Recommend: Graco My Ride 65 Convertible Car Seat

List Price: $159.99

Several months ago we had to upgrade to a convertible car seat for our son, as he had outgrown the infant car seat we were using (see Baby Trend travel system review). I did some research and tried to find the best quality car seat that was in our budget. I was repeatedly led back to this car seat. We purchased one for my car, and several weeks later we went back and got a second one for my husbands vehicle. Overall we are very pleased.

Pros:
~comfortable
~easy to install
~feels very secure when installed
~i found that it is almost always on sale
~gender neutral color
~also available in pink
~comes with an extra pad for when use with an infant
~2 cup holders
~easy to tighten & loosen the straps
~reputable brand name
~easy to use harness system
~comes with a pillow attachment (which we never used)
~comes with shoulder strap pads (which we never used)
~great weight range (5-65lbs)
~"approved for airplane use" - not something that we looked for, but the description of the item mentioned it so i thought i should as well.


Cons:
~big (though not necessarily bigger than other convertible car seats)
~difficult to adjust (rise and lower) the shoulder straps

So far we are very happy with the car seat. Yes, I would recommend it

Do Not Recommend: Baby Einstein Take Along Caterpillar

Price: $16.99

When I first saw this item I fell in love with it! It looked so cute and interactive that I just had to have it! Unfortunately after a little time, my opinion changed.

Pros:

- Adorable design

- multiple interactive options - educational

- brand name product with a good reputation

Cons:

- there are two pieces that hang down for the baby to grab on to. Whenever you push the handle back to get the baby out of the car seat, the dangling parts smack him in the head

- music box feature no longer works properly. We have only used this a handful of times and it's already not working after 3 months

- velcro straps that hold it to the handle are not adjustable 

- most of the interactive features are too high for the baby to reach (could change as he gets older)

- Sometimes when carrying my infant seat I try to grab it by putting my arm through the handle and holding it close to my body (as opposed to just holding it with my hand away from my body). This item gets in the way. 

- even though Jude looks at and 'plays' with other toys, this hasn't really caught his eye (could change with age).

Would I Recommend: No. While it's fairly priced, I just don't think it's worth it. I've seen plenty of other car seat toys that seem to be just as adorable in the same price range that could be much more practical. 

Baby Trend Travel System vs. Graco Stroller and Car Seat

Baby Trend Travel System (Orange Oak):

Travel System Price: I believe the system was approximately $169.99

The travel system I own is no longer available on Babiesrus.com, therefore I can not provide an exact price. The reason I chose this travel system is because I liked the way it looked. We did not know if we were having a boy or girl, so we needed something gender neutral. I'm on a big orange kick right now, so majority of our large baby items have orange in it. In hindsight I wish I had played with the travel systems on display for a bit before choosing one to register for.

Pros:

-affordable

-nice colors (if you like orange)

-car seat attaches to, and removes from, stroller easily

-stroller has a nice window feature so you can peak in on the baby if he's sleeping

-stroller has a nice cup holder tray with storage compartment

Cons:

-car seat handle is very difficult to adjust

-stroller was oftentimes difficult to collapse

-strollers storage basket on the bottom is not very large and barely holds my diaper bag

-harness system on car seat is a pain to deal with

-car seat is very heavy and awkward (though, I'm assuming all car seats are heavy and awkward to handle)

-car seat does not come with a head positioner for newborns

Would I recommend: No. My husband actually had a woman come up to him in BRU saying she was about to register for this system, and she asked if he liked it. He immediately told her it was junk and he had her check our out. It didn't take long before she realized it was not the best system out there.

__________________________________________________
Graco Quattro Tour Stroller and SnugRide Car Seat:

Stroller Price: $149.99
Car Seat Price: $149.99

Total Set Price: $299.98

Note: I have the Quattro Tour Stroller and the Safe Seat, not the Snug ride in "french roast". The Safe Seat was recently replaced by the SnugRide. When comparing them in the store, I determined they're very comparable and it seems the biggest difference is that the SafeSeat holds babies up to 30 pounds and the SnugRide up to 35 pounds. In addition the "french roast" pattern was discontinued.

There is no particular reason why I chose to buy the two separately as opposed to in a set other than I liked the green and brown color better than any other Travel Systems I saw. It offered the same convenience as a Travel System though and really is no different.

Pros:

-The car seat goes up to 30 or 32 pounds - most other infant car seats only go up to 20-some pounds, so you'll get more time out of it.
- They both seem to be of great quality and very durable.

- Car seat adjusts easily

- When comparing how easy it is to move the carrying handle recently (compared to above brand), the Graco won hands down.

- Comes with a built-in head rest. This is nice because 'technically' you shouldn't be using a head rest/head positioner unless your car seat comes with one that is crash-tested.

- Window on the side to confirm that car seat is positioned correctly

- Easy to get car seat in and out of base

- Car Seat attaches easily to stroller and has locks to keep it in place

- Stroller is a great height for us - and seems like it wouldn't be too low for taller couples.

- Stroller moves easily - not difficult to steer.

- Convenient to leave baby in the car seat when sleeping or going in a restaurant.

Cons:

- Price! More expensive to buy the two pieces individually than in a set.

- Even though it holds babies up to 30 pounds, it's already getting heavy, so pretty impractical that we'll need it that long - it's not uncommon now for me to just carry him in a store, etc.

- Strollers storage basket on the bottom is not very large and barely holds my diaper bag

- Stroller seat needs to be straight up to get items into/out of the storage basket, but down to put the car seat in making it difficult to access quickly.

- While the harness system on the car seat is great, in general I'm not a huge fan of the harness system on the rest of my graco products. I still haven't totally figured out how to adjust the sizes and the way they fit together is almost annoying.

- Stroller is large and takes up a significant amount of space in your vehicle.

Would I recommend: I'm very torn about whether I'd recommend a Travel System to any one at all (no matter what the brand). Part of me loves it, part of me hates it - the car seat gets heavy quickly, the strollers are pretty bulky, but it's nice to be able to move baby easily while sleeping and I'm sure would be great to get him in his car seat inside during the winter instead of in the cold. If I had to recommend a Travel System though, I would say that the Graco brand is all around wonderful. To save some money though, try to find a pattern you like that comes in a set and be sure to check the weight capacity on the car seat to get more bang for your buck.