Tarnished Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Another question I had was regarding car seats and stollers. From what I have heard it is more cost effective to get a convertable car seat and stroller so that you don't have to purchase new ones as your child grows. I have read that safety standards have changed over the years so it may not be wise to get a car seat from a donation store such as Good Will or DI, this is because the car seat may not be up to safety standards and the clip and pieces of the car seat may be old and not as safe as they were when it was new. Does anyone have any thoughts on this, any experiences? Has anyone gotten a travel system (a car seat/baby carrier that you can use on stollers, in the car, and on shopping carts)? Has anyone had any experience with convertable car seats and strollers? Good, bad? Pros, cons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenamarie Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Convertible carseats cannot be used with strollers. They don't have any way to "snap on" to the stroller the way infant seats do. They also don't have handles. They stay in the car only. I would *not* buy a used carseat, because 1. You don't know how old it is (platic deteriorates and becomes more brittle with age, making it less safe. carseats DO "expire") and 2. You don't know if it's been involved in a car accident which could have damaged it in some way. Even if you don't *see* anything wrong with it, there is a lot of the carseat that is concealed from view where damage could have taken place. For my kids we put them in an infant-carrier (the kind that can be snapped onto a stroller) until they reached the weight limit (at about 4 months old), and then we put them into a convertible seat, which we kept them in until they reached the weight and/or height limit of that (around 4-5 years old) Get a hold of your local fire department or hospital and see if they have any free carseat clinics that you can attend. They'll go over how to choose a safe carseat for your baby, and how to PROPERLY install it in your car (so that it doesn't wiggle), as well as how to safely place your baby in it (so that the straps are tight enough and your baby doesn't fly out during an accident). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 We bought two strollers from the beginning. One was a bigger one, with a sun visor, a nicely sized basket underneath, and a seat back that reclined. It weighed only 17 pounds, which was nice for getting it in an out of the car. However, it still takes up a lot of space in the trunk, and since I visit my in-laws about twice a year (and drive to get there), we also bought a cheap-o $20 umbrella stroller for traveling. We bought our car seat at a yard sale, but it was from someone we knew, and we knew how old their kids were, etc. Normally, though, I wouldn't recommend buying it secondhand. Same with cribs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applepansy Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Infant car seats are different from those which are convertible as a child grows. Infant car seats are rear facing and when we were shopping for car seats I didn't see one that worked well as a toddler or booster seat. My sisters have both. An infant seat and a convertible front facing car/booster seat. We borrowed an infant seat from my baby sister and then bought the toddler/booster seat which was convertible. It was pricey $100... I'm getting old. I haven't bought a new stroller yet. Nathan is walking and we haven't gone anywhere that I needed a carseat, except the Zoo and we rented one there (and I took Lysol wipes to wash it down with). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarnished Posted July 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Thanks! This is all great information! I had forgotten that I had access to all this great info until Lizzy started making her posts. I will probably make another thread about cribs. I started looking at a list of essential things to buy with a baby coming and was almost overwhelmed with everything and the estimated cost for it all. There is a site I ran into which calculates how much it would cost per year for your baby, it has different things you can check and uncheck which lower or raise the estimated cost. Daycare was the biggest surprise for me, it can really add up over a year. I will have to see if I can find that site again and post a link. I thought it was very interesting. Back to the amount of stuff needed and the amount of things you have to think about, I really appreciate the fact that I can ask people what their experience has been and get answers about things I currently have no clue about. What are people's thoughts about when to purchase items? Maybe I should make a new post for that question, I know sometimes people only read the OP and don't read follow up questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Tarnished, when are you due? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Geez, all these baby threads make me want to have ANOTHER and I'm done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarnished Posted July 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Tarnished, when are you due?January 28, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 January 28, 2011Good. I would advise scouting Black Friday sales for big ticket items. I don't know that cribs, etc., really go on sale for Black Friday, but more and more stores are offering their really great deals online, which means you don't have to go out to get what you need. You can also look for after-Christmas sales as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarnished Posted July 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Good. I would advise scouting Black Friday sales for big ticket items. I don't know that cribs, etc., really go on sale for Black Friday, but more and more stores are offering their really great deals online, which means you don't have to go out to get what you need. You can also look for after-Christmas sales as well.Ooooh, great idea!! Hehehe, I think I know what I am getting for Christmas this year! Which actually makes it easier, I have such a hard time figuring out what to ask for when Christmas comes around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applepansy Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 check out Kid To Kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieroo Posted December 13, 2010 Report Share Posted December 13, 2010 be careful when deciding on how you will be using your car-seats. infants shouldn't be in car-seats continually for more than an hour at a time at the MOST. oxygen levels can dip pretty low if there not taken out and allowed to recover there o2 levels. Don't get me wrong car-seats are necessary and every one should learn how to use the correctly IN CARS. car seats are for cars period. (if you want to learn more google positional asphyxia and car-seats) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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