car seat help!

andreae0226

My LO hates his infant car seat (Chicco Key Fit Bravo) and has from the start. He wails, screams, cries every car ride. I heard that some babies do better with a convertible car seat because they aren't at such a steep incline. He is a little colicky at times. Any suggestions on a budget friendly brand of convertible seat that is working for you?

mill1020

I don't know if this helps (and I'm not sure about a good convertible seat; all of ours have been a little bit ghetto due to being affordable) but with our oldest we would distract him with a toy he hadn't seen in awhile.  Then he'd let us buckle him in and wouldn't start screaming for at least a few minutes.  Some kids just hate the car seat and being constrained/restrained and fight it, which sucks.  Right now our two-year-old wants to buckle himself (I'm secretly annoyed by this because it takes forever, but hey, whatever gets him in there).

jht4

https://csftl.org/recommended-seats/#convertible

Check out "car seats for the littles" Facebook page. You can post your budget, height and weight of LO, car, and anyone else riding in the back and they will give you suggestions for the best seats for your situation.

laur3877

This mirror with lights has been a life savor for me! It plays music and has a little light show my little one LOVES. Maybe it could help you too? Good luck!

https://jet.com/product/detail/c8164614619b47689af5a9ff7806c06c?jcmp=pla:ggl:badnj_baby_toddler_a3:badnj_baby_toddler_a3:na:na:na:na:na:2&code=PLA15&k_clickid=1d26c889-f405-487e-a3a4-4e6e54de4e51&abkId=403-887537&gclid=CLy-wbL5rMoCFdgMgQodbsIEvQ

ForeverEverAfter

For a convertible, I look for the highest RFing limits, that will fit in the vehicle and budget. Many budget seats perform equally in tests to seats costing 4x as much. Evenflo Titan is inexpensive, but will RF til 40"/40lbs. My 3yo is just hitting 40" now, and is only 30lbs we have an Evenflo sureride (same seat, different colour) that DD1 used until baby came, now it's baby's second seat.

ahoneycutt12

We got the bohemian blue Maxi Cosi (Christmas present for me and LO from my mother). My LO loves it. We got it on sale and had a discount on top of that. They are a little pricey but she rubs the headrest as she falls asleep and loves it and she will be able to use it until 65 pounds. The only thing I would advise with the cheaper ones is check expiration dates. Some of the less expensive ones expire in less years than others. Also all carseat have to meet the same safety standards so know your LO will be safe no matter what you go with :-)

ReneeJ2011

We just switched to a convertible because LO was getting too heavy to carry in the infant Carrier. We got a safety 1st grow and go $169 that can be rear facing, forward facing, and a belt positioning booster, and an evenflo symphony $229 which also goes through a belt positioning booster. I love them both. Each has things I like and 1 or 2 things I would change but for the prices I really can't complain.

tpete12

I just purchased the Britax Boulevard Click Tight and my daughter LOVES it. I would not call it budget friendly - it is more of a break the bank kinda seat. My husband and I ended up choosing this one because of all the safety features and how easy it is to install/uninstall. We decided to spend more money on one seat that is easy to hook up, rather than getting 2 seperate seats (one in my vehicle and one in my hubby's).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9usgfdisZLE

Here is a youtube video on installing it

kmcshane0211

Girrrrl, I get it. I can't offer car seat help but can offer a tip that works for us. When she's really screaming, like inconsolable screaming, I turn on YouTube on my phone and search "infant sensory video" and give her a paci. It calms her instantly and she usually then passes out due to being exhausted.

I'm not an advocate of screen time before two (who knows that could change but I do thin this age is way too young) BUT I do think all that stress of prolonged hard crying isn't good either. So, screen time it is in those cases.

mpache06

I had the baby jogger car seat and I hated it just as much as my baby. It was like she was sitting down in a hole with no room to move. So I went and bought aton cybex car seat and it is amazing. So much difference. She is also colicky but does pretty well in the new car seat.

ElleMF728

I think the incline has to be the same in both since the convertible still can't sit up right yet.  I do think some babies do better because it may not be as enclosed so they don't seem to overheat as much in them.  We have a safety first but my main point of this is to encourage you to research not just the seat but the seat in your particular car as well. We weren't able to fit our convertible rear facing, inclined in our Jeep until DS could sit upright. 

ellenlroberts

We have the graco 4ever and my daughter absolutely loves it. It's not exactly super budget friendly (about $299 plus tax) but it's totally worth it.

tpete12

ElleMF728 said:

I think the incline has to be the same in both since the convertible still can't sit up right yet.  I do think some babies do better because it may not be as enclosed so they don't seem to overheat as much in them.  We have a safety first but my main point of this is to encourage you to research not just the seat but the seat in your particular car as well. We weren't able to fit our convertible rear facing, inclined in our Jeep until DS could sit upright. 

I have this same issue with our convertible seat in my GMC Acadia, but it fits perfectly in my husband's truck.