Travel System - car seat help?

fresian_cow

We are expecting our first baby and are shopping around for a travel system. We are quite keen on the babystyle oyster but are unsure about the car seat situation. We have looked at the shr ones which can be attached to the pram chassis and also the ones which are longer lasting (baby up to approx 4 years). The o+ seem expensive compared to the other longer lasting ones, the main difference being that they are fixed in the car rather than being able to be put on the pram chassis.

I am just wondering how important having a car seat which attaches to your travel system actually is - from someone who has/had children. Given that baby is not meant to be in the car seat for too long, I can't see many/if any occasions where I would prefer to remove the car seat rather than put baby in the pram/pushchair (although I may be naive). Please help, it's a minefield.

Kimberley82

fresian_cow wrote: »

We are expecting our first baby and are shopping around for a travel system. We are quite keen on the babystyle oyster but are unsure about the car seat situation. We have looked at the shr ones which can be attached to the pram chassis and also the ones which are longer lasting (baby up to approx 4 years). The o+ seem expensive compared to the other longer lasting ones, the main difference being that they are fixed in the car rather than being able to be put on the pram chassis.

I am just wondering how important having a car seat which attaches to your travel system actually is - from someone who has/had children. Given that baby is not meant to be in the car seat for too long, I can't see many/if any occasions where I would prefer to remove the car seat rather than put baby in the pram/pushchair (although I may be naive). Please help, it's a minefield.

when the baby is asleep keeping them int he car seat is so much better then waking them to move then having them scream for half an hour

fresian_cow

Thanks for replying, just found another thread online where people have said similar. Maybe I'll go with the car seat which matches the pram then go for a more expensive longer lasting one later.

koalamummy

Especially if they have finally fallen asleep en route to your local supermarket which is less than a 10 min drive away after being up most of the night crying with teething pains.

pinkclouds

fresian_cow wrote: »

I am just wondering how important having a car seat which attaches to your travel system actually is - from someone who has/had children. Given that baby is not meant to be in the car seat for too long, I can't see many/if any occasions where I would prefer to remove the car seat rather than put baby in the pram/pushchair (although I may be naive). Please help, it's a minefield.

I have two kids. In my opinion, having a car seat that attaches to your travel system is of no importance at all. I had a travel system for my first baby and never used it with the car seat.

However, I think a car seat with a base that you leave in the car, so you just click the seat in and out, is worthwhile. My travel system came with a car base - I used it with my second baby too. Really, the only bits of my travel system that gave any value for money based on actual usage were the car seat, base for the seat and the soft carrycot. The rest weighed a ton and was unfeasibly bulky.

Occasions where you might remove the car seat rather than crack out the stroller/sling... nipping into the supermarket or corner shop for a couple of items (put the car seat in the trolley or carry it on your arm), whisking baby straight into the house rather than fumbling with straps in the car (when it's dark or baby is crying), letting baby finish a "car nap" and wake gently in the house (so long as it's just a few more minutes, not a lengthy spell), if you don't use a sling and/or there isn't space/time for a stroller (transport baby from car to wherever carrying the seat), when you leave hospital after baby arrives and they want to check you actually have a car seat (and it turns out you have to ask the midwives how the pesky strap release actually works because you forgot to read the manual)...

pigpen

I have 9 chimps and have NEVER had a car seat on my pushchair.. I think they should be illegal! Car seats are horribly uncomfy and not a good place for a small bab to be for any length of time.

I deliberately got a car seat which wouldn't attach to my pushchair.. though it is possible to get the chassis it wil fit onto the shr seat is actually better in case of accident than the non-shr version..

Car seats are for the car not lugging a baby about in.. plus they are incredibly heavy with baby in.

Nicki

Have 3 kids and had 2 travel systems and never ever used the carseat on the chassis.

Unless you are doing it for a very short trip, eg to take an older child into school, or to pop into a shop to buy one item, it is IMHO lazy selfish parenting to use them. Babies shouldn't be in car seats for longer than necessary, they are uncomfortable, bad for their spines and can cause breathing issues but they are the lesser of two evils in terms of car safety.

A baby who is soundly asleep will barely stir if moved gently from carseat to reclined pushchair and will sleep more comfortably. The baby who wakes and screams was not deeply asleep so probably would have woken in a few more minutes anyway. Is it worth making them uncomfortable for your whole shopping trip for 5 extra minutes sleep? It is the equivalent of asking an adult to watch TV for a couple of hours in an upright wooden kitchen chair, as opposed to a sofa or armchair!

Kimberley82

Nicki wrote: »

A baby who is soundly asleep will barely stir if moved gently from carseat to reclined pushchair and will sleep more comfortably. The baby who wakes and screams was not deeply asleep so probably would have woken in a few more minutes anyway. Is it worth making them uncomfortable for your whole shopping trip for 5 extra minutes sleep? It is the equivalent of asking an adult to watch TV for a couple of hours in an upright wooden kitchen chair, as opposed to a sofa or armchair!

That depends on the baby, my oldest could be moved, my youngest could. She was a very poor sleeper and was nearly always over tired. There was no way I was going to disturb her if I could help it. The poor thing would get herself ill.

SkintGypsy

I could barely carry the carseat, let alone with a big baby in it. I very rarely used the carseat on the chassis for either of mine.

koalamummy

I was the same as Kimberly. My oldest child would have slept through anything and you could move him any number of times without it disturbing him in the slightest. My youngest however was the polar opposite and barely slept for the first 14 months of his life and on the rare occasions that he did actually sleep you could barely breathe near him without it waking him.....so when he did actually go to sleep including in his car seat he was left to sleep.....usually for a grand total of about 10 mins before waking where he left off......screaming the place down!

peachyprice

I don't remember ever using the car seat on my system, the best attachment was the carry cot with a proper matress, I used that absolutely loads. If I went shopping DD was in the carry cot, during the day she slept in the carry cot, if I went out for a walk/school run she was in the carry cot.

I really really hate seeing people out for walks or traipsing around shopping centres for hours with their poor babes all scrunched up in a car seat, I'm with pigpen, seats that attach to a chassis should be banned, it's pure laziness.