Baby car seat, stroller and crib?
love.<3 asked:
I want to buy all this for my baby but i don’t know which brands are safest for my baby and where can i buy them.
Recommendations please!
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I want to buy all this for my baby but i don’t know which brands are safest for my baby and where can i buy them.
Recommendations please!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I got a used Graco system. Why pay hundreds!? Just make sure they are up to currents safety standards.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I use Graco. I’ve got the 3-1 in set: Stroller, car seat and car base. Love it. It’s so handy and really easy to use.
March 27th, 2009 at 8:44 am
I use a Graco system as well. It comes with a car seat and stroller. Don’t worry about the crib for a few months because the baby probably won’t be sleeping in it right away anyway.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I have a graco system that the stroller attaches to the base in the car and the stroller. So nice during the winter because then I don’t have to put my baby in the cold. She can stay covered up. We bought that one for like $80. My father bought my crib when I had my first daughter who is now 5. He bought one of those one’s that convert into a toddler bed and then a full size bed. He bought it for like $350. So worth it though. I’ve used it with my first two. My baby is still in a bassinet that I got for $150 but I will use that crib with her.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:03 am
The book Baby Bargains is invaluable for making these decisions. The title implies that it’s all about saving money, but the reviews are really about value for dollar. They review every type of item, in all major brands. The reviews include aspects like safety. It really helped me work through these decisions.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Britiax. Their car seats are the highest safety rated. Why skimp on your child’s safety they do cost more than most but it is well worth it!! You won’t be sorry! Get a snap and go to put the baby seat in they are really cheap and really light. So you won’t even need a travel system. You can buy a nice stroller when the baby is out of the infant car seat.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Any store, any brand. They all pass the same safety standards. Unsafe models are pulled from the store.
If you have tons of money, buy whatever looks nice. If you want to save money you can get great used stuff on craigslist… or walmart sells inexpensive stuff. You can get a crib there for under $100, an infant car seat for $40, etc
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Go with Graco. And make sure the car seat and stroller ar 5 point harnesses. They keep baby safest if you are in an accident.
Crib cannot fit a soda can between the bars. Other wise use your better judgement.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:16 am
I would not buy a used car seat. You don’t know if it’s been in an accident or what. As for a crib and stoller, used is always good. I am not sure where you love but even Wal-mart sells in-expensive stuff. They have a 4 in 1 crib there for like $199.00 and it converts into a toddler bed and full size bed. You can also get the travel systems which include the stoller, car seat and base. The base will stay in the car so you just moe the car seat. Once they get past 20 lbs or what ever the weight restriction is then you have to change over to a larger car seat and those stay in the car but you can get those cheap at wal-mart too.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Graco. They aren’t necessarily better. They just seem to have more of a selection for a decent price.
Also figure out what your needs are before you go shopping. If you are never going to use a stroller, you may not need to buy a travel system. You may be wanting a toddler seat that can be used in reverse from 5 to 20 pounds, instead. Or look at the pack-n-plays instead of bassinets.
April 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I would suggest the following stores for your review. There are several kinds of car seats, strollers and cribs and the interesting ones are Graco.
Apart from car seat, stroller and crib, you may find baby cradle swing interesting :
Good luck!
April 12th, 2009 at 5:54 am
It really depends on what you need.
All carseats have to pass safety regulations in order to be sold.
The longer a child can remain rear facing in a carseat the safer they are. It is the law that children must be rear facing until they are 1 year old but if you can leave them rear facing for 2 yrs or more they are much safer. If you can afford to have both a infant carrier car seat and a convertable car seat once baby gets bigger then that’s the most convientent wayto go, if you can only buy one car seat for baby then buy a convertable car seat that can be rear facing untill baby is strong enough and then forward facing until baby is big enough to go into a belt positioning booster seat.
Strollers very in design, function and cost.
If you walk everywhere everyday and are planning on having more than one child that will use the same stroller then it pays to get a more expensive model.
Cup holders are important, once baby comes you will never have enough hands to hold everything you want to have with you.
If you jog or rollerblade you will want a jogging style stroller with a hand brake - warning a lot of jogging strollers will not fit in the trunk of a car so if you drive a car and want to be able to use the stroller at the mall you may need a smaller one.
Travel systems are the most convient, they are a regular stroller that allows an infant carrier seat to attach to it. You can take sleeping baby from the car to the store and back to the car with ever touching a seat belt.
If you plan to use a stroller for a small - average amount of walking for only one child or at the most two, by a regular store brand one, I’ve had good luck with both graco and safety first strollers.
Lastly if you need to be able to get the stroller through snow or gravel you want over sized wheels, bike strollers that can be used behond bikes or pushed by hand are great for snow but you can’t use them with babies who can’t sit up by themselves yet and they’re big and hard to turn.
There are basically two types of cribs, regu;ar and convertable. Convertable cribs let you turn the crib into a toddler bed and then can be used as a double head and foot board. Great if you’re only having one kid but not so great if you need the crib again in a couple or years and have to buy another one or kick you older kid out of the toddler or double bed. I have a basic $180 walmart white crib, it’s been through 4 kids now and still is like new.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Graco is great and reasonable.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:11 am
Allow me to disagree with the vast majority of posters and say…you don’t have to buy everything that everyone else buys! What I mean is, as new parents, we all go rush out and buy a crib, bassinette/cradle, infant carrier car seat/stroller/base system, bouncer, swing, high chair, exersaucer, johnny jump-up, baby bjorn, etc. We seem to think babies need a ton of stuff. I’ll share a secret with you that I seriously wish someone would’ve shared with me when I was pregnant: THEY DON’T NEED ALL THAT STUFF! lol babies don’t care. There’s actually very few things a baby really needs:
1)a car seat. This is a tough shopping decision, especially if you’re short on money. One important thing, that again, I wish someone had told me, you don’t HAVE to get a carrier car seat! Yeah, most people do, and those same most people get ticked off that they’re out car seat shopping again when the baby is 5 months old and has outgrown that carrier that only goes to 22lbs. They’re hard to carry around. They’re awkward and heavy. And to top it off - they’re bad for babies to spend all the time in they do. Go anywhere and look around: any baby you see will be in one of those stupid seats instead of being held. Too much time in those seats can actually cause developmental delays, a flat head, and fussy babies not getting the holding time they need to develop properly inside.
It is really completely up to your preference, but, here’s my 2cents. Personally, I’d pick out an awesome stroller (since the ones that come in a travel system often aren’t all that great!) b/c the stroller is the part that you will be using for the next 3-4 years. You really need to like it, and have it be quality so you don’t find yourself with a busted stroller in a year. Also, you can save money by purchasing a high quality used stroller, whereas if you buy a travel system, you can’t get it used b/c it is not safe to get a used car seat. You could however, get a used stroller and check its compatibility, and get a car seat new that would work with it. That’s what I did.
All that said - as a single parent on a seriously limited income, I now realize I should’ve completely skipped the infant carrier stage. Its not a ‘needed’ stage in car seats, its just a convenience thing, and a recent - as in the last 15 years or so - invention to have a stay in car base and separate carrier. Here’s why I think its a waste: doesn’t last babies very long at all. You spend $60 and up on this carrier that is only going to last 5-8 months! And then you have to purchase a convertible car seat, and somewhere down the line a booster seat. If you skip the carrier phase, you just eliminated one seat. There is now one carrier on the market that promises to fit 99% of babies up to at least their first birthday - Graco SafeSeat1, goes to 30lbs. However, there are limitations to this awesome seat. It really will fit most kids that long, but that’s a catch-22. You really going to carry your 25lbs baby in a carrier?! My son was a BIG baby (still is a BIG kid!) and outgrew his carrier at 4 months. And, after baby gets above 10lbs or so, they are a pain in the butt to carry - quite awkward. So its not as convenient as it may at first seem. And some of the ‘convenient’ ways people use them aren’t good.
Carriers should NEVER be placed on grocery carts. It makes the carts unstable and they can tip over, seriously injuring the baby. Also, not all car seats fit all carts, and they don’t lock on, they’re just sitting there, posing an obvious threat. And some of the carts are shaped or sized in a way that it puts the carrier at an unsafe/uncomfortable angle for the baby. I’ve seen babies laying in carriers on carts with their head lower than their feet - not a good idea for digestion or spit up.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says Parents and caregivers should never Place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart. “Many infant-only car safety seats lock into shopping carts, and many stores have shopping carts with built-in infant seats. This may seem safe, but thousands of children are hurt every year from falling out of shopping carts or from the carts tipping over. Instead of placing your baby’s car safety seat on the cart, consider using a stroller or front pack while shopping with your baby. ”
So I highly recommend skipping the carrier phase. I think they are more a pain than a blessing, and a wasted of money if you don’t have a lot to throw around. Instead, get a convertible car seat that will fit a newborn (more on that later) and a sling, pouch, or wrap. Not one of those silly snugli or infantino carriers, but something like a ringsling, moby, or maya wrap. Wearing your baby gives everybody what they need. Babies get much needed closeness to mom (or dad, or anyone else for that matter!) and you get your hands free to do what you need to do, as well as you can even breastfeed in one! They offer many different positions to use them in, too, and go higher than carrier car seat weights (20-22lbs). Most go to at least 35lbs, so you will get much more use out of it for your money.
OK - so if you choose to skip the carrier phase, be careful about the convertible car seat you choose, b/c not all will fit newborns well. You want it to have low bottom slots.
Perfect options:
The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17″, harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has little less plush padding. Wide open belt path, easy to install, though it doesn’t have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don’t have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. and it has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. It can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode.
Cosco Scenera - $50 at Walmart/Kmart/Target. Great seat for the price. Goes up to 35lbs rear facing, 40lbs forward facing. Great rear facing seat, but is outgrown very quickly forward facing b/c of short top slots and short shell. You’ll still get you’re $50 worth out of it, though, as it will last most kids to at least 2 years, quadruple the amount of time of an infant seat!
As you’re shopping, remember these rules about seats:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you’re more likely to use it correctly.
2)Children should stay rear facing AS LNOG AS POSSIBLE!!!! The 20lbs/1 year rule is outdated and provides a bare minimum for turning kids forward facing. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both recommend keeping kids rear facing as long as possible, up to the limits of their seat, preferably until at least 2 years of age. For good reason: A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone. In other countries, rear facing 2 - 3 - 4 year olds is standard, they understand that its safer.
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can’t sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs.
If you choose to go with an infant seat I would pick the seat you (stay away from Evenflo infant carriers, too many recalls, crappy recall fixes, overall a very cheap seat) and get a universal car seat stroller like Baby Trend Snap n Go, Combi Flash EX, Kolcraft makes one, too. That way you can spend a little less, sell it when you’re done, and get a higher end stroller that will last better.
DANGEROUS ON SHOPPING CARTS::&mstr=/ZZZT24LYQMC.html&soc=AAP&srch_typ=NAV_SERCH
WHY REAR FACING:
In the foreground is a forward facing seat, in the background a rear facing seat. You can see how much trauma the forward facing dummy has to endure. The rear facing child simply rides it out.
Here’s another video. You can see how there is NO trauma to the baby, it simply sits there waiting for it to end.
SLINGS:
TOO MUCH TIME IN SEATS:
You CAN get a used crib, just go to the CPSC.gov website to get a checklist to make sure its a safe crib. I got ours for $20 at a thrift store: solid oak 4 poster crib. And then we didn’t use it all b/c we cosleep. lol W