XP: Can we talk about car seats?

[Deleted]

If you get a bucket seat get multiple seat attachments. I didn't know they were a thing last time and wasted money buying two seats so we'd each have one.

And, if you or DH are over 6'3" you may have a kid like mine that outgrows the length on his seat. 😝 If that happens I have recommendations. Lol

[kristhegirl]

Yes, what car(s) do you have?? This is important.

Do you love near Babies R Us, Bye Bye Baby, or a nice, big Target? They'll often let you install them in the parking lot to see that you like.

We don't live near shit, so we Amazon Primed a couple at a time to try them (very carefully!) and return them.

FWIW, and you aren't looking at them yet, but for our convertible seat we got the Safety 1st Guide 65, which has excellent reviews on CSFTL and is super cheap. It's a great seat and Elena seems comfortable happy. Our infant seat was a lot more $$ and we loved it - the Cybex Aton 2 - our main concern for both, since as you said, all car seats meet stringent safety requirements, was how it would fit in our small car. We needed the smallest front-to-back we could get.

[caer]

Everyone has had good insight. FWIW, we used the Chicco keyfit 30 and then moved onto the Chicco nextfit. DS has always been tall (DH is 6'7) and those worked great for us. We used both in my Audi Q5 (which I think you said you were looking at?) and they fit fine.

[elsmom]

We loved our Chicco keyfit 30. We switched to a convertible when DD was about 10 months due to height restrictions. I did register for our convertible and was really glad to already have it when we were ready to switch (we got the britax marathon clicktight which I also like a lot). Although they did have the next model out by the time we were ready to install so that was a downside (but it was nice not having to pay for it ourselves since DH's office got it for us!)
I chose the Chicco based on safety/overall ratings from a book I had at the time (baby bargains) and I was very happy with it! Most strollers also have adaptors you can purchase so you can use the car seat with your stroller.

[amandamh2]

+1 to buying a car seat that works well with the stroller you want. We have a Graco 360 travel system and it worked great. DS didn't outgrow the seat until around his birthday so we got a lot of use out of it and still use the stroller now.

We didn't buy a convertible seat until he was getting close on his infant seat. They don't pass the limits overnight so we figured we had time. For a convertible we got a Diono R100 and love it.

With this baby we'll use the same infant seat we did for DS then buy a second convertible seat when baby #2 gets bigger, probably another Diono because we have a Honda Civic.

[daisylola11]

Everyone is different and have different preferences and babies will have preferences too. So I'll share what we did for DS and what I'm thinking for this next LO.

With DS we have the graco 35 since it went in the graco jogger we were gifted. Switched to the convertible Diono radian when he was 6 months. We were taking him out of the car seat so much and sitting him into the stroller, wearing him or a cart by then. We will use this same infant seat w this new LO. But I think we'll end up having the convertible (another Diono) when this LO arrives because "in my head" I imagine I will be taking this baby out of the car seat much sooner to lay in the double stroller or wear in a carrier since I have DS.

I'm going to add that my graco jogger was a piece of crap haha and I wished I would have picked a different stroller then bought the adapters after since the infant car seat wasn't used for long. I think babies can sit in most strollers by the time they're 4/6 months unless it lays flat then you can lay them in it from the beginning.

It really depends on your lifestyle, if you'll be out and about a lot or mostly indoors.

I'm out and about a lot so I don't want baby stuck in the car seat all day so I picked a stroller I can lay baby in from the beginning and plan to baby wear most of the time too.

Eta: we have a Jeep Patriot and it's gonna be a very tight squeeze, looking into the highlander hopefully soon

[daisylola11]

Also not to be that mom but when looking into convertibles think about "extended rear facing", my son will be rear facing until at least 3 years hopefully more if he doesn't outgrow the carseat

[muskiefan]

We love our Graco snugride 35. My kids are giants (I believe this is temporary-- H and I are short) so I could keep them in the infant seat for the first year.

Other have given great advice. I would definitely make sure the stroller you like has adapters for the car seat you choose. For convertible seats, people seem to have a love/hate relationship with the Diono (because of the awkward booster, but that's literally YEARS away) but we love it. It's slim and I can fit 3 across with it. The thing I hated about it was the huge recline angle, even with the adjuster, when RF. We just held onto it until DD FF at over 3.

[amacbaby]

We used the keyfit for the twins and loved them. We plan on putting this little one directly in one of our convertibles and one of our big girls in a different forward facing. We have two Britax marathon clicktights. We LOVE them. The only downside is they are very heavy but we rarely move them so it doesn't bother me. They install incredibly easy in any car and Britax is a good solid brand. As long as baby is over 5lbs and not super short, they should fit the marathon from birth too.

[britab]

I second checking out Car Seats for the Littles. I would wait on on a convertible because of expiration dates and new seats come out often. We switched DD to a convertible at 6 months.

It was nice to have two bases for the infant seat but they can be installed baseless. We have Gracos. Click connect Snugride, Milestone and another Graco convertible. Still rear facing at 28 months.

[Deleted]

Another plus about extra bases that just struck me. If any olds will be watching you kid it's a big help. My mom isn't even that old but she acts like she can't do car seats. I have to install them for her every time. :/

[missi]

We went to the store this weekend to check them out again. We had the Keyfit for our twins as well.. but they are HIGHLY recommended for tiny babies leaving the NICU. My husband is still sold.. so we're getting another. I love the convenience of a carrier until they outgrow them. Nothing like having them fall asleep on a car ride and being able to let them finish a nap without hanging out in the car

No second base for us.. but that is purely because we only have one car

[mls5871]

You've had a lot of good info already, so I'll just pipe up and say that I had the Keyfit 30 for DD and liked it. She fit well, we changed to a convertible at 11 months, but she still had room to grow (50% in growth charts), and was easy to remove the cover to wash. I will also HIGHLY recommend the Keyfit Caddy stroller. Get whatever regular stroller you want, but the Caddy is super easy to keep in the back of the car and pop open with one hand to use any time you have the baby with you. The bottom is large enough for a full diaper bag. Or a "regular" grocery trip worth of stuff. The whole stroller is pretty compact, and easy to maneuver.

We have a jogger with the attachment for the car seat as well, but I tended to use that for long walks in the neighborhood, trips to the zoo, etc. The Caddy was the best for daily use running to stores, restaurants, etc.

[callmeKD]

We had a Graco Snugride 40 for DD. It's an extended fit so she used it up and until age 2. Then we switched to a Safety 1st guide 65. At 3.5 DD is still rear facing.

[callmeKD]

Looking to get Chicco Keyfits this time since we need to fit 3 seats across on my Subaru. We will move DD forward facing as well

[meggypoo1]

We have the Chicco keyfit. I really liked this one because it would fit an small little baby if need be. We have two bases for it. One in each car. It can also be buckled with a seat belt if you don't have the base. We also have the stroller that goes with it. I like that for the most part however we have crazy side walks where we are (very bumpy) so I wish we had a jogging stroller for it. I may get one for this baby.
We also have the Evenflo dlx premiere for a convertible car seat. I chose this one because it would allow for extended RF. She turned two in May and is no where near the limit for RF. I love that. I very much a RF as long as possible type of person! This rate she may not need to be turned until like 4. That is more my kid less the seat but really this seat is great for it. Another note is this seat is on the bigger side.
I would say wait to get the convertible seat. Like others said new ones come out and they expire.

[skk]

We used the Chicco Keyfit with two bases and loved it. I also had the caddy stroller and it was convenient for me even though I didn't use it for too long. I had a c-section so it was the easiest thing for me to use when I was on my own early on.

We switched to convertible around 10 months (Maxi Cosi Pria). DS was far from outgrowing the Keyfit, but we got the convertible as a gift and decided to give it a try since DS was not a far of car rides in general.

[missi]

Kinda jealous of all those still rear facing.. we had to give it up early. With twins, two pre-teens at the time, and a mid-size SUV, it was impossible to get the convertible seats rear facing with the front seat passenger eating the steering wheel or the dash.

Ah well, we've been blessed and never had to test if we made the right choice.

Also, we switched up to the Diono Radian rXT. It was the only seat narrow enough to fit two side by side and still let the seat fold so the 12 year old could get into the third row seating. Honestly, I absolutely love it. We have no issue installing or adjusting it and the twins are quite happy climbing into it and asking to have their "seat belts buckled!" ( go go Little Einsteins )

The Diono even makes a great pre-teen pillow.  ^_~ 

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