DH and I were going to hire a capsule for the first 6 months - $100 including delivery, fitting, and collection at the end.
But obviously at the end of the 6 months we'll need to have a baby seat of some sort. I thought by hiring a capsule, we would be saving money, but there appears to be some baby car seats which can be used from birth to 4 years.
So...does anyone have any ideas about what works out to be more economical? Hiring for the first 6 months, then buying, or buying from the start, or hiring all the way?
we bought a capsule and a carseat. the car seat we have is a birth to 4years one, but i liked the convenience of being able to take DD in and out of the car without disturbing her while she was little - esp given she was a winter baby. she used the capsule until she was 9kg (pretty much right on 9 months) and is now in the rearward facing position in the carseat until she hits the maximum weight for that (around 12kg).
if you're on a budget, the birth -4 carseats are the way to go for sure. they are safe (check out choice website for info on what are deemed the safest brands) and baby is just as comfy. i personally liked the convenience of the capsule as i was able to settle DD inside when we were out, rug her up with a blanket over her, and get her into the car undisturbed, take her into the house when we got home etc. it really is a personal choice. a LOT of people use just the car seat and it's fine to do!
I think why a lot of people opt for the capsule for the first 4-6 months is the ease of transporting baby in and out of the car....without waking. Ive had a capsule with all 4 of mine...its handy when going to friends homne and baby sleeps, handy when ducking into the shops and baby is asleep, handy when baby is asleep after you get home, and you dont have to wake, to get out of the car....
i just had the normal car seat but i think jamie is going to grow out of it by age 2 not 4 like it says but hes getting a maxirider when this baby comes along so i didnt buy 2 car seats then have to buy a booster especially coz he'll be almost 18 months old but yeah he was pretty good to transfer from car to bed even now that hes 10 months i suppose it would depend on the baby
I thought about a capsule but never got one. Just didn't feel the need and we've survived nicely without it. DS just got used to being transferred in and out of the car, no worries really. And we always tended to use a sling when going into shops etc. So its not a must. Really just personal choice.
We bought the birth-4yrs one straight up. The kids got used to being transferred and in the long run I think it helped them when they got older to be able to transfer successfully from car to bed.
My SIL bought one of those car seats that clicks into a pram. So it starts as a capsule, and you can put it into the pram, then turns around to a car seat when needed not sure what age is goes to and the pram is still useable after the capsule stage is finished.
Think it's a steelcraft brand??
I have another SIL who is a chiro and apparently you should't leave babies in capsules for extended periods of time as it's bad for their backs. This was not the whole reason we chose why we did, it did enter my mind though, in the end it came down to being able to use the car seat for the next kids that came along as well.
Have a good look around in the big baby stores like a Baby Bunting that have nearly every system you could think of and go with your instincts.
I know heaps of people who have hired the capsule and are very happy they did so.
With DD we brought a safe and sound convertible seat. With DS we hired out a capsual which came in handy (bout to give it back as we only got it for 3 months) but i wouldnt spend they money on buying one they arnt in it long enough.
We brought a maxi rider for DD to go into which will last her until she no longer needs to be in a seat. DS will then have the safe and sound car seat.
I wish I had hired a capsule. We got a safe n sound car seat that can be used both rear and forward facing. However the number of times I woke little one up when moving him from the car seat into the pram / sling drove me bonkers. Especially given how hard it was to get him to sleep in the first place!
Baby Capsules and Car Seats
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