What do we think about the recommendation

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I have mixed feelings about it. As someone who made bad stroller decisions in the early part of parenting, I totally get why they would make that recommendation. I just wish I had read more of this board before I made stroller purchases because I might have ended up with better strollers. Maybe it's ok to make that recommendation with a caveat that you should limit baby's time in a car seat. I did buy a snap and go, and it was nice in the beginning. But I didn't like lugging the car seat in and out of the car, so I moved away from it (and from the infant car seat) pretty early on anyway.

this is me. had i known about other options i might have gone a different route. however, don't really feel that bad about just having a Snapn Go for DS, as we rarely used it that much anyway (i didn't take DS out at all for the first month, and by 4 months he was in a convertible carseat, so in no way did he spend too much time in a carseat). plus, after some months i had much better idea of what kind of stroller i needed than i would have before he was born.

[crl]

Well, I've never used a snap n go. So apparently I don't agree with the advice. I do understand that it is hard as a first time parent to figure out what life will look like post baby. With our first I thought our umbrella stroller would be the main stroller, because I thought I'd use it for the mall. Why, I don't know. I've never liked malls THAT much. Instead I ended up using dh's "running" stroller as a neighborhood walking stroller all the time.

I think though that I would not advise the snap n go because it can lead to babies spending too much time in a carseat. Instead I would advise something like the Indigo or maybe a Baby Jogger City Mini (something that can recline flat, take a car sear, isn't terrible outside and folds reasonably well) or just using a good baby carrier for the first few months and moving on to strollers from there.

Alternatively, I would advise buying well known, good quality strollers on Craigslist so they could be sold without losing much money if they aren't quite the right fit. I actually think this is probably smartest for people who are willing to spend $300 to $400 or more on strollers upfront. But I'm not sure that is really the book's target audience.

Catherine

[wellyes]

Good question!

I actually think it's decent advice, though. I bought 3 strollers within the first 3 months of my first being born and they were all choices I ultimately regretted. And yeah, I used the hand-me-down snap-and-go more often than anything.

I think the advice could be:
1. go cheap at first
2. but be careful about the amount of time in car seats / WEAR your baby
3. invest in a high-quality stroller by the time your child can hold its head up well, because by then you'll know how you'll use it

And I think they should say that for parents on a tight budget who do not have access to or the desire to buy used / consignment, skip the Snap-and-Go altogether and use a First Years Indigo for the first year. It acts as a snap-and-go (comes with adapter for car seat) or everyday stroller for under $125. It's like a travel system but actually good. Sure it has limitations but the price and versatility and usability can't be beat for the price!

[Wondermom]

I think BB gives a lot of advice based on what's most ECONOMICAL. Function over form. It's clear from these boards that form really matters to a lot of us, and is a huge part of the joy of buying for babies. For me, form mattered a little too much the first time around. I did NOT get a snap-n-go, and I sorta wish I did. I have, in fact, advised people to buy JUST a snap-and-go to use for the first six months. This way you spurlge and take your pick of wonderful strollers that DON'T need to accomodate a carseat/infant.

I never thought of it as advising people to keep the baby in the carseat all the time. I just meant that you don't really need to waste money on a "travel" system that will accomodate your carseat.

Of course, I also recommend wearing baby, especially in the early months, but only one of my babies liked this. The other hated it.

[lhafer]

I have found an interesting issue that pushed me towards overuse of the car seat early on, and that was that leaving it in the car becomes very undesirable when you live somewhere that summer temps are routinely in the upper 90s. We were finding the car seat getting dangerously hot, and so taking it into the a/c store/restaurant etc seemed much the better solution.

I totally concur that leaving the baby in the same position for ages is undesirable, but I can also see why people do it. This, of course, does not mean we should be recommending it! I agree that the snap-n-go recommendation has serious drawbacks.

Maybe so. I live in a place where temps are 90-100+ degrees from May-September. Car seats DO get hot. But you can't take a convertible car seat with you when you go inside? So what's the difference leaving the infant seat in the car? I felt bad on days when I took the car seat in, but then had to strap my 4 year old into her car seat, which was hot.

I have a snap n go I rarely use. I just don't like it. When I don't take her car seat into a store with me, I just turn the car on and load my groceries, or just let it run a minute with the AC on full blast for a minute or two. The seat cools off really quickly. I've never had an issue doing this.

[LoveBeingMrs]

Agree.

I had a Maclaren Easy Traveller that I never used (although DH claims it was his favorite). As soon as we got the Bee+ with the carseat adapter, we used it run quick errands- no need for the ET.

[hillview]

I think you know that I am 100% in agreement with you about the overuse of carseats. I dislike this suggestion/ recommendation very much. I think that carseats should be for the car and that is the point the book should emphasize.

Beth

I think if you do some research it is not that hard to make a good decision.

/hillary

[swissair81]

i put a blanket over the car seat buckles when i go inside for a long time. then the metal doesn't get so hot.

[MamaBear]

I think if you do some research it is not that hard to make a good decision.

/hillary

Exactly.

I've always found this advice to be, well, pretty much absurd. BB aims, first and foremost, to provide advice that will provide value. But, how much is a SnG? I think we paid $50 for the adapter for our Cam, and about $30 for the Mutsy. (To be clear, those are used only for super-quick errands, like preschool drop-off.) To me, it would be ridiculous to buy something just to cart a carseat around rather than put the money towards a good stroller.

And that's not even getting into the issue of carseat overuse...

[MamaBear]

i put a blanket over the car seat buckles when i go inside for a long time. then the metal doesn't get so hot.