# Best baby bucket?



## momma2libby (Apr 1, 2007)

I'm due in April and we will be using a baby bucket carseat for the first year. Which ones are the safest ones for a reasonable price up to $150? (eta I don't use the carrier as a babysitter, and we use slings while shopping...a bucket is just more reasonable for us for a number of reasons)


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## Shannie77 (Jan 16, 2007)

I am not sure which ones are the safest but if I had to do it again I would get one with the highest weight and length limit possible. DD is getting closer and closer to outgrowing hers (at 8 months), and it would be really nice if it could last until she is one. Occasionally she will fall asleep in it and not wake up once we get home. I can leave her in it and put away groceries, which has been handy.


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## Meems (Jan 8, 2007)

I don't know what is the current safest bucket out there but I can say that I only used mine ~4 months. I wish we'd gone straight to the convert.


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## AGlimmeringHope (Apr 11, 2007)

My vote is for either the Graco Safe Seat1 or the Chicco KeyFit 30. Both go to 30lbs. I have the Graco for our newest dd and love it. I don't use it for carrying through stores or anything like that, but we've taken her in and out of places with it a few times when it's really cold out. If I was having another summer baby like dd1, I would have went straight to a convertible seat, but I like carrying the bucket in and out of the house with this baby so I'm not buckling her into a cold carseat.


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## KarenEMT (Aug 10, 2002)

I used the Graco SafeSeat with EPS foam. I liked the higher height/weight limit, as my 2nd DS outgrew the tinier Snugride bucket in only 3-1/2 mos. I didn't use it much as a carrier, only if DD was sound asleep and I needed to move her, as taking her out into a sling would wake her up and she'd cry.


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## hippie chick (Mar 21, 2007)

i don't know the name of the seat, but if you look you will find it, it is a evenflo with the crocked handle, it makes a zig zag. there was a terrible accident close to my house and the babe survived a 100 foot fall, with thanks to a properly installed car seat and the bucket itself. i read an article not to long after the accident saying that that seat is the safest.


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## preemiemamarach (Sep 7, 2007)

I have the babytrend (elite, I believe) that was part of the travel system with a jogging stroller. I had two reasons for getting this one- first, we knew DS was going to be early and probably small, and the weight limit on it went down low enough (he came home at 5 lbs). Second, I'm very tall and needed a tall stroller, and all the graco and similar systems were too short for me (I tested them all) except the super-pricey ones.

When we're out (which, due to DS's prematurity, isn't much except doctor's appointments), this setup helps me keep him warm in the bucket (I have a bundle me on it now), and I can pull the cover of the stroller over the bucket to make a kind of infection-control bubble for when places get crowded. (he did very poorly being worn in public at first.)

Downside to this particular carrier is the weight only goes to 22 lbs. He's now almost 6 months uncorrected age, and 16 lbs- so we still have a ways to go.


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## newCTmama (Mar 1, 2007)

Another vote for the Graco Safeseat - the only negative that I've found is that it is a bit bulky/heavy, but if you only use it as a carrier once in a while, who cares?!


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## prancie (Apr 18, 2007)

i like my britax companion a lot


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Moving to family safety


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## CortLong (Jun 4, 2003)

I had a Graco Snugride with the first three that expired, so I purchased a new seat for the new to arrive baby. After MUCH research I ended up with the Chicco KeyFit 30. I obviously haven't used it yet, but I'm pretty pleased with the features,etc.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I like the britax companion. I think the rebound bar is an important safety feature personally. The companion and one combi seat are the only seats currently on the market with that feature.

And no way dd would have tolerated an infant seat until a year. We switched around 4 months.

-Angela


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

Don't plan your budget around getting a year out of your baby bucket. We swtiched my DS at 2 1/2 months, and he would have outgrown it althougether by 3 months. Now we are in a convertible.


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Twinklefae* 
Don't plan your budget around getting a year out of your baby bucket. We swtiched my DS at 2 1/2 months, and he would have outgrown it althougether by 3 months. Now we are in a convertible.

Unless her baby is huge (100% in size) she'll be able to use the Graco Safeseat for at least a year. Ilana is 14 mos and still in hers and Evan would've been able to use it till 24 mos, but he's not your normal sized child. lol

The Safeseat will last longer than any other infant seat on the market. We have the Gracopedic one and are thrilled to get another winter's use out of it. It's soooo cold here right now.







: Run away from the Evenflo seats! They're hard to use, hard to install, and all over pitb.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *preemiemamarach* 
I have a bundle me on it now...

The BundleMe and other aftermarket products are not safe to use in your car seat. Put a blanket over baby, but make sure nothing but a thin layer of clothing is between the carseat and the baby or the baby and the straps!

To the OP, I'd go for the Graco SafeSeat1 or the Chicco Keyfit 30. Of those two, I think only the SS1 is in your price range.


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## polyhymnia (Jan 6, 2007)

I don't know if it is still on sale but I found the Graco SafeSeat1 on AlbeeBaby on sale for $20-30 less than retail recently. I did a lot of research before choosing this seat for the family we bought Christmas gifts for at my company. It has the highest height/weight limits of any bucket except one which was more expensive. The Companion was just not in the price range for us and this was the next best thing.


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## wendy1221 (Feb 9, 2004)

I would have gotten the one of the buckets that go to 30lbs if I had known better when ds3 was born. I got him a Britax Companion, which I LOVED, but he outgrew it by 4 months by weight.

The main reason is b/c he has asthma and cold winter air really really made it hard for him to breath. I liked having him in a bucket b/c I could take him all covered w/ warm blanket and keep him covered up until all of the doors were closed. When he was moved to a convertible, I had to uncover him to strap him into the seat w/ the door still open and he was always wheezing. My older 2 didn't have asthma or any problems like this, so it was a shock for me, and I really appreciated the bucket carrier seat.


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## Erin+babyAndrew (Jan 2, 2004)

just a caution to avoid the peg perego bucket unless you know you're having a tiny baby. DS2 outgrew that $$$$ p.o.s at 7 weeks old. crazy.. ds1 outgrew it by 4 months old. the graco safeseat looks like a good choice, but if you are having a large baby (mine were 9.5 and 10 lbs) you could go straight to a convertible, which I should have done, but who knew my kids would be giants?


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Erin+babyAndrew* 
just a caution to avoid the peg perego bucket unless you know you're having a tiny baby.

I agree, but Peg Perego has a new seat that has a 30 lb/30 inch limit


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Erin+babyAndrew* 
just a caution to avoid the peg perego bucket unless you know you're having a tiny baby. DS2 outgrew that $$$$ p.o.s at 7 weeks old. crazy.. ds1 outgrew it by 4 months old. the graco safeseat looks like a good choice, but if you are having a large baby (mine were 9.5 and 10 lbs) you could go straight to a convertible, which I should have done, but who knew my kids would be giants?

The current peg seats (excluding the 30/30) is wider than the old ones. All current seats have to go 22# and 29". I've heard the older pegs are very narrow and baby's just didn't fit, it's not a problem w/ the current ones afaik. I tried Ilana in one at a week old and if fit really well.


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## bobica (May 31, 2004)

we used the graco and also switched her out at 4 months. she was never comfortable in a bucket







:


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## Erin+babyAndrew (Jan 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thepeach80* 
The current peg seats (excluding the 30/30) is wider than the old ones. All current seats have to go 22# and 29". I've heard the older pegs are very narrow and baby's just didn't fit, it's not a problem w/ the current ones afaik. I tried Ilana in one at a week old and if fit really well.

that's great they fixed it, it was a huge problem for us.


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## soygurl (Jan 28, 2006)

My favorite infant seat, by far, is the Chicco Keyfit 30! But the issue with a seat like that (and all other 30lb. weight limit infant seats) is that many babies are more comfortable in a convertable seat, and end up being switched way before they hit 30 lbs.

As for 22lb. weight limit seats, I've always been partial to the BabyTrend infant seat. It has a knob that adjusts the harness height (7 different settings), so you never have to re-thread the harness, and it's got a realy nice ergonomic handle.

Stay AWAY from Evenflo!!!


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