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Minnesota Babies
Opinions on carseats?!
We are looking at different brands of carseats and it's slightly overwhelming. We are looking for a style that fits us, and of course the most prominent is Graco, but we found a Baby Trend carseat/stroller that we really liked. Any opinions on Baby Trend? We are also looking at purchasing a newborn - 50lbs upright carseat. Any opinions on safety of different brands, and quality would be much appreciated!
Thanks so much!
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Re: Opinions on carseats?!
all car seats are equally safe. The testing is pass/fail, there is no "grade". So, as long as you are buying a seat in the US, they are all safe. The difference is in the bells & whistles and ease of use.
That said, I personally would not use a convertible for a newborn. Although many of them ARE rated to as low as 5 lbs, most of them do not have low enough harness slots to properly fit an infant of that size. A bucket seat is built to better cradle an infant, and because of that and the harness issue, a bucket is generally regarded as safer for a newborn.
I should also say that, had we bought the graco sungride 32 or the chicco keyfit, we would have been able to use them until about 18 months (seriously, at her 18m appt she was within the weight limit and only a .5 in too tall). We have the Maxi Cosi Mico (which is 29 in and 22 lbs), so had we wanted to, that probably would have fit until 16 months or so.
My kid is a shrimp though, but many kids can fit into the higher weight limit buckets until a year. And you don't have to carry it around with you, you can easily leave the bucket in the car when it gets too heavy and use it like a rear facing convertible.
my best advice on this? Go to BRU and try them out. If you give them your DL, they let you take the seat out to your car and see how it fits. If you have 2 cars that you'll be using, bring them both. The best carseat is the one that:
1. fits your child
2. fits your vehicle
3. you will use 100% correctly, 100% of the time.
I also recommend having the seat inspected by a certified technician at some point before baby arrives.
And I would also recommend waiting to buy the convertible until you need it. Technology, standards and features change frequently, and car seats do expire. So if your LO fits in the bucket seat past 1 year, you'll have lost a lot of time on the expiration date, while it's sitting in storage.
Carter is 2 inches too tall, but weightwise could be in his Keyfit30 still. Out of curiosity, for fit are they suppose to have one inch from the bottom and top? Or do the feet even matter?
Seats are outgrown when a child reaches EITHER the height or weight limit. It doesnt matter where their feet are. There should be no less than 1" above the head to the top of the seat's shell. Some seats are slightly different on this, so you need to check your specific manual.
just an FYI, consumer reports' ratings are mostly based on ease of use.
Their crash tests have been proven to have major flaws in the past. I love CR when shopping for a car or appliance, but they just aren't a go to for car seat safety for me. As I said above, all seats are equally safe if they're legal for sale in the US.
Yeah I have looked at consumer reports, and even though it may be a pass/fail with safety I definitely don't feel safe with certain carseats! But thanks for all of your guys suggestions!