doing the carseat shuffle

I finally managed to wrestle both kids into the car after their normal car nonsense (usually 5 minutes of hurling themselves in the back or turning on all the lights). As I was strapping my youngest in I realized she was starting to look a bit big for her car seat. Uh oh! I knew she was nearing the 40 pound limit for the seat, but now I noticed the straps were a bit too low and her ears were nearing the top of the seat. (Britax's benchmark for an outgrown car seat.)

In Baby Bunching there are three big purchases that are usually need to be made--and made strategically. We’ve touched a bit on cribs/big kid beds and talked a lot about double strollers. One area we haven’t talked much about is the car seat. I bring this up now because I’m about to make what I believe will be my final car seat purchase for a long time. (Note: I'm a little sad about this.)  

With kids farther apart in age, you may have a bit of wiggle room on your car seat purchases. But with kids close in age, the decision has to be made quicker and perhaps a bit more strategically. Car seats are expensive and can take up excess room if you live in small quarters or drive a smaller car like we do.

When my first child started to near the weight limit on his infant bucket seat, I immediately felt the need to bump him up to a more comfortable ride. Enter the convertible car seat. But my poor second child had limbs hanging over her infant seat before I was ready to give in and move her. Why? Because infant seat meant she was transferable from car to home, home to car, car to shopping cart, etc. Once she was out the seat, I would be left with two kids to contend with in parking lots or even in my own foyer.

My youngest was just about nine months old when I realized the infant seat was just WAY too small for her physique. Of course, she outgrew that bucket seat right about the time that Alex started a preschool where I had to walk him in (up a snowy hill) everyday. Super convenient. Moving her up to the convertible car seat meant I had to look into buying another one since my oldest was only two at the time. 

So what car seat would give us the most bang for our buck with two kids so close in age?

There are a plethora of car seats out there and even more since I had to make the decision. But I wanted this car seat purchase be the next to the last I would have to make. My current car seat was a Britax Roundabout. I cannot say enough good stuff about this car seat. Mostly the ease of getting it in and out of the car was a huge factor as was the fact that it was so easy to adjust and buckle. But buying another Roundabout would mean I would have to eventually buy two more car seats since seats only fit kids up to 40 pounds. I wasn’t interested (at the time) of purchasing the larger Britax Marathon although in retrospect, I wished I had. Instead I bought a Cosco convertible (which also converts to a booster later). Besides the fact that it is damn near impossible to get in the car without a lot of cursing from me as I do it, it’s been an OK car seat for us. 

So currently the configuration goes: big kid in Cosco seat, little kid in Britax Roundabout. But soon, my youngest will inherit the Cosco seat from her big brother as we move him up to a high-back booster.

So my tip to you Baby Bunchers making your next car seat purchase. Do some research into one that will take you through a few years. If your kids are close in age, it may be more difficult to just 'hand down' the older car seat. Some shuffling may be required. Buying one that will take you through the toddler and preschool years might be a good investment.

Check out Car-Seat.org which has its own blog dedicated only to car seats, along with tons of reviews from parents and experts and tips for what might work best for your kids, family and car.

Let us know how about your car seat selection for your Bunch.

Comments

[geekymummy]

We just went through this. Fortunately youngest outgrew his infant seat about the same time as oldest was outgrowing her roundabout (We love the roundabout too).

We decided on the radian 80 from sunshine kids for our oldest, while her brother inherited the roundabouts (we have 2 seats for each kid, one in each of our cars. That is a lot of seats!). The radian 80 is nice and small for smaller cars like ours, but goes up to 80lb in a 5 point harness, so should be the last seat she needs. If I was doing it again I'd go straight from the infant seat to this seat, since it can actually be used rear facing for smaller kids too. Best thing about it is for travelling. It folds in half, so though heavy, it is really easy to carry. And its cheaper than the britax seats. Only downside, the fabric colors are very limited.

[JessPond]

We have, of course, four carseats of exactly the same type (two kids, two cars) at any given point, but we've been SUPER SUPER happy with Graco's Comfortspot for a convertable seat. It's slimmer than a lot of them, it seems comfortable (we take a lot of 3-14 hr trips and no one complains!) and it was $79 at BRU on sale both times we purchased them. Can't beat that! :)

[Shell]

I agree with geekymummy about the radian, though we have two radian 65s. The only difference between that one and the 80 the amount of weight it goes up to, but 65 is still pretty respectable, so we went with that one. My two older kids are in those and then the baby is in a Chicco Keyfit 30 infant seat, which goes up to 30 pounds and 30 inches, buying us a little more time with him in that seat. When he outgrows it, he will go into a radian and my oldest child will go into a booster. I'm able to fit 3 car seats across one bench seat with the radians, which has been a lifesaver.

[Jenny P]

I highly recommend the Graco SafeSeat in place of an infant seat. It's rear-facing only, but with a 30lb limit, you can use it the entire first year. It snaps in and out of the base and fits in all Graco strollers.

After he turned 1, we bought my son the SafeSeat Step 2 toddler seat, which is very cushy, but large. It sits up higher so toddlers can see out the window and reclines when they're asleep. Our son really likes it, but I do plan to look at other models when our daughter turns 1. The Step 2 is 20-40 lbs and up to 43 in, so I'm hoping it should hold him for several years.

[Emily]

I hear you...the car seat situation is tough! We actually have the Cosco Alpha and Omega Elite and love it. It can be tough to fit in some cars, but the base is optional and once we removed that it was extremely easy to install and use. One of its best features is that the straps are incredibly easy to adjust which is great for those days you realize your child grew 2 inches over night and needs it on the higher setting. We liked it so much that we actually bought it for our second child as well. Our oldest is now in a booster seat, our middle uses it as a forward facing seat, and our youngest rear facing. We tried the Britax and liked the Cosco much better. Just had to put my two cents in... =)

[J. Fergie]

you are right on with this post! currently, our configuration is as follows: Oldest in Graco booster; Middle in Britax Convertible; Baby in Evenflo Infant. My middle daughter will need to be moved soon (thanks for tip re the ears!) and so we'll get her a booster too and save the convertible for baby. Musical car seats. Whew!

[Casey]

We have two of the Britax Marathons and two of the Britax Frontiers. I love them all but the Frontier will convert into a booster seat and will stay with us.

Keep an eye on babycheapskate.com, they usually list the cheapest Britax sales when they pop up (I think this month is when they're the cheapest all year long). I bought mine for a huge discount.....

[Knowles]

What great timing of your post! My 21 month old is in a convertible seat and my 6 month old is ready to move out of his infant seat (yes, he's a big/long baby!) I don't want to give up the infant carrier because at least one baby is easily contained, although it's extremely heavy. But, it's time to get a safer seat. I was wondering if I should look for another seat for my older child so I'm thankful for the great suggestions!

[Krystyn]

We have two Britax Boulevards. Yes, they were expensive, but on sale and had coupons which made them cheaper than the Marathon. We love them! And, we know we will need two at the same time.

Unfortunately, we don't have any back ups!

[Justice Fergie]

20% off Britax until tomorrow on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_24530_11174150?docId=1000329091

[AM]

Also wanted to share that the Fisher-Price Safe Voyage Deluxe (5-55 pounds!) is a Britax car seat, just sold under the FP name. (The included manual is even from Britax)
Albee has them for $129/free shipping.
http://www.albeebaby.com/fiprsavodeco1.html
We have this for our older guy, and one waiting for when the little one can no longer do the infant seat.

[Kirsten]

We also have two radian 65. Foldable for travel and narrow enough to fit in a tiny car. We love them, and I wish we would have bought them sooner.

[Oona]

I started with a Graco SafeSeat, then movedto Britax Roundabout & a Marathon. We are now in the Britax Regent & a Marathon which will be replaced tomorrow (when UPS shows up!) by a new Britax Frontier. Only complaint is that they take up a lot of room! Luckily, I opted for the extra seat in my van (it seats 8) so I have enough room for the two toddlers & the teenager & her friends... even the hubby & the dog! :0)