Confused!!

[Rianna]

Help! I'm confused about capsules/car seats etc.
Do most people use a capsule for the first six months or get a convertible car seat? What are the pros/cons of either option.
Also, did you buy or hire the capsule and what was the quality/cleanliness of the hired ones like? Where do you buy capsules from, I haven't seen them around.
I know that's a lot of questions but I'm totally baffled by all the options!

[michelle21]

:wave: Rianna,
I think its basiclly just a personal choice. We brought a convertable car seat early on in my pregnancy and when it came time to install it in my car we realised it didnt fit in the backwards newborn position!! (Didnt even think to check that! :banghead: )
We then hired a baby capsule as they are nice and small. We hired it from QLD Ambulance, was about $50-$60 for 6mths installed and cleaned. Our capsule was immaculate, like new. Great quality and perfectly clean.

I have seen some baby capsules for sale at Babies Galore, not sure of the price though, but I would recomend hiring one as bubs grow so quick and will only fit in it for about 5mths!

I like the convertable car seats if you dont have a small car like me because you only have to buy one thing (not a capsule then a bigger seat) and you can use it untill they are 3 or 4 yrs.
The capsule has been so handy though. One little button and the capsule releases from the base! Great for when you are stopping at the shop quickly so you dont have to get out the pram etc just carry the capsule. Also for when they are sleeping you can take bub inside still asleep.
Hope that helps a bit :)

[clarebear1983]

Help! I'm confused about capsules/car seats etc.
Do most people use a capsule for the first six months or get a convertible car seat? What are the pros/cons of either option.
Also, did you buy or hire the capsule and what was the quality/cleanliness of the hired ones like? Where do you buy capsules from, I haven't seen them around.
I know that's a lot of questions but I'm totally baffled by all the options!

I felt this way when i was having a baby for the first time.

I had both a capsule (given to me by a friend) and a convertable car seat.......I was going to hire a capsule but had probs because they wanted to put them in really early and i wasnt comfy with that in case something went wrong.....only used the caspule for a few weeks but got sick of it then went to a car seat.

Capsule Pros:
If you get a small enough one you can remove it while bub is asleep and not wake them.
Some of them (depending on what you spend) can go straight into a pram-not sure if this is the go for hired ones i think they are just the straight capsules. (Some people can get theirs into trolleys)

Capsule Cons:
Pretty costly when new (and sometimes when hired) sometimes more or just a bit less than a car seat.
Only lasts till 6 months or 9kg depending on what comes first (So if you have a big baby..........well it wont last long)
Can be annoying to get out of the car
Get really heavy when the baby gets bigger than a few weeks old
Can cause back problems

Car Seat Pros:
Last till 4 years old so essentially more cost effective.

Car Seat Cons:
You wake the baby up if its asleep when trying to get it out.

With both of them its annoying getting the baby over the straps into the seat while rear facing them!

[moomoosmummy]

personally capsules are way to expensive just to last a couple of months i was lucky i didnt buy one because she would have been out of it in three months i got the convertable they mostly are now and that was great and they last way longer.... good luck:cool:

[Grizabella]

We hired a capsule from KidSafe because we were waiting for the baby bonus to buy our carseat. It was good, but as the other girls said if you have a big baby (DS was 9kg at 4.5 months!) then it is a waste of $$ to buy one. KidSafe were good because they refunded the money for the time you didn't use.

But for #2 when we have one, we aren't going to bother, we will just use a convertable carseat.

[aprilbaby]

I agree with what the others have said, but I have read that capsules are more safe in an accident which would be why lots of people buy them for the first few months.

I was lucky and was able to borrow one, but DS is now 4 months and we've just bought a convertible. I found I never took it out of the car as DS was too heavy and he would always wake up when I tried to carry him inside anyway:banghead: so it kind of defeated the purpose of having one. If you can afford to hire one for 3 months that could be a good option though.

I also have small car and the only convertible that fits is the Safe and Sound Compaq, which is designed for small cars. The only annoying thing was that it was $70 more for that model, so you have to pay more to get less?!

If you go onto www.choice.com.au they have tested all the car seats and give them a rating. I think it costs about $15 to join so you can see the results but its worth it as it gives you membership for a year and they test alot of products, especially child related.

Hope this helps!

ps. you can buy capsules at BabyCo, I think they're about $150.

[amandaw]

I haven't had the personal experience yet (only one week to go!!) but we've hired one through QLD ambulance. They put it in a week ago, and cost $56 for 6 months. The installer was really good, going through every detail and getting us to 'practice' so he knew we had to gist. We had the choice of 'prints (ie teddy bears, giraffes and checks) and all looked like new.....I definitely wouldn't buy one, and with new laws coming in saying that kids up to 28kg must be in a carseat (about 7...sounds a bit extreme to me) we plan on buying an 8-28kg one in a couple of months

[draught]

I have used a capsule each time (hired each time from kidsafe in whichever state we have been in) and have been very happy with the cleanliness and safety of the capsules, and will be doing the same again this time. The thing I like about a capsule is that carrying the baby into the house is easy while they are small - you just unclip the capsule and away you go - and if it is sunny or raining you can easily cover them. Our house has a flight of stairs to the front door and being able to have the capsule in one hand and a toddler or shopping or umbrella in the other is much easier than an armful of newborn and the same. It means that when you get home with shopping etc you don't need to find a safe spot to put the baby while you unload the car, or re-settle them to sleep - they can stay in the capsule while you get all of that done.

We also have a car seat that can be reversed so when they are getting too heavy for the capsule they go into that before they are big enough to turn it around.

[Milliner]

We hired a capsule for DS and used it for about 3 months, in Melb you can speak to the council and they gave us a number to call. The good thing about them is you just take the capsule out of the holder and don't need to wake bubs!

[~Kimba~]

We bought a convertible carseat, but I've also decided to hire a capsule for the first few months, because it looks so much easier to handle a newborn in a capsule. I especially like that you can take the bub out of the car without disturbing them, and can just take the capsule with you and even stick it in a shopping trolley (I'm also hoping that the capsule we hire will fit into the bassinette on our new stroller, because that would be a godsend!).

[mamabear]

Same , same. We had the capsule for a few months and then the reversible car seat.
Definitely hire one rather than buying, unless you have a network of friends having babies and you can all share the cost.
:p

[Rhys'Mum]

I absolutely love my Turn-a-tot convertable car set. Seriously consider it.

It can be used from birth as a reversible car seat and because it turns to face you there is no leaning over and swinging a baby or a capsule. AND you can get them out of the car with very little fuss, particularly good if you want to keep them asleep. Fits well into small cars, has a couple of different recline settings for once they are forward facing and because of the turn facility you can keep them rear facing for longer (much safer than forward facing) because you are not breaking your back trying to get them in and out.

I spoke to kid-safe about them when it was being fitted, they had no concerns about safety but the fitter felt that really the turning function was a bit of a gimmick. After 14 months I seriously disagree. I am the envy of many of my friends and know at least half a dozen other mums who swear by them.

The major draw card of capsules is that you can take the baby out of the car and leave them in the capsule eg to sleep or while you are in the shop or at a friend's etc. But my understanding is that this can cause problems with a baby's spine. Apparently, according to kidsafe, the advice now is that you should avoid leaving baby in a capsule (or similar reclining position where their back is bent) for extended periods.

[LucyE]

The major draw card of capsules is that you can take the baby out of the car and leave them in the capsule eg to sleep or while you are in the shop or at a friend's etc.
Nope. For us the major draw card of the Safe'n'Sound orginal capsule is that it is the SAFEST way to transport a young baby in a car. There have been many threads on BubHub about this before with links to various crash test data including the latest (2006) RACV test.


But my understanding is that this can cause problems with a baby's spine.
The recommendation is to not leave a bub in the capsule for more than 2-3 hours at a time. To be honest, I don't know many babies who would sleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time during the day and if you are driving, well, the current recommendations is for adults to have a break every 2 hours as well. This is a minor issue to overcome/bear in mind when you consider the safety benefit of the capsule.