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Car Seat Talk - Page 3

post #41 of 67
7/7/08 at 9:49pm
We bought a Graco SafeSeat for this baby. It's very heavy, but I don't plan on using it outside of the car. My DS's infant car seat was a PITA and then was recalled. I think the SafeSeat will be worth the extra cost.

We have a Britax Roundabout. It's a great seat and I hope we can use it for this baby when she grows out of the infant seat. We went with the Roundabout over the other Britax seats because we had a Beetle at the time and it fit better. I'm glad we had it though- the others are just too big, IMO. DS is in a booster now (the Graco Nautilus) and that's a great seat, too.

I definitely think it's safer to put infants in infant seats- they need to fit both height and weight wise and even though my DS was a big baby, he still was *tiny* in the convertible seat. I mean if the convertible seat is appropriate for my big 2 year old, how is it enough for a newborn? For me, I think it's worth the extra cost of an infant seat for safety and peace of mind.
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post #42 of 67
7/8/08 at 1:45am
Here's another reason not to carry your baby in a car seat: a friend of mine had hernia surgery two months ago. The cause of the hernia? Lifting his daughter's car seat in and out of his 2-door coupe.
post #43 of 67
7/8/08 at 9:13am
I don't plan on carrying the infant seat around, I just want to be able to put the baby in the carseat while we're in the house and get to the car (ok, so I'll be carrying it for a short distance). If we go to the mall or somewhere, I'll definitely be slinging.

We actually got into a minor car accident a few months ago, someone rear-ended us. I called Britax to ask about replacing the seats, and he asked me a few questions to determine if we needed to. Because I was injured (back/neck soreness), we had to replace them. It was fine b/c the insurance paid for the new seats, but even the smallest crash can cause potential damage. When it comes to the safety of my kids, I will do anything it takes.
post #44 of 67
7/8/08 at 9:52am
I have a Marathon and the Boulevard. I like the Boulevard for the extra side impact protection and because the turning knob to adjust the shoulder height is so convenient.

Yes, all seats have to meet certain safety standards and are safe IF they are installed correctly... but that's a big IF. We first chose a seat that was rated nearly as well as Britax by Consumer Reports (which I've since learned is not the best resource for carseat ratings), and we've barely ever used it. I could NOT get my tall, skinny babies to fit right in the harness, even before it was installed in the car. The straps were too short rf. We have used it for other babies riding in our car since then, but it is a total PITA to install. It takes me 3 times as long to get it installed as it does one of our Britax seats.

So, I would take ease of installation into account as well as how long the seat will last before deciding what seat to buy. We'll probably keep buying Britax because we're familiar with them and know the ins and outs of installation.

I do use the infant seat for a few months. Our Graco snugride seat from ds1 still has a year or so on it, which will get us through the next baby. And although I hate carrying around the bucket on general principal, it is nice in the winter to not have to take baby out of the seat, bundle him up in winter gear (it's not safe to put babies in the seat with thick coats or snowsuits on because you can't get the straps tight enough), and then get him in the house. With the infant seat you can put the blanket over the seat/baby for a quick trip inside.
post #45 of 67
7/8/08 at 10:01am
honeybee brought up a great point and i thought i would post a link to this site in case anyone here is in cold climates (like we are...our winters are brutal).

its a poncho for wearing in teh car seat that is safe, in that it doesnt put anything between the baby and the carseat (thus causing safety issues b/c in an accident that space will be compacted and the straps wont be as tight as you thought).

http://www.carseatponcho.com/
post #46 of 67
7/8/08 at 10:05am
Cool link!
post #47 of 67
7/8/08 at 10:21am
I did obsessive ammounts of research and decided that Britax and Recaro were the ONLY brands my kids would ride in. We ended up with two Britax Boulevards and love them. The quality and safety are far superior.
post #48 of 67
7/8/08 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee View Post
We first chose a seat that was rated nearly as well as Britax by Consumer Reports (which I've since learned is not the best resource for carseat ratings)
So what's the best resource for safety ratings?
post #49 of 67
7/8/08 at 11:03am
I wish I cold remember the URL for the best carseat forum... a lot of my bookmarks are saved on my old computer. You could probably be directed there from the Family Safety thread here at MDC.

Another important thing to keep in mind is the size of your car. Sometimes the larger Britax seats are just too big for some vehicles.
post #50 of 67
7/8/08 at 11:21am
http://www.car-safety.org/

ive actually seen Britax convertibles in some pretty small cars..like Jettas, Priuses (?) and other cars taht many think of as "small".
post #51 of 67
7/8/08 at 1:00pm
I like www.carseatdata.org to see what kind of success others have had with installing seats into the make and model of car that you drive.

The thing about Britax convertibles that I love is the versa-tether. It makes it much easier to get the proper recline for a newborn when you can tether the rear-facing seat and wrench the back of the seat down to the right level. ITA with HoneyBee...Britax convertibles install properly, easily, rock-solid EVERY TIME, with or without latch. I'm sure you could install them improperly, but it's not as easy to do it wrong as it is with other seats.
post #52 of 67
7/8/08 at 3:15pm
we have only ever used Maxi cosi or britax.

with the prev DDs we used a Maxi Cosi infant seat (Citi) and then a Britax stage 2 seat (Renaissance) the girls now both sit in a Maxi Cosi high backed booster (Rodi)

when DH gets back at the weekend we are goingt o get on choosing, and it'kll be between the same 2 brands again.
post #53 of 67
7/8/08 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charmie981 View Post
The thing about Britax convertibles that I love is the versa-tether. It makes it much easier to get the proper recline for a newborn when you can tether the rear-facing seat and wrench the back of the seat down to the right level. ITA with HoneyBee...Britax convertibles install properly, easily, rock-solid EVERY TIME, with or without latch. I'm sure you could install them improperly, but it's not as easy to do it wrong as it is with other seats.
My dh always comments on how secure he feels the Britax. When he installed it he said it was in so tight and secure "It felt like part of the seat." He would use his weight to try to move it around and it wouldn't budge. He was sold instantly.
post #54 of 67
7/8/08 at 4:24pm
I'm leaning towards getting DD the Britax Regent and putting the new baby in her boulevard. I don't expect to have a very small baby and I don't plan on leaving the house for at least 2 weeks anyway.
post #55 of 67
7/8/08 at 5:36pm
we are fitting 3 across in a mazda tribute

So we are getting the older 2 the Graco Nautilis next week and praying that the marathon will still fit! We don't use the bucket seat for 2 reasons #1 both boys grew out of them in height by 2.5 months (If I were getting one I would get one of the new ones with the higher Rfing height) and #2 since I will be having a C and not supose to carry anything heavier than my baby for 6-8 weeks I don't use them any way.
post #56 of 67
7/10/08 at 9:12pm
Oh I am SO happy today! I completely scored at our local Target. I went in poking around and found that they had a Britax Marathon on clearance. I checked the date and it is 6/08. I picked it up for $169.99. I am SO excited. The cheapest I could find it online is $280. There was only one fabric (pink with flowers) so if it is a boy he may be riding in pink but I am so happy to get such a deal! :
post #57 of 67
7/10/08 at 9:16pm
wow! that is awesome! you can always trade your car seat cover (on the car seat safety board) or just buy another one and still make out.

target?? hmmm......wonder if its a store wide sale or if it was just yours. im looking for a new BV. but man, at that price i may get the MA for ds3 and give baby the BV.
post #58 of 67
7/11/08 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alyssatuininga View Post
I went in poking around and found that they had a Britax Marathon on clearance. I checked the date and it is 6/08.
Congrats! But the date- does it EXPIRE in 6/08???? I thought the only dates printed on car seats were expiration dates.....
post #59 of 67
7/11/08 at 12:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Belia View Post
But the date- does it EXPIRE in 6/08???? I thought the only dates printed on car seats were expiration dates.....
No that is the "when made" date.
post #60 of 67
7/11/08 at 9:21am
Sweet deal! You can always order a different cover, it's good to have a back up anyway in case of spills/poop accidents.

The only date printed on the seats are the date of manufacture.