car seats pros and cons

[zandeela]

Its that time to upgrade LO from her current bucket seat to something new.

Which one do you have

which one do you want

Pros and Cons....

Go!

 

[fishbulb]

We have the britax roundabout. It's pretty no frills but it has a short shell height so it's good for shallow backseat. It does have two things I won't compromise on, a steel frame and side impact protection.

[younglove316]

I have an Eddie Bauer one. I did some research and then asked for help and suggestions at the store. I have a smaller back seat so I needed something that wouldn't be too huge but it works for us

[RandomName]

I have the peg Perego convertable. I like it so far. It's rear and forward faceing.

[jtizzay]

Clek foonf. Lasts forever I love it. And I love knowing she can stay rf for a long time.

[monster]

We have the Clek Foonf in my car. Pros- it is rated as one of the best convertible carseats, comes in cute colours, the buckles are easy to do up. Cons- its big, although I have a subcompact and it fits in my car, but it won't fit in MH's 2dr car.

We also have the Diono Radian RXT in MH's car. Pro's- smaller, it was one of the just a few that would fit into a 2dr sports car. It was also very well rated. Cons- I find the strap that is used to tighten the straps is tough to pull. I also had to remove the velvet things that velcro around the straps to get a better fit on LO... not sure why they have those on there.

[angelsnight]

We have the Graco my size 65. I like that it reclines a good amount so when lo falls asleep in the car her head isn't slumped over unlike the cheaper seat I got for the grandparents. It's got nice cushioning and she seems very comfortable in it. Probably my favorite feature is the latch hooks. On her bucket seat base it was just hooks and to unhook them you had to push it forward and then slide it back to unhook, and this was difficult in cars where the latches weren't visible and you had to do it blind with your hand under the seat back. But on her new car seat it has buttons like on adult seatbelts, just push the button to unhook. Makes it much easier for the occasions when I have to move the car seat to another car.

My only real complaint is that it doesn't convert to a booster, but for the price (around 180) it's not really a big deal.

[babycaps]

We have the Peg Perego Convertible. It's leather, so easy clean up, easy to adjust shoulder strap height.
CON, only two recline positions.
I would buy it again, but it is pricey.

[lakecountrygal]

I'm pretty sure I have the same Eddie Baur one as younglove316 but we actually hate it. I have a smaller backseat and rear facing it occasionally slides. My ILs also have it for their car and have leather seats, it slides all over in there. Yes, it's properly installed, it doesn't work for us. We plan on replacing it when we get our tax money.

[younglove316]

Feb 18, 2015 8:17:07 GMT -5 lakecountrygal said:

I'm pretty sure I have the same Eddie Baur one as younglove316 but we actually hate it. I have a smaller backseat and rear facing it occasionally slides. My ILs also have it for their car and have leather seats, it slides all over in there. Yes, it's properly installed, it doesn't work for us. We plan on replacing it when we get our tax money.

We haven't had any of those issues with ours, I've only had it a couple of months though. I do have leather seats so my husband went out and bought one of those pads you can put down under the car seats to protect your seats. Maybe that would help?

[Somers Isles]

Are there any car seats that are better for especially sweaty babies?? Robert gets SO sweaty it's insane.

[zandeela]

I was looking at the Graco 4ever seat or the Graco smartseat on the internet yesterday, I really like the graco products. anyone have/use either of these?

[kbmac613]

Feb 18, 2015 8:58:46 GMT -5 zandeela said:

I was looking at the Graco 4ever seat or the Graco smartseat on the internet yesterday, I really like the graco products. anyone have/use either of these?

We have the Graco 4ever and overall I'm very happy with it.  LO seems comfortable and it's well padded.  I like that it has a lot of recline positions and her head doesn't slump when she falls asleep.  It's suppose to last 10 years and it converts all the way to a booster seat.  I guess my only complaint is that it's hard to get LO into the seat.  We have a Hyundai Santa Fe and it can be difficult to lift her over the side.  I've gotten better with it overtime but it's something to consider.  It wasn't something I considered or compared to other car seats.  I would buy it again.

I'm pretty sure MH has a Graco Mysize 65 in his car.  He has a 4-door BMW sedan and it fits comfortably in the back seat with plenty of room for a passenger.  I don't put LO in that car seat very often because we use my car as the family car but he hasn't complained about it.

[karebear]

My question. DH drops LO off and I pick up. Should we now get 2 car seats($$$) so I don't have to rebuckle in the seat everyday for school? With the bucket seats, we just have 2 bases and they seat stays at school with LO so I can pick him up. Thoughts?

[zandeela]

The smartseat from Greco has a base like the bucket seats, that is one reason we are looking at it so we can switch the seat from vehicle to vehicle without too much fuss, may be a good option for you karebear

[Deleted]

We have:

Eddie Baur- Great for my tiny fiesta, roomy (wide) and comfortable Ethan does far better in this seat for the GA/VT trip than he does in the other seat we have. Has lasted through James and now Ethan. Easy clean and I've never had to take off the whole cover to wash- because its easy to clean. Bit tough to install but not the worst. (I reserve the worst for the Graco nautlis) It cost us 140 when James was 5 months old (4 years ago in a few months- WTF!?!?!?!?) and has been worth every penny, I would buy another.

Graco Myride- (I think?)- To long for my Fiesta so its in the Jeep- it always feels crooked even when properly installed (in any car). a bit more narrow for my chunky second child. It holds stains something awful in my opinion, I've had to take the cover off a couple times to actually get stuff off the cover. Also its to easy for Ethan to pull the straps to tight for him so I have to watch that- which is hard since he figured out how to hook his foot into the strap and pull it to reaching distance. I paid about 75 for this, I probably would not buy it ever again.

My mom had a Evenflo carseat- Its super tall- grew mold to easy, and I washed that damn cover in bleach and soap about 50 billion times and nothing came out of it. It looked just as dirty and moldy and gross as it did when I went to wash it. (it wasn't used for 4 months because Ethan was to small and James got a new seat.)

Edit: 
I wanted to add- the myride will sit side by side RF with the Britax Pioneer we have... but not the Nautilus. The cupholder on the Nautilus cup holder gets in the way.

I honestly dont see the point in getting the AOI type car seat if you plan on having more than one kid. Get a convert (like the graco myride has a pretty long life- the Eddie only has 5/6 years so by the time ethan is done with it it will be time to trash it) The Nautilus converts to a high back booster and then just a plain booster. For the price I paid for my Myride and Nautilis I could buy one Graco forever or smart seat or whatever. Given the life on the Nautilus and my Britax's and having more than one kid it would make no sense because you end up spending way more money that way even with the 10 year expritation- my britax has a 7 year and you cant use it until they are 2 years of age. (James and Ethan are 2 years, 2 months apart) so essentially that will take James until he is 9 years old. 
Hopefully that makes sense.. 

[Deleted]

EDIT: THIS IS FOR TWO KIDS NOT SINGLE KIDS- duh it makes sense if you are only having one kid  
Smart seat is 200+
Smartseat base is 75+ (I'm not looking at sale prices...)

I would honestly get two seats for that price.. for example


Britax Pioneer x 2 = 150 (I paid) = 300  - (240 if I got two nautilus')
My ride x 1 = 75.00
Eddie Baur = 145.00
--------------------------------
520 for the seats used in my two cars for both kids that I am currently using in the Fiesta and Jeep (if I had done nautilus' 460$) 

Smart seat cost for us would be

Smart Seat x2 = 229.99 = 459.98
Extra Base x2 = 76.94 = 153.88
--------------------------------------
Total cost 2 cars= 613.86


www.amazon.com/Graco-SmartSeat-All-One-Convertible/dp/B0057A59HW/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_img_y
www.amazon.com/Graco-SmartSeat-All---One-Rosin/dp/B004Y99M52/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424292353&sr=8-1&keywords=Smart+seat

If you read the car seat for littles post about it the 10 y/o they put in it needs a shorter booster anyway because it doesn't fit him correctly. And not knowing how tall/short your child is I'm not sure in the long run if this would be the best seat for all kids. If they lowered the price of it- I'd do it personally for my next set of kids (they have 4 years to lower the price ) but right now? Eh. (link: csftl.org/graco-4ever-all-in-one-car-seat-review/ )

[Deleted]

Feb 18, 2015 11:15:13 GMT -5 zandeela said:

The smartseat from Greco has a base like the bucket seats, that is one reason we are looking at it so we can switch the seat from vehicle to vehicle without too much fuss, may be a good option for you karebear

in looking up the links for my previous post it looks as though the easy switch is not as easy as one thinks- Its wicked heavy.

[Deleted]

And we wont even talk about the price of the 4ever seat..

www.amazon.com/Graco-4ever-Convertible-Six-position-Recline/dp/B00L8DIEW4/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1424293739&sr=1-2&keywords=graco+4+ever+all+in+one+car+seat

[disneyaddict1]

This is totally dependent on your situation.

The kids seats stay in my car 90% of the time. For DS1 we went from the Chicco keyfit 30 straight to the Graco Nautilus which is forward facing only. I love this seat! But it is kind of wide.

LO went from the Chicco keyfit to the Graco 4ever. I love it! However it is also wide so between the 2 boys we no longer have the 3rd middle seat.

Now it is pricey but we aren't having anymore and I do not plan on passing it down to anyone. So it made sense for us to get an all in one for both kids.

Edited to add: we got our Graco on Sale. It was $100 cheaper on sale at BBRU (at least) than what Amazon is showing right now.

[RandomName]

Feb 18, 2015 11:12:49 GMT -5 karebear said:

My question. DH drops LO off and I pick up. Should we now get 2 car seats($$$) so I don't have to rebuckle in the seat everyday for school? With the bucket seats, we just have 2 bases and they seat stays at school with LO so I can pick him up. Thoughts?

IF it was me I would get a second seat. It's worth it in my situation bc in the next 1.5 years both my kiddos will need to be in convertible car seats. Do you plan on more kids?

For the day to day simplicity of a second seat and if you can afford it Id say why not - even with one kid. You could check out sales, different makes and brands to save a bit.

[kewii]

We have two seats. My husband doesn't drive LO that often (just occasionally on weekends), but I knew if I didn't get a second one, I'd get stuck driving everywhere since I had the seat.

We have the Graco 4Ever for my car. I really like it. I find it a bit difficult to tighten the straps sometimes, but it's comfy and she's happy. I love how long it's supposed to last and it fit into my car well.

My husband has a Safety First. I hate it. It's a monster. I can't even sit in the front seat in his car. I think we may just replace it with a Myride, but he needs to decide about it.

Somers Isles, we had a problem with sweatiness because it's so damn hot in the car sometimes. With the way the air flows it was hard for LO to get cool air hitting her. We bought a noggle. I love it and recommend it to everyone here

[bennieangel]

Feb 18, 2015 11:12:49 GMT -5 karebear said:

My question. DH drops LO off and I pick up. Should we now get 2 car seats($$$) so I don't have to rebuckle in the seat everyday for school? With the bucket seats, we just have 2 bases and they seat stays at school with LO so I can pick him up. Thoughts?

I would for sure (and have gotten) get a second seat.

[zandeela]

we only plan on the one child and 95% of the time we will be in my Jeep. That is why we are thinking the seat with an extra base. the few times (long trips) that we will be in the truck will be worth just 75 for the base, not 150 for an entire seat that will get used infrequently. That and the smartseat has very good crash ratings.

[kbmac613]

Feb 19, 2015 3:57:25 GMT -5 kewii said:

We have two seats. My husband doesn't drive LO that often (just occasionally on weekends), but I knew if I didn't get a second one, I'd get stuck driving everywhere since I had the seat.

We have the Graco 4Ever for my car. I really like it. I find it a bit difficult to tighten the straps sometimes, but it's comfy and she's happy. I love how long it's supposed to last and it fit into my car well.

My husband has a Safety First. I hate it. It's a monster. I can't even sit in the front seat in his car. I think we may just replace it with a Myride, but he needs to decide about it.

Somers Isles, we had a problem with sweatiness because it's so damn hot in the car sometimes. With the way the air flows it was hard for LO to get cool air hitting her. We bought a noggle. I love it and recommend it to everyone here

I had the same problem but did some research and learned to pull the straps down from behind the seat and then pull the strap from between the legs.  I hope that makes sense because it made a world of difference!  I'll try to explain better if it's confusing.

[disneyaddict1]

Feb 19, 2015 3:57:25 GMT -5 kewii said:

We have two seats. My husband doesn't drive LO that often (just occasionally on weekends), but I knew if I didn't get a second one, I'd get stuck driving everywhere since I had the seat.

We have the Graco 4Ever for my car. I really like it. I find it a bit difficult to tighten the straps sometimes, but it's comfy and she's happy. I love how long it's supposed to last and it fit into my car well.

My husband has a Safety First. I hate it. It's a monster. I can't even sit in the front seat in his car. I think we may just replace it with a Myride, but he needs to decide about it.

Somers Isles, we had a problem with sweatiness because it's so damn hot in the car sometimes. With the way the air flows it was hard for LO to get cool air hitting her. We bought a noggle. I love it and recommend it to everyone here

We have this too!! I wish I had found it with DS1.

[kewii]

Feb 19, 2015 13:53:12 GMT -5 kbmac613 said:

Feb 19, 2015 3:57:25 GMT -5 kewii said:

We have two seats. My husband doesn't drive LO that often (just occasionally on weekends), but I knew if I didn't get a second one, I'd get stuck driving everywhere since I had the seat.

We have the Graco 4Ever for my car. I really like it. I find it a bit difficult to tighten the straps sometimes, but it's comfy and she's happy. I love how long it's supposed to last and it fit into my car well.

My husband has a Safety First. I hate it. It's a monster. I can't even sit in the front seat in his car. I think we may just replace it with a Myride, but he needs to decide about it.

Somers Isles, we had a problem with sweatiness because it's so damn hot in the car sometimes. With the way the air flows it was hard for LO to get cool air hitting her. We bought a noggle. I love it and recommend it to everyone here

I had the same problem but did some research and learned to pull the straps down from behind the seat and then pull the strap from between the legs.  I hope that makes sense because it made a world of difference!  I'll try to explain better if it's confusing.

Yup, that's what we've been doing too.  It's just a bit of a pain in the ass.