Sell me on your carseat!

Mcsweets · October 2013

We are looking at the Chico Keyfit 30 or the Graco Snugride 35.

I know TONS of people have the Keyfit, but I don't know how it compares to the Graco. Anyone have the Graco? Did you hate it? Love it? Its about $60 cheaper and the bases are half price as well...

TIA!

Rynleigh · October 2013

I don't have these, but I wish I had! Infant seat rear facing up to 2yrs/40lbs +35"? Yes please!!

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13287538

Rynleigh · October 2013

(and yes, I love the normal Snugrides we got - ours are just the Classics, which don't go higher than 22lbs - they were a gift and we didn't have the money at the time to get really nice ones)

Mcsweets · October 2013

Wow!!! 40 lbs!!!

Rynleigh · October 2013

Yeah! With the AAP now recommending that all babies stay rear facing until 2yrs old minimum, that's the seat I'd want to invest in if I were having babies now.

https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Updates-Recommendation-on-Car-Seats.aspx

jezebel57 · October 2013

i don't have mine yet, but registered for the graco snugride 30's. when we went to BRU to register i lifted the chicco keyfit and the graco and the chicco was sooooo much heavier to me! i had a hard time with one without a baby in it, let alone 2 with babies at the same time. it was recommended on consumer reports as a best buy and we were looking for one on that CR list.

Mcsweets · October 2013

Thanks that's a good idea - I think we will stop by Babies R Us and play with them a bit.

TheDairyQueenx3 · October 2013

Maxi Cosi Pria 70 Convertible car seat with tiny fit (for premies and newborns). It goes from 4 pounds to 70 pounds and works perfect for ERF. It was $290 before tax so a little pricy but it will last us for a long time. With our first we bought an infant seat, a forward facing car seat, then a booster seat which ended up costing more and I would pay more now then spend twice that later on. This seat we wont have to do that with. Also our main stroller we got has a bassinet attachment for twins so we didn't need the carseats to lock on. Depending on your stroller its something to keep in mind

pinkmickey24 · October 2013

We tested went to Babies R Us and tested them to make sure they would fit in our car. The 40 pound Graco way too big for my car and so was the Chico. The Graco Snugride 35 & 30 fit perfectly.

LucyRicardo3 · October 2013

I had Graco 30's because:

High Safety Rating from CR

Better Price than Chico (also stacked coupon codes + Ebates + registry points on BRU online)

Rated for 4lb'ers since I had a history of preterm labor.

Fit my DSNG (classic version, not the current stadium seating one)

It came with the preemie head side support so I didn't have to worry about after market cushion affecting integrity of collision protection.

It fit my Sienna minivan easily.

This was in 2011, so they did not have the 40lb max limit seats available. Also I was blessed to find two Radians on clearance because they had the Sunshine Kids labels on them, and we started using the Radians RF when the girls reached 25 ish pounds.

JordynLeighx3 · October 2013

FWIW, CR rates based on ease of use. Not safety. Their safety ratings are a joke. All carseats are safe if used properly. They're all tested on a pass/fail standard and nobody but the manufacturer themselves know the results of the testing.

JodiAriel · October 2013

So my input as a twin mom to 1 year olds and as a CPST. I would get an infant seat with a lower weight limit because carrying twins in the infant seats gets heavy quickly. There is no way you want to carry a 40 lb child plus the weight of the seat not to mention two 40 lb children. Personally I like the Chicco mostly because it is one of the easiest seats on the market to install in the car and fits in almost every vehicle. The Graco seats are just as good just slightly harder to always get a good install.

Rynleigh · October 2013

JodiAriel said:

So my input as a twin mom to 1 year olds and as a CPST. I would get an infant seat with a lower weight limit because carrying twins in the infant seats gets heavy quickly. There is no way you want to carry a 40 lb child plus the weight of the seat not to mention two 40 lb children. Personally I like the Chicco mostly because it is one of the easiest seats on the market to install in the car and fits in almost every vehicle. The Graco seats are just as good just slightly harder to always get a good install.

My reason for the 40lbs infant seat isn't for people to carry it around up to 40lbs... it's to extend the length of time before you have to buy a new seat - if you're going to be buying an infant seat no matter what, it's nice to be able to get as much time out of it as possible.

ntdane · October 2013

We had the snug ride 30 for DS and will get a second one for the twins. We really liked it and if the twins come early a seat that starts at 4 lbs may come in handy. The extra bases aren't too expensive and are readily available, which is nice.

As for having them rear-facing longer, if you were going to eventually use a convertible seat you can find one that both forward and rear-faces and move your babies over to those when they get too big for infant seats or you don't want to carry them anymore. That's what we did and it worked well. I think our seats rear face up to 40 or 50 lbs.

JAck5209 · October 2013

I don't know if I agree that the 40 lb weight limit is necessary. We switched our DD into her convertible at 9 months because it was getting harder to get her in and out of the infant seat. Our Britax Marathon was so much easier. We had stopped carrying the inane seat around way before that. It gets so heavy.

We currently have one Graco Snugride and plan to get another. It was a great seat. I have no complaints. I would definitely go with the lighter of the two seats. These kids are going to get heavy!

kari.sandall · October 2013

We have the Chicco Keyfit 30 for our twins. They were a gift but I love them. The bases are super easy to move, so we never bought extras. I'm talking less than 5 minutes to move both bases.

JodiAriel · October 2013

BTW: Any infant seat can be used without the base so you dont necessarily need extra bases. As for the 40 lb rear face if you are interested in extended rearfacing I would just get a good convertible seat. The Radian RXTs are great because they are super narrow and RF to 45lbs. I would avoid the Britax unless you have small babies because children over the 25% will out grow the shell in height before weight and you will lose out on the ability to extend RF with it.

Mcsweets · October 2013

@JodiAriel - infant seats can be used without bases?

Missi576 · October 2013

Mcsweets said:

@JodiAriel - infant seats can be used without bases?

Yep

I know this was at Jodi, but I never purchased extra bases. They don't snap in, you use the seatbelt through the seat and they hold in nice and snugly. Definitely not as convenient as "snap and go" with the base, but really nice if say, you're all riding in a grandparent's van somewhere. (At least, this was true when my girls were little, so please correct me if I'm wrong >< )

Mcsweets · October 2013

I didn't know that!

Missi576 · October 2013

Awesome topic, btw. My hubby and I were wandering around BRU looking at such things and trying to sort out what we want to register for. He isn't even sure he wants to go infant car seats. I just keep telling him that leaving a baby asleep when you can just take the car seat with you is AMAZING!

smscartozzi · October 2013

Not to throw more into the loop but we love our baby trend seats and the jogger is a nice stroller as well if you will want a jogging stroller that goes with the seats.

BabyCarryingVessel · October 2013

Mcsweets said:

I didn't know that!

Haha! I learned this lesson a little late, too! Glad I'm not the only one!

Graco Snugride user here! They suited us well for one full year. No complaints!

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