Strollers and Car Seats

Note: My final recommendation on strollers and car seats is DO NOT buy them based on recommendations from people who haven't used their stroller/car seat with a baby yet.... so don't take our advice until I've updated it when we've used our products with the baby!! Read on if you'd like to learn about our decision process :)

We've done a ton of research on strollers and car seats, mainly by reading reviews online and testing them at Babies R Us (BRU). Here is a summary of our BRU experiences:

• First visit: Spent three hours looking at travel systems, car seats, stroller frames and small strollers. Conclusion: Graco travel system plus a smaller Graco stroller for traveling.
• Second visit: Spent two hours re-testing strollers because we decided our first decision was not good. Conclusion: thought we'd never find a stroller we liked.
• Third visit: Spent two hours pushing around stroller frames with car seats. Conclusion: Stroller frame and car seat, purchased separately.

Our final purchases were the Baby Trend "Snap 'n Go" stroller frame and a Chicco KeyFit30 infant car seat. We plan to buy another stroller later when the baby doesn't like being in the infant carrier anymore. We feel this best fits our travel needs.

For background, here are some definitions:

• Infant car seat - A car seat that typically fits a baby from birth up to 22 or 35 pounds, depending on the model. There are two parts: a base that sits permanently in the car, and a carrier that snaps in and out of the base. (The carrier is what you see people carrying their babies around in.) It can only be used in a rear-facing position. You typically stop using this type of car seat at one year (or when the baby weighs more than the seat's limit) and buy a new front-facing toddler car seat. Price range: $70 to $180
• Travel system - A stroller, infant carrier, and infant car seat base sold as a package. The stroller is full-size (RE: heavy but very sturdy) and folds up so you can put it in your (large) trunk. The infant carrier snaps into both the stroller and the car seat base, so you can move your infant from one to the other without taking him out of the carrier. The stroller also accommodates a toddler up to 40 or 50 pounds. Price range: $200 to $300
• Stroller frame - A collapsible frame that accommodates an infant carrier (sold separately). The frame can only be used with the infant carrier; there is no seat for a toddler. Price range: $50 to $80

How we came to our final decision:

After testing the travel systems, we thought that was the way to go. This was despite recommendations from several parents that the travel system stroller is too heavy and impractical. Online reviews (by still-pregnant people) of the systems were pretty positive, though. And rightly so, because when you're just pushing the stroller around the store, it feels great! Very sturdy and safe-feeling. We knew the travel system stroller wouldn't fit in our trunk along with luggage and other baby supplies for a long trip, so we also picked out a small stroller to use for travel.

When we continued to hear accounts of travel system strollers collecting dust in the basement after a few uses, we changed our mind. We really wanted to like the stroller frames - they are lightweight, inexpensive and fold up pretty small. They just didn't feel quite as sturdy as the travel system strollers. After much hemming and hawing, we realized that comparing the travel system to the frame system was like comparing a Mercedes to our Jetta: the Mercedes has some extra features and feels ultra-luxurious when you're driving it, but we love the Jetta just fine when we're not actively comparing it to a Mercedes! (We technically haven't made this comparison. But we think it is accurate :) )

That meant we needed to purchase a car seat a la carte. We selected the Chicco KeyFit infant car seat because it gets excellent ease-of-use reviews by actual parents (including family members) and Consumer Reports. And indeed it was the smoothest-operating car seat we tried (we compared it to Graco and Safety 1st). Keep in mind that all car seats for sale have to meet strict government safety standards, so all brands at least start in a level playing field in terms of safety requirements.

There are two types of Chicco seats - one accommodates kids up to 22 lbs and the other up to 30 lbs (most brands have similar model choices). We preferred the 22 lb version because it's lighter and we really think our baby will not be much bigger than 22 lbs at one year - the 50th percentile baby at 12 months is 23 pounds. However, we found that it wasn't available without buying a travel system. So we went with the 30-lb version. I guess we're safe if he's a big boy!

I will post again after we've actually tried these things out with our baby.

Some other incidental notes:

• Try to avoid stroller shopping at 8 months pregnant. Not fun. Take water if you do.
• The best patterns only seem to be available in the travel systems. We think this is a marketing ploy to get you to spend more money: first up front with the expensive travel system, and then again when you decide you have to buy a stroller you can actually use.
• Shop around online once you've decided what you want in the store. There are often much better deals online. We bought our car seat from http://www.justkidsstore.com/