carseat question

[ashleyhaugh]

ok, this is way out in the future, since babe isnt here yet, but here we go-

we're getting a graco snugride for the first few weeks/months til baby can fit into a boulevard. i figure before then, its easy enough to switch a bucket between cars if we need to, and when baby goes into the boulevard, we'll leave the base for the bucket in daddy's car as a back up....

now for the question- after baby outgrows the snugride, what is a good back up seat? we cant afford another britax, but it doesnt have to be the absolute cheapest option out there either.... what should i be looking for?

[ThreeBeans]

Cosco Scenera. 40 dollars. Nothing special, but it's light, portable, easy to install in most cars, and has a nice high rearfacing weight limit. GREAT spare seat, second seat, Gramma's seat, airplane seat etc.

[chickabiddy]

The Scenera is a good seat. But I would advise you to wait until the baby actually outgrows the Snugride for two reasons: you will have an idea of your child's build (long torso or not, etc.) and since carseats expire, you'll want to get a seat with as much "life" in it as possible.

[bobandjess99]

What chickabiddy said...your kid will likely fit in the snugride for 6-12 months, so waiting is definitely the best choice, due to the expiration. The scenera is a good cheap choice, it RF to 35 pounds, so you'll get a LOT of RF out of it(probably 3 years!), however, it really isn't very plush or luxurious, for a little more, you can get an Uptown ($89) which is a bit nicer but doens rf as long..

[mbhf]

if you haven't gotten your snug ride yet, you might think about getting a graco safe seat instead. it lasts longer than the snug ride (RFs to 30 pounds instead of 22, taller shell) so it would last longer as the spare seat. new seats are coming out all of the time, so it might be better to wait.

[ashleyhaugh]

oh, im not going to buy one now, i was just wanting some ideas im going to look at some of these, thanks

[Leylla]

What to look for in a second/rarely used seat:

5 point harness
HIGH top slots. (The only exception to me is the Scenera, as it RFs forever and is very cheap...not like paying $100 for a low top slot seat)
High rearfacing weight
Easily moveable
And it has good fits in many types of cars.

Steph