Product Spotlight: Car Seats

whitealbum29

This is a place for FTMs to ask questions about, S+TMs to share their prior experience with, and everyone to share what they're eyeing in the world of maternity, baby and postpartum products. Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product to help streamline and make it easier to refer back. In this thread we're discussing car seats! 

Please use the prompts below to try to share as much relevant info as you can in a format that is easy for those reading to navigate and respond to.

For S+TMs: 

• Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice:
• Favorite car seat:
• Link/picture:
• Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.):
• What you like and don't like about it:
• Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?:
• Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: 
• Additional thoughts on car seats?:

For FTMs:

• Car seat you're interested in:
• Link/picture:
• Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.):
• Any questions for S+TMs?:

To view past Product Spotlights or the upcoming schedule, see

here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P3okZOAvhVpv0_H6D-T4bKxzmuB2ik7mDbbkQARJeNY/edit#gid=0

HappyFeet34

I’ve tried a lot of different car seats over the years. My favorite bucket seat is the Chicco Key Fit and I really like the Britax Click Tights for convertible seats. Both are incredibly easy and nearly fool proof to install. Installing the car seat correctly and properly buckling your child in is the key to car seat safety. The fact is, they all go through the same testing, but if you can’t install them well that’s where it can get dangerous. 

The Chicco is about 200, extra bases are around 80 I think. Britax Clicktight is about 300. The only thing negative about the Britax IMO is it’s very heavy. So if you intend to fly with it it’s kind of a PITA. We’ve flown with ours often but if you are someone who travels a lot I would consider getting a lighter one to use for trips. 

For car seat safety check out the car seat lady, and always always always buckle your child in correctly, it could be life or death. They let me leave the hospital with my first buckled in completely improperly and with extra padding in her seat. Ugh so scary - don’t be like me haha. 

HappyFeet34

For car seats I hate. My sister had two Graco Extend2Fits that neither of us could ever get the straps pulled tight enough on. She finally got rid of them and got click tights. Also I bought a Graco Tranzitions for my parents car when my older one was FF. That was nearly impossible to install. Took my husband and dad hours to get it right. I finally threw it away and replaced it for her, not worth the stress.

whitealbum29

@HappyFeet34 Such good info! We registered for the Chicco travel system which includes the KeyFit 30 infant seat so good to hear you like that line! I have a friend who also said it was super easy to install and if you've done it incorrectly, you'll know immediately. 

jumpy57

Britax 
B-Safe 35 (I think)
Works great, love the latch connectors as they made it really easy to install and the seat was easy to adjust. I think this seat is a little heavier and a little narrower on the interior than other brands. If giant babies run in your family, this might not be the seat for you. I did find this hard to carry after delivery because my core muscles were basically nonexistent, but I feel that would be the case with any of the infant seats. I'm 5'11" and this fit comfortably behind the driver seat of my Subaru Crosstrek.

Marathon ClickTight
First, I will say the click tight system makes it really easy to install this seat!!! This is a beast of a seat however. It's fairly heavy which isn't a huge deal because you won't be moving it around. This did not fit well rear facing behind the driver (I'm 5'11") of my Subaru Crosstrek but was manageable behind the passenger (I think, but now I can't remember). We now have two of these seats and they are awesome if you have a bigger vehicle and space isn't a great concern (Buick Enclave). Since I couldn't carry the infant seat, I just used this for DD2 and it worked fine for an infant (8 lb, 20"). DD1 seemed to outgrow this faster than I anticipated due to height (she's tall) but we still got 2 years out of it.

Graco
SlimFit/Milestone
These are essentially the same seat so I'll join the reviews but if you want to know differences please let me know! I would say average installation difficulty and I usually don't have any trouble, DH sometimes does 🤷🏻‍♀️. Much lighter than the Britax! I think the straps adjust easier and fit taller kids very well. I don't think I used this with infant DD2 so I'm not sure how the fit would be. This fits behind the passenger of the Subaru Crosstrek comfortably. I can check the driver side if anyone is curious.

Chicco
MyFit
This is only for forward facing bit I'll include for future reference. I like their belt lock off system and think it makes installation easier. I think this is average weight and I don't have a lot of trouble moving it around. It adjusts easily and DD is a fan. I've only used it in harness mode and in our big car so I can't speak to how it would fit in a smaller vehicle but typically forward facing seats aren't as big of a fit concern

***
If anyone wants me to experiment with these seats trying to get 3 across the back of my Subaru Crosstrek, or third row of the Buick Enclave let me know!!! I can also post pictures/measurements.

All of these seats have easy to wash covers. I just toss them in the washing machine and air dry and they have held up great!

lacroixliz

we have a Graco snugride snuglock infant carseat that we used for my daughter 2 years ago and will use again. I have no complaints. The bases were easy to install and she fit in it even under 5lbs when we left the hospital. It clicks in easily to graco strollers which is really convenient. 

I transitioned her to a convertible carseat when she was about 14 months (she's always been on the small side) and we have two Graco Extend2Fit convertible carseats. No complaints about these so far either. (@happyfeet34 i had to watch a YouTube video to figure out how to tighten properly but now it isn't an issue for us at least)

As stated above, any carseat is safe if it is installed properly and straps are in the right positions. We had our install checked at a fire station and I would suggest watching some YouTube videos about where the straps should be and how tight they need to be. 

Also totally personal preference but an infant carseat is a worthy investment. Yes, you can just always use a convertible carseat (as long as your baby isn't super tiny) but being able to leave them in their carseat and not having to wake a sleepy baby when you're running an errand or at a doctor's appointment is priceless. Also the carseat covers are great in the winter to keep people out of your baby's face. 

kat11223344

We did the Britax 35 for #3 and I really liked it. A little on the heavy side, but it was easy to get in and felt really safe.  
Biggest recommendation in general is find ones that are relatively easy to clean. #1 was horribly carsick until like 4 years old and we ended up replacing our nice seat with a cheaper easier to clean one because so.much.barf. 

aels12

We have a chicco keyfit for an infant seat and I don’t have any issues with it. We usually switch them to the convertible seat once they can sit up independently. I’ve always planned on having to do three across so I’ve bought narrow seats. The chicco is one of the most narrow infant buckets. We have the graco slim fit for our convertible seat and we like it. It’s easy to install and I like that it’s not enormous. My second inherited that seat once his brother was old enough for forward facing- for forward facing only we have the chicco myfit and I love that seat. It’s super easy to install and the straps are nice and easy to tighten also. I try to pick seats that have machine washable covers also, I don’t have the time to spot clean!