car seat

[Anonymous]

hello,
I'm thinking of purchasing Britax Marathon or Roundabout car seat. It is convertable-infant o todler but my question is: how do you deal with restaurants and other places? If you have an infant car seat the problem is solved but with this one? It is quite bulky and not all the places allow strollers. Also which strollet is also infant to toddler? Thanks so much for all your help.

[Anonymous]

You use a booster seat. Most babies stay in their infant seats until 6-9 months or so at which time they are able to sit up in a restaurant booster seat.

[Anonymous]

are you thinking of buying a round about instead of the little infant seat? I say no way, It is perfectly safe, but you will love being about to bring your baby in and out of the car without waking him/her. Some babies like to sleep in the car seat. I would go for the roundabout or marathon after baby grows out of infant seat, my 2nd grew out of his at 5 months, too tall. good luck

[Anonymous]

pp again, forgot to add about stroller, it really depends on how much you are willing to spend. A lot of strollers can be used with infant car seat with an attachment, or the bugaboo is fine from birth until about 45 lbs. I would go to buy buy baby and talk to the stroller guys there, they are great and informative.

[Anonymous]

I think you are confusing infant carrier carseats (which only go up to 20 lbs or so) with the Britax models you mentioned. The Roundabout or Marathon can be rear or forward facing to get you through the newborn-toddler phase but you do not remove it to "carry" the baby in it. Once they're installed, that's it. People opt to get the infant carrier first b/c of the convenience factor of pulling the baby out of the car already strapped in like 15:50 mentioned. Between the two Britax I would personally go for the Roundabout if you plan on travelling by air -- it's much easier to install in the airplane seat b/c it is smaller than the Marathon but still big enough that my 3 yr old still uses his. When shopping for a stroller (if you've decided to get the infant carseat carrier) look for one that has an attachment that you can snap your carseat into and that will pretty much get you through the first few years. We got the Peg Perego system but friends have also been equally happy with the basic Graco system. If you opt not to get the infant carrier then look for a stroller that reclines all the way (or quite a bit) so the baby can lay flat when you're out and about. I agree with PP about going to Buy Buy Baby -- big selection and helpful staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Between the two Britax I would personally go for the Roundabout if you plan on travelling by air -- it's much easier to install in the airplane seat b/c it is smaller than the Marathon but still big enough that my 3 yr old still uses his.

I have to disagree. Just got back from a trip to florida on usairways with my marathon. It was very easy to install in the airplane seat...took me all of 2 minutes.

The marathon has higher weight limits, so it'll last longer (65 lbs vs. 40 lbs).

We never had an infant seat to begin with. I had a sling I used to carry DS around when out of his carseat. I went to many restaurants with my DS in the stroller...without a fight or nasty looks. They jsut count it as a seat at the table and take the chair away.

GL!

[Anonymous]

my 3 YO has outgrown his roundabout--have a decathalon in my car and are getting a booster (with 5 pt harness) for my husband's, which we use infrequently.

without a carrier/infant seat that snaps into a base in your car, you would have to hold the baby in a restaurant, or if there's space, put baby in a stroller

[Anonymous]

I agree that I can' t imagine not having a carrier seat for the newborn...the sleeping factor alone is worth it. However, I used a sling to carry DD if stroller was too bulky. Just FYI, we had the Britax companion and it fit fine in the Peg Perego Pliko P3 stroller. Buy buy baby folks are very informed, they helped us.


good luck!

[Anonymous]

We bypassed buying an infant seat and just started off with the Marathon. It worked out quite well. We did have a hand-me-down infant carrier that we took to restaurants a 1/2 dozen times, but mostly we just held baby or kept him in a sling or placed him on a blanket on the floor (at a friend's house, that is, not at a public place).

[Anonymous]

OP here,
Thanks so much...huge help!!!What a infant carrier do you suggest?

[Anonymous]

I have the Graco Safeseat infant carrier which goes up to 30 lbs. My son is big (he was 21 lbs at 6 months) and I think he will still be able to be in it at a year. As for a stroller, i would get the Snap n Go which is basically a base you put your infant carrier into. It costs about $50. Then when your baby is a little older and can sit up, you can get a stroller that will last longer.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with Snap and Go Graco stroller. Please do yourself a favor and spend the 70 bucks on the SnugRide. You will be thankful when the baby sleeps at the restaurant!!! Without it, we would not have been able to go to restaurants as often as we did. Husband now has the Roundabout, but it is really annoying to have to lift daughter out of seat (and wake her up) after car trips.

[Anonymous]

Just adding my two cents about the infant car seat. My son is now 7 weeks. We live in Dupont and don't drive that often (and have a small apartment), so I thought it would be best to buy-pass the infant car seat and just get a convertible, so we bought the Diplomat (even smaller than the Roundabout). For a stroller, I've got the MacLaren Techno XT and that works fine. Well, son turned out to be a little collicky - waking in the night every half an hour or so after we put him down - and the only cure seems to be having him sleep actually in the infant car seat that I just borrowed from my sister (or in the stroller in an upright position). I would also note that it has been a bit of a pain when we do drive anywhere, like the pediatrician or grandma's house, and it would be much better to just have him in an infant car seat so he can fall asleep and stay asleep more easily. With hindsight, I would have gone with the infant car seat from the beginning, although maybe that's more because he's a little collicky. Good luck.