Chicco Keyfit 30 vs Graco Snugride 30 (or 35)

blueshamrock7

We had our minds made up that we wanted the Chicco Keyfit 30 or the Graco Snugride 30. I do like that there is a Snugride 35, but disregarding that... we went to BRU today to try them out. The only "bad" thing we found about the Chicco is that there are not a lot of "pattern" options, but it is the #1 rated car seat so no big.

We were pushing a Chicco around in the store to get a feel for it when a mother with a young daughter and an infant in a carrier/stroller said, "Do you want to know the only bad thing I found with that car seat?" So of course we said, sure, please, tell us. She said that it didn't fit in the front of the cart of the grocery store. She said that she originally had it and she called Chicco about it and they said they did it that way on purpose because it was a safety hazard. She said that she got a Graco, instead, and that fits. She said she needs to fit it in the front of the cart at the grocery store. To be honest, we tried out both car seats, then, in the BRU cart and they both seemed to fit (but not really) in the front of the cart. I wouldn't be comfortable putting the seat in it anyway - not sure about the grocery store.

So that got us thinking of our options in the grocery store. We always go grocery shopping together and when the baby comes, that would either continue OR I think one of us would stay home with the baby. There will obviously be times when we will go shopping elsewhere together and the baby before the baby can sit in the shopping cart. We can then use the stroller if we had to with the carrier. Worse case, we can put the car seat in the back of a cart where it would be more secure.

When we got home, I googled this issue and the first thing that came up was an About.com review of the Chicco Keyfit 30, which said:

"Some parents complain that the Chicco KeyFit 30 is an odd size that doesn't fit in shopping carts. Whether to file this under "inconvenience" or "safety feature" is the conundrum here. It's actually considered a safety hazard to put baby's infant car seat on top of a shopping cart. While I, as a former car-seat-in-the-shopping-cart parent, can appreciate the grumblings over the KeyFit 30 not working in this manner, it might be that Chicco was doing us a favor there by not allowing their car seats to make shopping carts top-heavy and dangerous." (http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/fr/chicco_keyfit_30_car_seat.htm)

So I guess I'm curious of your thoughts. Any 2nd+ time moms have the Chicco Keyfit and love it, hate it, etc? Are you against putting the carseat in the front of the shopping cart, etc. Any insight? FTMs, what are you thinking? We are probably still going to go with the Chicco. My mind is not 100% made-up, though.