Baby capsule or reversible car seat?

[Janie]

I know I've read literature, from the RACV if I remember correctly, that states the SNS capsule as being the safest option up to 8kgs. Maybe use our friend google and see what you come up with.

[belfie]

hehe great thread! I was looking into this, and heard lots of pros & cons re capsule versus seat. In the end I've gone with a capsule, as I like the idea of being able to move bubs & not disturb. Also, DH is big & will carry one quite happily - whereas friends of mine that were both quite little didn't like the idea of lugging bubs in a capsule. I know I'll have to get a convertible seat later, but that's ok, i'll see what's around later.

When I looked into hiring, it was nearly half the purchase price, so I've just bought one, given I hope to have a 2nd child so I'd get the use.

Also, the capsules (according to the SnS website) do till 12 kg, so you'd get some use out of it (but depends how strong you are, as to lugging it around with 12 kg of bubba!).

FYI, the site with the testing results is here (am I allowed to post this? mods, remove if not). From what i've seen, the convertible seats and the capsules are pretty comparable (provided you keep bub rear-facing as long as possible).

And bear in mind, I haven't used mine yet - so it's all theoretical so far but DH and I are both safety nuts.

[Cassius2]

Hi BW,

We used both types. at first we had the capsule, but i found it too tricky getting in and out of the car, and also, my back and stomach muscles were pretty weak after the pg, and i found taking out the whole thing too strenuous, but i guess if i stuck with it, it may have gotten easier! also, DD didnt like the angle, she born with a fair bit of mucus and for the first month and a bit was a bit phlemgy. so we made the switch to the reversible car seat and haven't looked back (they sit up a bit). i have found transferring bubs from seat to bassinette on the pram really easy, especially as a newborn. she would barely rouse.

for the pram we have the bugaboo (gecko model) and havent looked back. we used the bassinette for 6 months which was great as she slept really well in there and it was nice to have her facing us (especially if she went psycho at the shops! LOL!). the fact that the pram then converts into a stroller style is also really great. she was in the facing us position until a couple of weeks ago, but has decided that she is a big girl and now prefers to face outwards, although in this position we have found it trickier to get her to sleep as she wants to look around.

HTH! and good luck with all the buying!

[**Helen**]

Yes a capsule can be uncomfortable to carry around, but we only really used to keep baby in it for short quick trips into the school or shops.

We had a convertable car seat with DD and then went out and got a capsule as it was a bit fiddly for us having her in the car seat, plus when we knew we were going out, I could feed her, put her in the capsule, where she would fall asleep, finish getting ready and then transfer her to the car all without interuption.

We have brought a second capsule as we are having twins. We were going to buy the new kind, but opted for the older kind, the one with high sides that sits in a big blue bucket(IYKWIM). As when talking to the baby store owner, we had the other one picked but she advised us that on safety testing the bucket one is safer (SNS). This was a cheaper option so I know it wasnt done from a sales point of view.

All the best making your decision.

[TheBear]

We've gone for the capsule option - we bought a used SNS Unity on ebay for about 20% more than it was going to cost to hire for 6-8 months.

[butterfly_warrior]

I think I'm now leaning towards the car seat and pram with bassinette option. DH is big and boofy so getting the capsule out and lugging it around isn't going to worry him. Me however, different story. Also thinking in terms of how I'll cope with an arthritis flare... carrying the capsule is going to be quite hard, seat belt buckles in car seats and prams/slings are going to be a better option for me in terms of what I can manage. Often it's my fingers that go first and worst if my arthritis gets bad and gripping things is hard.

Also, on the subject of having other children... not sure it's going to be an option for us. Natural conception is impossible, we have two frozen embryos but have crap defrosting rates... and knowing how sick I've got with stim cycles in the past, I'm very much thinking that another stim cycle and caring for a child just isn't going to be an option. This child is very likely to be it for us.

BW

[Janie]

BW, go and look at your options IRL. They all have fiddly buckles etc, and while carrying the capsule may not be practical, at least you can strap/unstrap your bub without leaning into the car etc. And you don't have to do too much carrying if it doesn't suit you. There's probably pros and cons for both in your case.

Another option is to buy the car seat ready, hire a capsule for a shorter period of time, (or if possible borrow one) and then if you're finding the capsule just too impractical you can install the car seat. Just a thought

[Feijoa Mum]

We have both. We hired the capsule and are lucky in that it fit into our pram so we didnt have to wake him when we went out. However he is a long baby and we have just put him into the reversible carseat we bought, and he is a bit more upright now so he seems to look more comfortable.
I did like the capsule though because it was easy to transfer him to pram or shopping trolley etc without having to disturb him but it is only for a short time if you have big heffalump babies like I do.

[sweetpea678]

Hi,

Just to add my bit with dd1 had a reverse car seat hated, dd2 hired the old style sns capsule was ok now With dd3 who is now 3 weeks old, I lashed out and brought the sns unity goes to 12 kilos and the steelcraft Profile pram wich the unity conects to and love it very easy to get in and out of car and clicks straigt onto pram i only use it to cary bub if going into friends houses or just a quick in and out.

Would not do it any other way, once she out grows this she will be in a sns maxirider which converts to a booster eventualy.

[Starzia]

Just wanted to add Target have a great sale on at the mo on some of their car seats - I just got one today which was reduced by $100! Its a Safe n Sound Guardian convertable one, which is a recommend by the Roads and Traffic Authority, check out this leaflet which reviews a few different ones:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety...tockno4305.pdf

BTW I think the Target sale is only on for a few more days.

[Jas]

Hi BW,

Well I was going to offer my 2cents but it seems that many other lovely ladies have already offered their opinions but I just wanted to say it's very exciting to see you posting a thread like this!! Congrats again!

[LuluHB]

I hired a capsule for DD#1 and bought a Mountain Buggy pram (big wheels - absolute must have if you want a pram that is really good for proper walks, as opposed to cruising around the shopping centre) with the bassinet. Izzy had pretty bad reflux so the pressure on her tummy caused by the capsule was terrible. She stayed in it for only a couple of weeks before the GP told me to take her out. Likewise the bassinet attachment for the pram was useless because she couldn't lie flat.

DD#2 I have borrowed my SIL's capsule. Elena has been fine in it until the last couple of weeks. She now screams her head off within a minute of being in it and can scream for the entire trip. I've tried her in a Meridien (convertible) car seat and she went to sleep straight away, no problems at all.

FWIW I would hire a capsule (I agree all the literature says they're the safest for a NB) and see how your bub goes. If he/she is happy there, brilliant. If not, you haven't wasted big amounts of money. I honestly can't say that the slightly better safety aspect of a capsule over a Meridien (or whatever) is worth my babies being genuinely distressed and uncomfortable every single time they're in the car. I wouldn't be wasting money on a bassinet for the pram either - just try to get a pram that has as limitless as possible range of reclines (MB are brilliant for this).

[leebee81]

Just another point to add to the discussion, safe-n-sound are the only brand that actually test there seats so in my mind they are the only ones that should be on the market.

Britax who own Safe & Sound also manufacture pretty much every car seat on the Australian market - and all of them have to pass the tests to be sold so I'm not sure what you are talking about. They also own the testing facility and are on the board for Standards Australia, which is why the standards are so heavily biased in favour of SNS. I wouldn't put too much stock into a brand name if I was you (or Standards Australia since we lag behind the rest of the western world in terms of new seat developments and rear facing age requirements).

We have a travel system capsule for our pram and its great, we use it all the time. The capsule is rated to 13kg so Oliver will be in it until around his 1st birthday but obviously your milage will vary depending on how heavy your child is (length is moot, as long as their head is within the seat it doesn't matter if their legs hang out). I use the pram seat for walking during the week and we usually just take the chassis and capsule on the weekends to save room in the car.

I found the capsule much more snug and secure when Oliver was a new born as compared to the convertible seats in my mum and MIL's cars where he seemed tiny and lost. Plus, we can settle him into the seat in the house, cover him with a blanket, then walk to the car and just drop and lock it onto the base.

We bought ours because we plan on having a couple more babies and expect to get more use out of it before it expires. The hire capsules near us are the Polo capsule which only goes to 9kg so its worth checking that.