Travel system versus convertible car seat?
doglover asked:
I am 25 weeks pregnant with my first baby, and I’m trying to decide whether to register for the travel system stroller/carseat combo or a convertible carseat that can be used longer and a separate stroller…is the convenience of the travel system really worth it? Help moms!
Backyard Games
I am 25 weeks pregnant with my first baby, and I’m trying to decide whether to register for the travel system stroller/carseat combo or a convertible carseat that can be used longer and a separate stroller…is the convenience of the travel system really worth it? Help moms!
Backyard Games
Tags: Car Seat, Convenience, Convertible Car, Convertible Seat, Register
No. I hate my travel system. My son is 8 months old and is too big for the car seat. Also the stroller will not fit in my car trunk. I hate lugging that thing around. Its just so heavy. It was so heavy that re-made that model so that the stroller is smaller. Though the pro is that you can just click the car seat into the stroller instead of having to move the baby out of the car seat. There are pros and cons with it.
Comment by ?Alex loves his sweet potatoes ? — March 2, 2009 @ 1:20 am
I have a travel system and have never used the stroller. Total waste of money for us and I wish we had gotten a convertible seat instead.
Comment by Diet C — March 2, 2009 @ 7:13 pm
i got a travel system and used it for about 1 month before we just got a convertible carseat. brody hates being in a stroller and wants to be carried. so i got a baby carrier and thats what we use now, i havent used the stroller since the 4th of july. it is good though when theyre first born because you can just take the carseat out and not wake them up, and put it straight in the stroller.
we got a chicco and it is VERY good quality, the only thing is that brody is 3 months old and 16 pounds and he has grown out of the infant seat that came with it [supposed to fit until 20 pounds].
Comment by ARMY*WIFE[brodys mama 4/7/09] — March 4, 2009 @ 3:09 am
I would register for BOTH kinds of carseats! I remember when we would drive home at night from somewhere and my son fell asleep in his carseat, I could just grab the carseat and sit it next to my bed and go to sleep. It’s so much eaiser. Once he outgrew it I had to unstrap him… and getting his arms out always fussed him and woke him up. By the time we get up the stairs he’s awake and grumpy and I need to nurse him back to sleep. I don’t think travel systems are the best though. I think as far as strollers go you should get one that you really like. Sometimes that will be one that attaches with a carseat and sometimes not. As far as the travel systems go.. I think the Chicco are OK. But as far as the single strollers go I think the Baby Jogger City Mini is nice. Some nice strollers like that have attachments you can use to attach the carseats. Make sure you go to the store and try out the stroller and carseats before you register for them too.
I got the Maxi Cosi Mico infant carseat, the Maxi Cosi Priori convertible carseat and a Bugaboo Bee. Different combos work well for different people depending on your situation. & this way if I get pregnant and have a 2nd before my son outgrows his convertible carseat I don’t have to buy a 2nd one.
Comment by A J — March 4, 2009 @ 10:42 am
I have a travel system and I use the heck out of it. It is especially convenient when the baby is sleeping the car seat, because you can simply lift the seat and attach in to the stroller. I use the stroller a lot and HAD to have the car seat at first because she couldn’t hold her head up in the stroller…I also have a convertible carseat. It’s not so convenient because you can’t really take it out of the car and put it in a shopping cart or carry the baby in it. So my choice would be the travel system
Comment by Bird — March 4, 2009 @ 9:21 pm
Check with your hospital–some have rules that state your child HAS to be in an infant seat to leave. If that’s the case, borrow one from someone for the ride home or rent one from the hospital if they have a program.
I’d go with a convertible seat. Most people only use the infant seat for the first two to four months or so, but it’s heavy and bulky and can cause a lot of arm and back issues for parents who need to carry around the baby. This way, you can get a great convertible seat (Britax Marathon) and only need to buy one seat, then get a stroller to meet your needs. It’s a win/win!
EDIT: Which part’s getting thumbed down? I’m dead serious about the hospital thing. I live in Chicago and I’ve heard about several hospitals not letting parents take home babies without an infant seat. Evanston/Northwestern Univ. Hosp is one of them! A friend of mine had a baby and had a Britax Decathalon with the infant insert that came with the manufacturer and had the seat installed by a tech and her husband had to go out and buy a cheap infant seat just to get the baby home–he installed the base (who knows if it was correct) and had to come back for mom and baby an hour later. Insane, but true!
Comment by malwilhist — March 5, 2009 @ 1:15 pm
Well I suggest both honestly, I had to buy both and its worth it! The travel system because the car seat is easy to fit in and out of the car into a shopping cart, and in the stroller, the stroller you will use for a long time. A Convertible car seat because you have to buy a forward facing, and a booster seat, and its the way to go, its cheaper. Its my opinion, wal-mart and amazon.com is amazing I saved so much money! Plus, I used the car seat for a year, and sold it, and I use the stroller for walks, its bigger so you can fit more.
Amazon.com though I bought a convertible car seat for 100 dollars cheap brand new from a bunch of other stores. So look there too, and read lots of reviews to help you shop also. GL and CONGRATS
Comment by Tristens Mommy! — March 8, 2009 @ 1:03 am
I like the travel systems, however the strollers tend to be cheap. Its nice to be able to carry the carseat in and out of places however say you were going to target for example and you assume that the seat will snap on the cart. It might not and totally defeats the purpose of the “convenience” of the seat. But if you wanna go somewhere its easy to put baby in the seat, haul her out to the car, take her in the seat out of the car and bring her in where ever all without waking her up. I think with all that mubling, id go with the travel system. Then from there you’ll still need a coversion car seat/rear facing seat until he/she is at least a yr old then you can have it face forward after the yr is up and he/she reaches the proper weight to be forward facing. For my seat it was $50 dollars. My daughter began using her seat at 9 months and is now 19 months and is still able to use it for a while
Comment by Mom of 3 Girls!! :) — March 9, 2009 @ 8:19 am
I hate the infant car seat. It’s nice when you have a winter baby and you can put baby in the seat properly, then bundle him up under blankets, then put the whole bundle in the car. With my third baby (a summer baby) I never used the infant seat. Good thing. He would have outgrown it in a few weeks. I found the sling to be far more convenient. None of my kids would lay in a stroller as newborns!
Malwilhist, that happened to us too. By that time, I was so pissed off at the nurses that I told them I would just take my baby if they didn’t want to walk me to the car and look at the carseat. My other hospitals walked me to the car, but this last one just wanted to see the seat and didn’t care if it was installed correctly.
Comment by india lima foxtrot — March 11, 2009 @ 7:52 pm
I suggest an infant carrier for about four months, then a great convertible car seat…..AND a fabulous stroller!
I have a Graco travel system, and purchased a jogger when my son was about one year old. I stopped using the Graco stroller immediately, and wish I wouldn’t have gotten it. But that’s just me.
I also think I hurt my back badly carrying the infant carrier around because that is what I used as his car seat, so I just snapped it in and out. So a great stroller and a carrier would be perfect, rather than a travel system, plus a new carseat and stroller (or two more of each).
Comment by whiplash — March 15, 2009 @ 3:55 am
I just had an infant carseat for my oldest but I have a Travel system for my youngest. I LOVE it. I wont use a convertible carseat for him until he needs it. I didnt switch my oldest to a convertible carseat until he was 12 months old only because he was getting too long for it (hes a small kid) Its soooo much easier than holding the baby since you cant take a whole convertible carseat out if you go somewhere. Especially for dr appointments and shopping especially at the mall since the baby still faces you instead of everything else. I love it while hes still little! Plus the stroller can be used after he grows out of the carseat.
Comment by Proud Mommy of two boys! — March 16, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
I love the travel system! I wouldn’t buy anything else. If you buy a separate stroller and car seat you will always have to take your baby out (and interrupt sleeping!) to put him/her in the stroller or vice versa. With a travel system baby will always be in the car seat so you can easily take baby in and out of the car and stroller. I love Graco travel systems.
Comment by Due with #2 in March! :) — March 17, 2009 @ 1:03 am
i personally don’t recommend the travel systems just because i think it ADDS to the expenses. you buy the travel system to ’save money’ but in the end you have to go and buy a whole new bigger car seat anyway. i personally recommend buying a convertible car seat because it grows with the child and a separate stroller.
not to mention a lot of the travel system strollers don’t always have the amenities that buying a stroller by its self does. like my travel system stroller wouldn’t fold down all the way so that the baby could lay flat stuff like that. and the travel system strollers only hold up to 25-30 pounds. if you buy a good stroller it can hold up to 40-50 pounds which again makes it last longer.
Comment by Tired and Cranky — March 17, 2009 @ 3:20 am
im 29 weeks and we bought a travel system a few months ago..hooray for layaway at kmart..i love the idea of not having to wake the lil one up to get them out of the car. i know use of the car seat part is probably short lived but to me its worth it
Comment by Danika will be here 10/10/2009 — March 19, 2009 @ 9:02 am
I absolutely love my travel system. It works great for my husband and I. We got the graco metrolite model. It’s so light and compact compared to some of them. It’s really easy to get in and out of my trunk (and I am a really short person lacking in upper body strength!) Also, my son was and still is on the small end of the scale. He is now 11 months and still fits comfortably in his car seat. I guessed he would be small though based on how short his mom and dad are! I also take a ton of walks and I loved just clipping my sleeping baby into his stroller without disturbing him by taking him out of his car seat.
I did a “test drive” of this model at babysRus. Hope this helps!
Comment by Heather — March 19, 2009 @ 10:41 am
The travel system is convenient if you have the space and if you go out often. It’s convenient when we go out and the baby falls asleep in the car seat because you can just move the seat onto the stroller or into the house without worrying about waking the baby. Whereas with a convertible seat you have to take the baby out of the seat each time and that means more opportunities to wake the baby if he/she was asleep in the car. Also, infant seats come with a base that you leave in the car and you can buy a separate base for a second car. A convertible car seat doesn’t have that separate base so if you have two cars you’ll have to either move the seat back and forth or buy a second seat. The stroller from the travel system is huge. It takes up my entire trunk. So I can’t really put much else in there; maybe a few small shopping bags or something. But when my husband and I went on a trip we had to put our luggage in the backseat of the car because the stroller took up too much space in the trunk. Also, the convertible seat lasts longer because the range on the weight requirements is wider. So overall I’d say it’s a better investment to get a convertible seat and a separate stroller, as long as you don’t mind possibly having to wake the baby to move him/her to the stroller.
If you go out often you might want to get the travel system. But if you don’t really go out much, it’s probably better to get the convertible seat and a separate stroller.
Comment by Nate's mom — March 21, 2009 @ 12:13 am
it is super super convenient with a newborn!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by ??RN?? — March 22, 2009 @ 2:25 pm
Being a mom is going to change your world. Whatever you decide, you should be able to use again and again, if you decide to have more kids.
I would choose the Travel System and have the convenience in the short run until your baby outgrows them, you can always upgrade at a later time. If if your baby outgrows the carseat that comes with the TravelSystem, you should still be able to use the stroller. Some do double duty and you make a double stroller out of the travel system.
Congrats on your new baby.
Comment by Heidi — March 24, 2009 @ 5:11 am
I think the travel system is great! I have a Chicco system that is perfect for my infant, shes had it since birth (but was two small for a short time) however shes been using it for 8 months now!
Comment by Don — March 26, 2009 @ 6:00 am