Baby capsule or reversible car seat?

[butterfly_warrior]

We're currently looking at options to set things up for when the our baby arrives, and it appears we have two options.

1. Get a baby capsule that can connect to a pram (it appears there are a couple available).

2. Get a reversible car seat so that we can use the car seat for longer, and get a pram with a bassinette carrier for when bub is small.

There's also a vague thought that we use a baby carrier for the early days instead of a pram, but figure there are times when we'll be out and not wanting to be wearing a baby, but also not wanting to put them on the floor or anything like that (eg, at church).

DH is preferring option 1, I'm preferring option 2.

Are baby capsules really that easy to get out of the car without waking the baby? We were looking at one yesterday and couldn't even find how to detach the capsule from the base, which is a bit scary.

Is it awkward to be removing a baby from a rear-facing child seat?

So far it appears that most people we know have used the reversible car seat option rather than the baby capsule. It would be great to hear people's reasons for going the way they did to help us make up our mind.

BW

[visitor1]

I went with rear facing car seat (convertable i think they are called...can be changed to forward facing when bubs is old enough) mainly because they get longer use out of it. A capsule only lasts til a certain point then you will need a car seat anyhow.

I dont find it hard getting a newborn out of rear facing...they are so tiny its easy! Its when they get to DD2 age (9 months) that it gets harder!

I have a normal pram that has attatchments to enclose bub when in the pram to keep them warm and snug.

[sneakysparkle]

Hi BW - we used option 2 and it was great!
A rear-facing seat is no drama to get bub in/out of at all. Much more cost-friendly than a capsule(our DD was very long and was a big feeder so she wouldve been out of the capsule very quickly!)
We also had a basinette with our pram - was fabulous - she actually slept in the basinette for the first few weeks in our room, then in the bassinette in her cot.
HTH!

[Shellbelle]

I used a capsule - would highly recommend hiring one for the first 6 mths. MUCH safer option, and I found it easier to use when they went to asleep, can easily take whole capsule out and carry in to friends/relatives house without waking them. JMO, but safety was my biggest reason for using capsule.

Pram wise, I brought a bassinette style with interchangeable seat, used it for about 3 mths then became a pain and never used it again. So brought a phil and teds instead(love it!).

Good Luck!

[Janie]

I am a huge advocate of using a baby capsule. There have been threads about this in the past, I'll see if I can dig them up for you We just had the SNS capsule though, and a bassinette for the pram as well (I love them too )

Apart from being safer for a newborn, capsules are also just really handy. Being able to pull your baby in and out of the car without waking them up, whether it's to duck into the shops, or just when you arrive at someone's house, is simply fantastic! We used our capsule for almost six months, and I loved it. I know alot of people get by with the reversible seat, but I would not be without a capsule for future bubs. To me, the safety issue is just too important.

[Shellbelle]

Snap Janie, good minds think alike!!

[Janie]

Hehe Shell Never mind good, GREAT minds LOL!

BW, I can't find the threads I'm thinking of just yet, but if you scroll through this section, check out all of the threads on car seats and capsules, there's lots of interesting info out there There might be some more in the baby section, I'll have a look.

[~Trish~]

It's completely a personal choice. You can always hire baby capsules if you don't want to purchase one.

I personally don't think it's worth getting the whole pram/capsule thing, you only use the capsule for such a short time, but the pram gets use for a couple of years so you want to make sure you are happy with the pram.

Also, you can only use capsules up until your bub is 8kg (around 6 months old), and it is now recommended that your child faces rearward until at least 12 months of age so you will need a convertible car seat regardless.

I just used a convertible car seat for both of my boys with no problems. When they are little it's easy to transfer them to their bed or pram if they are sleeping.

I highly recommend getting a baby carrier, I wouldn't be without mine! I have an Ergo carrier and it is the best carrier for my back that I have found. Carriers are great in the early day when bub is colicky or overtired. I use my Ergo over the pram when going to the shops, it is heaps quicker and easier.

Best of luck

[Mother Goose]

I guess it also depends on how much money you have to spend. We didn't really have the funds to have both a capsule and a car seat later (even though you can hire capsules fairly cheap through the council). So we opted for the convertable car seat. Especially since we knew we were having a long baby and felt she wouldn't be in the capsule for long. We had no problems getting her in and out of the car and we were lucky she often stayed asleep during the shift (I have a friend who used a capsule and her baby still woke when she was moving it in and out of the car).
If you get a good quality convertable seat, they can be just as safe as the capsule (IMO). I also have concerns about leaving babies in capsuels for long periods of time (in one go) because I have heard it can damage their backs... and since I've always had a tempremental back I wanted to try and avoid that for DD.

HTH - good luck making your decision!

MG

[mrsmac]

We used a capsule for DD1, rear seat for DD2 and capsule for DS. I think a capsule was great for a winter baby as we had him all rugged up in it to go out to the car not having to unwrap him to put him in a carseat. DD2 was December in Darwin so that didn't apply although we did find the car had to be cooled down before we put her in so if she had of had a capsule it would've been cooler I guess.
If you can borrow a capsule i say do that option but if you have to buy one and a car seat I wouldn't bother.

[Janie]

It's completely a personal choice. You can always hire baby capsules if you don't want to purchase one.

I personally don't think it's worth getting the whole pram/capsule thing, you only use the capsule for such a short time, but the pram gets use for a couple of years so you want to make sure you are happy with the pram.

Also, you can only use capsules up until your bub is 8kg (around 6 months old), and it is now recommended that your child faces rearward until at least 12 months of age so you will need a convertible car seat regardless.

I just used a convertible car seat for both of my boys with no problems. When they are little it's easy to transfer them to their bed or pram if they are sleeping.

I highly recommend getting a baby carrier, I wouldn't be without mine! I have an Ergo carrier and it is the best carrier for my back that I have found. Carriers are great in the early day when bub is colicky or overtired. I use my Ergo over the pram when going to the shops, it is heaps quicker and easier.

Best of luck

Some good points Trish!

Yes, you will definitely still need a convertible car seat even if you use a capsule. You can hire a capsule if you don't want to buy one. We were lucky enough to be given one, but my mum hired a capsule for her car and it was brand new! And it only cost $100 for 6 months.

I agree that you want to be happy with your pram......so I would make sure if you get a travel system that it's really what you want in the long term, not just for the first few months.

[Sequoia]

We don't use a capsule but never had any hassles in getting DS out of his SNS reversible car seat. I am looking to buy a peanut shell sling though to avoid the hassle of getting the pram out of the car when shopping.

We did buy a pram with a bassinette attachment and he slept in that for his first four weeks, then went to the cot. He still has his first morning nap in his pram.

SG
xo

[DANNIIM]

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.
The reversible seats also have so much extra padding for our little bubs in the early days that i really doubt that the capsules are any safer than a reversible.

We used our safe-n-sound reversible for so long with DS and we were completely happy with it, but it really is a personal choice.

[butterfly_warrior]

I had also wondered about the safety aspect of things. So the capsules are safer than the convertible car seats?

Looks like hiring a capsule at first is going to be the better option.

DH is also a big fan of prams with big wheels... I'm glad we have lots of time to figure all of this out!

BW

[Nai]

We used a capsule and DD was in that for 12 months so we got a great deal of use from it. It was one that clipped in and out of the car which was so wonderful as she would often fall asleep in the car in the early days so we were able to transfer her out of the car and into the house without waking her. The other thing with the capsules is that you can unclip them from the base and they fit on a shopping trolley which is so handy if you are going to the supermarket with a newborn.

We will do the same with #2 as it worked so well for us. We are currently trying to source a travel attachment clip for the Phil & Teds so that we can clip the capsule on to the pram as well.

[Astrid]

There is a brochure out on car safety that lists the safety and ease of use of the major car seats and capsules. Think is it put out by the RACV or NRMA. I have seen it at childcare centres and maternal health centres. You may want to check that out.

[~breeze~]

We bought the SNS meridian convertable car seat (I HIGHLY recommend that seat ) When we first bought DD home from hospital that is what we used.

Within a week I went to babies galore & bought a capsule. We both found it too fidgety getting her in & out of the seat especially when she was asleep.

We also go to church on a Sunday night so we had her rugged up in the capsule in the lounge room, then straight to the car, then straight into church. She stayed snug as a bug & warm & we never looked back.

We also have a pram with bassinette attatchment (I have some pics in my gallery now) It's an Emmaljunga & I LOVE it while bubs is a newborn. I admit though I much prefer my phil & teds for toddler & older (whole nother thread there though LOL)

I think if your not in a position to buy a capsule & a convertable carseat, then I'd suggest looking at hiring one as they are quite cheap. But if you're thinking of having more babies later on then it will end up being cheaper in the long run to buy one & hold onto it for any further babies (Like we did)

As the others have said the convertable car seat does the job fine & will last from newborn to approx 4 years depending which seat you get (My DD is still in her car seat, shes tall for her age & still has growing room left, money very well spent. Bubs will go into DD's carseat when he outgrows his capsule & DD will move into her booster, she will be about 4 yrs old by then I'm guessing)

Its personal choice but at least you have lots of people on here to give you honest opinions from their experiences

Good luck making your decision, so exciting starting to buy the "bigger" baby items

[*Efjay*]

First 3 kids I have used a convertible seat. Had a normal pram that layed fully flat for NB bubs.

This time round I am opting for a capsule that goes up to 12kg. Isla is still only 10kg at almost 21 months. So I could still have her rear facing in her current seat but turned her about 6 months ago due to her being a right little rat to get into her seat & I honestly think I would have broken her pelvis trying to get her to sit so I could do her buckles up.
So I am confident I will get a lot of use from a capsule. My main reason for goin gthat option this time was I have a kia carnival with what will be 4 kids all in child restraints & it will make it easier to get to the older kids in the back row to do up & check their buckles if I can remove the rear facing seat easily rather then climbing over it.

I personally (only from what I see not experience yet) think that carring the capsule around will be awkward & heavy. I see mums with their bubs in capsules & they just look uncomfortable. So I wont be using mine to carry the bub around in unless I am going shopping or something & can put them in the trolley along with the shopping LOL.

I dont think the pram & capsule would really work for me as I need to be able to push a trolley with shopping etc at the same time. So I would just put the capsule in the trolley.