Product Spotlight Series: Car Seats

bserena · April 2020

This is a place for FTMs to ask questions about, S+TMs to share their prior experience with, and everyone to share what they're eyeing in the world of maternity, baby and postpartum products. Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product to help streamline and make it easier to refer back. This week we're discussing car seats!

Please use the prompts below to try to share as much relevant info as you can in a format that is easy for those reading to navigate and respond to.

For S+TMs:

Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice:
Favorite car seat:
Link/picture:
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.):
What you like and don't like about it:
Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?:
Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?:
Additional thoughts on car seats?:

For FTMs:

Car seat you're interested in:
Link/picture:
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.):
Any questions for S+TMs?:

To view past Product Spotlights or the upcoming schedule, see

here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Aqb8MGEYn0PQtTuPg16w7-ypItLmVIMNyU5AteGqodM/edit?usp=sharing

mimser · April 2020

FTM Here

I think safety is my main interest at the moment...and ease of installation.

Car seat you're interested in: Britax Marathon ClickTight and Graco Extend2Fit
Link/picture:

Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): The Britax is $450CAD ($318US) and the Graco is $300CAD ($218US).
Any questions for S+TMs?: Any experience with these? Recommendations, comments?

krystrist2014 · April 2020

STM here!

With DD I really appreciated having a car seat that attaches to the stroller for the first few months or so. It is a MUST for when you are running errands or going places and baby falls asleep in the car and the last thing you want to do is wake them because everything will go so much more smoothly if they sleep through the errands.

We had the Britax B Agile car seat stroller system for when DD was young and we will reuse with baby #2 since we are still within the 10 expiration date. Looks like price was $400 ish. The below pic is a newer model of the system we had (ours is5 years old).

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/gf/kkq5r8n1qcec.png

9 months and onward I highly suggest a convertible seat! We have the Graco 4ever seat and it is awesome! $300. Looks like they have a newer model now too (DLX version).

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/sd/fn48zcb78lek.png

*sorry I cannot make the darn spoilers work for me on mobile right now. 😤 so frustrating!

mimser · April 2020

After some more research and your comment @krystrist2014, I think I'm leaning more towards the Graco 4ever!

Any other STM+ recommending a convertible vs just a phase 1-2?

crystalmir91385 · April 2020

With my 2 girls we used a Graco Click connect, and I loved it. We got it on a black friday deal, which was even better.
I'm pretty sure it will be "expired" for #3, so the search starts again. There is no way hubby would let me splurge on some of the nice ones, so what is out there on the affordable end of the spectrum?

name1109 · April 2020

We’re expecting baby four!

Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice: I’m short 5’3”. Baby plus a rear facing car seat that clicks in and out is just heavy to me. I found it’s hard to get the stroller out of the car (granted we never bought the lighter weight connect stroller thing). We have a Ford that is not close to the ground. So It is also hard for me to simply get in and out as well. (I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this babe). Baby at one year for me is around 20 lbs plus the car seat is quite heavy. My husband has no problem. So for me....the clickable in/out function is nice but can be awkward/hard for me. If you fly a lot, having a car seat that is airplane safe (for me) was really helpful. I’ve tried renting car seats upon arrival but often I’ve found car rental companies think a car seat is a car seat vs an infant car seat etc.
Favorite car seat: We basically went Chicco. We have the keyfit 30, two NextFits and well the Graco Tranzitions booster.
Link/picture: they’re um not pictureable at this point and I fail at the spoiler thing haha.
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): All to me were pricey
What you like and don't like about it: The keyfit 30 does not seem anywhere as comfortable as the NextFit. I like how the NextFit can be forward or backward facing. I like how you can unzip the cushion and wash. The NextFit IS heavy. We mainly have a family car and a commuter car. So we only have car seats in one car.
Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?: The Doona(?) sounds interesting to me. Stroller and seat in one.
Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: No...
Additional thoughts on car seats?: All our car seats are 4-7 yrs old. The keyfit 30 is past its expiration date so we’re going to either get a new one or put the four yr old into a booster. I will probably research what the safest car seat in todays market and check https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats for other guidelines.

crizz13 · April 2020

Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice: I am HUGE on car seat safety and a bit of a nut about ease of (good) installation.
Favorite car seat: We go Britax all the way from infant to now 5+ year old
Link/picture: We have used the Britax B-Safe infant seat for both our girls and then transitioned them to rear facing in Britax Advocate Click Tights around a year old
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): They are not the cheapest seats
What you like and don't like about it: So so much I love, but as I said above, basically the comfort of knowing that I can't mess up the installation and the safety ratings. The clicktight feature is amazing and I don't believe any other seat on the market does the same thing.
Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?: Nope
Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: We bought a couple of seats that are super lightweight to bring when we fly/travel (for rental cars) and though they are much more portable, it's always a pain to install them in the rental cars and takes me forever.
Additional thoughts on car seats?: There is a LOT to learn about car seats from a safety perspective that you may not know. TheCarSeatLady is a good follow on instagram (she's a pediatrician) she also has a site which talks about getting a car seat that matches your family vehicle: https://thecarseatlady.com/2017familyvehiclebuyingguide/ FollowJamie Grayson on Facebook/Insta (he's a former CPST). Car Seats for the Littles is a great facebook page for questions and troubleshooting. Please also tag me if you have car seat questions. I'm certainly not an expert, but I have spent the past 5 years pretty much obsessing about safety in cars for my kiddos!

crizz13 · April 2020

@krystrist2014 You may need to check your b-safe expiration. I only know because we are in the same situation, but our infant expiration is 6 years and based on when ours was manufactured, we have to get a new one!

crizz13 · April 2020

@mimser One of the hardest parts about baby gear is that something that works wonders for one baby will not work at all for another! For example, my first daughter fell asleep all the time in her car seat and it was crucial to have the infant bucket seat. I could drive to the store, put her in the basket of the shopping cart in her seat, shop, drive home, and unload all my groceries without waking her up. My second HATED (and still does at 2 years old) the car and never fell asleep in the bucket. She was happier being worn in a baby carrier while shopping so she could have been fine in a convertible from day 1. The reason we kept her in the bucket was more because it was cheaper to just use the second base in my husband's car rather than shell out the money for two new convertible seats in such a short amount of time.

krystrist2014 · April 2020

@crizz13 ooohhhh thanks for the heads up! I will definitely check!

mimser · April 2020

@crizz13 thanks! Super informative

acdc1109 · April 2020

So at this point we've used 3 different carseats, we started with the graco clickconnect 35 (travel system) for when both boys were infants (DS1 is almost 4 so I'm pretty sure we'll be able to use it one more time!). I have to say I actually really loved being able to use the infant carseat with the stroller. I also loved that when they would fall asleep (both did a lot) we didn't have to disturb them when going into a store or when we got home. Between 9-12 months we switched to the graco extend2fit. Because DH dropped off at daycare and I picked up we had to get 2 of these which was not cheap! When DS2 was ready to move from his infant carseat to a convertible we ended up deciding it was cheaper to get DS1 new carseats (graco wayz 3-in-1 harness booster) and let DS2 use the extend2fit. No idea what we'll do when this baby can't use the infant seat anymore! As a side note, we had an incident where we washed all the straps from the extend2fit without knowing that you shouldn't do that, but when I called graco our carseat was still under warranty so they sent us a new one for free! All we had to do was send back the "damaged" one. We were definitely pleased with their customer service!

@mimser we really like our extend2fit, but if you don't want to buy a booster later on the graco 4ever is perfect! My cousin has one for each of her kids (3) and swears by them!

ksd20 · April 2020

Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice: DS was born in January and we liked the infant bucket so we could get him buckled inside while the car warmed up. It did get heavy towards the end of his first year. Also nice when he fell asleep after daycare pickup I could put him right into the stroller to take the dog for a walk
Favorite car seat: we went with Chicco key fit 30 with an extra base and then graco extend2fit.
Link/picture:
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): $$, not the most expensive nor the cheapest
What you like and don't like about it: we tried out the different travel systems in store and liked the quality and feel of the chicco, and didn't want to pay the price tag of the britax. I have an awful time loosening the strap to release in the Graco
Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?: looking at getting a Cosco convertible for in the grandparents car
Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: no
Additional thoughts on car seats?: no

mimser · April 2020

I have a question regarding car seats, do they all fit any car? I understand some will fit better than others of course. We have a Nissan Versa hatchback and they provide a list of car seats they tested. Should I stick to that list or any seat should at least be compatible? Thanks!

lindz42 · April 2020

@name1109 Thank you for mentioning considerations based on your height... I'm 5'1 and hadn't thought about that yet! I definitely already struggle with some things because of my height. (DH is 5'11 and doesn't quite get it, so the struggle is real lol.)

Is the Chicco Keyfit 30 the one that has worked best for you? Also wondering now if I should consider my height for other products... maybe there's already a list online somewhere?

krystrist2014 · April 2020

@mimser - When we had DD, we found that the infant car seat (Britax B-Safe) didn’t fit well in MH’s Ford Fiesta (hatchback). The seat couldn’t strap in in the middle, so it had to go behind the passengers seat but the passengers seat had to be scooted up further than was really comfortable even for a shorty like me (5’2). We wound up trading that car in for a Nissan Versa and it fit a lot better in there - granted ours was not a hatchback and I’m not sure whether the seating space is smaller or larger in the hatchback.

Edited for typos

mimser · April 2020

Thanks @krystrist2014 ! Well we have a Nissan Versa Note, but the 5 door, I think that's hatchback...haha and I checked and the B-Safe is on their list so it makes sense it fit. We always feel like there's so much space in the back, but I want to make sure we don't make this big purchase and have it not work out.

potofgolden · April 2020

@ksdelong20 is the Grace Key Fit 30 compatible with the Graco Extend a Fit. Like base or stroller. I’m assuming LO graduated from the key fit to the extend a fit.
DD is now in the Key Fit and we need to move her to a bigger car seat.

hedgepig · May 2020

We had the Britax B-Safe 35 infant carseat and really loved the quality and ease of use. For a variety of reasons we upgraded to the Evenflo Symphony Elite convertible seat at about 4 months. That seat is fine - I don't have anything particularly nice to say about it, but no complaints in particular either.

FWIW, I wanted to share that for us, the infant bucket seat was not really useful or necessary, and if I were to do it again, I would just spend the money to get a nicer convertible seat. DS didn't like being in the car, and never once stayed asleep in the carseat once the car stopped. So there was never any point in taking him out of the car in the bucket seat, because he didn't sleep and would just cry. It's also so heavy and awkward to carry around - we have steep steps leading down from our driveway down to our house, so it was awkward and dangerous to carry the carseat down anyway, and a pain to have to carry it back up.

magdaaaa · May 2020

STM+ here!

with DD I did Britax and then graco and was pleased with both brands, but considering that was a decade ago I don’t remember which seats specifically.

with DS we went straight to convertible with the maxi cosi pria 85 and loved it! He still uses that seat in my moms car. With us planning on more littles, we went with the diono 3RXT and are in love.

with this babe we’re doing the infant seat and went with the maxi cosi mico max 30, and will go with the diono again after that

lindz42 · May 2020

Question for anyone about how many to purchase? DH and I both work, have separate cars, and plan to both have car seats. Eager first-time grandparents are asking about car seats and whether they should also get car seats? No idea how often they would actually need them at this point. Would it be easy to just have to car seats and transfer to car when needed, or should they get their own base or convertible seat? Maybe start with our own and they can get their own if they feel it's needed?

krystrist2014 · May 2020

@warmwinter I definitely think it depends how often theyll be driving baby. Personally, my parents live in NY (I am in FL) but when DD was born I visited them like 3 or 4 times that year. They bought a convertible car seat (Graco 4ever) before I first visited so that I wouldn’t have to fly with a car seat (just me flying so didn’t have H for extra set of hands) and it has been very convenient to have a seat in their car. MH and I also each have a seat in our cars because I was honestly paranoid about car seat safety and hubby has never got the car seat strapped as tight as I knew it needed to be and I just couldn’t trust that he would do it right if he had to pick her up from daycare and strap the thing in himself.

ETA: I also check and tighten or redo the car seat every time my dad picks me up from the airport because he never gets it done correctly either. Proper car seat installation was a huge anxiety for me from even before DD was born and I might come off as psycho to my family and friends, but no one seems to care or put as much effort into it as me therefore I trust no one. Lol

ecolton01 · May 2020

Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice: I have 3 in the third row all in car seats so I needed Narrow . (I will most likely have 4 in car seats because I’m not positive my daughter will be big enough for a booster by the time this little one arrives .
Favorite car seat: Diono Radion X
Link/picture: I have 6 of them lol but no link
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): Roughly 250 / seat . If you watch Zulilly they pop up on occasion on super sale that’s how I bought most of mine
What you like and don't like about it: I love how narrow it is especially since I have 3 ( I dont like loving them from my car to hubby’s car so we each have 3 installed ) negative : they have a steel frame so they are heavy as hell , but it makes me feel better then the plastic frame ones .
Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?: No I’m sold all the way on Diono
Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: I have handy downs of the graco grow with me ones but they are so wide and bulky it just wouldn’t work for our family . I drive a Yukon XL and Hubby has a full size truck and I don’t think I could get 3 of those across
Additional thoughts on car seats? I know it’s a hot subject for a lot of people and no one is going to be the “best”. They all have goods and bad but at the end of the day I have seen pictures of the cheapest one protect a kid and pictures of the most expensive one save a kid so who knows . If you are expecting that you will have 3 car seats in a row at some point I would highly recommend the diono . They are the slimmest . I had 2 rear facing and one forward facing for a long time , now they are all forward facing . I plan to put 2 in the 3rd row and 2 in the second row . I use the infant seat until baby reaches about 9 months or has decent head control before I personally switch them to the rear facing bigger seat . I think I used Britax with the boys and Graco with my daughter .

Ecat504 · June 2020

ecolton01 said:

Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice: I have 3 in the third row all in car seats so I needed Narrow . (I will most likely have 4 in car seats because I’m not positive my daughter will be big enough for a booster by the time this little one arrives .
Favorite car seat: Diono Radion X
Link/picture: I have 6 of them lol but no link
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): Roughly 250 / seat . If you watch Zulilly they pop up on occasion on super sale that’s how I bought most of mine
What you like and don't like about it: I love how narrow it is especially since I have 3 ( I dont like loving them from my car to hubby’s car so we each have 3 installed ) negative : they have a steel frame so they are heavy as hell , but it makes me feel better then the plastic frame ones .
Is there a car seat you don't have but are considering? Why?: No I’m sold all the way on Diono
Is there a car seat you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: I have handy downs of the graco grow with me ones but they are so wide and bulky it just wouldn’t work for our family . I drive a Yukon XL and Hubby has a full size truck and I don’t think I could get 3 of those across
Additional thoughts on car seats? I know it’s a hot subject for a lot of people and no one is going to be the “best”. They all have goods and bad but at the end of the day I have seen pictures of the cheapest one protect a kid and pictures of the most expensive one save a kid so who knows . If you are expecting that you will have 3 car seats in a row at some point I would highly recommend the diono . They are the slimmest . I had 2 rear facing and one forward facing for a long time , now they are all forward facing . I plan to put 2 in the 3rd row and 2 in the second row . I use the infant seat until baby reaches about 9 months or has decent head control before I personally switch them to the rear facing bigger seat . I think I used Britax with the boys and Graco with my daughter .

Thanks for this! Had never heard of it. I'll have 2 in boosters and this babe in my backseat so narrow is what I need!

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