Like in most other aspects of Baby Bunching, hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to car seat purchases. If we had a nickel for every time we thought "If I'd only known then what I know now", we'd have enough money for an entire warehouse of Britax Marathons and Bugaboo strollers.
In today's post we share our car seat lessons learned with you. Between the two of us, we have purchased 12 car seats over the years, a process that could've been significantly streamlined had we had the benefit of the wisdom we are about to share with you.
We do issue the disclaimer that since our Bunches have pretty much settled into boosters and Cara's 1-year old caboose is using his brother's hand-me-downs, we are not completely up to speed on all the latest and greatest models. As with strollers, it seems that car seat gear is constantly evolving, only we don't have quite the love affair with car seats that we do with strollers. So we are counting on you, dear readers, to chime in about the newest seats on the market. But we'd like to make a few key points:
- Linda would like to say that she loves all things Britax. She loves her Roundabout so much that she's been unable to part with it, despite the fact that she no longer has a child riding in it (note: she now reports that there is now a Roundabout 50, which goes up to 50 lbs). Linda loves the design, the quality, the ease of installation and cleaning, the comfort level, the safety rating, all of it - Britax is the total package. She maintains that it just makes all other car seats feel inferior. The biggest drawback: the price tag, natch. She couldn't justify the cost of the Britax booster seat when it came time to move up. Turns out this may have been a good thing, since Cara's good friend Jen posted just today about how she's had it up to here with her Frontier and traded it in for a Graco Nautilus (speaking of seats that get rave reviews).
- Cara's big advice is that she wishes she had skipped the convertible car seat with the 40 lb limit and gone straight to the mega convertible that goes all the way to belt positioning booster (in her case, the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite). The Elite goes to 100 lbs and would've rendered both her Evenflo Triumph (which she loves, by the way) and Graco High Back Turbo Booster obsolete. If she had to do it all over again, she would've gone straight from the infant carrier to mega convertibles for everyone.
- Speaking of infant carriers, they are now recommending that babies stay rear facing a lot longer than they did when our Bunches were tiny. Back in the day, just about everyone had a Graco Snug Ride (up to 22 lbs), but now Graco SnugRide 32 goes up to 32 lbs and the Chicco Key Fit 30 goes up to 30. Both allow you to keep your baby in rear facing infant seats longer and continue to realize the benefits of the super convenient SnapNGo type strollers - yay!
- Earlier this week, we posted about the dilemma of fitting 3 car seats across a single row. We've researched it a little further and confirmed that word on the street is that the Sunshine Kids Radian is definitely the way to go. This little underdog of car seats gets major props from Car & Caboodle for being not only narrow, but solid (built on a steel alloy frame), comfy, easy to install, foldable for travel, and usable from birth to 80 lbs in a 5 point harness (just not super plushly comfortable for tiny infants).
So there you have it, guys and gals. Our down and dirty guide to what we wish we knew way back when - happy car seat shopping!
The most important thing is not what car seat you have, but that you are USING IT PROPERLY. I have never seen a car seat being used properly, ever. Even if you think you've got it right, even if it's just a booster, get it checked by a CPST. Your local police and/or fire station will be able to direct you to one.
As far as rear facing - this does not just apply to bucket carriers. It applies to convertible seats too. Most convertibles rear face to 35 pounds these days. If that means your child is three years old before youturn them around, fine! A child's head is much larger than their body and they can be internally decaptitaed while front facing, even in a minor fender bender. It's okay if their feet touch the back of the car's seat, so long as their head is an inch below the top of the shell of the carseat. I don't care if your child hates rear facing and you shouldn't either. Your child's safety is 10,000 times more important than whteher they like it or not.
Also, never use a car seat that has expired. They all have expiration and date of manufature dates on the back. Look for them. The plastic degrades over time, so a 6 year old car seat (expired) is NOT safe. The seat can literally break into pieces in a car accident, killing your child.
Lastly, never use aftermarket products. The BundleMe can kill your child in an accident, because it is placed between the seat and the straps, and it compresses in an accident, loosening the straps and ejecting your child. Head rests, strap covers, homemeade fancy seat covers - all of these things can cause the seat to malfunction. The carry bar should never be left up on an infant bucket carrier because in a roll over, it can snap and kill you rbaby. (There are a select few models with reinforced handles... check your manual.)
A $40 seat is just as safe as a $400 seat. They are all tested to the same standards. But using a car seat improperly is akin to using no seat at all. Read your instruction manual, use the seat properly, and have the seat installed and checked by a CPST. Not doing these things can literally mean the life or death of your child.
Posted by: Ninja Mom | Aug 06, 2009 at 08:06 AM
The problem with skipping the convertible would be that it would be nearly impossible to keep most children rearfacing even just to the new American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to keep kids rearfacing at least until their second birthday and preferably to the limits of their carseat! Better to go for a nice TALL seat with a higher weight limit like the First Years Learning Curve Trufit (Which I must say, I like every bit as much as our Britax) or the aforementioned Radian (which now has a 40lb rearfacing limit on all seats made after sept. 08) that may fit many kids until they get to a safe boostering age. Then, go for a dedicated booster if your child is ready for one as they often fit a lot of kids better than the combo seats anyway and can be more affordable.
Posted by: Molly | Aug 06, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Things I wish I had known: How the beautiful base of my reclining Graco seat makes installation in an airplane near to impossible! Not that we fly that often, but wow - it was miserable. For kid #2 I looked for a small base (that still reclined - yay, Maxi-Cosi!)
Posted by: Jess | Aug 06, 2009 at 12:55 PM
With 2 girls 18m apart and a plan for #3 before #2 is 2.5, Radians have changed my life! As easy to install as all things Britax, but I can fit between the seats, no joke :)
Just a note, though...the Radian 80 is no taller top-slot wise than the 65. So save your money unless you have short, stocky kids.
Posted by: 3 under 4? | Aug 07, 2009 at 04:01 PM
The AOE is a great rear-facing seat but not a good Forward-facing seat and a awful booster. Plus you can't use the top slot.
Now there is a new AOE that has higher top-slots and you can use the top slot unlike the older one. it also harness up to 50lbs. so it's much better.
But the idea to gt everyone a big convertibles is a great idea.
Posted by: Jodi | Aug 07, 2009 at 08:03 PM
Ninja Mom - thank you for the safety comments! This wasn't designed to be a safety post (we totally should've done one this week, though) but safety is always the first and foremost concern - you're right. And I love your comment about how cost doesn't matter, it's proper installation that does. I have a $35 car seat that I adore and feel totally safe with - because it meets standards and my local CPST has checked it.
Posted by: Cara Fox | Aug 07, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Just a quick comment that those big convertibles don't fit very well rear facing in a lot of smaller cars, especially if you or your partner have long legs. We could not fit a rear facing Britax Marathon in our Subaru Wagon without pulling the front passenger seat all the way forwards, so had to go with Roundabouts.
Posted by: geekymummy | Aug 10, 2009 at 06:32 PM
The Recaro line of carseats is amazing! If you're not familiar with Recaro, they make racecar seats for the pro circuit. We love the super safe and comfortable seats. Their ProRIDE convertible (currently about $260 at amazon) goes up to 50" and 70 pounds. We fit three across in our Expedition no problem and the boys almost always fall asleep in them because they're so plush. I have no complaints (other than the fact that I've spent almost $900 on carseats!) and we've had our oldest one for well over two years now. They clean up easily in the washer and withstand everything that my brood (a tall 3.5, 2.5 and 1 yr old) throws at them (literally at times...).
Posted by: Tiffany | May 01, 2011 at 05:39 PM
Having a car is every man's dream, I wish to have one!
Posted by: 7 seater cars | Jan 12, 2012 at 12:50 AM
Good post , never use a car seat that has expired. They all have expiration and date of manufacture dates on the back.
Posted by: 7even | Mar 11, 2012 at 03:25 AM
Did they really have to put a "POST TEST" sign on it? I mean seriously? lol @Idefix - Not really, what about full size trucks and SUVs? Or what about the older "tank" cars? Plus she did say tests that include roll over. It's the materials and and how it's constructed. Of course in my opinion the bigger size helps a little, but I also read that the older big 80s cars do worse than some of the smaller current cars (I believe they put some older cars to current test) so a bigger front end and sides isn't everything.
Posted by: yourcaraccidentclaim.co.uk | Apr 11, 2012 at 02:30 AM