BOB Revolution Infant Adaptor necessary?

[Ladybug47]

I am expecting in about a month and trying to organize which stroller accessories we will need. We got a BOB Revolution 12" AW and are hoping to use it as our one-and-only stroller for the first six months to a year or so, until we'll maybe invest in also getting a lighter-weight umbrella-type stroller like the Maclaren Quest or something.

Anyway, the BOB instructions say that the baby should be at least eight weeks old before you can set him up normal-style in the stroller (I'm not planning any jogging -- just basic walking and going out-and-about). Do you think it's necessary for us to invest in the $59.99 infant car seat adaptor for the stroller, so that we'll be able to use the stroller for the first two months by strapping the car seat into it? I guess if we didn't get it, we'd have to rely solely on the Moby wrap and Ergo baby-wearing carriers, or on just carrying the baby around in the car seat carrier. In your experience, will that be too much of a pain and will I miss not being able to use a stroller right away when the baby is an infant?

I will be on maternity leave for the first three months after the baby is born, so I can't imagine I'll be doing any major outings those first few months outside of running errands or visiting family members.

Do you think the infant car seat adaptor is worth the money, or will I probably not use it often enough before the baby is old enough to sit in the BOB stroller without it?

Any advice would be appreciated!

[krocodile]

We have a BOB with the car seat adapter. My little one is just 3 months old and we've used it a ton already but we've done a lot of walking. I've been on leave from the work the whole time and reached a point very quickly where I started to go stir crazy and needed to get out a lot more than I anticipated. I still haven't tried putting her in the stroller seat itself yet (although I probably will soon).
It's nice to be able to just snap the car seat in if she's asleep and then I can also completely block out the sun between using the BOB shade and the shade on the car seat. I've also used it to go shopping where they don't have carts to put the car seat in and when I don't want to wear her in a carrier because I may be trying on clothes and don't want to take her on and off...
The adapter has been a "must have" for me!

[WatchingThemGrow]

As far as accessories priced at about that amount (well, mine was $40 for my Bugaboo) I think of it like this.."Will I want to use this accessory at least some with each child we have and will it make life a little bit easier with each child?" If the answer is yes, then I do it.

You may be able to find one used on CL or with a coupon code to make it cheaper. I'm not a fan of keeping infants in the carseat, but if you choose a BOB, there is no other choice than to use the carseat at least for the first 2-3 mos. Our BJ lays flat enough for a newborn, so we opted not to get the carseat adapter.

[ourbabygirl]

Though our little girl is too old to need her car seat in the BOB, we got one anyway to use for our future child(ren). We ended up taking it back because it didn't fit right with our Graco Snugride. It seems like the car seat adaptor was a major afterthought from the BOB engineers. It needs to be screwed in anytime you use it, and it has a cheesy long brick of styrofoam to wedge under the car seat to make it fit on. My husband tried everything to make it work right, but we figured it wasn't meant to be and took it back.
I have the Snap and Go and used it ALL the time with our car seat until our daughter was about 7 months or so. Much easier, lighter, and more convenient for the car, mall, etc.:)

Good luck!

[SM23Mama21]

We just purchased the BOB too. Our little guy is 5 months old, so I don't plan on using the car seat adapter. We bought the stroller used, so it came with it. I could easily sell that piece on craigslist, but am planning on keeping it because it turns into a snack tray for when he gets a little bigger.

[Ladybug47]

This is all such great advice -- thank you! I'm looking into the Snap n Go and reading reviews on it, because it's the same price as the BOB infant car seat adaptor and it sounds a bit easier to use...

[DaisyJ]

I highly recommend getting the carseat adapter for your BOB. Last week my husband and I took our 19 day old daughter out for a walk in our BOB revolution, she was strapped into her carseat which was then strapped securely onto the stroller, well a 92 year old woman ran her caddy into my family at about 10 to 15 mph as we were crossing the street (she didn't see us, and she turned into the wrong lane). We were all fine, but the stroller went flying across the street, hit the curb and then flipped onto the handlebar. Even though this was probably a freak accident, the fact that my daughter was in her car seat and the stroller was such a good one most likely saved her life.

We have obviously had to purchase a new car seat and stroller, but we are very happy we bought the BOB and the car seat adapter. i saw on here that someone had trouble with their adapter and Graco Snugride, I have a Graco Snugride 32 and haven't had any issues with the car seat adapter. So in my opinion, i think you should spend the extra $60 for the car seat adapter, then again i am pretty biased at the moment.

[eah125]

I think you should buy it too. Whatever you decide, do not use the stroller until 3 months at the earliest without the car seat adapter, it isn't supportive enough for a newborn. I used the snap n'go 1st & bought the BOB when my DS was about 4 months old.

[larig]

I had one and it allowed me to have the bob as my only stroller for 6 months. I liked that he was facing me when I pushed him in his car seat. I also felt like he just seemed really small in the stroller before he was about 5 months old. We used it with a britax companion and it was fine. DH didn't seem to have any problems attaching it, and it doesn't impact the fold at all. Get it next time REI has a 20% off one item and you can get it a little cheaper. it does have a tray that you can put on it when they're older, but we haven't bothered installing it (DS about 11.5 months now) or taking the adapter bar off either.

[Ladybug47]

I ended up finding a Maclaren Easy Traveler "snap 'n' go" stroller frame on sale for $70 at Babies R Us and used a 15% off coupon in addition to the sale price. Not a bad deal! I like it that it's a Maclaren frame, so that I can test out whether I like the Maclaren handlebars and basic stroller style, in case we decide to get a Maclaren Quest as a lightweight stroller option after the baby is out of the car seat and if we need a lighter-weight one than the BOB.

I will definitely keep in mind the minimum age requirement on the regular BOB seat. I sort-of wish we could get the BOB infant adapter (so that we don't have to wait so long to use the BOB stroller) AND keep the Maclaren Easy Traveler stroller frame, but I guess that's not completely necessary or cost-effective...

[WatchingThemGrow]

That's cool to find an Easy Traveler at for a good price! Maybe you could post a wanted ad on your CL and try to find a BOB adapter cheaper? For the first few months, we spent a lot of nights walking around the neighborhood with the baby. I wouldn't have enjoyed pushing the Mac around the block when you HAVE a stroller with air tires waiting for you.

[Ladybug47]

Okay, so I ended up getting the BOB infant adaptor and tray, too... I ordered it from REI. I'm actually really excited now that we have two options of strollers to use for the first few months -- the BOB for longer walks, and the Easy Traveler for shorter trips when I want to unload a lighter-weight stroller from the trunk. Thanks for all the great advice! Even though I ended up spending more than originally planned. :) I'm sure it will be worth it, especially if we can get use out of both of the systems for each of our [future] children.

[AnnieW625]

Friends of ours that have the Bob love the carseat adaptor and had no issues running with the infant in it once he was old enough to be ran with.

[larig]

I think you'll be happy you have both options too. What color bob did you get?

I love, love, love my bob so much I had to buy the travel bag for it so I can take it with us whenever we travel. BTW, the travel bag is well worth the money--way better quality than the all-purpose umbrella stroller bag we bought for our mac.

[Ladybug47]

We got a black and camel (mostly black) Revolution with the 12" wheels -- 'pretty sharp-looking!