can someone please explain...

cookieslove1 · July 2014

FTM here and I didnt realize how overwhelming the search for carseats and strollers can be. I was looking into a travel system or maybe even a jogging stroller. Some coworkers were mentioning BUCKET infant seats and CONVERTIBLE infants seats. I'm confused and dont know which way to go. I do like the idea of being able to take the seat right out of the car and snapping it into the stroller...heeelllpp please!

nesenotes · July 2014

Well its just like you described. The bucket seat is only good for the first several months. Some people make it happen all the way up until the kid is 30lbs but I don't know how on earth they do it. My poor kid was a stuffed little sausage at 6 months.

A convertible lasts much longer from infancy up to about 70lbs depending on which you choose.

But you have to decide do you want the convenience of not waking a sleeping baby for the first few months just to buy another seat later or do you not care.

We had a bucket seat and it snapped into our stroller. Pretty much all strollers have an adapter you can buy to accommodate your bucket seat. It made my life easier and we will do the same this time around.

Eora3 · July 2014

The absolute bottom line is that you need to figure out what works for you and your life style. I would suggest going to Babies R Us or Buy Baby Buy and actually touch and hold and carry around strollers and car seats.

My personal opinion:
Car seats: Bucket/base car seats are great for very light babies for a very short time. I have big babies so by two months old, I cannot carry them around in the bucket seat very easily.

Convertible seats that work for infants are a much better long term investment anyway. You will need a convertible eventually so start off with a good one and you will be set.

Strollers: Travel systems suck. They are bulky and clunky. If you decide you have to have a stroller that attaches to a car seat, get a frame type that you can put a seat in later. Get the lightest weight, smallest stroller you can find. If you can find a stroller that has a seat that reclines, you can put the baby in there without the carseat. It will be a lot less bulky and last you longer.

If babywearing is at all interesting to you, I highly recommend it. It is the easiest way to transport a newborn and infant. It is just so much easier than dealing with the bucket seat and the stroller.

cookieslove1 · July 2014

Looks like I have more research to do. Never considered babywearing I might just look into that. Thanks!

Eora3 · July 2014

Sorry to complicate things for you! I really love to have them snuggled up against me versus hauling them in the bucket seat/stroller.

nesenotes · July 2014

cookieslove1 said:
Looks like I have more research to do. Never considered babywearing I might just look into that. Thanks!

Baby wearing is a whole other beast. Just please research crotch dangling and try to avoid it. An Ergo or Boba is more expensive but it's really comfy and you can often find great deals on CL, consignment stores, or fb swaps!

There are also slings and wraps that are ultra cheap.

megbmeg · July 2014

It can be overwhelming bc it feels like there are SO many options. I found the website Lucie's list to be hugely helpful. She breaks down the options and pros/cons of specific seats and strollers. Good luck!

ZAP12 · July 2014

Personally I loved my travel system. We got a cheaper graco one and we still use the stroller at over two years. We've had two umbrella strollers break, but the travel system stroller is going strong. The bucket car seat was a lifesaver for the first few months when she would fall asleep before a walk or on the way to the store. Then I could snap her into the stroller or put her in the shopping cart and not worry about waking her up.

haleyusf · July 2014

On the jogging stroller front, I highly recommend the BOB Ironman stroller if you do a good bit of running (or plan to). It's not great for every day around town use, but it's a fantastic stroller for running.

drpayne · July 2014

While the infant seat is only good for a few months, I can't imagine skipping it. Imagine running an errand. You get to your destination and your newborn is sleeping. Would you rather lift the entire seat out and snap it into a stroller or wake up the sleeping baby , unbuckle him/ her and switch to a stroller?

neonsun0419 · July 2014

We used a bucket seat until our first child out grew it. They are really nice for early infancy when you may want to transfer a napping babe from car to home. As far as strollers, we love our jogging stroller and find it way more useful than the one that came as part of our traditional travel system. It is a thousand times easier to push a jogging stroller too.

cookieslove1 · July 2014

So convertible seats can't be taken out and snapped into a stroller?

GradSchoolPrincess · July 2014

@haleyusf I'm so glad to hear, I just purchased a used BOB ironman from a coworker. There are so many joggers to choose from it's overwhelming

ZAP12 · July 2014

cookieslove1 said:

So convertible seats can't be taken out and snapped into a stroller?

Nope. They stay in the car.

dianeg1017 · July 2014

I love my graco travel system. Face it even in a sling sometimes holding baby while shopping/ running errands or a quick trip and baby just fell asleep so much easier to leave baby buckled up and just snap out of base and into stroller. When DD grew out of infant seat we got a convertible seat that goes to 60 or 70 lbs. we continued to use the travel system stroller till age 3

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can someone please explain...

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