My wife is 16 weeks preggers and we are staring to think about car seats and 4in1 cribs.
CAR SEAT
We have 2 cars. We are looking for felxibility. I hear there are seats that detach from a seat frame and pop into a stroller. Maybe we can buy a detatchable seat and two frames, one for each car.
4in1 CRIB
Anyone have one of these? Are they cost effective?
I’m going to look around but if someone has personal experience with it, I appreciate your input. Thanks.
I have one of those “travel systems”, mine in particular is by Graco. It comes with a car seat, a car seat base, and a stroller. My sister recommended it. She purchased a second car seat base for her second car, as well, for flexibility. She loved the stroller, too. We’ve also purchased a convertible crib, the Delta Dakota, and it is very sturdy. Mr.CJ has put it in all configs for “just checking” purposes, and I like both its adaptability and its “two grownups and two teenagers can sit on this and bounce without breaking it”-iness. We’ve also acquired a pack’n’play (also Graco because they have the fewest recall issues) with bassinet for the first few months, as it’s far more mobile and easier to have right next to the bed, and it will be useful later as a play-pen/time-out spot. My sister recommended all the products, and she seems very happy with hers. They didn’t have these things 12 years ago when I was originally having babies, so I relied heavily on her advice.
A small recommendation from my midwife: Look all you want, but don’t buy anything for baby before 6-7 months. Things sometimes go wrong, and the last thing you or the wife wants is to be looking at accoutrements like these after a terrible tragedy.
Car Seat
We got one from Graco that just snaps in/out of a base. We thought about getting a second for hubby’s car, but since his is a 2door car it made it kind of difficult to put the carseat in the backseat. So, we just kept everything in my car.
If you buy the travel system types, make sure your wife…or the primary user…see wife, can handle it all by herself. Pick it up, fold it up, move it around. It should be easy enough to figure out without much brain power - those first few weeks sleep is a precious commodity, as is some strength and flexibility.
4 in 1 crib: We got this for our first child and she used it till we forcibly removed her from it when her sister was born about 2 years later. Actually we forced her into a twin bed at that time so we didn’t have to buy another crib, or toddler bed. It’s actually really nice, but I wasn’t too keen on how it converted into the ‘toddler’ bed. It seemed really flimsy at that point.
So it depends on if you’ll have more kids. Will you get another 4 in 1? Or their own bed when they get older? Will they even like the style then? Me…I’m not sure how sold our younger daughter will be on her crib as she graduates through the phases.
Good luck and congrats!
We also had a Graco car seat that snapped in and out of the base. It was very handy, expecially since we eventually got each set of grandparents a base, too. As far as the 4 in 1 crib, they look very nice, but I ended up getting a regular crib; each of my children graduated from that to a toddler bed that should serve until they are 5 or 6 years old.
We had the Chicco 30 infant car seat/travel system and I loved it. We bought 2 bases so the baby could ride in either car. It was so easy to unsnap the car seat and snap it into the stroller. Even though she’s outgrown the car seat, we still use the stroller for major outings. (We use a small umbrella stroller for shorter outings.)
We also have a 4-in-1 bed for her, but it’s still a crib, so I’m probably not much help on that end. I think we’re supposed to call the company for the converter parts when we’re ready to turn it into the toddler bed, which should be fun because I have absolutely no idea who made the bed and since we recently moved, I’m not entirely sure where the information about her bed is.
We got a travel system as a gift when we had our firstborn. The seat was the part we used the most - we used it well into the first year. The best part was definitely the snap-in, snap-out feature. Unfortunately, I almost never used the stroller. I would’ve liked to more, but he preferred being held. Once he was old enough, I far preferred the jogging stroller because it was a smoother ride. But, if you think you’ll be taking your kid someplace you’ll need storage (if you walk to the supermarket often, shop frequently, etc.), a travel system provides tons of room and it’s super convenient those first few months if you want to get out for a short walk (I think, because of the immature head and neck muscles, a newborn is supposed to recline in its stroller for the first several months).
We also had a convertible crib, but only from crib to toddler bed. We’ve never used the toddler bed conversion. He’s been in a double bed on the floor since he was 13 months. He was such a wiggler while sleeping that he’d constantly wake himself up by slamming into the side of the crib. The double bed gave him some much-needed room to move and he very, very rarely fell out (I think it happened 3 times and all times were cushioned with pillows).
I agree that you might want to wait a few months, look around, see what you like. What I looked for in a stroller was: could I easily maneuver it, could I latch and unlatch and lift it easily, what kind of storage was there, could it recline, how smooth was the ride, was there some way I could turn the baby around so he could see me (like snapping the seat in facing you), etc. With a crib, I was really looking for something that met safety standards, could convert easily without having to buy something else (conversion kits), was sturdy and looked nice.
I don’t have kids, but I do have a lot of friends who have kids. They all have that travel system thing, but after awhile they only use it for, like, Disney World or all-day shopping trips or whatever. The $15 umbrella stroller gets a lot more use (although none of them would give up the travel system for when it’s really useful.)
We also used the Graco, with a base unit in the car and the stroller. It was great - highly recommend it.
While we’re on the topic of prepping for the arrival of the little one, there was something that happened to us that no-one had ever mentioned: Mrs Piper developed severe tendonitis in both her wrists, because of the sudden need to lift the little guy, here there and everywhere. And of course, the treatment for tendonitis is like that old joke: “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” “So don’t do that.” Not really an option, and the tendonitis didn’t go away for nearly a year, when he was moving a lot more on his own.
So our piece of advice to mums-to-be is to get a couple of light weights and start doing some gentle arm curls, well in advance of the birth, so that the lifting doesn’t come as a shock to the system.
We used a Graco Snugride, although ours was less expensive than the one in the link. The safety ratings are pretty good and the seats are very convenient. You install the base in the car, and the seat itself can be carried inside. This is very useful for when baby is taking a nap. you can purchase a stroller frame that works well with this particular model. You can purchase an additional base which you place in the second car. I really can’t stress enough how convenient these things are. My son often fell asleep in the car. It was super nice to be able to remove him from the car in his infant seat without him waking up.
My son outgrew his after five months and then we had to upgrade him to a larger seat that was still rear facing.
Thanks for the input so far. I don’t intend to purchase yet… just thinking ahead.
A couple of considerations on the 4-in-1 bed:
-If the crib requires the guard rail and side rails for conversion, buy them at the same time you buy the crib! They change models all the frickin time and it can be a real pain to have to seek out and order the parts at a later time when the retailer tells you “That model is discontinued”.
-Most of these convert into a “full” size bed. Make sure your plans include a “full” size bed for them. Compared to a basic twin bed that would be fine for most kids a “full” mattress costs more and takes up more space in their room.
I have a two month old and went with a Maxi Cosi travel system. I have the Perle Stroller and I love it. I found that most of the strollers made today are HUGE. They are heavy to lift and take up most of the trunk space in a car. The Perle Stroller folds more like an umbrella stroller, still has all I need from a stroller, is light, and does not take up too much room. The car seat that fits the stroller is sold separately and is a bit more expensive but the extra space was worth it to me.
I would look at the strollers and car seats available, find one you like and watch for sales.
As for cribs we didn’t even buy one until she was about a month and a half old. She slept in a bassinet next to the bed and we only just moved her to the crib as she is mostly sleeping through the night. We have a convertible crib but have only used it in one configuration. The one thing my husband insisted on was not to get a crib that had a drop down front. Apparently the latch that hold the front up has been known to fail on a number of different brands.
Congrats and try not to get too overwhelmed. I remeber the first time I went into the baby section of a department store. I had no idea what any of the stuff was and was freaking out. It was stressful until I realized that you don’t need everything. Babies have been growing up healty and happy without all the fancy bells and whistles. Just get the basics and go from there.
Having said that I would look into a vibrating chair. We borrowed one from a family friend and it will calm my baby down better than anything else. Well it’s a tie between the vibrating chair and the mobile. Sometimes I think she loves the mobile more than me 
If you are looking for cost effective, just buy second hand stuff. New baby stuff costs a ton, and most really isn’t worth it. Just buy a crib you like, and two and six years later, buy something else you and your kid then like. That way, you save a ton of money that can be put towards her college fund, you save the environment, and you don’t have to store spare parts of you bed for years that will undoubtedly be misplaced once you need them.
Car seats, expecially, are a dime a dozen on Ebay, and the rumors you hear about car seats becoming somehow “broken” with use are just the factory’s fearmongering, to scare people into buying everythign new.
Everyone has great advice! I have an 8 month old.
I love the infant seats that you can click in and go! but I wish that we had gotten one that had a higher weight and length limit. As she is now too long for the seats. She is taller than average. We had to put in the “big girl” carseats this weekend.
And I second the Pack n Play by Graco we used it for the first 6 months until we moved her to her room in the crib. We ended up just getting a crib as we plan on having another baby sometime soon.