car seat overload--HELP!

MissJoRN, RN · Nov 6, 2006

Taryn, you covered everything I might have! Do you post a lot on the Babycenter car safety board? I love that board! I'm looking to get a new car tech cert- my last one expired a couple years ago but I still stay current.

Highlights- Chicco Keyfits are easy to use. Saferides are great, too, as is the SafeSeat- higher weight limit but big. I'd skip the travel system (actually, I did) I know a lot of people who loved them with the car seat then realized what a cheap, bulky stroller they had.

My personal opinions- car seats belong in cars, babies need wiggle time, and I do love a good pram. I got my pram for less than many of the travel system strollers and have used it for a 4 y/o. Actually none of the infant seats installed nicely in my car and we went right for the convertible (Britax Boulevard for side impact protection and easy, easy use) My 8 lb + newborn fit in it very well.

Consumer Reports knows washing machines and lawn mowers but not car seats. There are a few unanswered questions about how they came up with ratings- different order 2 years in a row but many seats were only tested once?? Also the slightly negative finding on the Britax (expensive seat) was seen when the seat was not teathered rear facing as it is designed to be. (most seats are not)

Anything all-in-one- Cosco or Eddie Bauer is a waste of money! It is a very short harnessed seat and kids typically outgrow the harness before they are really old enough or big for a booster. It also does not make a good booster.

Look for a convertible with a high weight limit as a car seat- some go well above 40. You want to keep the rear facing as long as possible and the harnessed forward facing as long as possible and then booster as a last resort for BIG kids! Maybe if I stick to my rules about car safety my friends can stick to theirs. I'll ignore the whining "But Hannah doesn't have to use a booster" and maybe Hannah will hear "look how Libby is still comfy in her booster" Usually there isn't much whining,, though!

I hate hearing "they all pass the same standards so they're all as good" C'mon we're nurses right? Look at the doctors you work with- they all passed the same standards. Would you let you loved one see any of them? Or do you think some are better than others? Standards are a minimum and sometimes the minimum is not enough for my kid!

Bottom line, too, is that the safest seat is also one that is installed correctly. (Just like the best Dr does no good if the pt doesn't take their meds) Get a tech to check your work and give you some tips. And make sure it's a tech, some fire companies/ police stations have techs, others check anyway but are not certified and I've heard some bad advice given out this summer at some of those checks.

Almabella · Nov 6, 2006

Well, after looking over the advice here and at babycenter, and doing some online research, my husband and I went to try a few seats out. We decided to try both the snugride and the safe seat step 1.

After trying them both we decided to go with the safe seat. It is a little bigger and heavier, but it actually fits nicely in the middle back seat of both of our cars (even the 2 door honda civic, which we don't plan to use much with the baby). It fits perfectly in the back of our 4 door, although I don't think we had the base installed correctly so I'm working on making an appt with a tech at the local police dept.

We also decided to just go with the graco stroller frame. I didn't really like the strollers that the travel systems came with. They're so big and heavy and I felt like they had a lot of unecessary features. The car seat and stroller frame will suit us fine along with our baby bjorn. I'm also looking into getting a maya wrap, but they're pretty spendy considering it's a piece of fabric with a ring attached to it. I think they look so nice though!

So, when the weather warms up sometime next spring I plan to buy a jogging stroller and maybe that will take over as our main stroller. We'll have to see...but thank you all for all of your wonderful and helpful advice! :kiss

Gompers, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2006

I also got a snap-n-go frame for our corificeat, especially to use in the winter. I don't like the look of a corificeat snapped into a huge stroller/travel system anyways because they're just MASSIVE that way. I did get the matching stroller for the Chicco corificeat we got (Cortina Explorer) but that's just because I absolutely loved it at the store and really like the Explorer color scheme (black/grey/red). It's a good quality stroller and I plan to use it by itself come spring and summer. I didn't like the quality of the Graco, Evenflo, or Cosco strollers that came with the travel systems, though their separate stand-alone strollers were better quality.

Alixandra · Nov 6, 2006

Yes, I look at the BabyCenter board daily, even if I don't post that much(ususally someone else has said exactly what I was going to say.) My screenname on BBC is MysonBobby. I got most of the information for my posts from the board, with the links and everything and that is where I have learned about car seat safety.

I also agree with the travel system thing. I got an Evenflo one and the car seat wasn't that great(back adjuster which was a PITA, before I knew any better) and as I said it was outgrown at 3 months old. The stroller was big and bulky and heavy. It really wasn't that useful but it beat the cheapo umbrella stroller I had(and used once Bobby was 5.5 months old) that I had to bend over to push. It was a nice stroller and I know Bobby liked it but the only time it was really useful and I was happy to have it was when I travelled with him after he outgrew the infant seat. My Britax Roundabout (which btw I would never buy again, it was outgrown by height at 2.5 by current standards but made it to 3 going by their standards at the time. I would have bought a Marathon)fit perfectly in the stroller. The plastic around the sides and front of the stroller held the seat firmly, like the seat was made to fit in it. I could put Bobby, in his Roundabout on top of the stroller and then push the stroller and put my diaper bag/backpack in the basket under the stroller. It was very firmly set in the stroller so there was no worries about it falling off(I made sure of that before I even tried it with Bobby in the corificeat.) I loved being able to do that. Funny thing is that the Roundabout fit the stroller better than the infant seat that came with the sroller did.

It was still a huge PITA and I was not too crushed when Bobby outgrew his Roundabout and started travelling just using the airplane seatbelt(Huskies are not FAA approved, they are simply too big.) I could use my Chicco Capri to get Bobby through the airport, which was much easier but

it was worth it when he was younger to carry the corificeat because I know he was safe and comfortable in his seat. the stroller wasd th ebteer part of the travel system and even that I didn't really like due to the weight and bulk of it.

Next time(if there is one, as I'm currently divorced and single) I'm skipping the travel system and buying a car seat and a stroller and not buying a travel system. I will prolly get a safeseat and a stroller frame to use and then buying a lightweight umbrella type stroller to use once the frame and safeseat are outgrown. If the safeseat doesn't fit in my car I will be getting a BLVD and a nice full size stroller since my experience with Bobby showed me that the smaller infant seats are a waste of money for me. Sadly, you don't know what size child you are getting until they are born or what size they will get to and how quickly once they are born. Bobby was born at 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long and was 'small'(that term is relative obviously) until about 2 months when suddenly he hit one heck of a growth spurt(went from the 10th percentile in height to the 90th in a month) and got really tall and long in the torso.

Just remember the best seat for you is one that fits your car properly, one that will be used properly everytime and one that you are totally comfortable using and installing/uninstalling in your car and other cars properly if ever has to be moved between vehicles. It also doesn't hurt if your child likes to ride in it as well(even though that doesn't have to happen.) Bobby will be in his Husky until he outgrows it, even though he hasn't given me a problem for about a year. About a year ago(at 3) he was giving me huge problems and not wanting to sit in his seat and wanting to sit in the regular vehicle seat using the seatbelt, which was NOT going to happen. I was so sick of the fight so finally one day(when I had time) and he had climbed over the Husky I put the seatbelt across him in the regular vehicle seat. Well, the shoulder belt cut across his face and neck and the lap belt was more like a belly belt, he looked very uncomfortable in it. I looked at him and told him he didn't fit and had to ride in his Husky. He hasn't given me trouble since. I will say that I wasn't going anywhere with Bobby in a regular seat belt(even if it had fit him), I did this just to make him see he needed the Husky and in hopes that he would quit giving me trouble about getting into it before we went anywhere, which worked.

Taryn