Snugride 22, Snugride 32 or 35? - State College,PA

With my daughter, we bought a travel system that included the 35, and when my son came, we bought him the 32 by itself. The 32 is just a tad bit smaller and lighter, other than that though, there is really no difference. The buckles are the same, straps are the same. I think the base may be a bit different, but I think that is just in the design, not function aspect.

We went with the 32, because I know several people whose babies were more than 22 lbs before their 1st birthday (the rule is that baby must be 20 lbs AND 1 year to turn around). They then had to by a second rear-facing/convertible carseat to get them through until the 1st birthday and a little beyond, and then later, a forward facing booster.

Because our snap-in lasted us until our son was 1 due to the higher weight limit, we could then go straight to a forward facing carseat that turns into a booster and will last him until he's 70 lbs and doesn't need one anymore.

So the higher weight limit at the start meant buying only 2 carseats instead of 3.

I opt for the smaller infant seats since I prefer the lighter weight, have smaller babies, and move them to a convertible around 6 months of age. When they're little it's great to have the portability option, but once you're lugging around a 10lb car seat and a 20 lb baby, portability is pretty much out the window and the infant seat will wind up staying in the base anyway.

My hubby and I bought the Graco Infant Safeseat for babies up to 32 pounds. First off, the carseat weight 9 lbs, and my son was over 9 lbs at birth. So right off the bat, I was toting around almost 20 lbs. He quickly gained weight, and now at 14 months, he weighs 28 lbs. Needless to say, when he was about 5 months old, we started leaving the seat in the base in the car, and just took him out and carried him, which presented a problem because he could not yet sit unsupported in grocery carts. In my opinion, I think the concept was great, but in my experience, it just turned out to be a real pain in the butt. The other thing to consider is the fact that the seat tends to be a bit longer, so putting it directly behind the driver's side causes the driver to have to pull their seat way up, which is ok if you don't mind your knees being right on the dashboard:) Overall, I think that it is more trouble than it's worth.

K.

I don't know about the designs of them, but isn't it that the 22 only holds up to 22lb infants, and so on? In that case I might get the 32 or 35 so they can stay in the seat for longer, until you need a convertible carseat.

I think the weight of the baby doesn't matter as much, because by the time you are hauling a 32 pound baby around, you won't have him in an infant seat anymore! BUT, my son was in the 95 percentile for height and he outgrew his infant seat in lengthy way before he did for weight. So, take a look at yourself and your husband, and make a guess about how long your baby is going to be. If you are both of average height, I'd go for the 22.

In my opinion the bigger the baby can fit in the infant seat the better! I always desperately missed the infant seat when they grew out of it, especially because of when they fall asleep in the car. I had an older model Graco seat with my oldest, and purchased the Graco safe seat 30 with my last baby 2.5 years aga (that was the biggest them came them), but should I have another I would definitely go for the 35! I don't have a problem lugging the seat and enjoy the convienience. The only problem I had with the 30 was fitting it on top of shopping carts (which technically you aren't supposed to be anyway) but I sloved that by strattling the back of the cart instead and it was fine. Same with the resturant holders that use the flipped over wooden high chair... just put it in at the opposite angle and it was fine. Both seat adjusted easily.