Thursday, 12 June 2008
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Not That Babies Need A Lot...
by Mama TurtleBut I've suddenly hit a panic that "I don't have this! I don't have that! AHHH!"
So I'm going to take deep breaths and make a list to make myself feel better. Starting with things we really need...
A car seat. Besides the booster seats that are newer, the infant/toddler car seat is as old as Turtle3. The padding is worn out in the cover, the cover doesn't stay on and it's ripped despite a repair job anyways. I spent an afternoon a few weeks ago reading reviews on the holy grails of car seats - the Britaxs. I came away more mixed and confused about spending a huge chunk of money on a car seat, when the $40-$60 ones we've had before seemed to work just fine for us to boot. Apparently the Decathlon needs Superman/Superwoman themselves to actually have the strength to adjust the straps. So I look onto cheaper models and read the reviews and come away just as confused. I honestly did better just waltzing into a store and picking the almost cheapest seat for what we needed. Maybe I'll do that when a store is having sale.
I think that's it for things I really need. Later I'll post about stuff I would like, or would be very nice and handy to have. Almost-needs.
So, which car seat do/did you use for your infant? Would you recommend it?
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Comments (14)
i have the eddie baeur but only because it was on sale at the time & i must say .... it lasted through with my first & my second one is currently using it.
I have a Baby Trend brand travel system (stroller & infant car seat) for my daughter, and I have to say, it is a hidden treasure! You don't see a whole lot of them out there, and they're not sold at Babies R Us. But it works very well, and it's one of the safest models out there (according to consumer reports). I'm very happy with it. For her toddler seat, we have an Evenflo model...I dunno how it is yet, since we haven't used it yet, but it had good reviews, so we'll see!
I was like you...just went and picked the cheapest travel system....some Evenflo model...we've used it for our first and second kiddos. Worked fine for me! I just can't see spending tons of money on something when you can get something much cheaper that works just as well.....
I had a cheap model, and was often frustrated. When I switched to the convertible seat, I decided to buy an expensive Britax. And I do not regret it. It is so nice and convenient and the little features on it make me wish I had bought a more expensive infant carrier.
That being said, I am expecting again in November and am not buying a new infant carrier. My other one is in perfectly good shape, and I'll just suffer through the annoyances for 4-5 months.
I have the evenflo one, it was given to me -- I was eyeing the Eddie Baur one and hoping the price would go down. The evenflo one works fine, I like that it holds babies from 9lbs. - 80lbs. so it will last a long time, but I find the padding super thin and wonder how comfy it is for ds. *shrug*
When ds was a newborn we used Smart-Choice and I thought it was a great carseat!!
i have a Graco but haven't gotten to use it yet!
I have I think the Chicco Travel System..havnet used it yet but it seems really nice...pretty penny we paid for it but oh well...all the adjustments and everything were easy...plus its more cushioned than the others I saw.
in a car seat class I was encouraged not to buy those kinda of carseats that change from infant to forward facing to booster...they arent as safe.
I am a HUGE supporter of the Graco Passage Travel System - Abbington you figure that you're gonna buy a stroller anyway and you'll need a carrier too when the baby is anywhere from a newborn to 6-8 months. So we bought this one and it has definitely already paid itself off! It carries childen up to 40 lbs, so you can use it for a while. But the nice thing is that it latched on to the stroller, so when the baby isn't old enough to sit up yet, you can just unhook it from the car seat base and latch it on to the stroller without having to take out the baby (which is nice for those car sleeping babys) it's a little pricey but when you think of how much you're gonna spend on a stroller and a car seat, I think it's a deal.
I just want to point out (if anybody is wondering) that the safest car seat is the one that is properly installed. I know a lot of times people assume that the most expensive car seat is the "safest" but it's not true at all. All car seats have to meet national guidelines and they are all safe. Just because you buy a $300 Britax seat does not mean your child will be more protected than the $50 Cosco seat. Have your seats checked by a certified passenger safety technician. A great resource is www.car-seat.org.
And while I'm at it, all of you who have heard to turn your children around at 1 year and 20 pounds need to know that this is the BARE minimum. It is not required, it is not the safest. Rear-facing to the limits of the seat (Britax seats now have a 35 pound rear facing limit) is what the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends. Their legs will NOT break if they touch the back of the seat. If you want to keep your little ones the safest please do some research on car seat safety. Motor vehicle accidents are the NUMBER ONE cause of death for children.
@DrmChazed@xanga - I also used the Eddie Bauer. With my second the Princess I switched often didn't stick with one because I didn't care for them and most of them where hand me downs.
For our carseat we purchased the Britax Diplomat because of its high rating for safety and everyone was recommending it. But it took us awhile to settle on a car seat.
Where I live, the MaxiCosi seats get rave reviews from Consumer's Digest. I am now using a Römer King car seat that was given to us - it's great, because it slides down into a sleeping position.
I used the same infant car seat for my first 3 and it was just a cheap one...I think Evenflo, but I don't even remember. I have gotten rid of it now (thought it was time since it was 8 years old) and don't know yet what I will buy when/if we have another. But I have to agree... @TashaDW_18@xanga - that I can't justify spending a ton of money on something when I can get something that really has everything I need for a lot less.
I have never bought the convertible back/forward facing seats because they just didn't seem like they would be as safe for such a small baby. Also, I think babies look much more comfortable in the infant carrier type than they generally do in the convertible ones. IDK - that is just my opinion I guess.
Good luck picking one out!
i bought the graco snugride infant car seat only because it was compatible with our stroller. the peg perego infant seat was compatible with it also, but i didn't want to spend that much money on a car seat that i wouldn't be using for too long. i agree that the convertible seats probably aren't as safe or as comfy for an infant. we put baby lion in the convertible seat that we also had and he did not like it at all and was crying the whole time that we had to turn back around and change the car seat out. lol.