Which Capsule?

Just after some advice from those who have used capsules & then moved onto reversible seats.

DH & I have decided to use a capsule first (as we've been led to believe their the safest for newborns).
I used a capsule with Luke until he grew too heavy & then a seat - but that was also when reversible seats were very new, and under advice from NRMA etc their safety level was nowhere near as good as a capsule.

Obviously 12 years on , I would presume they've improved somewhat in safety standards ;) - we will still use the capsule first & then the reversible seat.

From what I can find on the net for Australian standards, I think the safe & sound Meridian is recommended as the safest reversible seat?
Does anyone have any clue on what is recommended for the capsule - or even what you decided on & why?

Despite the fact that MIL has not spoken to DH & I for 12 months now (whole other thread :rolleyes:)- FIL tells me she has bought us the reversible seat for bub (he thought he'd tell us before we go out & buy one).

A bit of a dilemma there, because if its not the one we had decided on (the meridian), DH will want to exchange it for the one we want & that will be a whole other drama right there :doh:
Apparently it cost roughly $600 (the same price as the meridian) so I'm hoping my chances are good its the one we were looking at & it can all go ahead smoothly :pray:

Anyway - got a little off topic there, sorry :redface: - what capsule do you have & what made you choose it?

Thanks in advance for your replies ;)

we have the capsule that goes with the strider dlx. it didn't have any reviews on choice when we chose to get it as it was pretty much brand new, but given it was a safe n sound brand, and the others from britax had a good reviews so i was confident in getting it. E is pretty much average in weight and stuff, and will "graduate" to her meridian next weekend (i think) based on her weight. the only thing i'm disappointed in is the weight range - it only goes to 9kg - one of the others (unity i think) goes to 12kg - but that is the same rearward range as the meridian so it's not like we get any longer rearward (does that make sense?)

i borrowed a capsule, it was the old style S&S one (but an updated one, blue/grey colour) loved it!!!
it gets heavy as they get older but well worth it.
as for the meridian i only paid around the $400 mark from memory :dunno: $600 for a seat sounds exxy

yeah i'll agree with Olive - i only paid around 350 for the Meridian (was on special)

Thanks girls ;)

DH & I looked at the meridian and it was just under $500 I think? That wasn't on sale or anything.... FIL said she bought it online so maybe she paid extra for that or has gotten something else to go with it :dunno:
Would be nice to know but FIL has no clue & as she won't speak to us yet I just can't be bothered attempting to call her.... I guess using the capsule first we have time after bub is born if we need to change it etc ;)
I was going to go with the S&S brand for the capsule so will have to start checking them out :)

we have the s&s unity capsule and im a bit in love with it :redface: found it so handy having a toddler as well and Milly stays asleep in it and looks so comfy and cosy.

I have the sns unity capsule and profile stroller as it clicks onto that. It has been great, my dd is still in it at 18.5months, though she not a big girls she is small for age, 76cm and 9.5 kilos. I am actually not looking forward to changing seats as it becomes squish when we put the next seat in. Plus if I put her carseat reward dh can't drive the car. The unity fits well in my car and i love that it can go on the stroller etc.

Holly, I'm lead to believe that the 'old-style' SNS capsules are rated 'safest'. That's what we used for DS (but a new and updated version ;)), and like Olive, we loved it! Will be doing the same this time around too. We moved on to a Meridian for DS, which he is still in, and have been very happy with that too :D. Before long though he will be in a Maxi-Rider.

we used the S&S old style capsule (newer model like Olive ;) ) I used it for DD & DS & found it so handy (but heavy) I also heard the older style S&S are meant to be the "safest" capsule on the market so that also had something to do with it. I was actually going to get the unity for DS as it looks so comfy but was advised to stick to DD's old one as its meant to be safest.

Our meridian cost around $500... maybe even $550? Obviously some places have them cheaper than others.

Dont forget about the maxi rider which is also S&S & it fits up to 7yrs which your little man will now need (as far as I know) until he's 7yrs old. It takes from 6 months so if you're looking at having bubba in the capsule for 6 or so months maybe think about the maxi rider? They have it with AHR now aswell, just like in the meridian, which is what I got DD so DS could use her old meridian when he outgrew her old capsule.

Just thought I'd mention the maxi rider so you can do some further research ;)

Hope it all works out with you MIL's purchase xx

We have the peg perego capsule but only because it is the one that fits on the skate pram.....in all honesty the safe n sound or peg are much of a muchness I think......the pg perego does have a very good levelling system for fitiing in the car however and the man who installed and fitted it for us last week did comment that the peg was his favourite in terms of safety fit and ease of use...so I dunno... we also have a meridian to swap to when he bigger, it will go in DH's car for now for the occasional time he might need to take the boy somewhere.....

We too used the peg perego capsule that goes with the skate pram. It says it can be used up to 9kgs but I found that DS was only around 8kg if that, and only 4 months old when the straps were just too tight to fit anymore :( Maybe he was just all chub though and no length! Was a shame because we really liked it and had hoped to get more use out of it. It's lovely and padded, clicks onto the pram easily and has a sun protector hood thingy. The handle clicks into 3 positions - one to carry, one for the car and one to steady it on the floor. One con though is that it is a bit heavy, but really that is pretty irrelevant if you are just taking it from car to pram or car to house...

We have the S&S Unity capsule and DD2 is still in it quite happily. I love it as it takes them for longer (12kg) and also can be clicked in and out of the car with bubs in it, which is sooo handy when they fall asleep. DD2 often falls asleep 5mins from home and I just carry her inside in the capsule. I think they are around $300 to buy new but can be resold for over $200 if they are in good condition. The base is also curved so if they are in it out of the car you can actually rock the capsule.

I think the S&S old style ones are ratest the safest but they don't go to the same weight and they don't click in and out easily. You can hire these from most councils as well so you don't need to buy them. Ours charges about $60 for 6 months. We figured it was cheaper to get the Unity and sell it as we were always planning to keep DD2 rear facing for 12 months and then move her to the maxi rider like we did with DD1.

I've hired the safe and sound Unity capsule, cost me $120 for 3 months. I bought the stroller that it clips into from e-bay for $75 (looks like new!) so here's hoping it all works the way I want it to! With having to do kindy runs 3 times a week for ds I wanted a capsule so the little one could keep snoozing, ds was a SHOCKING sleeper and I wish I'd known about capsules back then!!!

Good luck with your decision!

I only got the Safe N Sound Meridian but will be the only one home with me so I figure that was all we needed. I got it for $450 from Baby zone Direct.

I have the safe and sound capsule as well as the Peg Perego one. I love them both. And we have the maxi rider Seat for when baby is bigger.

Another big fan of the S&S unity here!

I have the Pegperego. Have yet to use it but it seems compact and big at the same time. Once you take the newborn inserts out, Munchkin (2yrs) was only a fraction to big for it.
Having said that, I've never really dealt with another capsule before.
But we got it 'cause DH's car is teeny. The difference in space was pretty noticeable.
We decided on it because it fit into our P&T.

Thanks girls for all of your expert help & info! :hug:

We've decided to go with the S&S Unity - mainly because of the weight limit to 12kgs & we'd like to keep bub in it for as long as possible.

We had one of the older style capsules for Luke - and while it was great, it was always awkward for me to carry being a little bulky & me being so short, my poor short arms couldn't carry it too comfortably :rofl:
It just used to bang into the side of my legs all of the time :lol:

In other news with the seat (That MIL bought) - I have no idea where FIL got his onfo from in regards to how much she spent & the fact that she bought it online... DH ended up calling her & asking & she was at work at the time & couldn't remember the brand... but it was one she got on sale at Target... so definately not the Meridian.

Have no clue what to do now - DH & I had our minds made up on the meridian (and then later to get a maxi rider as we're praying we're lucky enough to have another IVF bub after this one).
She was going to call us back that night when she got home from work to tell us which one it was, but that was Monday & we still haven't heard from her :(

I don't want to come across petty & ungrateful (especially after the year we've had with her, it would be nice to be the bigger person & accept it & move on) - but I just want the seat I want ... and we never expected anyone to buy us anything.
So not sure what we'll do there - maybe use the one she gives us as a second one in DH's car... it will depend on its safety etc.
What a mess.... and I just feel guilty about it :doh:

Anyway, that became a big vent & totally off topic, so sorry!!! :redface:

Hi Holly,

If your MIL got the car seat in the Target baby sale that was on recently it is probably the Safe-n-Sound Guardian (Pepper Grey) convertible car seat.


Probably worth a google so you can get an idea of what it looks like !? ;)

Best of luck !
xoxo

If she got it from Target you shouldn't have any issues returning it. I have returned a couple of things to Target even without the receipt recently and so long as it is something that they stock they are happy to do it (although seem happier when there isn't a long line at the Service Counter IYKWIM)

Then you can have the one you want and have some spending money at Target. I am guessing that the liklihood of her seeing it in your car is slim - maybe if you got the meridian in a similar colour she would never even notice if she did ever see it.

Or just tell her straight that it isn't the one that you wanted - and you have done all the safety research etc - and you are happy to make up the $ difference.