New mom - advice on car seat

[Margie]

I just joined this forum 2 days ago, and it is making this overwhelming task of getting "stuff" in anticipation of our first baby so much easier!

We just bought our stroller - a Perego Atlantico Trek. With it came information on their car seat system. In "Baby Bargains" I know they were not impressed with Perego's car seats. I found out (according to Perego) that other car seats are not compatable with this model stroller (that evidently is not true of their Milano XL
and the Venezia models, where you can purchase an adapter bar).

So my question is: how important is the "system"? Is it a big funtionality issue, or just looks? Given that I own the stroller, what would you advise me doing? We are on a tight budger (we got a DEAL on the stroller), so I am finding myself hardpressed to spend $150 on a car seat!

To add another element, we own an older car. Will compatability be an issue? How do I figure that out?

Thanks for your advice.

~ Margie

[mharling]

It's really a functionality issue. In the very early weeks, I liked being able to put the car seat on our stroller. I don't really do this now. When we're out and about, ds is either in the Baby Bjorn or in the stroller fully-reclined. Truth be told, I probably could have gotten by without being able to put the car seat on the stroller. It was convenient, but I don't think it was necessary. I'm sure some will disagree. I wouldn't say it's just looks, but rather a matter of preference of how you 'tote' your baby.

As far as compatability, you can check the database on this site:
http://www.carseatdata.org/

Welcome to the boards!

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b3237413c427 - New 6/18

[Joolsplus2]

Graco SnugRides (5-point harness and front adjuster, if possible) are great infant seats for a lower price than the Peg...lots of new parents have and love them. An inexpensive option for the early weeks would be to look at the snap n go...it's just a stroller frame without a seat so you can pop the carseat onto it and wheel it around (not as classy as your stroller, but small, light, and highly convenient for errands).
If your budget is really tight, you might rather put your money toward a more expensive convertible seat and forgo the infant seat...you'll lose some convenience, sure...but lots of us DO skip the infant seat and aren't at all unhappy (have sling, will travel! lol)...read down the line of posts for lots of opinions and that should help you decide :)
Congratulations on your impending arrival, too!

[KMommie]

I don't think that a "system" is a big deal. I didn't like the way the travel systems looked, personally. I thought they looked big and bulky. If you are on a tight budget, I think you might want to forgo the infant car seat/carrier and go straight to a convertible. Spend the extra money in getting a top quality convertible car seat that will last longer. I believe that BRU will take back a carseat if you take it home, try it out and it doesn't fit. Just don't rip open the box and make a mess. :) My favorite way to open up new "toys"! DH is always yelling at me about that.

I did buy an infant car seat (Graco SnugRide) and I did love it, but it was only used as a car seat and with the Universal Car Seat Carrier for 2 months. The convenience was great for the first few excursions. We still have DD in her SnugRide to carry her around when we go to restaurants, though. Otherwise, one of us would have to hold her the whole time, since she isn't able to sit up on her own yet. Although now she's so curious about everything around her, it's pretty hard to keep her in the SnugRide. One other thing to consider about the infant car seat is if you spend the $150 for the Perego car seat, how long you anticipate using the seat. I don't know the spec. on that seat, but babies grow so fast! I didn't mind spending the $$ for the convenience of a great car seat for such a short time, but it was less than $150...


Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[Margie]

Thanks for the feedback. I THINK I get the infant vs. convertible car seat now...do I have this right:

The advantage of an infant car seat is that you can take it out of the car and carry the baby in it, and it is sized to small babies. Disadvantage is that it doesn't last that long before they outgrow it.

Given that we are on a tight budget, it does seem like a convertible would make more sense for us. I am confused on what seems like a catch 22. We want to make sure the seat fits both our car and the baby, but we need it ready to take the baby home from the hospital in. How do we make sure it will fit him/her before his/her arrival? Also, if I want to register for the car seat, how do I make sure it fits our vehicle before registering for it? (I went to the database but our car isn't in there, as it is older).

Are there reasonably priced concertible car seats you would recommend that should fit infants well?

Also, 1 more question (I feel overwhlemed with all I don't know yet about all this baby stuff!): Do I have to wait a certain age to take the baby in the stroller? Our stroller reclines, but not completely flat.

Thank you all so much for your help!

~ Margie

[Joolsplus2]

Here are some seats that generally fit very well in a lot of cars http://www.car-safety.org/carseats.html, and that cover the whole budget spectrum (remember, you'll be using this seat for 3-5 years, so while it may seem pricy to go for the nicer one, you might be happier with the extra features).
Good question about fitting the baby in the seat...See that post below about safety of convertibles vs infant...even a newborn in a 5-pt harness convertible will fit reasonably well, and the harness is not the key part of the restraint....so unless you have a low birthweight baby or a preemie (that must ride flat in a carbed), you can be reasonably assured that s/he will fit in a convertible.

I think if your stroller reclines pretty flat, if not all the way, you should be fine...you probably won't even use it in the early weeks or months, anyway (I found a sling kept my babies much happier, and my dr told me not to even take them out till 6 weeks old...yeah, right! lol...but they don't weigh much, and often hate to be put down at all :) )

[Tondi G]

I am sure you could probably do withthe Atlantico as others have done with a Pliko P3.... just place the seat in there and use a bungie or make your own strap to secure it, LOTS of people have done this! I would recommend an infant seat.... it was invaluable to me in the beginning.... my DS didn't sleep much and I was not going to wake him up by picking him up to come into the house or go into a store.... those extra 20 minutes or so were priceless! We did find if DS was awake when we arrived somewhere we would put him inthe Bjorn cause he was so much happier being held rather than laying the stroller or the infant seat. Our child was one of those who hated riding in the car but would only sleep in his infant seat.... and our ped said where ever he sleeps is fine.... we had NO probelms with breathing or Plagiocephaly..... in fact our son has a Very ROUND head! I think the key is to try to get them out of thier infant seats while they are awake... but it is very convenient to have the infant seats for restraunts that can't accomodate your stroller or grocery shopping! If it were me I'd go for a Graco snugride.... it isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of things (you don't have to buy the top of the line model!).... and worth the convenience, but again... that is my Opinion! On the other hand we bought a FPSE when they were on clearance and I loved the conveninece of the seat but DS was SO much happier when we upgraded to a Britax Roundabout.... made riding in the car much nicer with a happier baby... don't skimp on your convertible seat.... get a britax RA or MA... you and baby will be much happier you did... keep in mind they have to ride in the seat for YEARS... make it a comfy, conveninent one!!!!

Good Luck.... hope that helps!
~Tondi and Mason 7/8/01!

[murphydog77]

Hi.

>The advantage of an infant car seat is that you can take it
>out of the car and carry the baby in it, and it is sized to
>small babies. Disadvantage is that it doesn't last that
>long before they outgrow it.

Yes. Although some small babies do last in an infant carrier until they are 12 months old.


>We want to make sure the seat
>fits both our car and the baby, but we need it ready to take
>the baby home from the hospital in. How do we make sure it
>will fit him/her before his/her arrival? Also, if I want to
>register for the car seat, how do I make sure it fits our
>vehicle before registering for it? (I went to the database
>but our car isn't in there, as it is older).

This is a hard question to answer. Some babies fit fine in convertible seats as newborns. If you will be getting a convertible instead of an infant seat, you may want to look for a seat with very low bottom harness slots, since that will fit a newborn better. The Evenflo Titan has low bottom harness slots, I believe. The reason you want low harness slots is that when a baby is rear-facing, the slots you use should be at or below the shoulders.

Some stores, like Babies R Us, let you try out car seats in your car first, before buying them. Just ask. Remember that you want the seat to move less than 1" when you tug on it at the belt path. Don't forget to try it forward-facing too.

>Are there reasonably priced concertible car seats you would
>recommend that should fit infants well?

Julie gave you a good listing of seats to consider. There's also this one: http://www.carseatsite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm

>Do I have to wait a
>certain age to take the baby in the stroller?

No. I took my ds out when he was about 6 weeks old for a walk around our neighborhood and the stroller didn't fully recline. I personally don't understand the rationale that a stroller has to fully recline flat for newborns--they aren't completely flat in their car seats, so why do they have to be in their strollers?? I had to LOL at Julie's ped.'s advice. We had the same advice because my ds had some lung problems when he was born. I nearly went insane being inside for so long!!! When my dd was born, she went everywhere starting about when she was a week old. I just couldn't deny my ds his regular schedule ;).

Heather, CPS Tech
http://www.carseatsite.com

[C99]

The only convertible that I know of that fits a newborn is the Britax RoundAbout and at $199 or so, it ain't cheap. One thing that you could do is get both an infant seat and a convertible and return the infant seat if you find that your bigger baby fits into the convertible. My baby was only about 5 lbs. when he came home from the hospital, so he would not have done well in the convertible.

[peanut4us]

Has anyone used the Britax Galaxy with a newborn? I was just wondering because it is only $129 at www.babylove.com. I know that the shell of the Galaxy is the same as the Roundabout, so I would think it would work just as well. But I don't know since we use a snugride from birth and are just getting the convertible car seat now.

[millerpjm]

I would suggest a less expensive infant seat such as the Snugride. We had one as an infant carseat and it lasted about 5- 5 1/2 months. We really did like it. We liked that he could still be sleeping when we took him in and out of the car to go shopping, etc. We still use it as an infant seats when we go out to eat. As far as travel systems go, we bought a new stroller when ds was about 4 1/2 months (we were using a loaner) and it fit our infant seat. Yes, it was nice, but we didn't miss it when we didn't have it. We just used the stroller itself.

HTH

Jen

Proud mama to Thomas 2/3/03

[bnme]

I would really reccomend the infant seat...even on a tight budget. You can be pretty sure it will fit your baby (although not for how long). If you plan on shopping with your baby (in a grocery store/Target) it , IMO, is a must (people do manage w/o though, by using carriers). It'll be easier to shop youself for the convertible later so you can try them out in your car.

Another reason is that it is hard to tell which convertible is best at the infant stage, For example I had registered for an EnvenFlo seat and by the time my DS was ready for it I realized it was not the seat for him (he is a big baby and did not fit properly in the seat rear-facing and would not have made it in there 1yr!). Returned it for a RoundAbout.

If you are going straight for a convertible I would choose a Britax seat. I believe they are the only seat with straps that are longer for the rear-facing position.

[ginamlee]

Here is a link to a Peg Perego car seat that will hook into your stroller for only $70: http://strollers4less.com/products/?Category=&product=2002_Primo_Viaggio_Song_Bird . Here's another pattern for $90: http://strollers4less.com/products/?Category=&product=Primo_Viaggio_Car_Seat

These are 2002 models, which means they don't have the latch system. But, since you have an older car, you won't be using the latch system anyway.


The main reason that the Baby Bargains book doesn't like the Perego seats is the price. But, they were rated just as highly as the SnugRide in Consumer Reports.