Sunday, February 12, 2012

Quick Question!

So, I can't decide if I'm going to do that baby blog or not, so for now, I think I'll just have to ask a few questions on here first!

1. No one really tells you, but what exactly do you need in the way of car seats and strollers? Brands, features? I was thinking of getting a convertible car seat, so I don't have to buy another one too soon, regardless of the expiration date deal.

2. Strollers? I'm still trying to decide on what type to get, but I do like the idea of having the car seat clip into the stroller... and I'm just not sure where to go from there.

And, for now, that's all! Many more questions to come, but please don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

And seriously, THANKS!!!

8 comments:

Avrey &Cody Hendrix said...

1st... Congrats Krista! You're going to be a great Mama!!

2nd... I was quite a DIVA on the car seat I had... When are you due? July... so you could do okay with a Convertible Seat. It was nice to have a baby car seat for us cause H was born in October so we wanted her covered, you know. You could carry your little one since it will be hopefully nice out.

So I got the Britax Chaperone and it snaps into the Britax B-Ready. It's kind of expensive, but they do Promotions generally twice a year. I bought my stroller and then got the car seat Free. I think they do the Promos in April and October. Check their website http://www.britaxusa.com/ for more information. I also did it on Amazon and got 10% plus off there for registering for it.

Sign up for Amazon Mom.... you get good deals on diapers, shipping, etc.

Overall, I LOVE my stroller and carseat... The main reason I got it is because it can convert into a double skinny stroller...

So if you're feeling like a DIVA, I say get it! Cody on the other hand would probably say save your pennies and get a GRACO or something else like that because they get the job done.

Congrats!!!

Nancy said...

Krista,
I am all about having the smaller carseat for while they are young. I just loved having the option of taking the carseat places so that the child could nap if needs be and so I could have my hands free and child protected. I have not found it a big deal to have to buy a carseat when they turn around. Any ways that is that.

Stollers, oh I have lot of opinions and could write forever, but I also loved being able to clip the carseat in to a stoller, but I am not a big fan of the Travel systems that Graco sells. They are bulky and if you are gonna spend money, you might as well get something good. So if you want something to clip in just get like the Graco snugride frame that you can use the first few months. As for a nice stroller I LOVE the MACLARENS. Super nice, quality, light weight, they lay back, etc. If you are up for jogging stoller and one day thinking of having a 2nd child, invest in PHIL and TED buggy. You can just buy the second seat when baby two comes. Anyways, there is a little info. I could go on forever. email if you have questions. Happy researching, and honestly just go try peoples strollers out and think about your lifestyle and how you would use it! GOOD LUCK!

Jordan and Crystal said...

I go back and forth on things I like and what I wish I had etc... It all depends on preference and what you like to do.

I love having an infant carseat!! I wouldn't have it any other way. You want a light one that you can carry since they are in it till they are 1 or 20lbs usually. Then you don't disturb them going into a store or a walk etc... Buying another one is not a big deal and when you have a second you would need two carseats anyway.

I am all for a snap into a stroller. I was going for cheap and got a graco. Which I actually love. So easy and convenient. I didn't feel like it was bulky. However, I also had a jogging stroller. It was annoying to switch them in and out of car etc. If I could do it over again. I would get an infant car seat that would snap into a jogging stroller. They have some out there that are not to bulky and compact. I think babytrend has them but I am not positive.

Also, people always told me to buy a double when we had our first. I thought that was weird. But, now that we have our second I see the wisdom in it. I think the phil and teds are awesome but pricy. I just bought a sit and stand to use and works great. (but that may be down the road they aren't to spendy)

You didn't ask about this but when it comes to crib and dresser stuff. They are spendy....but if you plan to have a few kids you will have it forever. So buy something you love. I bought a crib I loved but didn't buy the matching dresser and changing table etc... because I thought it was too expensive and I totally regret it!

Check our craigslist or ksl you can find awesome deals on things as well once you know what you want!

Good luck

Hikari said...

One of my good friends has her own Youtube channel called, "I'm a Mommy." She has tons of videos that talk about baby products, etc. Here is her latest video. You can click on this one to get to all her other ones. I've thought her videos to be really helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtdmrR35q_0

audrey said...

Congrats on the baby boy, Krista! Boys are seriously the best! :) I would echo everything that everyone else has said so far about getting an infant car seat-it's so nice to be able to carry your little one around in a seat and not in your arms. Grocery shopping alone would make it worth it to me, anyway. Unless you're wanting to carry your child with a baby bjorn or any other kind of wrap or something. I also got a travel system stroller because with everything I researched, it was cheaper to buy the stroller and car seat as a package than separately. I went with Graco because that was the brand repeatedly recommended to me. I think Chicco has cuter stuff, but it's more expensive and Graco has been great to us. I would just caution going with a blue (or pink, but you don't need to worry about that now) color scheme. I went with blue and brown because the gender neutral travel system was like $20 more. Now I'm rethinking that decision because I don't know if I really want a future baby girl in a blue car seat. I don't know, it's probably no big deal, but I'd give gender neutral decisions (like bedding, car seat, pack and play, etc) some good consideration. It's easy to get excited about having a boy, but then if the next one is a girl you don't want to have to make those huge purchases again if you don't have to. Also on the stroller, if I could do it over again I'd just get a jogging stroller travel system instead of getting a regular stroller and then a jogging stroller. I guess you only need to worry about it if you enjoy running, though :). Good luck! Sorry to dump all my opinions on you, but I really appreciated everyone else's opinions when I was in your shoes, so hopefully it helps! I'm so excited for you!!!

audrey said...

Oh one more thing! The smaller car seats are a lot easier to move from one car to another and to travel with in airports. So if you're going to be using babysitters a lot who may need your seat, or you switch back and forth between your cars a lot, it may be worth it to have the smaller one. We're going through a huge adjustment right now with our new convertible car seat that is a pain to move back and forth between our long distance commuter car and the gas guzzling SUV I drive. I may just give in and buy another one so we have one for each car. Just something else to think about! :) Let us know what you end up going with!

Anonymous said...

Yay! Boys are so much fun! You will be the best mommy!

We liked having an infant car seat. Since Mason was born in December we liked him covered. I like infant seats because if the babe is asleep you can just carry him in the house or wherever without having to disturb his rest. (That was super important for me.) Also, if he likes to sleep upright for whatever reason (Mason did for months) it might be nice to have at least a carseat, but a bouncer or a swing work for that too. We got the Chicco seat and we have LOVED it. Mason is just barely 14 months and we got his convertible carseat just last week. It is an Evenflo and we love that one too. My opinion on the carseat is to get an infant one, then a convertible one later. But whatever you decide to do will be fine.

As far as strollers, I LOVE our Jeep jogging stroller. You can attach pretty much any carseat brand in it. The only thing I don't like about jogging strollers is that they are big and bulky, but they wear nicely. It's just nice to have a stroller made to endure lots of gravel since the travel system ones don't really last and wear out easily.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, one more thought from me. I think it is important to get something that is easy to get in and out of any car and one that clips in easily. Also padding. We looked for something that was a little more padded for comfortablility (if that is even a word). It just makes a big difference when you have a comfy baby.