second car seat

Hi girls,

We have recently bought our SnS Meridian car seat for first bub due in December but have just realized we will need two car seats! when I return to work I will drop bub at day care in the morning and then hubby will pick him up when he finishes work at like 2pm. For everyday trips and holidays we will use the car with the Sns Convertible Meridian car seat, but i just cant come to grips with paying another $400+ for a second car seat that will only be used for about a five minute drive 3 days a week..

what have other couples done in the past in the same situation? have you bought a cheaper (yet still meeting standards obivoulsy) car seat for the other car?

thanks

Yup, we bought a cheap Fisher Price car seat as our second seat. We got it on sale for $150 at a baby shop. Our other seat is the SnS Meridian AHR. Having a seat in each car sure has made life so much easier for us. :)

we did the same - we have a SnS in my car (i think the premier? can't remember - it's been all of an hour since i got DS out of it :lol:) & after a few months we got a cheaper seat to go in DP's car. still a good seat but not quite the same amount as the first car seat. it really has made our life easier - esp as my car is a manual & DP only drives an auto. i got really sick of driving everywhere!!

Do you have any friends or relatives who may be upgrading car seats (due to bub getting older) at that time?

Have a look in HERE for some feedback on different seats
All the seats on the market should meet minimum standards, though some will exceed them by greater margins. It's more about the frills I think.

unfortunately not :-( most of my friends that have had babies recently have all bought the convertible car seats so they will be using them for quite awhile! One friend had a capsule she wont need by may next year but i dont think ill need a capsule by then anyways either! lol

thanks madb

How old will bub be when you go back to work? We just bought a Babylove for my mum, who watches DS one day a week, but it's only suitable from 12 months. It has the exact same safety ratings as the Meridian, but was a couple hundred $ cheaper. I'd be leaving it to as close to the time when you need it as possible. That way you can look out for specials or seats that suit older babies (the Babylove goes from 12mth-7yo!)

bub will be about 5-6mnths depending when he decides to arrive :-)

Some daycare centres have a storage area where you can leave the seat for your OH to collect at pick up time. My ex and I did this with DD's seat, and once you got the hang of taking it in and out it's actually quite easy - would only take a minute extra. Could be worth asking once you've got bub booked in if this is a possibility.

you could also try ebay for a second hand one.

We knew we were planning on having a 2nd child relatively soon after DS and knew we would need a 2nd seat for that baby and so just bought 2 at the same time and had one in each car until DD arrived and then both went in the same car.

Depends on how tight the finances are as to whether you can stretch that far and if you are planning on more kids.

Target has car seats on sale at atm. We got one $350 down to $250. There was a mothers choice 0 to 4 yrs $150 down from $250.

We spent less money on the seats in the 2nd car, than in my car.

If we are going on a long journey in DH's car (it can tow a caravann, mine can't), then I swap the seats over.