Help me help a friend :)

andre149

New member
I need travel system help :) My friend is due in August and is asking me to help her find a travel system. She definitely wants a front adjust, and doesn't like the puzzle buckles that the Dorel seats have (do all of them have these?). Price is an issue, but not to a degree that she wants to go to a rear adjust. Weight limit on the seat isn't a huge issue; her other kiddos have been on the smaller side and she will likely switch this baby to a convertible around 5mos or so. She was asking me about the Baby Trend or Graco travel systems, and I have no idea what the Baby Trend infant seat is like. Certainly not limited to those brands though, those were just the few that she saw that were front adjust and not too expensive. The seat will be going in a Kia minivan (Sedona?) if that makes any decisions easier. School me on travel systems and the seats that come with them ;)
 
ADS

creideamh

Well-known member
The Baby Trend have puzzle buckles, or at least they used to. Cheap plastic ones and a total pain.
My Safety 1st OB 35 Air has a regular buckle, so not all Dorel seats are puzzles. The Graco travel systems are really popular and easy to use. Chicco is obviously a favorite too (but more expensive than Graco, I believe.)
Does she want a car seat/big stroller system or a car seat/stroller frame system?
 

andre149

New member
Good to know on the puzzle buckles, thanks! She's looking for a full size stroller, they will use it for a while.

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org... excuse the autocorrect.
 

eyeslkethesky5391

Senior Community Member
Everything she said I like the onboard35s except the strollers they come with are useless IMO...I would say either the cortina travel system, or a graco travel system with front adjust. They have a couple new ones coming out.
 

monica-m

CPST Instructor
I'm interested as well. A friend at work is expecting and low on funds.

Last time I checked, dealomite had the First Years infant seat and stroller but they were not being sold as a system. The price was pretty good.

ETA: They have the stroller and the seat base but they appear to be out of the infant seat.
 

andre149

New member
Thanks everyone. It's looking like a Graco front adjust may be the best bet unless I can snag a really good deal on a Cortina :) They'll be using the stroller for a while, so if the Dorel ones aren't great she'd rather spend a little more and get a decent one. The nice thing is that this is their last so DOM isn't as important, I'm hoping we can snag a discontinued one somewhere.
 

Jennifer mom to my 7

Well-known member
If she will be using the stroller much longer, I would steer her away from a matching system, and get her the seat she wants now, and have her find the stroller she likes best. I would not go for a graco stroller if she has longer term plans for it. She can get a frame stroller off craigslist for the beginning to use with the carseat for errands, and then figure out what she really will be needing the stroller for in the future.

Will she be needing any off road capabilities (grass, gravel, snow?) Will she need light weight and compact (trunk issues?) Does she want something that will do a little bit of everything?
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
If she insists on a travel system, I like the idea of the Graco Mosaic. Most people eventually end up with an umbrella style fold stroller and that is one of the few that accomodates an infant seat.

Most travel systems come with really bulky, heavy strollers.

For my first kid, I bought a snap n go and carseat. Once I had a kid and knew what I actually wanted, I got a nicer umbrella stroller and a Valco single. Most of my friends with travel system strollers were selling them within a year.
 

mama2girls

New member
Just wanted to second the idea of buying a infant seat and a seperate stroller. Travel system strollers are not the nicest strollers and since you use them much longer than the infant seat I think it pays to invest in one you really like.:twocents:
 

Ninetales

New member
I did the separate infant seat/stroller frame and a long term stroller later. That's my advice every time. I think the best strollers (quality and value wise) just don't come as travel systems.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
what does she want in a stroller?

I would not buy a travel system and instead get the inexpensive front-adjusting Safety 1st Comfy Carry Elite - http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_024W029360270001P?prdNo=14

and carseat carrier stroller - http://www.albeebaby.com/baby-trend-snap-n-go-single-stroller.html

along with a lightweight stroller like this one that is on sale (Britax Blink) - http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-blink-stroller-modern-flower.html (they have other patterns for the same price)

combine all those together with prices, and you'll have spent less than the average travel system.
 

KaiLing

New member
If she insists on a travel system, I like the idea of the Graco Mosaic. Most people eventually end up with an umbrella style fold stroller and that is one of the few that accomodates an infant seat.

I really liked our Mosaic with our snugride (DOM 2008, so that's the 22 lbs version I think). We got it by accident, sort of, decided we needed a stroller after we thought we didn't, and it was the smallest one that fit the car seat. We still have it 2+ years later--it's broken and graco replaced a seat, and it's a mess, but we still use and abuse it. Everyone comments on it, I guess it's kind of rare? But we just waltzed into BRU and bought it...
 

VoodooChile

New member
I agree, I really didn't like the Graco stroller that came with the travel system. When we had ds we used a frame stroller with the infant carrier, then our Maclaren Quest, which we still use with him.
 

andre149

New member
I was trying to convince her of that too... Maybe you guys saying it will be more persuading ;) i think the combined price I appealing to her because it's all done at once. Realistically, I'm not sure how much use her stroller will get once the kiddo is walking, I will definitely talk to her about separates though. Thanks everyone!

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org... excuse the autocorrect.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
and that's the beauty of separates... she can buy the seat and carseat carrier now... there WILL BE just as good (sometimes better... did you SEE the major sale on the maclaren stark??) when baby is big enough to think about what she wants/needs in a stroller (AND WHO CAN HAVE JUST ONE??)

I'd honestly also show her how to make a ring sling, make a wrap, because she can experiment... see what appeals to her... some moms end up NEVER using a stroller (I know, it's shocking to me, too), others couldn't live without a small herd of them (and that's sometimes in addition to the babywearing).

and if nothing else, the carseat carrier can be a huge basket to load up when you're toting stuff around at the park or the beach.... it can be sold (for a lot closer to retail than regular strollers, for some reason), or put up for future babies.

but this way she won't have wasted close to a hundred dollars on a stroller she ends up HATING.

I'd also encourage her to look on craigslist, shop thrift stores, consignment, whatever, for strollers... you can buy strollers used... just not carseats.
 

andre149

New member
Thanks everyone! She is convinced that separates are the way to go :) Her reasoning was that babe isn't due until September and in MI she won't use a stroller much then while she's in the infant carrier anyways, but whatever works lol. I think at this point we're looking at the Onboard35 or a Graco SR30. Does anyone know if the Onboard 35 has a puzzle buckle? I know the 35 air doesn't, but not sure on the regular 35. I told her I'd buy the stroller frame if she thought she would use it, then she can probably get a really nice stroller for $100 or so after the fact. Thanks again for all your help!

ETA: She's not a babywearer... she's my friend, and she love her, but her and I have very different views toward kids. She's the "you shouldn't hold them when they're sleeping, they should be content in a stroller unless hungry or wet" type. Makes me sad, but I have tried to show her how nice it is and she doesn't budge, so I gave up.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
hey, everyone's different... as long as she's an attentive and loving parent, she'll do fine.

Not everyone loves babywearing

and MI has some great craigslisting she can use to take advantage of strollers.

according to the one review of the onboard35 on bru.com, it does not have a puzzle buckle

I also found you can get it for about 100 dollars on bru, which is cheaper than the graco SR30 - http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11123373 (blue)
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4488893 (pink)

this is the one I found the info on (it's green and I love it, but more pricey) -http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4488895 but albeebaby has it for 109 (much better) and they have it in the green, the black, and the orange - http://www.albeebaby.com/safety-1st-onboard-35lb-infant-car-seat-in-black-lime-green.html


And if she decides she likes the graco better... here's the least pricey one I could find at 119.99 - http://www.albeebaby.com/graco-snugride-30-infant-car-seat-in-nobel.html (also green, which I love)
 

creideamh

Well-known member
Totally not on the subject but my LO HATED being worn. I sooo wanted it, and I had every carrier under the sun... sling, mei tai, SSC, wrap... nope. Guess she got my "leave me alone so I can watch the world" personality.
Doesn't that new site, nobetterdeal.com have Graco SRs? Maybe she could find a good "new, damaged box" one.
 

andre149

New member
I wasn't judging her for not baby wearing at all... I was just using it as an example for her line of thinking and saying what her and I have talked about, sorry if it came across that way! Her kids are happy, that's all that matters in my books, we just do things differently :)

Thanks so much for the suggestions, I'll check out those links and nobetterdeal to see what might be out there. She's got a little time, so we might just watch sales for a while and try to snag one.
 

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