Need infant carseat recommendations

[LuxPerpetua]

We have an older daughter (age 6) who is still in a 5-pt. harness in our Graco Nautilus.  We recently found out we're expecting baby #2, and I'd ideally like to have an infant/bucket-style seat until s/he outgrows it and then switch to a rear-facing convertible.  Does anyone know what are the best recommended brands for an infant seat?  And, also, is the Graco Nautilus convertible between rear and forward-facing?  (I really like this seat and would like to go to that after the bucket seat if we could.  Our first daughter didn't move into her Nautilus until age 3 when she was already forward-facing so I don't really know if the Nautilus can be rear-facing.)

Thanks!

[Lauren82]

I use a Chicco Keyfit30 (bucket seat) and love it. It was super easy to install which is always a plus.

I did a quick search on the Nautilus and it appears that it is a forward facing only seat.

[Maedze]

The Chicco Keyfit 30 is a user friendly, long lasting seat.  I would also recommend the Graco Snugride 30, the Graco Snugride 35 (not the Graco Snugride 22), the Safety First On Board Air 35 and the Combi Shuttle.    You can find all of these seats at Babies R Us, usually, so you could play with them to figure which you liked the best.  

The Graco Nautilus is a combination seat, which means it works as a forward facing harnessed seat and then converts to a booster.  It does not work as a rear facing convertible.

[LuxPerpetua]

Thanks for the recommendations!

Originally Posted by Maedze 

The Chicco Keyfit 30 is a user friendly, long lasting seat.  I would also recommend the Graco Snugride 30, the Graco Snugride 35 (not the Graco Snugride 22), the Safety First On Board Air 35 and the Combi Shuttle.    You can find all of these seats at Babies R Us, usually, so you could play with them to figure which you liked the best.  

The Graco Nautilus is a combination seat, which means it works as a forward facing harnessed seat and then converts to a booster.  It does not work as a rear facing convertible.

What is it about the Snugride 22 that you dislike (just curious so I'll know better what to look for)?

[Maedze]

The Snugride 22 has higher bottom most strap slots, meaning it doesn't fit many newborns well in comparison with the 30 or 35.   It's also outgrown much earlier, and many of the models available are 'rear adjust' rather than front adjust, which I have never seen a parent use correctly, even very intelligent and safety conscious ones. 

[Mom2M]

We had a Snugride 22 with DD1 and I really liked it, it was front adjusting, I would not want a rear adjust. She was fine in it until about 13 months. We had a Snugride 35 for DD2 and loved it, it was very comfortable and I liked how it was wider. She fit in it just fine even at18 months when we moved her to a Britax Marathon. I also love the Nautilus, DD1 is still harnessed in it and comfortable.

[MacKinnon]

As usual, Maedze has got it covered

I usually tell parents to look for a few key features- an adjustable base, a build in lock off if they are doing a center install with a belt, or know they have to use the seat belt vs. LATCH, front harness adjust, the ability to leave the handle UP instead of it being required to be back, if space is tight.

Having worked with all the seats on the market, the Chicco Keyfit is my hands down fav for ease of use, fit of newbies (nice low bottom slots, removable infant insert), ease of install, I just really like it alot!

The Snugride 30 and 35 and Safety First OnBoard Air 35 are the two others that I usually recommend. I'm not nearly as familiar with the Combi, but it doesn't make me cringe when hear a parent is coming in with one the way that some seats do!