Stroller and Infant Seat Questions

[cabbagecabbage]

I would go for the Graco. They make good quality infant seats that are well respected. Almost every stroller sells adapters for common infant seats. Another option is a Graco snap n go for the first months. The infant seat will last maybe a year but the convertible seat will hopefully be used for 3+, so I say put your budget there.

[cabbagecabbage]

I LOVE the City mini if you're thinking a jogging style ( like the Graco, these aren't true running strollers) although I've heard the Graco joggers are nice. The infant seat adapter is pretty reasonable, so you aren't limited to the same brand as the seat at all.

[mandapanda18]

I bought the graco seat with C. I loved it! I used the snap n go with that seat, and later the baby trend jogging stroller with zero issues snapping it in. Once he became to heavy to haul around in the car seat we just used the jogger sans seat. I say find the stroller that you will use (push them around the store, attempt to fold it one handed, see how much trunk space it takes and then make a decision. Most of the infant seats click to strollers the same way so you can interchange them.

[Susie]

Apr 5, 2016 19:22:15 GMT -5 jodippls said:

I've been looking at the Graco Snug Ride Click Connect infant carrier and like it. They make the stroller/car seat carrier attachment  for it. Does anyone have experience with the stroller attachment instead of buying the travel system? 

We have it, along with a Click Connect 35 car seat.  It's the only stroller we've used so far (4.5 months).  I have found it to be really useful and functional.  Good on walks and in stores.  WAAAAAY lighter than a travel system.  Very easy to toss in the back of the car and get in/out.

I obsessed long and hard over strollers.  I was definitely getting a BOB for running, but then I needed another stroller that would complement the BOB.  I loved the City Mini GT, but I didn't feel like it was different enough from the BOB - both had 3 wheels, air filled tires, similar configuration, the CMGT was just a bit smaller/lighter than the BOB, and I couldn't run with it.  It would've been a lot to heft into the cargo box on the car roof on trips.  So we didn't get the CMGT, which would've been travel-system-like.  If I was only getting one stroller, it would've been the CMGT, and it would've done almost everything I wanted fairly well, but running was the deal breaker for it.

We ended up getting the Graco frame for the baby bucket as our lightweight stroller for the beginning, and a Maclaren umbrella stroller as our lightweight one for when she outgrows the infant seat.  We're still in phase 1 of that whole plan, but so far so good.

[luv2rn4fun]

We have a BOB jogging stroller and Graco Click Connect 35 car seat. Love both and will be buying a BOB double for this pregnancy/baby (in the very early days most walks will be in the single while I wear the baby but I also want to be able to run, zoo, Disneyland, etc so I need the double).

[scm1011]

Apr 6, 2016 7:51:36 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

We have a BOB jogging stroller and Graco Click Connect 35 car seat. Love both and will be buying a BOB double for this pregnancy/baby (in the very early days most walks will be in the single while I wear the baby but I also want to be able to run, zoo, Disneyland, etc so I need the double).

This is what I'm considering as my everyday set up, but I'm worried it might be too big/clunky. We live in the city, but our daycare is a 10 minute walk down a dirt bike path so I need something that will be able to handle that kind of surface. I figure we'll wear the baby a lot, and get an umbrella stroller too for when he/she's older, I just worry the BOB might not be a realistic everyday solution. Seems like you think it works well?

[luv2rn4fun]

Apr 6, 2016 8:04:02 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Apr 6, 2016 7:51:36 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

We have a BOB jogging stroller and Graco Click Connect 35 car seat. Love both and will be buying a BOB double for this pregnancy/baby (in the very early days most walks will be in the single while I wear the baby but I also want to be able to run, zoo, Disneyland, etc so I need the double).

This is what I'm considering as my everyday set up, but I'm worried it might be too big/clunky. We live in the city, but our daycare is a 10 minute walk down a dirt bike path so I need something that will be able to handle that kind of surface. I figure we'll wear the baby a lot, and get an umbrella stroller too for when he/she's older, I just worry the BOB might not be a realistic everyday solution. Seems like you think it works well?

It works well for me!  I SAH and use this stroller an average of 2x/day, sometimes more.  I drive a Subaru Forrester and it fits no issues in my car.  DH drives a Honda Civic Hybrid and doesn't really care for it because he has to take the wheels off for it to fit.  I basically leave it in the garage next to my car and only load it when we are going somewhere...it's really easy to fold.over and put in the car.  It will also fold.with the adapters and worked really well with the car seat when he was 5 months and younger.

[scm1011]

Apr 6, 2016 8:16:03 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

Apr 6, 2016 8:04:02 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

This is what I'm considering as my everyday set up, but I'm worried it might be too big/clunky. We live in the city, but our daycare is a 10 minute walk down a dirt bike path so I need something that will be able to handle that kind of surface. I figure we'll wear the baby a lot, and get an umbrella stroller too for when he/she's older, I just worry the BOB might not be a realistic everyday solution. Seems like you think it works well?

It works well for me!  I SAH and use this stroller an average of 2x/day, sometimes more.  I drive a Subaru Forrester and it fits no issues in my car.  DH drives a Honda Civic Hybrid and doesn't really care for it because he has to take the wheels off for it to fit.  I basically leave it in the garage next to my car and only load it when we are going somewhere...it's really easy to fold.over and put in the car.  It will also fold.with the adapters and worked really well with the car seat when he was 5 months and younger.

Good to know, thanks! We have a VW Jetta so we might run into the same issue as your DH, but we drive very infrequently so it might not be a big deal.

[HoneySpider]

I don't have any specific info about strollers but keep in mind that if there is something $$$ you want (in general) that people sometimes like to go in together and buy the bigger gifts. I know I've done that before.

[luv2rn4fun]

Apr 6, 2016 9:22:55 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

I don't have any specific info about strollers but keep in mind that if there is something $$$ you want (in general) that people sometimes like to go in together and buy the bigger gifts. I know I've done that before.

This and grandparents are really good at spending $$$.  My parents bought our stroller, ILs bought the crib, grandma bought the car seat and crib mattress, my step dad bought the dresser, and DH's work bought our convertible car seat.  We didn't have to buy many big items...in fact the video monitor is all I can think of and we didn't register for it since the one we wanted was on sale at Costco.

[sometimesrunner]

Apr 6, 2016 8:04:02 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Apr 6, 2016 7:51:36 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

We have a BOB jogging stroller and Graco Click Connect 35 car seat. Love both and will be buying a BOB double for this pregnancy/baby (in the very early days most walks will be in the single while I wear the baby but I also want to be able to run, zoo, Disneyland, etc so I need the double).

This is what I'm considering as my everyday set up, but I'm worried it might be too big/clunky. We live in the city, but our daycare is a 10 minute walk down a dirt bike path so I need something that will be able to handle that kind of surface. I figure we'll wear the baby a lot, and get an umbrella stroller too for when he/she's older, I just worry the BOB might not be a realistic everyday solution. Seems like you think it works well?

We just bought a double Bob and it is amazing. I think you'll really enjoy it on a dirt path since the tires are inflatable. It will be a much smoother ride for your LO, and it pushes like a DREAM. 

[Bonita]

Personally I would register for what you really want. Depending on the Graco seat you're looking at, it could be almost as expensive as the Recaro seat, some of the lower/cheaper models of the Snugride don't get excellent reviews, and one of them doesn't even have the tensioner strap on the top for you to tighten the straps. A friend registered for that one because she thought it'd be good to register for a cheaper seat, and she hated it and ended up buying a more expensive one later :-P carseatblog.com/37308/graco-snugride-click-connect-infant-car-seat-model-comparison/

Nonetheless, the other possibility is to get gift cards/cash and then when you get your whole registry discount you could buy the system then?

[ouokie]

We bought a Graco Click Connect 40. It's really cool because it transitions into a convertible car seat. I bought our's in black and pink. We are using a stroller frame for the time being. I'm planning on upgrading to a jogging stroller once she is sitting up. We barely used a stroller with our daughter. I basically wore her all the time when we would go somewhere.

m.target.com/p/graco-snugride-click-connect-40-infant-car-seat/-/A-18838121

[patbutcher]

We have a city mini and a BOB. We use the graco snugride click connect too with both of them. In stores etc, we will use a snap and go in the early days because it is so easy.

I wouldn't get a large travel system - just get the stroller you like and get the adapter.

[jssymom14]

Apr 5, 2016 19:29:55 GMT -5 jodippls said:

I just came across this Graco jogger that works with the infant seat I linked earlier. Maybe that's a good alternative? 

I have this stroller (bought 3 years ago) and it works fairly well for what we need it to do.  Since its a "jogging" stroller, it is larger than others but I have used it successful in malls or other shopping places.  We use it almost daily in the summer for walks, zoo trips, shopping, etc. Extremely large under storage was a huge selling point for me!

[boiler717]

I absolutely hate my snap n go. I ended up getting adaptors for my Vista instead. I would register for the Recaro travel system if that's the stroller you want or get adaptors instead.

[spa]

Apr 6, 2016 12:20:35 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

Apr 6, 2016 9:22:55 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

I don't have any specific info about strollers but keep in mind that if there is something $$$ you want (in general) that people sometimes like to go in together and buy the bigger gifts. I know I've done that before.

This and grandparents are really good at spending $$$.  My parents bought our stroller, ILs bought the crib, grandma bought the car seat and crib mattress, my step dad bought the dresser, and DH's work bought our convertible car seat.  We didn't have to buy many big items...in fact the video monitor is all I can think of and we didn't register for it since the one we wanted was on sale at Costco.

I just wanted to add to these 2 ladies that people may go in together on more expensive items AND a lot of places will give you discounts for registry completion like Amazon and Babies R Us so even if you don't get them for a shower/gift you guys could maybe get it at a discount (IDK if either place has what you are looking for but it is a thought). 

My side note is that we are going to do the BOB travel system (my sister has a BOB and I love it). 

[rachelgreen]

Haven't read the rest but we have the Recaro convertible seat for our giant van and I love it so far - even though it does have some significant downsides. One, if you plan to extended rear face, this won't be your last seat with its height/weight limitations. Two, it is big. It will not fit in smaller cars. We tried in our Chevy Cruze and that was a bust so we went with the Diono Radian RXT for that car. DH is a racing guy himself so that's why he wanted the Recaro - they do a bit more extensive testing in his opinion. I do love the ease of getting her in and out of it.

As for the infant seat, we did the Chicco keyfit 30 and made our own travel systems out of that, the Chicco liteway plus (you fold the seat down and can use the infant seat and then it becomes your nice umbrella stroller. Then I wanted a jogger because I take it over country roads and grass so we did the Chicco Tre jogger. No need for adapters or anything. I'm absolutely 1000% happy with my choices. Now I have to figure out wtf I'm going to do for a double that will make me just as satisfied.

[Raggedeannie]

jodippls saw this on the BabyCheapskate blog and thought of you. The Recaro Denali travel system in indigo is $299 through tomorrow on the Albee baby website. m.albeebaby.com/recaro-denali-and-coupe-travel-system-indigo.html?utm_source=CJ&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_term=12218293&utm_content=3987228&utm_campaign=2617611&source=cj