I have three things I've been googling a lot lately, reading reviews and trying to figure out what to get. The first thing is a high chair. We never got one for Ella. I fed her in her swing or bouncy seat until she could sit in her booster seat. This time I want a high chair, but I have no idea which one to get. I want one that is easy to clean, doesn't cost a fortune, easy to strap and easy to remove tray. Any ideas?
The next thing is a sit and stand stroller. I was hoping I wouldn't need one, but E freaks out when we put H in "her" stroller, plus I like going for walks when it's warmer out. Not sure E would walk as far and fast as I would... Still not convinced that I need one, but also not convinced that I could do without one. I found these two that I like that are compatible with our car seat. The first one is the Joovy Caboose Ultralight. The second one is the Mia Moda Compagno. (It only got 1 star on this site, but it only got rated by one person and I've seen good reviews on other sites.) The problem is I would like to try them, but they are online only items. If you have any experience with either of them let me know what you think.
The third thing is a new car seat for E. She has 3-4 more pounds left in the roundabout before she's too heavy for it. I think I like these two the best, but then again it's from reading only so I value any experience anyone has. The first one is the Sunshine Kids Monterey and the second one is Britax Monarch. I also like the Graco TurboBooster SafeSeat, especially the price, but not as much as the other two. Hopefully E won't gain too much weight too soon. I want her to be closer to 4 years old, b/c right now I feel a little uncomfortable letting her use a regular seat belt. I know that some high backs come with a 5 point harness, but they are wicked expensive and the ratings aren't as good usually.
I would really like your input on these things. Puh-leeeeease!=)
linda,
ReplyDeletei have a sit and stand stroller that my aunt gave me that you are more than welcome to use if you want to. we do need it back when you're done, but you can use it as long as you'd like :) i am getting a jogger stroller for my boys and won't be needing it.
high chair: this is the updated version of the chair i got when i was pregnant with brody. i love it - joy has the same one and i think she is happy with it too. it's easy to clean and has a removeable tray that snaps on to the actual tray which is so convenient. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3687545
and you're ahead of me on the car seat situation so i can't help you there :)
danielle
great questions, and you're smart to seek "real mom" feedback!
ReplyDeletei used a graco side-by-side double stroller (it was a hand-me-down) and i loved it for walks outside. in stores, it was very wide. i was given another hand-me-down, this time a graco front/back double and i loved it...the infant seat could fit in either location, and it worked well for us. i never used a sit-stand, as my kids were very close in age, the "baby" wasn't even 2 when the next baby arrived!! a double sit-stand would have been ideal!! :)
i have a baby trend high chair which has seen me through all 4 kids! i loved that the seat could recline in i think 4-5 positions, and the entire chair had 5 height selections. the seat was cloth so i just threw it in the wash over and over, and the tray came off after every meal for a good scrubbing. the only bad thing was when the kids got older, they figured out how to stick a toe in the tray release and the tray went flying off a few times!
for car seats, we've kept Little N rear-facing until last week, even though he's 2 plus, because the seat could handle up to 35 lbs rear facing. it's an evenflo titan 5...he's not 35 lbs yet, but he was able to get himself out of it entirely before i could see what he was doing - super scary! now that he's turned around, he's a happy rider and the seat will hold him to 50 lbs. Special K is in a graco with built in harness...when she hits 40 lbs, we will have to take out the harness and let her use it as a regular booster seat. my older 2 are in evenflo boosters. (all of these seats were given to use brand-new at a car seat safety inspection day...our old seats were either from garage sales or had "expired" and they were destroyed by the safety workers on site!!) never expected that, but it worked out very nicely for us!!
Linda,
ReplyDeleteI'm weighing in on this a bit late, so you might not even need any feedback, but I wanted to share this site with you: http://www.elitecarseats.com/home.jsp Free shipping, and good customer service. We actually ordered a carseat from them, tried it out and didn't like it, so we exchanged it.
I saw that you were looking at one of the sunshine kids seats, and wanted to just mention that we bought a sunshine kids Radian for Ian when we had to move him up to a car seat from the Britax he was in. We love it! It's comfortable for him, it will last him till he reaches 65 lbs or 53 inches. The height issue was more important to us, since he is a tall kid! We also like that it was slim, so there's more room in the back seat, it's approved for use in airplanes, and it keeps him in a 5-point harness too, although now he's old enough that he could use it as a booster with the car's seatbelt.
HTH!
I have to check it out. Thanks!
ReplyDelete