Baby Car Seat & Stroller

We've been getting some great advice from our friends and co-workers who have already gone through this song and dance of trying to figure out what type of cribs or baby car seats or strollers to get. The wife of one of Paul's co-workers was even kind enough to email us the pros and cons of getting car seats and strollers, plus her recommendation on good strollers.

Here's basically what she said -- The big stroller/car seat combo was quickly a huge pain and if she was to do over, she would get an infant car seat (not the cheap kind but not the super expensive kind -- something with a good carry-handle) and a car-seat stroller frame.

Then when the baby out-grows the infant car-seat, get a really really good umbrella-style, ultra-light stroller.

She says that if we do decide on a car-seat/stroller “travel system,” buy according to stroller weight, not anything else. We do not want to be hauling a 30lb stroller out of our car for the next four years. According to her, the stroller part of all of this is FAR more important than anything else. Of all the things worth spending money on that you will buy for your child, this one is worth the extra cash. It all makes sense to us.

Here’s what she would buy now, exactly:
Car seat and stroller frame ($139 for both): http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugRide-5pt-Infant-Seat/dp/B000E0P21I/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1847518-7163843?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1178559461&sr=8-1

Then for a stroller, one of these ($159): http://www.amazon.com/Zooper-Twist-Lightweight-Umbrella-Stroller/dp/B000CR1UDM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_11/103-1847518-7163843?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1178560553&sr=8-11(They have a clearance on last year’s models, which go down in price to $90).
Or ($119): http://www.strollers.com/Bebelove-433BL-YU1033.html (colors are BRIGHT, if you mind that sort of thing, but they have a movable sun-shade, which is really nice)
Or ($119): http://www.strollers.com/Inglesina-1775-ANM-IZ1218.html (pretty, and sturdy)

Paul likes to make sure I am able to fold and unfold the strollers on my own and I can handle the weight. The first trip we made to Baby 'R Us, we tried a bunch of car-seat/stroller travel system combos and I have to admit, after awhile, it gets a little tiring...especially if the stroller themselves weigh over 20lbs. With that in mind, we took another trip to Baby 'R Us on Wednesday to check out the stroller frames. They had 2 brands - Baby Trend and Graco. They were both lighter to carry and very easy to fold. I liked them much better than the travel system combos. Out of the 2, I found the Baby Trend one much easier to fold.

So there's what we ended up getting:
The Snap-N-Go Stroller - $49.99 (http://www.babytrend.com/pro_strollers_snap-n-go.php)
Graco Infant Safe Seat - $129.99 (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2452267&cp=2255983.2256187.2256195&parentPage=family)

I guess the real test will be when we actually use it. :) We won't need to think about the umbrella stroller for another 9 months...