Car seats

marthah05 · November 2014

Yesterday I went to start a gift registry, I picked out towels, onesies, hats, no scratch mittens, a crib, changing table, and armior, but when I got to the car seats, strollers, pack'n'playards I froze. I started to become over whelmed. I didn't want to pick something just because it was pretty or matched my car, but I wanted to pick something with the best ratings for crashes, safety etc. When I came home I did a car seat search for the ones with the highest crash test rating. I found three that have great ratings. Has anyone done research like this before (or am I the only dork since I am a FTM)? Has anyone been in a crash with their LO in the car, if so how did the car seat fare?

DragonflyDreaming · November 2014

Yeah, look into getting an infant seat, then moving up to a regular one once baby outgrows the infant seat.

I got the Chicco Keyfit as well. There is a travel system (stroller it attaches to). But since I just got the snap and fit (also like a stroller, but a lot more portable) which can only be used with the infant seat.

For once she gets a bit larger, I got the Graco 4ever. It has good reviews and a couple of attached cup holders for when she's bigger (my friend who has a 4 year old showed me the need for cup holders, lol!).

But really, it's just personal preference. Look at Lucie's list for ideas. Read reviews. I think the car seat was my hardest pick. But I still haven't gone out to find an actual stroller yet ...

salmphil · November 2014

I third the Chicco Keyfit. Can't speak from personal accident experience, but I think PPs are correct in that they're all tested the same ways. Even with research and recommendations, we still spent forever in the car seat aisle manhandling them all. Beyond reading ratings and recommendations (I also second Lucie's List), there's no shortcut - you just have to choose one for yourself and go for it. Good luck!

lewispm · November 2014

totesmcgotes said:

We had the Chicco keyfit for an infant seat and the Britax Marathon for a convertable seat. We loved them both and had no issues.

We have these same exact 2. The only issue with the Chicco infant car seat was that the canopy didn't come all the way down to block the sun from the front. My sister's Graco has a canopy that is fully adjustable. Despite that issue, we will be re-using our Chicco for baby #2 as it has never been in a wreck.

And our Britax Marathon is amazing. We love it!

rm2013 · November 2014

We used the Chicco KeyFit 30 (lasts longer due to higher weight/height limit) with the KeyFit caddy to use as a stroller. Loved it, reusing with this baby.

@racegurl87‌ we have the Diono Radian for DD and the cheapest place to find it is Amazon for $268. If you do their registry then you'll get the registry completion discount off that. We didn't upgrade her to the convertible until about 15 months so you may be holding onto that sucker for a while. But you may want to space out the purchases if you have two cars.

peeppeeppeep · November 2014

Seat weight might be a factor for you, and ease of use. Also those seats take up more space than you think, esp. Rear facing convertibles in a smaller car. I could not fit a rear facing britax marathon in my old Toyota corolla comfortably.

shootznladrz · November 2014

I registered for a britax one with the stroller that it clicks into however it was difficult to move from the stroller to the car seat base and then it got stuck in the car seat base and I couldn't figure it out. So I then registered for a graco aire 3 click connect which has big red levers and buttons to tell you how to connect and disconnect it and was much easier to do with one hand that was important to me.

We registered for a graco convertible car seat as well that won't expire for a few years.

Skrittens · November 2014

I, too, had a difficult time and am a FTM. I have a tactile issue and the covers on some of the car seats were extremely uncomfortable to my touch.

Weight was a big issue for us - and we came down to the Maxi-Cosi or Peg Perego. Based on a friend's recommendation, we will probably go with the Peg Perego.

I suggest, as PP did, to check out the seats at the store. If I didn't, I would have been very unhappy...

DM718 · November 2014

A couple of suggestions that I picked up (I think from the Baby Bargains book) that made sense:

Dark colors attract heat - it seems like a lot of car seats have a lot of black, but a lighter color may be more comfortable for baby in warm weather.
Plush / velour type materials can be warmer and harder to clean than smooth materials.

I generally like to find things by searching Amazon, and sorting by average customer reviews. Consumer Reports also reviews car seats, but there are limits to the usability testing they do; parents who use them daily for a while are better judges of what does and doesn't work for them. You can also search by your car model and see if any reviews mention it.

Chris&Ang · November 2014

For me that was the most stressful part of registering! I got very overwhelmed but listened to all the "pros and cons" from the sales person. I didn't care for the "best" (it looked like darth vader's helmet) but I made sure the car seat was compatible with the stroller I chose. As mentioned before me, I think they all have to pass a certain list of safety requirements. I tried to research before but ended up with something different! Good luck. : )

beatlesgal4 · November 2014

Agreed on the small car bit. H and I are using one carrier and two bases, so we needed to make sure the rear-facing seat would fit in his Camaro. I researched popular smaller seats, and we took a few out to his car at the store to try them out. We went with the Chicco Keyfit 30 as well. It's tight in there with me in the passenger seat, but doable. Plus, when H has the baby in his Camero, it will most likely be because I wasn't able to take her in my car that time for whatever reason, so the three of us won't be in there very much together while she's in the rear-facing seat. And front-facing seats won't need quite as much room.

Our stroller is a BabyJogger City Mini (three wheels) and we got a BabyJogger car seat adapter that can be used with the Chicco Keyfit 30 carrier, so that's cool. We liked that the stroller had three wheels but was still fairly stable, and could be very easily maneuvered with one hand, if need be. It isn't good for rough terrain, but can be used just about anywhere else.

ruemorgan · November 2014

Personally, I googled "top 5 car seats" and read any article that was up to date, then I chose from the repeated suggestions. It really helped narrow down "all the car seats" to 3 or 4 car seats.

Aeml1985 · November 2014

We are getting a peg preggo prima viaggo. It is the only car seat with side impact protection, a shock absorbing shell and stabilizing roll bar. It is also the only car seat not made in China (made in Italy). We knew what stroller we wanted and not all car seats were compatible. I think price may be a factor in why this seat is not recommended more, it starts around $380

CrazieMeh · November 2014

We got the chicco keyfit 22. Sales lady looked at us and was like, ur bb will likely outgrow in length before it hits 22 lbs. she doesn't think we need the keyfit 30... Which was like $80 bucks more!
Since we have 2 cars only made sense to get a convertible too. Diono radian. Both my seats were on sale. So I was happy.

littlekeller · November 2014

I recommend looking at the facebook page called Car Seats for Littles. The techs and people on there are great for recommending car seats for your budget and vehicle.

As it was mentioned above all car seats go through the same testing, but some are better for certain situations.

allachkat · November 2014

Is there a reason many people get chicco keyfit? I've looked at some and they're just so pricey.

janda426 · November 2014

allachkat said:
Is there a reason many people get chicco keyfit? I've looked at some and they're just so pricey.

I think priciness is subjective. They're just one of those car seats that comes up over and over again for reliability. Britax b safe is cheaper and I would've gotten that one if there was a converter for the uppa baby stroller. Graco makes lots of under $100 options and they're all just as safe. It also depends on what stroller you want, to make sure seats are compatible if that matters to you

sweetmama17 · November 2014

beatlesgal4 said:
Agreed on the small car bit. H and I are using one carrier and two bases, so we needed to make sure the rear-facing seat would fit in his Camaro. I researched popular smaller seats, and we took a few out to his car at the store to try them out. We went with the Chicco Keyfit 30 as well. It's tight in there with me in the passenger seat, but doable. Plus, when H has the baby in his Camero, it will most likely be because I wasn't able to take her in my car that time for whatever reason, so the three of us won't be in there very much together while she's in the rear-facing seat. And front-facing seats won't need quite as much room.

Our stroller is a BabyJogger City Mini (three wheels) and we got a BabyJogger car seat adapter that can be used with the Chicco Keyfit 30 carrier, so that's cool. We liked that the stroller had three wheels but was still fairly stable, and could be very easily maneuvered with one hand, if need be. It isn't good for rough terrain, but can be used just about anywhere else.

We have a Chico key fit and now DS is in a Britax Boulvd in my car. Love both (the Chico fits with the Bob stroller which was important to me).

My in laws purchased a Simpson convertible car seat thinking It Would Be "cool" For DH'S camero. Well its really a Graco my ride with a fancy cover. It's ok.....I think it's huge and a little hard to buckle BUT it fit rear facing in the camero (with the front seat all the up). We never really tried the infant seat in it but the front seat seemed to have to b e all the way up no matter what seat is rear facing.

nannabee21 · November 2014

We went with the Chicco Keyfit 30 as well (travel system). We tested out lots in the store and this one was the favorite. Along with the great ratings, we made our decision.

DM718 · November 2014

I haven't seen it mentioned here, but Britax is launching a new version of the B-Safe (the B-Safe 35). I'm not sure if they'll continue with both, but there may be some good deals coming up on the B-Safe if they're discontinuing it.

The B-Safe 35 is going to use a different base, so that's something to keep in mind as well if you go with either model.

MeganPobega · November 2014

I had a Chicco Keyfit 30 with my DD and then switched her to a Britax Boulavard when she was 7 months old. I'm skipping the infant seat this time around and going straight to the convertible. Another Britax. They rear face from 5-40 pounds and then forward face up to 80 pounds.

Lovebeingamomny · November 2014

FTM here so forgive me if this is ignorant. But for those of you skipping the infant seat and going straight to convertible, what do you do when you get out and go somewhere? Those convertibles are so heavy that it doesn't seem that you can take that out and carry it around with baby like the ease of the infant seat. If you don't take the convertible seat out, are you carrying or wearing the baby constantly? I just feel like the infant seat is nice because you can cart them around in it without taking them out. At least while they are tiny and need head support etc. I could see that when they get bigger and still fit in the infant seat not lugging that whole thing around because they don't really need it anymore.

MeganPobega · November 2014

With a toddler, carrying around an infant seat doesn't appeal to me. My daughter was born in the fall, so I bought an infant seat mainly to cover her up in cold conditions. This baby is a spring baby, who I will be baby wearing exclusively. And in all honestly, they are bulky while shopping.

Lovebeingamomny · November 2014

@katydid2014‌ I definitely want to baby wear too, and plan to, but I just think there will definitely be times where I want to just have her in the car seat too. We looked at the convertibles and I thought oh wow where to put the baby when you go somewhere. I definitely agree it's about lifestyle and personal preference.

annarach · November 2014

I loved our Chicco keyfit. Don't bother with the travel system. It's big and bulky and not necessary. If you want a stroller frame for the car seat, get a snap n go universal baby stroller. Much easier to get around, really light, and fits in your car. I have a chicco nextfit this time because I don't plan on lugging a huge car seat around like I did with baby 1.

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