With the exception of last night which was taken over with my husband's homework, the last several days/nights have been spent doing more hard core car seat research. My husband has found a car seat/stroller combo that he is convinced we should buy, I on the other hand, still need to do some more research before I give the go ahead. In the meantime the combined car sear/stroller price went up on Amazon so we're still doing research in hopes that it will go down again within the next three months. Does Black Friday influence car seat prices??
While I like the snap-and-go frame for it's light weight, I also like the idea of being able to continue to use a stroller after the baby is past 30 lbs. I like the quality, maneuverability, and look of jogger strollers, but I'm not a jogger. Our plan is that we would buy a quality stroller once the baby out grew the snap-and-go since they are nice to have in inclement weather and if we decide to torcher ourselves by going to Walt Disney World or something crazy like that. Let's face it, the majority of its use would most likely be at the mall and short walks around the neighborhood (not exactly off roading), but we might want to go to a National Park or something when we live in New Mexico and depending on when we move, we'll definitely want to hit up all our favorite festivals in DC before we go.
So we found these strollers that have nice wheels like jogger strollers and you can remove the seat to use just the frame and snap in the car seat, they are called urban walkers or something like that. Sounds great? Well, most of these strollers are "high end" meaning they cost $500 and up just for the stroller, plus you have to buy the extra seats/adapters separately to get full usage out of them. However, there are some that are about $200-300. Sunday night we found one that has good consumer reviews and costs under $250 for the stroller. It's called the The First Years Wave Stroller and it's compatible with the Graco SnugRide and Chicco Keyfit car seats in addition to the First Years car seats. The best part is the way it looks. Adorable!
Here's a full list of features of the Wave stroller:
- Durable modular Euro-styled frame rated for use to 50lbs
- Unique swivel seat, with a 5-point harness, quickly turns from rear- to forward-facing use
- Taller, adjustable handle height and lower storage basket
- Universal attachment for use with most infant car seats
- Easy one-hand fold with seat removed, weighs 24 lbs.
- Dimensions: 28.5" L x 24.5" W x 42" H
What we like about it:
- You can switch the handle bar around so the baby will face toward/away from you without taking out the seat.
- The seat can easily switch between a stylish bassinet where the baby can lay completely down and a seat
- You can use it for a child up to 50 lbs (although some parents have said that the seat is too small for a child that weighs that much)
- Folds up small
- Comes with a universal adapter to use with an infant car seat
- Big canopy
- Rubber wheels so they won't go flat
- Multiple recline positions
- Step on break (push down on the break with the bottom of your foot which is good in case you have on open toed shoes)
What we don't like about it:
- Does not come with and there is no option to buy attachments like a cup holder and baby tray through the company, although you can buy this through another company
- Have to remove the seat before folding it up (is seen as a positive by some because it makes the load lighter)
The car seat my husband likes is The First Years Via I450 Infant Car Seat, Urban Life. The big selling points is that it is the only car seat to be given a five star Child Safety Seat Ease of Use Rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While I don't think you should base your car seat purchase purely on this rating system, since it isn't indicating how safe the car seat is, but the ease of keeping it safe, it is something that should be a factor. If you have to take apart your car seat for cleaning or something, this will indicate how easy it is to put it back together so that it will be safe. The other selling point is that it was Top Rated and Editor Approved by FitPregnancy Magazine. Again, it's not that big of a deal, but it's something worth mentioning.
Other selling points include:
• Side Impact Tested to international standards
• Deep side wings for improved side impact protection
• Fully lined with EPS foam liner to absorb energy (the same foam as bike helmets have)
• Uniquely designed comfort carry right handle
• Built-in lock-off for secure installation
• Multi beam back frame to reinforce structure
• Triple-layer padding provides superior comfort
• 5 Point harness with LATCH system
• Two separate LATCH attachments points for improved lateral control
• Fits babies 4-22 lbs and up to 30"
• Compatible with The First Years Wave and Indigo strollers
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| photo via here |
What we like about it:
- Lots of padding
- Safety features, side impact tested
- 5 point harness
- Wide comfort handle
- Light weight - the seat alone weighs 8.64 lbs
- Nice color
- Easy to adjust straps
- Easy to install
- Multi position handle adjustment, wide range
What we don't like about it:
- You cannot use it in a car without the base
- One woman said the material wasn't breathable
Unfortunately there aren't a lot of places that sell these strollers/car seats so we may just have to buy them and then decide if we like them or not. In the meantime we've been looking at various urban strollers like the Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller and the Quinny Zapp 4 Travel System.
After talking to various parents in stores and at church, we've decided that going for a car seat that can hold a heavier kid (22 lbs max vs. 35 lbs) isn't worth it. Convertible car seats start out holding 22 lbs so you can get a new car seat when they out grow the old one, plus the ones that only hold 22 lbs are generally much lighter, a big plus for parents hauling it around.
Below are some other infant car seat reviews I have found that you might find useful in your research, as you can see they all have different top picks. Every parent we talk to has different ideas about what they like as well. I think the key is to figure out what is important to you and then do your own rating system, which will probably include some of these ratings.
Other sites:
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