Car seat/travel systems

[GreyhoundsRUs]

So, we are in the process of looking at carseats and whatnot. The Chicco travel system car seat has good reviews, and we liked the stroller that comes with it. The question/decision right now is between the 22lb and 30 lb car seat. I told DH that it makes more sense to get the 30lb one...but does it? When will we need to get a different carseat? If we got the 22lb one, how many more car seats would we need to buy? Our current "plan" is that we'd like to have our kids 18-24 months apart...but we all know that our plan and the reality may be different - but it's something for us to keep in mind

What are your thoughts/suggestions?

[HouseofWool]

I personally HATE travel systems. I am of the firm belief that babies should be held and snuggled (unless you have one who doesn't like it). All of the research I had done showed more failures with travel system car seats than with convertible seats.

Jen - S should be close to growing out of her roundabout by the time you will deliver. If you are interested in it, let me know.

[Vanquisher]

Get the car seat you like best and the stroller you like best. A lot of the car seats will fit into the strollers securely enough without having to buy a travel system that has an inferior car seat or an inferior stroller. Furthermore, you use the car seat into the stroller for a short amount of time. The infant carrier gets heavy FAST. I suggest researching and finding which top 2-3 of each you want most, and then going to the store and trying them out. Fold the strollers, lift them, push them. Carry the infant seats, feel the cushioning, look at the side impact foam, look at the saftey ratings online.

My friend had a Graco Safe Seat stroller (years ago) and used my old Peg Perego stroller. Don't zero in on the travel systems.

[Vanquisher]

I personally HATE travel systems. I am of the firm belief that babies should be held and snuggled (unless you have one who doesn't like it). All of the research I had done showed more failures with travel system car seats than with convertible seats.

Jen - S should be close to growing out of her roundabout by the time you will deliver. If you are interested in it, let me know.

Yes, but infant seats really are better for positioning of small babies. I agree that you should go to a convertible seat after the infant seat, but I think Roundabouts are too big (even if they say they go down to 5 pounds) for infants. I also don't think the Roundabouts rear face for as long as you might want (which is just shy of forever).

[madeintaiwan]

I hate travel systems too. With my 3 kids, I got an infant carrier [the kind of car seat that goes with the travel systems] and when they were 6 to 9 months old [depending on the kid's weight and no longer taking the seat out of the car], we got a rear facing convertible car seat. With Magic, we got the Sunshine Kids Radian 65. It rear faces until 35 pounds and forward faces until 65 pounds. I rear faced him until he was almost 2 years old. I have been very happy with it. Mèi who is 6 had the same seat until about 9 months ago. Our cousin has the Graco Nautilus and has been pleased with it.

A lot our friends have the Chico Travel System and have been very pleased with them. One our friends recently took hers down in preparation for baby #2 and after washing the seat cover she noticed a weird chemical smell that wasn't there prior. They washed it again and it was still there so she called Chicco and they were very nice and they are sending her new covers for both her seat and stroller for free.

[Thirteen]

Just say no to travel systems! Big, bulky and heavy
We have a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant seat, and a BabyTrend Snap N Go Stroller (for now). SO EASY! Lightweight, collapsible, etc.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

I personally HATE travel systems. I am of the firm belief that babies should be held and snuggled (unless you have one who doesn't like it).

I am totally in the babywearing camp as well, but according to that AAP, infants are safer in an infant seat than a convertible seat (safer by how much/what percentage - who knows...I know how people like to fudge stats for their own gain!) Since we'd be getting an infant seat and a stroller, the travel system makes more sense.

All of the research I had done showed more failures with travel system car seats than with convertible seats.

From what I've seen - it's deceptive as to how they rate the travel systems. They rate the system as a whole - so the Graco Stylus is the top recommend travel system on Consumer Reports, but the carseat that it comes with is not rated highly. The Chicco system, on the otherhand, is not rated as a system, but its carseat (both the 22 and 30) are the highest rated in their respective classes - so we feel pretty comfortable with them. Plus, we liked how the Chicco stoller handled better.

Jen - S should be close to growing out of her roundabout by the time you will deliver. If you are interested in it, let me know.

Thanks so much, but I think I'll pass simply because we are planning/hoping to have 3 fairly close to each other, so we are going to buy new for the big stuff/lots of use stuff (stroller, carseat, crib, etc)

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Lots of stuff popped up while I was typing my last response I totally agree that they get too heavy - I threw my purse in a carrier while dh was holding it and said "this is the weight of a NEW baby"! I've got skinny stick-arms

We did really like both the Chicco stroller and carseat, so that travel system seems to make sense. The size/weight/etc of the stroller doesn't really matter for right now...we live in the burbs, both drive large SUVs, and I plan on babywearing most of the time - so the stroller is really more for walks/etc.

The big question - 22lb or 30lb limit? Does it matter?

We have the Chicco 30 car seat. I remember when I bought it for Jack thinking it would last so much longer but he ended up growing out of it heightwise at around 9 months anyway! 30 pounds is heavy. I really can't imagine a 30 pound kid in one of those seats. I think it's a rare baby that reaches that weight. You really should get an infant seat of some kind (safer for a newborn) but plan on needing a convertable seat too sometime close to the baby's first birthday.
We like the Britax Marathon. When Evelyn grows out of the chicco we'll have her rear facing in the Marathon and get a Graco Nautilus for Jack.

About travel systems. We never had the chicco stroller. I rarely take my car seat out of the car (it's really heavy and I tend to use slings) but when I do it fits in my garage sale Peg Perego stroller just fine.

[Vanquisher]

It depends on how much time you want to eek out of the infant carrier before moving on to the convertible seat. It is nice to have the infant carrier for when they fall asleep in the car for transfers. However, when they get to be 20 pounds, it gets to be a Hurculean effort to carry the thing! Sometimes it seems so worth it though! I think, personally, I would go for the most comfortable and highest rated seat and which is easier to carry rather than worry about the weight limit of the infant seat. Often the 22 pound limit carriers are a little lighter themselves and maybe easier to carry long term. You have to check the thickness of the side impact foam though!!

[SuzySunshine]

We took R out of his infant seat when we stopped carrying it at about 9 months but we could have left him in it until he outgrew it. If we had a 30lb seat he would still be in it now at 18 months. He would have outgrown the 22lb one probably about 13 months. I think the stat is that most babies triple their weight in the first year so if you have an 8lb baby you can estimate he/she will weigh around 24 pounds at 1. If you like them both and they both have the same reviews the 30 might be a safer bet.

I also agree with get the stroller you like, don't feel like you have to buy a travel system. With A I had a BOB Revolution and a snap n' go - that was all I needed until she was big enough for an umbrella.

[Auspicious]

I'd get the 22, assuming it's lighter by itself than the 30. Hazel weighs twenty pounds and outgrew the infant seat by length months ago.

ETA: x-posted

[spotty_dog]

I don't think it matters and would choose the less expensive one. My babies have preferred a more upright sitting position around the time they can sit unassisted, so I switched to their convertibles around the 6 month mark and well before they outgrew the infant seat by weight.

[Urowife]

We have the CHicco 20 lbs travel system. I love both the infant seat and the stroller. My DD, on the other hand, actually hated the infant seat, so we switched her to the convertible when she was 4 months old and she was much happier. I'm glad I didn't get the 30-lb seat given that we didn't use the infant seat for very long. Anyway, just wanted to point out that you can plan all you want, but you never know what your little one will have to "say" about things when they arrive

[Pollyanna]

I am a baby product whore. I love strollers car seats, carriers, you name it. We've had Aprica, Emmaljunga, Peg Perego, Graco, Britax and other brands of strollers/car seats. I would not try to put an infant into a convertible seat, their necks cannot be positioned well. In terms of a travel system, they are heavy and typically only one of the products is of good quality. The frames that you can snap the infant seat into are nice but too low to the ground for my taste. We bought this with baby #5 and have been really happy with it: http://www.kolcraft.com/products/str...ions-3-wheeler. Ours came with an infant seat adapter so you could feel secure in that your infant seat was snapped into place. Once you are done with the infant seat you have a high quality fully functioning stroller with a huge storage compartment on the bottom and big wheels like on a jogging stroller. A huge plus is the price of around $170.00. I've always found Graco to carry good quality infant seats but pretty crappy strollers. There is no reason to pay $200.00 for an infant seat and don't worry about one that goes up to 30lbs because you will move baby out of the infant seat before they hit 20lbs. Have a blast shopping!!!!!