I mentioned awhile back that I wanted to pick your brains about what baby things I need. If it isn't painfully obvious, I'm fairly oblivious to all things baby, and I need all the help I can get. :)
I thought about just pinging you guys for any and all tips, but I figured it might be easier for all of us if we break it up into more doable chunks. So this week's first Mommy in Training topic is...
... car seats and strollers
I'm combining these two because apparently many of them come in travel systems (hey, look at me knowing stuff!). I'm wondering whether the travel system will suffice, or if I also need umbrella/jogging strollers. If you went with a travel system, which one did you choose, and why? Do you love it? Hate it? Hate me for asking so many questions? Ha. :)
Alright, mommies (or other mommies-to-be who are more on the ball than me and were able to make a decision without polling the blogosphere)... GO!
13 comments:
I think travel systems are fantastic up to a certain point. I don't have any specifics for you on that, but as an aunt to 8 and a nanny, I've seen their success. I do believe, though, that in time you'll want some sort of "umbrella" stroller (I am a huge fan of the McLean strollers). If you plan to have more than one, I'd recommend looking into some of the sit & stand stroller systems.
Three years ago the "it" thing were the travel systems. So, that is what I got. Joey is right, they are great up to a point. I mean how awesome not to wake a sleeping baby, and just grab the car seat and go inside - heaven! But around 6 months, they are still to young for an umbrella stroller, but the stroller from the travel system isn't all that. It looks as though all I see now are the City Mini Baby Joggers. Yes, they are a little more expensive, but it is a super durable, and super easy to use stroller. For my next, I will spend the money and get one.
I am not in favor of travel systems. I agree with Jessica K - the city mini is probably a good option and you'll have to get a car seat attachment for it. It is a super light wight and easy to use stroller. Another good option, if you are planning to have more than one child, is the baby jogger city select. You can purchase an attachment for the second child. The wheels are also more durable because they are more like tires. I know blogger Megan from In this Wonderful Life purchased it for her twins and loves it. However, if you plan to actually JOG and not just walk, I wouldn't go with either of those to avoid having to purchase THREE strollers (because an umbrella stroller is inevitable for travel or quick trips to the mall). I think the bumbleride indie (blogger elefantitas alegras has this) or bob revolution are more suitable for jogging, if you plan to do that. Stroller are such a tough choice and huge investment! Go test drive them at Buy Buy Baby because they have the best selection of strollers! For infant carseats, a graco snugride or britax are my favorites. Britax marathon or boulevard for SURE when they move up to a convertible car seat! I am the stupid one that ended up with three strollers. A travel system, a bob revolution for jogging, and an umbrella. I am an avid runner but if I wasn't I would have looked at the baby jogger city select because it is a great investment and is so easy to add another seat when you have another baby! I might get it when I have a second child!
I have loved my travel system--as previously stated it is great to move the car seat in and out and still have a sleeping baby. My son is only about 4 months, but I can see that it will be great....to a point. I went stir crazy at about three weeks post partum and started walking several times a day. My travel system was great for that since my baby was so small still!
I would LOVE the city mini jogger, though. I refuse to have an only child (Lord willing, of course) and a friend suggested I just go ahead and get the double jogger...but I just can't pay it yet.
We love Chicco--great safety reviews and all, so that spurred our initial purchase of the travel system.
Good luck!
The City Mini is the way to go on a stroller! It's versitile and you will be able to use is for a long time! You can also find different attachments for it on Albeebaby.com! Even a cooler for the back! As for a carseat, Chicco is great! We also used two bases, one for each of our vehicles so that we could just snap baby right in and not have to move the base. We did use an infant seat for quite sometime and then later we invested in a convertable seat. Best way to go! Good luck choosing!
P.S. I think the travel systems are too big and bulky! We had one and I hated taking it anywhere espcially small stores in the mall. You can't turn those beasts around easily!
We had a travel system with Ana and have not used it much but the times we did it was great. I used it a few times when she was little in the mall so she wouldn't wake up and have used it a couple of times recently at the Arboretum. We also have a cheap $20 umbrella stroller that I use a lot.
I guess I should have mentioned the brand. We have the Graco car seat and travel system and I have no complaints.
No on a travel system. They are so bulky it sort of defeats the whole travel thing. Instead, they sell very lightweight stroller frames for your infant car seat (like Babytrend Snap N Go) ( ~$70) that are perfect for the short time you will need one. I recommend a jogging stroller regardless if you plan to take a lot of long walks, especially on dirt paths, etc. They also can be used with an infant attachment, so they can be used right from the beginning as opposed to an umbrella stroller. That being said, when the little one is a bit older, a cheap umbrella stroller (less than $50) is perfect for mall trips and travel. So, yes, I got 3 strollers total, but I am really happy with all of them and they all serve a purpose.
I'm not the best one to talk about this stuff as I have gone thru so many strollers. The problem is you don't know how they work until you use them. I had a travel system which I used for awhile. I think they have changed at this point. I bought a combi umbrella stroller and I wouldn't recommend that.
I love our Maclaren stroller and still use it with my little man.
If I were you I would skip the travel system and get a stroller that has a carseat adapter such as the bumbleride indie (that's just the one we have and really like but there are other good ones). If all else fails and you can't decide just get a snap and go for now and decide later when the baby is a bit older and you have a better idea how and when you will use it. For what it's worth, I had this vision that there was one perfect stroller out there and if I got it I would really only need one. This did not turn out to be the case. I love the bumbleride, but we still ended up buying a MacLaren for how easy it is to fold and use at airports, carry on escalators, etc.
We had a Chicco travel system, but it was just so-so. We had a huge baby who was too big to be carried in the car seat by about three months, and the stroller itself just never worked for us well. Neither my hubby nor I ever thought "man, this is such a great stroller!" We did love the Chicco umbrella stroller we ended up getting once she could sit up on her own, though.
Not sure what we are going to do stroller-wise if we have another one, but for car seats we are going to use a Britax that is convertible and holds as small as a 5 lb baby (because we have 2 of them). I would hugely recommend Britax car seats. They are pricey, but worth it.
Travel systems are such a matter of what kind of parent you end up being, and you don't really know that part yet! We just had a Graco infant seat with a Snap-N-Go and then an umbrella later on. Sometimes it felt kind of not as cool as some of the fancier systems my mom friends used, but I am not that kind of mom to spend the $, so it turned out. I think the most important factor is maneuverability plus size. Jogging strollers are awesome, but when you're in a twisty turny post office line, they are too big not to run people over. Things like a Snap-N-Go are great, but you can't expect to do much walking in non-paved areas. When you come up with a short list, let your blog followers offer more specific advice.
Oh, my favorite thing (and I still do this when spending over $100 on anything) is combing through Amazon reviews to get specific details. You may love one but then read that a lot of people think the handles are short for a man, and that could be a deal breaker.
Love the blog!
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