August 2019 Moms
cato99
member
Product Spotlight: Carseats
cato99
member
Happy Monday! Today in our Product Spotlight Series we have CARSEATS to discuss! This is an item practically everyone will need before the baby is born (unless you live in a city like NYC that waives the carseat requirement for leaving the hospital with your new little one), so let's get the research rolling!
Do you have specific carseat you love? Tips on scoring deals while remaining within safety guidelines? Travel systems you do or do not recommend? Opinions on different carseats for different stages vs. adjustable ones that can last until your child is 27? FTM questions about fitting these monstrosities into your cars? Please share!
Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights
Do you have specific carseat you love? Tips on scoring deals while remaining within safety guidelines? Travel systems you do or do not recommend? Opinions on different carseats for different stages vs. adjustable ones that can last until your child is 27? FTM questions about fitting these monstrosities into your cars? Please share!
Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights
Re: Product Spotlight: Carseats
Any thoughts on the Nuna brand? Pipa or rava?
*Live, Love, Laugh, Learn*
We use the carrier, but you don't need it. My second baby hated the car seat. He screamed constantly so I never carried the carseat and always threw him in a ring sling whenever we got out of the car. We switched him to a convertible seat around 3-4 months. He did much better in that. I always go for the highest height limits because my kids have never outgrown a weight limit but they always outgrow the height limits. We do the Chicco Netfix for the convertible and then my oldest is in a Britax booster because he can still fit the high back booster (and was in a 5 pt harness for a long time) even though he is extremely tall for his age. Just because they're bigger doesn't mean their muscles and bones and ligaments are more developed than anyone else their age!
@cato99 you may want to adjust the title for car seats! Also, for the next product spotlight could we touch on pregnany pillows and/or maternity clothing? I was just thinking we are all going to start needing these things sooner rather than later!
Me 32
H 33
TTC#1 January 2016 BFP 5/16/2016 DD Born 1/27/17
TFAS: BFP 11/26/2018 Estimated due date: 8/2/2019
Me 32
H 33
TTC#1 January 2016 BFP 5/16/2016 DD Born 1/27/17
TFAS: BFP 11/26/2018 Estimated due date: 8/2/2019
And @olivemomma that's a great idea--I've updated the spreadsheet to touch on those topics next week. @moon1417 thank you but I cannot take credit for the main list; this is mainly lifted from prior BMCs with a few updates I wanted to include!
@lilmamabebe3 I had heard that travel systems were pointless and that's why I steered clear from them, but I didn't want to say as much in the main post since I didn't have personal experience, so thank you for speaking up!
Tip for FTMs: you may or may not want to use a hand-me-down carseat since you may not know what it's been through, but if one is offered to you you should accept because Target (and maybe other places) have trade-in events where you can bring in an out-of-date carseat in exchange for a good discount on a brand new one.
We had a Graco SnugRide with a click-connect base and matching stroller frame and that worked for all sorts of circumstances. I mentioned in an earlier thread that I traveled solo with DD all over the place and the carseat + empty stroller frame system was really easy for me to deal with one-handed. Now that DD has outgrown that we have a Graco Extend-2-Fit.
Travel Tip for flyers! You can check a car-seat for free, either at the main desk or when you're about to board. Airlines offer plastic bags to wrap the car-seat, but a big tip is to get a car-seat bag (we have this one) because you can stuff it full of diapers and other baby things without taking up space in your actual luggage. Now that DD (and her carseat) is bigger, and we'll soon be traveling with two, we'll probably switch to something with wheels, but for the first year+ that carrier was super convenient.
For the chicco key fit, if you don’t “need” the base, does that mean you didn’t have an issue with using it in a Lyft/uber/cab/etc?
@cato99 I like the tip about the car seat bag!
Started TTC in June 2014
Started seeing RE in June 2015
HSG in July 2015 = normal, started Clomid/Ovidrel/IUI cycle in August 2015
Cycle #3 in October afforded 1st month of mature follicles - underwent IUI
BFP on 10/27/15 - EDD 7/8/16
DD#1 born on 7/1/16
TTC #2 in September 2018
BFP on 12/2/18 - EDD 8/16/19
Team Green!
On the note of traveling with seats, we also bought a bag. We double bag our travel car seat with trashbags after learning the hard way that the seat still got damp when we flew and it rained. We also jam random extras into the bag with the seat.
Something to look into...My hospital for DS delivery did parenting classes in addition to the birth class and tour, and if you did the safety class (we did 4 different classes I think?), you got a voucher for a free car seat. It was the most basic Cosco convertible car seat, but it was free. They brought it to us before discharge. Now...it's not the seat I would choose, but it didn't cost anything but time and we now use it for travel rather than taking our "nice" seat everywhere. It's been handy. So, check with your hospital - they may have a similar voucher program you might be interested in!
Edit to correct: Freebie seat was Cosco.
2. At about 14 months we moved up to the chicco nextfit and that has also been amazing. Turned him front facing a few months shy of 3. He is only 28 lbs at 3 and I work in Emergency Medicine so I was a holdout on going front facing. Love this seat as well and he will be in it for a long time
3. We have a Cosco Serena as well. Cheap AF but the best airplane travel seat once you need to bring one along. We make our kiddo sit in his car seat on the plane because he is way more chill. It pops perfectly into our Bob stroller and we just cruise through the airport that way. Typically wherever we travel we need a stroller and car seat. Not comfortable for everyday use but works awesome for the task. $40 at Walmart!
Thats my $.02
Yes! The fit in the cars! We did not do this, and this was my only real complaint with the click connect. It rendered the front passenger seat useless in my Mazda 3, and was really pushing it in the Jeep Cherokee. After moving, we both got station wagons, but you can bet we tried the E2F convertible in them before buying!
Seems so dumb to think that so many car seats don't fit easily/comfortably in cars ...
Me 32
H 33
TTC#1 January 2016 BFP 5/16/2016 DD Born 1/27/17
TFAS: BFP 11/26/2018 Estimated due date: 8/2/2019
@denma2015
Thanks guys! This was very helpful!
They actually do make convertibles now that start as low as 5 pounds, so that is a valid option if you are not concerned about the travel system aspect. Also if you're in a warm climate you may not be so worried about bringing the seat in.
Best tip I ever got in regards to the convertible carseat is wait until the baby is here, and take them to a store to sit in the seats. If they cry in the store, they will cry in the car. That's how we picked his bigger seat.