Product Spotlight: Car Seats

sammierose464

Since car seats were discussed yesterday in the First Time Moms post, why don't we share recommendations.

Laumb11

I have the Graco nextfit zip with my DS now. I got it when he was 2? I love it and have no issues with it. We have the Britax when he was a baby. I have no idea what I am getting this time around. I want the Cybex stroller so maybe a Cybex. 

nasalot188

We have the Chicco Keyfit infant carseat and LOVE it. Once DS graduated out of infant we got the Safety 1st 3-in1.

kiwi2628

I am looking at getting the Uppababy Vista stroller and therefore the Uppababy Messa carseat that goes with that. 

knottieamusements

Do you guys suggest going with a specific infant seat and then graduating to something else when they outgrow it?  Has anyone had been experience wit convertibles that start as infant seats?

nasalot188

@knottieamusements I personally recommend starting with the infant seat. It is so much easier to transport baby when sleeping etc. Otherwise you have to unbuckle and disrupt every time you get in and out of car. Also, most infant seats click right into your stroller, so convenient. It was a sad day when DS outgrew his 

purplegoldfish2

This website might help anybody looking for seats (for the first time or not). https://csftl.org/recommended-seats/

They review pretty much all the seats available in US and Canada and tell you their opinions - from things to watch out for to issues with the seats to getting a seat that fits in your vehicle.  Many of the reviews also have seat dimensions so if you’re trying to fit in a small space front to back or trying to get 3 across, it may help (although google may be better for finding that info.) I personally googled shortest front to back seats when we were trying to fit them in my Yaris.  Now I’m cross checking those seats with narrow, because again, it’s a Yaris and then reading the reviews on here.

With our twins, we got Chicco Nextfits because they were one of the shortest at the time, but they are too wide for 3 across in my car, so I need to find something else now for them and for the new baby.

The link goes to their recommended seats (US) list. They also have a Canadian list. Just because a seat isn’t on their recommended list, doesn’t mean it isn’t a good seat.  Check their reviews and see what they didn’t like about it. They recommend seats to fit a large range of kids, so if kids on the bigger or smaller side of the growth chart didn’t fit well, that seat won’t make the list, even though it works great for other kids.

hellopartyof5

I have a couple graco 4evers that I don't love. I also have a britax boulevard that is so easy to use! It really depends on when you plan on forward facing, and your individual car, though. When you're trying convertibles in your car (buy buy baby will let you try them!) make sure you try them rearfacing AND forward facing. Because rearfacing the 4ever was great, forward facing is a PITA! 

eireyes

We have a Britax infant seat that we've used through the first two kids, and kid 3.0 will use as well. We got that since it fit with the stroller system we wanted. Now we have two Britax Boulevard Clicktights and I really love them. They're easy to pull out of the car and reinstall when needed, and I don't have to worry about LATCH weight limits since I just use the seat belt installation. 

One thing to keep in mind is all the seats that are out there offer the same general level of protection when installed and used properly. The expensive seat that costs 10x more than the cheap seat isn't going to be 10x safer than the cheap seat. More often than not, you're paying for extra bells and whistles that your kid probably isn't going to even care about for a long time. I'm not saying those bells and whistles aren't nice or worth it sometimes, but it's just something to remember.

I also 100% recommend trying the car seats you think you want in whatever cars you're going to use them in (forward and rear-facing).

chopchop25

Glad to hear your thoughts on the @hellopartyof5 since I was just looking at that one! And thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts here and in the other thread! Super overwhelmed by this topic so it's been phenomenally helpful.

Not sure if STMs agree with all that's in this article, but for FTMs I found this article to be helpful in just breaking down the components of the stroller and car seat and thinking about how to mix/match and plan for the future.

https://www.babygearlab.com/topics/getting-around/best-stroller-and-car-seat-combo/buying-advice

sammierose464

@hellopartyof5 what don't you like abou the Graco? That's what I've been considering.

I'm buying this infant car seat off of a friend who's baby will be 1 in May. It's been on the top of my list anyway.
https://a.co/26LaK6U 

lrlybbert

I skipped the infant seat. DD went straight to a convertible seat. I have two Matchig Britax Boulevard clicktight seats. We love them. Their safety ratings are excellent, the seat is easy to install, nice materials, easy to wash. The big con with this seat is the weight, car seat alone weighs 35lbs.

chopchop25

@lrlybbert did you find it inconvenient to have to lift the LO out of the seat while sleeping? I'm tempted to skip infant seat, too, but keep reading about how people didn't want to have to wake the baby. Also, what did you do for stroller for those first few months, then? Or did you just baby wear?

tinattt23

We have the generic Graco infant bucket that came with our stroller. Click connect 35. No complaints. Switched to a Graco Extend2Fit around 9 months. He was getting too tall for the bucket and was heavy enough that I’d pretty much started leaving the seat in the car and just moving DS anyways. But I’m defintley team bucket for newborns. So much easier to transport a sleeping baby, click them into the stroller, bring them into a restaurant, etc. Even once DS was big enough to ride in the regular stroller part on walks, I’d still just clip the car seat in when we were out running errands.

chopchop25

@tinattt23 (apologies to all as this is both car seat + stroller related.) Did you go with the travel system or the car seat base with the Click Connect?

tinattt23

@chopchop25 Travel system. Picked the stroller we liked best and were fine with the car seat that came with it. And we bought one extra base for the second car. 

chopchop25

Thanks @tinattt23 - just went back to confirm your stroller from the other thread, too, which definitely has good reviews. Sounds like a solid pick!

hellopartyof5

So the graco 4ever has a very strange recline for forward facing under 40lbs. DS is 3.5 and has been around 35-37lbs for awhile now. In fact, the forever forward facing doesn't even fit in my car at this angle (it has to be at recline 4 while forward facing). So I put it in MH Audi A4, and although it fits better, it takes up so much space front to back, we have to move the passenger seat up... again this is for forward facing! Now, if you're going to rearface until 40lbs, then you'll be fine (and I really thought I would rearface longer! But I guess I didn't realize that most kids don't reach that weight for awhile). In addition, there's no seat belt lock off. My britax has one and it's super easy. I try installing the graco with a seatbelt, and I'm just not thrilled with it. Most car seats can only use latch until your child is 45lbs (please double check! I'm not positive about that #), so seatbelt does have to be used at that point. I think I'll be getting a locking clip to use at that point so I feel more comfortable. 

@chopchop25 @sammierose464

mariek312

Another vote for an infant bucket seat to make life easy. We will all have winter infants and it's SO nice to be able to get them all buckled in while still inside and warm!

We love the Clek Fllo, it has some of the highest limits for rear facing and is very narrow. It cleans so easily too!

sammierose464

@hellopartyof5
 thanks! I have a really small car (Focus), so size will be an issue. DH has an Escape, so more room. However, when DH is in my car, he has to have the seat all the way back. So having him and baby in my car would not work with most seats I can imagine.

pumpkinpancake

@knottieamusements @chopchop25  I would definitely suggest getting the infant seat and not going straight to a convertible one. There were SO many times when DS was little that he would fall asleep in the car (basically when he was a newborn, the car put him to sleep every time), and it was so nice to be able to take the whole seat into the house and let him keep sleeping. It was also great because it clicked into our stroller (a Bob), so we could easily take him for walks and through stores before he was big enough to sit in the stroller on his own. 

We had the Chicco keyfit 30 as our infant seat before we switched to the Chicco nextfit zip convertible. Never had any issues with either seat, and they both seem really safe and easy to use. Love the nextfit zip because the fabric cover just zips right off and you can pop it in the laundry for when there are any diaper accidents or other spills. 

Laumb11

Yes an infant seat is just so easy IMO, DS always fell asleep in the car so inwoudl just take the car seat, clip it into the stroller and go for a walk or the mall etc. I debated skipping but made my life so much easier bc I could Never transfer him without him waking up 

bel194

Chicco has a newish 2 year rear facing infant/toddler seat:

Keyword=chicco#BVRRWidgetID https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/chicco-reg-fit2-reg-2-year-rear-facing-infant-toddler-car-seat-in-tempo/1061702073?Keyword=chicco#BVRRWidgetID  

It looks like it's an infant bucket for the first year and then a larger, rear facing carseat for the second year (up to 35 lbs & 35 inches, which DD didn't reach until 3ish).  It looks like it has good reviews so maybe that's an option for someone who wants the convenience of a bucket seat but also the longevity of starting with a convertible carseat.  The minimum recommended age to forward face is 2 so, ideally with this carseat you would only need to ever buy 2- this one and then a 3-in-1 harnessed booster.  

krzyriver

I started with the Graco Click Connect LX 35... I think is what it was called. It was a great infant bucket seat. I got the stroller frame to go with it and I loved that system. Once I ditched the bucket seat I bought another Graco stroller that was also compatible with my infant car seat, so look ahead to what you want before you spend $100 on the infant stroller frame!

DS was always in the 98th percentile for height and weight so I ditched the bucket pretty early because of my back and he didn't like it anymore. I went with the Graco Slimfit All-in-1. Similar to the 4ever, but not as bulky and super easy to take in and out of different cars if needed.

I'll be reusing the infant seat and buying another Slimfit for this baby. Definitely check out Lucie's List if you're a FTM and feeling overwhelmed by options!

purplegoldfish2

I considered going straight to a convertible seat with this baby since it is our last and our old bucket seats are expired, but like @mariek312 said, we will have babies right before winter.  My boys were born in feb and it was so much easier to get them in the car seats in the warm house than having to carry them out the next winter.  We didn’t even have jackets for them until they were 1.

For those that don’t know, most jackets are not supposed to be used in car seats (it says right in the manual of many of them).  Putting a baby in the seat in regular clothes and tucking blankets in around him/her is going to be much easier than bundling baby up, carrying to the car, unbundleing, putting in a cold car seat, rebundling to keep warm, then doing the reverse to get out.  If I were due in spring or summer, I would probably skip the bucket, but no way in winter, not in Buffalo!

cdepperschmidt

We have a Graco click connnect my little snuggaride. We got the stroller system, although I didn’t use the stroller much. The only think I didn’t like about the Graco that I have was that it didn’t have a pull cord for in the front to tighten the straps. However, I also vote for bucket seat for the first year. 

Pro-tip on bucket seats. We got a second base, but many infant seats can safely be installed with out a base. So if you have a second car that is only used occasionally dont waste your money on a base if you don’t need one.

For our convertible car seat was have the Diono Radian Rxt. I like it and it’s narrow so it fits well.

sliztee

After extensive online research, I settled on the Graco Extend2Fit convertible car seat! 

Laumb11

@purplegoldfish2 I  live in FL and still not skipping a bucket seat! We also traveled a lot with DS and it was so easy to bring on the plane. 

purplegoldfish2

@Laumb11 Traveling does change things. We went with pretty expensive convertible seats because we wanted our boys to be comfortable on long road trips (& for my car we were really limited because of space and those actually fit in the car).

Thought of another car seat tip... whatever seat you get for your infant, consider how difficult it will be to get the cover off if it needs to be washed. One of my kids had a diaper blowout in the car seat and I was so thankful the cover was easy to remove and wash!

eireyes

I'm jealous only one of your kids blew up the car seat @purplegoldfish2. It was like a right of passage for my kids 

lrlybbert

@chopchop25 I didn’t have any trouble skipping the infant seat. We baby wore a lot, Sadie was colicky and that just worked well for her. I splurged and got the uppababy vista stroller and she rode around inthat a lot with the bassinet attachment.

hellopartyof5

purplegoldfish2 said:

@Laumb11 Traveling does change things. We went with pretty expensive convertible seats because we wanted our boys to be comfortable on long road trips (& for my car we were really limited because of space and those actually fit in the car).

Thought of another car seat tip... whatever seat you get for your infant, consider how difficult it will be to get the cover off if it needs to be washed. One of my kids had a diaper blowout in the car seat and I was so thankful the cover was easy to remove and wash!

On the note of infant car seats. My son literally had a blow out in his car seat every 3 days. It was horrible. We have a chicco keyfit30 and that can be machine washable (and boy did we use it!) I hate to think what would have happened if I got the britax which can only be hand washed. It's funny because I LOVE my britax convertible car seat, but wouldn't get the infant seat for this exact reason. 

Kacie209

Lurker from D16... we started with the Chicco KeyFit30 and LOVED it. It came with the travel system so we got the stroller that it easily fit into. We bought an extra base for DH's vehicle, as well as my parents.

Once DS was too big for the KeyFit30, we upgraded to the Graco 4-Ever. We are very pleased with it. A friend did a ton of research and highly recommended it. She also liked the Britax Boulevard.

BLyn627

The best car seat is the one that fits your child and your car the best. Someone already posted the recommended seat list, which is great. A lot of seats (even infant bucket seats) don’t fit newborns well, so you’ll want to make sure yours is one that does. Even if they say “starting at 5lbs,” sometimes the harnesses still don’t fit right. They should come from below the shoulders for rear facing. 

Also, it’s important to remember (if it hasn’t been said already), all car seats pass the same safety test. It’s pass or fail, not a rating scale, so all car seats are safe. The price differences relate to the extra bells and whistles, but no car seat is safer than another. (After typing this I scrolled back up and saw someone already posted this same thing )

We have a Graco click connect snugride we’ll resuse for new LO. We are just switching our 16 month old out of it (she’s really short) and into a Graco extend2fit. Hubby has a Graco head wise for her in his car that used to be our 5 year old’s. I really like Graco and have never had any problems. 

drb2424

We have a chicco key fit 30 infant carrier and the bravo stroller that came with it that we were really happy with.  We will reuse the infant seat for this baby.  DD is 2.5 and rear facing in graco 4ever.  We tried the chicco next fit zip but the sides were too tall for me to get her in and out easily so we switched to the graco 4ever.  One complaint I have is it seems like the harness is hard to tighten so that took some time to get used to.  So far other than that Ive been pretty happy and my DD seems to be comfortable for extended car rides (4 road trips ranging from 8-22hours).

hellopartyof5

BLyn627 said:

The best car seat is the one that fits your child and your car the best. Someone already posted the recommended seat list, which is great. A lot of seats (even infant bucket seats) don’t fit newborns well, so you’ll want to make sure yours is one that does. Even if they say “starting at 5lbs,” sometimes the harnesses still don’t fit right. They should come from below the shoulders for rear facing. 

Also, it’s important to remember (if it hasn’t been said already), all car seats pass the same safety test. It’s pass or fail, not a rating scale, so all car seats are safe. The price differences relate to the extra bells and whistles, but no car seat is safer than another. (After typing this I scrolled back up and saw someone already posted this same thing )

We have a Graco click connect snugride we’ll resuse for new LO. We are just switching our 16 month old out of it (she’s really short) and into a Graco extend2fit. Hubby has a Graco head wise for her in his car that used to be our 5 year old’s. I really like Graco and have never had any problems. 

I know people say no car seat is safer than others, but I just can't believe this is true. Since its pass or fail we don't know the ones that surpassed the requirements and the ones that just met them. Just because they all pass doesn't mean the same thing as they're all equally as safe to me. That being said, we can't see their grading or how well they performed, so we have to use our best judgement. 

jellybelly114

I think we decided to go with the chicco fit2 mainly because it has the rebound bar (for my peace of mind) and european belt option (convenience). I was surprised there weren't more infant seats with the rebound bar. The only other one we were considering was the britax endeavors..
But I read it's just not popular in American carseats as it is over in Europe bc it's not federally mandated here (surprise).

As an engineer I have to agree with @hellopartyof5 about meeting requirements vs. exceeding requirements but there really isn't any way to know so we just have to use our best judgement on what we think is best for our babes. 

The one thing I find challenging is knowing which seat will have the best fit without knowing what your baby's dimensions are lol for those who had carseats not work out, did you just return them? 

cdepperschmidt

I just wanted to add something to the safety thing. No matter what car seat you choose, properly installing it and making sure your child is in it properly are VERY important. Once you install your car seat, get it checked by someone certified. Kids are more likely to get i injured in car seats that are not installed correctly. 

purplegoldfish2

eireyes said:

I'm jealous only one of your kids blew up the car seat @purplegoldfish2. It was like a right of passage for my kids 

I swear by Bambo Nature diapers.  It is the only thing that prevented more blowouts and I’m fairly certain the one blowout we had was when he had a different brand on. They’re pricey, but I plan to get them for at least the first few months just for that reason.

estellegetty

We got the Uppa Baby Mesa for our daughter bc we went with the Cruz. In all honesty, that was such a FTM thing to do. It was SO much more $$$ than the other bucket seats and I don’t see a huge difference except that t clicks into my Cruz without a small adapter piece that I’d need if I’d have gone with another brand. BUT since we already have it we will be using it for this baby as well. 

As far as a “big kid” car seat goes...the lighter the better for us since we live in the city and don’t drive that often AND when we do it’s usually I’m a cab so we needed something we could easily carry to and from the car. We went with the Cosco Scenera Next which is AWESOME!!! And I’m so glad I didn’t spend a ton of money on it the way I did for the bucket seat! 

arome2311

We have the Chicco Keyfit as well and really like it. It’s simple to use and install, is safe, and good quality. No complaints.