whether or not you choose to use a capsule is entirely a personal decision - and its' only if you decide to get a full travel system that it dictates your pram choice
we used the steelcraft strider dlx travel system - so we had pram and capsule that fit together - could take capsule from car, sit it on the base, and keep going. personally, i loved it! everywhere we go from here is at least a 20 min drive, so more often than not, DD was asleep by the time we got anywhere (or got home) so i simply took her out of the car and either took the capsule inside or put it straight on the pram. she was a winter baby so we could strap her into her capsule inside and she wasn't exposed to the cold as much going from house to car, car to shop, shop to car etc.
you can still choose to use a capsule without using a whole travel system though! a lot of people hire a capsule from the local council and will transfer baby in capsule to the house etc, but when out shopping, they put them in their pram (i'll admit, when we were out for a big shop or long time, i didn't leave DD in her capsule, i put her in the basinette on the pram as it was a flatter surface for her to snooze on). if you choose to do this, your pram choice is not dictated in any way by your decision to use a capsule
if you choose to use a reversible carseat, all of the above is irrelevant and your pram choice is yours
only you will know what is going to be most viable for you. we kept DD in her capsule until she was about 8 months, and then put her carseat in (rear facing) until she was 13 months or so. we could have gotten away with just using her carseat the whole time, but the convenience of the capsule worked for us kwim?
We bought a capsule because it was the only thing that fits in our car, same way we have a bassinet because that's the only baby bed that fits in our house. We don't have a pram for the new baby - again, nowhere to put it in the house.
It wasn't much of a tossup between house and car for us. We're getting a new house. Baby stuff is just too damn BIG.
We purchased a Safe N Sound Meridian..started rward and then goes fwd. It goes up to 22kg I think??? This was for DS1 and is now being used for DD and she is still rwd facing in it. We certainly have our money worth out if it. The travel system is a great idea..my SIL had one.
I found we had no trouble transferring with the safe n sound one, all kids were used it so they transferred well.
I can also depend on how close you intend on having the kids if you want more..as if you want them close together. Our Safe n Sound has worked for us as by the time the next baby came along the previous one was ready for a bigger seat.
I hired a capsule from Kidsafe for 6 months - $65. I'm so glad we did that because she grew out of it after 3 months and it would have been an expense (if we'd bought one) that was unnecessary.
We now have a Safe and Sound Sleep N Recline and it's fab!
I wouldn't even bother hiring a capsule again though. I find that the car seat we have would have done bubby even when she was tiny.
I don't think whoever you spoke to knows what they are taking about you can only use a capsule up to about 6 months and then you would need a car seat anyway. You can hire a capsule for the 1st 6 months if you want to be able to take the baby out of the car and keep them in the capsule without actually picking up the baby, some find this useful if there bubs wakes up easily when picked up. We decided to get a car seat that bubs can use till they are about 22kg (I think) and if bubs is asleep in the car seat we bought a cocoon to put them in and carry them inside in that to continue sleeping, the cocoon also fits into our P&T dash pram so they can still be lying down sleeping... of course with our system we are counting on bubs not waking up when we move them from the car seat to the coocoon. I'd ask some more questions in a different store.
I've got a Viaggio capsule and my little one still easily fits in them. The SNS Unity is a cheaper/similar concept. They're designed for 9-12kgs depending on the model I think. The SNS has been rebadged for the HiPod capsule and the Fisher Price capsule. And both capsules fit into a number of prams.
My Viaggio fits into my P&T Sport with an adapter.
I find it convenient when I'm not using my Ergo. It just makes it easy to snap and go and she faces us.
We are going with the capsule system, but mostly because I like the thought of being able to move my baby about without waking it. One thing that is not emphasised at all over here when looking at capsules is that they are not suitable for long periods of time because they squish the babies body up too much. When they are still young their bones and internal organs are very maleable and the curved shape of the capsule is not good for their spines and organs. So if you were planning a day out, you would need to take the capsule in the car, and also take the basinette for them to lie flat in. One friend of ours got one and loves it, another didn't bother because they said they weren't planning on leaving the house for 6 months, and really didn't, so it's really just a matter of choice and finances.
As others have said, it's totally personal choice. Capsules and car seats are both safe for your baby so personal preference is all it comes down to.
No doubt the stroller salesperson said what they said because there are some really neat travel systems out there if you want to go for the capsule option. I really wish I had've considered this before my first, but we were given a car seat as a gift so it didn't really occur to me to investigate (plus the travel systems are much more prevalent now than 4 years ago!)
We coped fine with just a reversable car seat, but I must admit I had capsule envy when my friends at playgroup brought their 2nd kids in a capsule, placed them in a quiet corner to continue sleeping and went about playing with their older kids.
There are plenty of capsules now that can safely take a baby up to 8-12kg, so I think it is possible to get your money's worth - especially if you then have more than one kid.
Having said all that, if you see a stroller you really like or just simply can't afford a travel system (the good ones are really quite exey) then get the stroller you like and think about car seats later.
We got the S&S Unity capsule for DS for the reasons others have talked about. I found it great, but did wish that I had of spent a bit extra and bought one the one that fitted on my bugaboo. When DS was 6 months PIL wanted to buy us a car seat so we got the S&S Meridian. TBH DS could've stayed in the caspule longer (he's 13 months and not yet 12kgs, but would be a bit of squish anyway). We sold our capsule on ebay, because next time round I want one that fits the pram, we got $210 for it and I think we only paid about $260 or something, so for us it worked out cheaper than renting it.
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you can only use a capsule up to about 6 months and then you would need a car seat anyway. You can hire a capsule for the 1st 6 months if you want to be able to take the baby out of the car and keep them in the capsule without actually picking up the baby, some find this useful if there bubs wakes up easily when picked up. We decided to get a car seat that bubs can use till they are about 22kg (I think) and if bubs is asleep in the car seat we bought a cocoon to put them in and carry them inside in that to continue sleeping, the cocoon also fits into our P&T dash pram so they can still be lying down sleeping... of course with our system we are counting on bubs not waking up when we move them from the car seat to the coocoon. I'd ask some more questions in a different store.
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