stroller primarily for shopping and need something to navigate between racks of items, will you use your stroller mostly for walks, do you like to go camping or do lots of outdoor activities and require a stroller with all-terrain wheels, do you have a really small car and need a stroller with a compact fold, are you planning on having another baby soon and need a stroller that can turn into a double? There truly are as many strollers to suit all these needs and many that will cover most of the bases. Once you narrow down how you are planning to use the stroller then it will be easy to narrow down the choices! The best thing to do is to go check out a local baby store (or stores) and try out some of the options. Feel the fabric, feel how well they navigate when you push them, do you like the way that they fold, etc, etc....

If you start a new post asking for stroller recs and explain how you will use it, you will get some really good suggestions!

ETA: Budget is key too. And I thought this post was on the Nurseries and Baby gear board. That's where I meant you should post in regards to stroller reccommendations.

moonglow_84 · September 2012

BigFoot80:

As long as you trust them that the infant seat has NEVER been in a crash, and it's not expired, I would take the seat and bases. You don't need 2 infant seats, you just need 2 bases - 1 for your car, 1 for DH's car. The travel systems usually have big, heavy, bulky strollers. Since you have the snap n' go, I would register for a lightweight stroller to use when baby is about 5 months or so.

I didn't have the daycare situation, so I'm not sure how that works, but can you not drop off LO in the carseat and leave the seat there for DH when he picks her up?

I agree, if you can do this, you won't need to worry about a second snap & go and you can just get a lightweight stroller for later on.

ETA: Sorry, I always tend to answer before I read all of the answers lol

Mrs.DeliaMarieP · September 2012

I think that if you trust them and know for sure that the carseat is not expired and has not been involved in any accidents, then I would keep what they gave me and get a good stroller that is not a travel system.

The point of the infant seat is to take the baby into daycare in the seat, and leave the seat at daycare so that when the other parent picks up, the seat is already there, and you have the second base in the car all ready for the seat.

Personally, I don't like my travel system stroller, and wish I had a Snap n' Go.

I recommend that you take a look at the current recommendations in Baby Bargains to get ideas for strollers, that should help you narrow down your choices.

brianabrad · September 2012

I registered for this stroller because our car seat would snap on to it. BFF recommended a jogger vs the stroller that comes with the travel systems. She said for her the larger wheels just worked much better.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-Trekko-All-Terrain-Stroller-Metropolis/16939757?qty_0=1&registry_id=80502362168&selected_variation_0=16939757&shopFor=true&upc=0004740611500

ChristineMZ · September 2012

lurker and STM chiming in

Not knowing exactly what you need in a stroller I'm still going to make a recommendation because I've been very happy with my stroller. We have the Baby Jogger City Mini. It's got the easiest one-hand fold available, it's light weight, easy to navigate, has a great canopy and you can buy an attachment to put the infant seat on it if you want to and basically turn it into a travel system. Even if you weren't getting a car seat from a friend I would still recommend it over a travel system because it seems like most of the strollers that come in travel systems aren't all that great.

stardust317 · September 2012

You definitely won't need the travel system. I would register for a nicer stroller like many of the PP have mentioned. I also like the idea that someone else mentioned about registering for a convertible carseat if you thought you really needed 2 carseats. We were able to leave our convert able carseat at our inhome babysitter's house, so it wasnt a big deal.

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stroller/car seat...what to do?

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