Car seat noob...

kc192

Ok, FTM here... I'm looking car seats and I'm completely clueless as to what to look for! Anyone want to advise me? What does "convertible" mean?? That they can go forward and rear facing? DS will be a year in a few weeks and weighs about 22 or 23 lbs. Does he really need to go rear facing for ANOTHER year? I hear mixed reviews on this. How important are cupholders? Arm rests? This Graco "Nautilus" says it's 3-1. 3-1 what?? I have to get 3 more different seats in the future??? If money isn't a huge issue which would you recommend? If it helps I have a Honda Accord so preferably nothing huge.

 

Anyone have the baby bargains book and want to share what their top 3 choices are for car seats? 

kacelle

Convertible car seats can be positioned RF and FF.  I would absolutely keep your DS rear-facing as long as possible, but at least until age 2.  Watch some videos on car crashes with crash test dummies positioned RF and FF and you'll see why it's so important.  IMO, cup holders and arm rests aren't at all necessary.  I'd actually be worried to keep a cup in the car seat in case of a crash.

The Graco Nautilus can be RF, FF, and act as a booster seat I believe.  You don't have to get 3 seats.  If money isn't an issue, I recommend getting a Britax.  We have a Britax Roundabout, but I've heard great things about the Marathons and Boulevards as well.  We have a Cosco Scenera (super cheap car seat) as a back-up in case we drive another car or a sitter needs to quickly install a seat.  

I had Baby Bargains and chose the Britax Roundabout, as it was the #1 recommendation (at least in the edition I had).  I don't have the book anymore, nor do I remember the other recommendations.  I do remember that Britax was always very highly rated for convertible seats and Graco was not very highly recommended (previously, we'd considered the My Ride 65). 

luvmyducks

I don't have a Baby Bargains book, but I have a friend who is a carseat guru (super knowledgable, goes to conventions, knows all about the testing and safety standards, etc.).  She suggests the Graco MyRide 65, The First Years True Fit, or the Radian.  If you look around, Britax is always highly rated.  She says it has one of the shorter shells on the market so to save your money.  You can get a cheaper seat with a longer shell so your LO can fit in it longer.  I got the True Fit Recline for about $150 on Amazon--we will put DD in it starting next week.

The AAP recommends keeping LO rear facing until 2 years old, no matter what their height or weight is.  So that is what we will be doing.  

Since we haven't started using our seat yet, I can't help you with your other questions. 

CagleBaby

kc192:

Ok, FTM here... I'm looking car seats and I'm completely clueless as to what to look for! Anyone want to advise me? What does "convertible" mean?? That they can go forward and rear facing? DS will be a year in a few weeks and weighs about 22 or 23 lbs. Does he really need to go rear facing for ANOTHER year? I hear mixed reviews on this. How important are cupholders? Arm rests? This Graco "Nautilus" says it's 3-1. 3-1 what?? I have to get 3 more different seats in the future??? If money isn't a huge issue which would you recommend? If it helps I have a Honda Accord so preferably nothing huge.

 

Anyone have the baby bargains book and want to share what their top 3 choices are for car seats? 

The Graco Nautilus is FF only. It is a 3 in 1 because it can be used with the 5 point belt, high back booster with a seat belt or a no back booster. I use this seat for our 4 year old.

I would recommend staying RF as long a you can. I just turned my 2.5 year old around.  

We have the  Evenflo symphony that both my older ones rode in RF until past two and then turned to FF. I would use it on my 10 month old (rf), but she is so tiny she is no where near outgrowing her infant bucket seat. When she does she will use that seat as well.

festivus

I have two Britax Boulevards. While I am confident they are very, very safe (as they are one of the only seats with significant side impact protection), they are HUGE seats. Plus, I think in part because of the side impact protection, they are a little tricky to get my LOs in and out of (I have a minivan, and it seems like the sliding doors don't open far enough, lol!). I would not recommend this seat for a smaller car.

kc192

Ahh... Thanks so much for your help! So keep the kiddo rear facing as long as I can, which means get a convertible seat... and I"ll start looking into some of those models you guys mentioned. THANK YOU!

lalamomma

I just got DD a convertible car seat (5-65 lbs) so she can rear face longer. The First Years True fit premier. This seat has a rebound bar and is rated VERY highly. In some aspects higher than a Britax which seems to be the golden standard. They make a True Fit (regular not Premere) that is VERY resonably priced but it doesn't have the rebound bar. They do have a cup holder that pops on and off as you desire. The seat is padded nicely and DD LOVES it so far. Its comfy. Personally comparing them all this was the one I liked the best, price, comfort, saftey and ease of use wise.

I love the straps on it, no twisting, no rethreading etc. SO easy to adjust!

For me bottom line was saftey and usability. I didn't want it to be a hassle and I wanted her comfy. This seat is awesome and I love it! I bought it on amazon.

As far as Rear facing until 2, I plan to do it as long as possible.