[sabrtooth]

Since I'll be Breeby sitting full time soon, I want a car seat for *my* car.  They have a Graco Travel System, which is fine for them, but I don't need the whole stroller part of the mechanism.  I would like a car seat that does not cost an arm and leg, that has a base that can stay attached to the car while the seat comes in and out, and that ideally, would convert to front facing for a toddler.  Color is immaterial -*she* won't care if it's black - but I do want it to be safe.

 I'm also considering a Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler rocker, which has 500!!! 4 & 5 star reviews on Amazon.  I wonder if anyone here has used one, and how STABLE it is in the reclined position. 

[sabrtooth]

Since I'll be Breeby sitting full time soon, I want a car seat for *my* car.  They have a Graco Travel System, which is fine for them, but I don't need the whole stroller part of the mechanism.  I would like a car seat that does not cost an arm and leg, that has a base that can stay attached to the car while the seat comes in and out, and that ideally, would convert to front facing for a toddler.  Color is immaterial -*she* won't care if it's black - but I do want it to be safe.

 I'm also considering a Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler rocker, which has 500!!! 4 & 5 star reviews on Amazon.  I wonder if anyone here has used one, and how STABLE it is in the reclined position. 

[ekmama]

I haven't looked recently, but I remember back in the day that you could buy just the base for the infant bucket seat.  If that is still a possibility, I'd get one of those and then invest in a convertible baby/toddler seat when the time comes.  I'm sure the technology has improved in the late ten years, but I remember reading that it was safer to use a properly sized seat, rather than trying to get away with an all in one seat.

[arryl]

Sabr, I didn't have the rocker one with either of the little girls, I had one closer to the Fisher price my little ajuga bunny bouncer and both girls liked it quite a bit. I can't remember which one exactly I had, but I had one that had a vibrate setting that was nice, as well as played music. The vibrate part was great when they were getting drowsy.

As for the carseat, you can purchase extra bases for other cars of the grace travel system if you want just the base. If you want a whole carseat for your car alone, I will say there aren't many that have a base and handle for the infant and then convert for toddler purposes. Grace snug ride is a great infant one that isn't too expensive. If you want one that truly converts from infant to toddler, i am jot sure what ones, if any have the base and carrying handle.

[sabrtooth]

Arryl, getting an extra base for the Graco system would be an excellent idea.  Ek-I'd wondered about the convertibles.  They look so BIG for a newborn who can't keep her head up yet.  But since the Graco IS only for newborns up to 22 lbs, I figured it was silly to buy another infant-newborn seat, and have 2 of them useless in a few months.  I think what I'll do, is look at an extra base for now, and revisit the whole question when she gets a little older.  Some of the more well rated seats go over $200, which seems a bit steep for part-time use.  For the home car, if the child is going to use it till they are 100#s, it's not so bad if you consider the cost spread out over the lifetime of use.  But it's still that upfront kick in the pocketbook...  Wonder what Kim & Rose use?

And I was looking at the rocker instead of a bouncer because it's supposed to recline, making it usable for naps.  Lolo has a co-sleeper and *my* pack-n-play right now.  She uses the pac-n-play for a changing table.  She loves using the co-sleeper, & was going to wait a few months to get a crib, at which time she'd use the co-sleeper as a changing table, and I'd get my p-n-p back.  But since I'll have Bree every day, beginning in a week, she'll need something to sleep in now.  And again, a second p-n-p seems a waste, but hauling it back & forth every day will be a PITA also.  Decisions, decisions. 

[arryl]

Yes, the convertible onces do look and are big, they do have inserts to help cushion the little ones and help with their neck, they can usually also be adjusted to sit back a bit more so their head isn't falling over as much. We bought a brand new convertible one for Madison, the littlest one, after using the infant for 6 months because she was significantly bigger than Emma,and she wasn't as comfortable in the infant seat. She ended up hating the convertible one, it was a pain, car rides were horrible for several months, but I think we figured put it was because of her reflux. We ended up going to a full on carseat once she turned one and she was much happier, but as you know, every child is different.

Madison slept in the bouncy seat all the time, but having the rocker recline can be a great asset at times. We used our pack n play, the changing table portion as a cosleeper/bassinet for the first 4 months I think, and then we put her down in the bottom part for the next several months in our room and it worked well for us. I agree, hauling something back and forth really isn't practical if you are going to have her every day.