Car Seat Logic

maddie&stephen

I just wanted to get some opinions on a disagreement DH and I are having about some car seat logic. We are moving DD1 to a convertible car seat this weekend and he thinks we only need one and that we can just move it back and forth between our two cars. Now I've never installed a convertible and we're moving DD1 from the infant seat-which was lovely-but I think it's going to be a pain and suggest we get two seats. Am I right, is he crazy to think this way? It's not just a matter of clicking a seat into a base anymore-or am I missing something and it is easy to move? Thanks in advance! 

MammaBear81

In this case, you are right, moving the seat will be a HUGE PITA and it's not always easy to install a seat tight enough, and safely very quickly.  I'd be more concerned with being in a rush and not getting the seat in correctly.

If you want to humor him, tell him that he has to move the seat each time, you are not willing to reinstall it over and over again... Maybe that will get him to agree with you.  GL

KissyFishyLips

Depends. Are you needing to use both cars daily, or just on an occasional basis? We only have one seat, but we rarely need to switch cars. If we traded off daycare pickup/dropoff daily or something like that, I'd definitely want 2 seats.  But in our case, we only need to have a car seat in DH's car once in a blue moon, so we reinstall the seat in his car when that happens.

kagl08

We only have 1 car seat for each kid but that's because DHs car can't accommodate RFing seats. If you will be using 2 cars then I'd definitely get 2 seats. You can get an expensive car seat for your "everyday" car and something cheaper for your "other" car. I'd suggest a Costco Scerena for your budget seat. It's about $40 in Walmart. We try our hardest to not take our car seats out of the car because they are a huge PITA to install. 

downtown80

I could not live with just one convertible seat. DH does daycare drop off and I do pick up. On the weekends, when we go somewhere as a family we use both vehicles evenly...so it'd be a pain to have to switch all the time.

So I guess it all depends on your regular use vehicles. If you use both cars, then get 2 carseats....even if one is a less expensive one.

TomHope2011

We only have one and switch it back and forth between the two cars all the time.  My husband gets it switched in a matter of only a few minutes.  

moonfaerie

ItsAllGravy7:

That would be a giant PITA. I would only do that if I truly couldn't afford another carseat. If you can swing it go for 2. Even if you have to get a better one for the car your child will be in more often and more of a budget friendly carseat for the car she will be in less. Remember even the "budget" seats still have to meet the safety standards so people can "rate and rank" all they want but a carseat is a carseat and personally, to me, moving the seat back and forth seems more likely that it will not be properly installed each time which is more of a risk than buying a 2nd "budget" seat.

Good Luck.

I agree with all of this

maddie&stephen

FU: DH took 1 hour to put the car seat in and determined quickly that getting a second seat was the only option

Thanks ladies! 

Qmommy

maddie&stephen:

FU: DH took 1 hour to put the car seat in and determined quickly that getting a second seat was the only option

Thanks ladies! 

hehe, this made me laugh.

 

MammaBear81

Qmommy:

maddie&stephen:

FU: DH took 1 hour to put the car seat in and determined quickly that getting a second seat was the only option

Thanks ladies! 

hehe, this made me laugh.

 

Me too

sweetpea2003

They are not easy to move.

Both of my kiddos are in Britax Marathons.  We do not have 4 of them.  We just only use my car when we are driving with both kids.  We have one carseat in DH's car so if he is running a quick errand with one kid he can take his car, but otherwise, we drive only my car for family trips.

This isn't a big deal to us because we both are happy driving each other's cars as needed. He has an Acura TL, I have a Honda Pilot.

So unless you both drive her separately a lot (like one picks up from daycare and one drops of) then I would think you could get away with only one carseat. But I also realize that as a SAHM I know my situation is different than some. My kiddos are 3.5 and 2 and we have never had an issue with our SUV being the "kid car".

jpearce327

Maybe I'm the wrong person to ask, but my DS has 5 carseats currently. 

We do have a situation different than most though. His father has him on the weekends, but his father's mother does a lot of the care taking/transporting. So they each have a carseat. I have one in my car. My mom does a lot of the pick-ups, so she has one. My SO has one....and oops, we have one in my dad's jeep for sunday afternoon rides as well.. so 6 carseats.

Yeah, I hate installing the suckers and avoid it all costs. 2 of those are 3-in-ones and 1 is a 2-in-1. So we will be able to use them all for quite some time.  

JaysonandKristin

TomHope2011:

We only have one and switch it back and forth between the two cars all the time.  My husband gets it switched in a matter of only a few minutes.  

Installing the Britax Blvd has become one of the easiest things to do...  Put it in, make sure it's reclined if you're RFing, apply your weight to the seat and tighten the LATCH straps.  

LOL at the hour to install a carseat.  Practice... it gets easier and it's a helluva lot cheaper than buying a second seat. 

Pockety

We have the Britax Boulevard too, and it's also really easy now to install. Took a little while to not be intimidating, but now it's really easy. I actually sit on it when I tighten the straps for LATCH gets it tight enough every time! I can move it from one car to another in a couple minutes.

Still, I wouldn't want to do it every day. Probably once a week or less would be fine. More than that, and I'd get a cheap seat for the other car. Many people like the Cosco Scenara. We have the Evenflo Tribute Sport in my parents' car, it's very similar but just looked more comfortable when they were sitting side by side in the store. Both have great safety ratings.

MammaBear81

JaysonandKristin:

TomHope2011:

We only have one and switch it back and forth between the two cars all the time.  My husband gets it switched in a matter of only a few minutes.  

Installing the Britax Blvd has become one of the easiest things to do...  Put it in, make sure it's reclined if you're RFing, apply your weight to the seat and tighten the LATCH straps.  

LOL at the hour to install a carseat.  Practice... it gets easier and it's a helluva lot cheaper than buying a second seat. 

The way I see it is my time is valuable.  Even if it's just a few minutes a day, it adds up.  Our kids are going to be in car seats/booster seats until they are 7+ years old, and since this board is 2 under 2 that means we will all be doing it x2 (at least).  I prefer to save those few extra minutes a day and spend it playing with my kids/running an extra errand/etc.  I also don't want to take the chance that one of us leaves with the car seat in the car and the other person is stuck at home (yes, we all run late sometimes, and forget things).

I know it doesn't take an hour to install a car seat (maybe the first time or two if you aren't familiar with them).. it takes me maybe 10 minutes to install all 5 seats in my van, but I guess I'd rather "pay" for the convenience to not have to constantly swap seats around.