Thursday, January 21, 2010

What to get?

So this is a call to all the parents out there that read this blog. Loren and I have started looking at infant carseats/travel systems/strollers. I'm not sure what we need. I thought it would be nice to have a infant carseat that hooks into a stroller, but how often will I actually put the baby in the carseat and then in the stroller? If I'm taking the baby to a store, wouldn't I put the carseat right into the shopping cart? If I'm taking the baby on a walk, wouldn't I put the baby straight into the stroller? If the stroller breaks, the next stroller wouldn't hook up to the same carseat. Do I look at spending top dollar on getting a nice travel system? Or do I get a good reliable infant carseat and then get less expensive stroller (maybe even craigslist?). Loren and I go on at least a walk a day and what I'm ready online, is that most strollers don't last more than 1 child. What would be best for our money? Are there any good carseats or strollers out there that are highly recommended?

6 comments:

Nikki said...

I bought a carseat and then a stroller and if I am going to put my baby in a stroller I just put them in the stroller. I honestly don't go many places that does not have a cart and i always just put them right into the cart. My advice would be to buy a double stroller. ONe day you will need it and it will save money. If you go shopping then you have a place to put all your bags while you push the baby.

West Family said...

I would invest in a nice jogging stroller, they last a while and are so easy to walk with. For a carseat I would choose a convertible one,that you can turn around later when they are old enough. I find it annoying to carry a child in the car seat, and they get so heavy. I have a Becco that I carry my babies in and I love it! They fall asleep right on me at Church or at the store and it is easy to transport them into the crib or carseat. Good luck! I am so happy for you!

Ali said...

We got a hand-me-down car seat and stroller combo. I liked it when he was little (more newborn) cause if it was really sunny outside I could put the cover from the car seat up and the cover from the stroller up and he would be completely shaded so I didn't have to worry about sun burn. Also, when they are little they sleep a lot and I hated waking him up just to switch from carseat to stroller. Just think about what you'll be less annoyed with and go with that!

Anjeanette said...

I loved my combo. Yes, you won't always need the stroller, but I did use it quite often. The baby falls asleep in the carseat and you won't want to wake it once it's asleep. If you are just running in somewhere, you will just carry the seat. If not doing a ton of shopping, you will love to click it in the stroller....very handy! They are a little more snug in the car seat than just put in the stroller. Just my opinion. Also, you don't have to pay top dollar for a nice stroller/carseat combo. They have lots of good ones out there. I have one we are selling if you want to look at it. Let me know.... :)

Melanie said...

I wanted one of those carseat/stroller things for Morgan, but ended up just getting them separate, which I never regretted. Oh, and my stroller was given to me a little used, but it is still in great condition. I used it pretty regularly.
However, we were also given a jogging stroller, (we were so lucky! So many people just gave us things we needed for free) and they are SO much smoother and easier to push and can handle all kinds of terrains, like a sandy beach, or a rocky trail.
So, there's my two cents.

Koreena said...

I got a Graco travel system with my first and love it. It was nice when we would go to the mall to be able to move the baby (still in the carseat) to the stroller and back to the car without waking him up. I loved it just as much with my second baby. I got a double stroller at that point (which was also Graco so my old carseat still fit with it) but I liked having my single stroller when we went to the zoo and stuff. That way my son who wasn't really going to sit anyway could run around and my baby could take a good nap in her carseat inside the stroller. So for me, I'd definitely do the travel system again but it sounds like people are pretty happy with whatever they had.