Any suggestions for a good car seat/infant carrier? ?
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at
4:22 pm
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Car seats that are kept in the car have a lower incidence of failure. Car seats brought out are more likely to be knocked about, hit against walls, and fail faster than those left in the car. Putting car seats on the top of a shopping cart is dangerous and has been warned against in every car seat manual and pediatrician group since the mid 2000′s, and yet people still put the car seats on the cart. No, they’re not meant to snap onto the top of the cart. They aren’t designed that way at all, it’s just a coincidence. And the carts are not meant to have a car seat making it top-heavy, more likely to tip, and more likely to kill a baby. Babies should not be left to sleep in their car seat as it can cause oxygen dips, and has been connected to SIDS episodes in some babies (they should sleep on a flat surface or in someone’s arms or something similar.) So really, you want a seat that will be used in the car, not in a stroller, as a rocking chair, as a feeding chair, on a shopping cart, or anything else. Just a car seat.
An infant seat is better built for the baby, and there’s times (like in the winter or summer) where you want to get the baby ready in their seat in the house (it avoids the seat becoming hot in the summer, and lets you bundle them in their seat more safely since you can’t put them in a coat and then in their seat) and that’s about the only reasons for them. The Graco Snugrides that go to 20-22lbs tend to be short for a lot of babies and some babies grow out by 6 months. The Circo car seats that go to 30lbs, and the Graco Snugride 35, tend to be longer and have a good history of lasting the entire first year. But once your baby can sit up they will be more comfortable in a convertible car seats.
Now if money is a concern then a car seat you will use as long as possible and that is the safest is the best bet, and that tends to be a convertible like the Britax 70 brand. They will last your baby from 5lbs until 70lbs, which means the full 7 years that you can use it before the plastic degrades. It’s more expensive in the short term (usually just under $300 for the Britax though $130-200 about for the Graco My-Ride), but in the long-term when you consider that you’re not buying an infant seat (cheapest $80), a rear-facing car seat that will go to 30lbs at least ($39), a forward facing car seat that goes to at least 5-6 years old in the harness (so about 60lbs at least, so $130 (Graco My-Ride goes from 5-65lbs) or $90 about for a cheaper one), it’s not much cheaper. If money is not as much of a concern, then something that is larger like the Circo that goes to 30lbs or the Snugride 35, Britax infant carrier, etc are what you’re going to want to look for.
Personally, I do like Britax’s guarantee that even if your insurance company gives you trouble, they will replace the seat. I like the fact that the Britax Boulevard adjusts really easily, rear-faces to 40lbs so my son will be rear-facing a long time, and forward facing to 70lbs so a good harness for that long. Also I like the new design and the metal bars that are in the outer shell, it feels very sturdy and he’s very comfortable in it. To me it was worth the money. But we did use a Graco 35 Snugride for the first year (then I gave it to my sister who couldn’t afford a seat for her baby.) Had we kept it, he would still be riding in it, and he’s 16 months now, I had planned to get him a convertible with the new year and he wouldn’t have outgrown it so it would have worked. But she needed a good car seat, so… yeah.
Babies R Us has the widest selection so you can look them all over if you have one near you. If not, Target has the next widest.
As far as a sling, wrap, or chest carrier goes, I love the Ergo. I’ve tried several different brands and I had to have a c-section with my second baby, but was able to carry him around in the Ergo after a week, it didn’t irritate the incision. That might not be for everyone, but again I also liked the fact that it goes up to 40lbs (it has been used for higher weights with some handicapped children, but it’s tested to 40lbs) which means that my nearly 4 year old (who is 28-29lbs right now, she’s small) still happily fits and loves it. I like that it can be used as a front carrier when they’re little, then a side hip carrier when they’re a bit older and want to look around more, and a backpack carrier when they’re older and you’re hiking more. I never used the stroller with my son until he was over a year old, he just always rode on me. Now my daughter prefers the Ergo rather than riding the stroller when we go up hills so they’ve switched places. It’s just very comfortable.
All carseats & bases have to meet the same US standards, so basically your picking the one that you like. If you dont mind hand-me-downs I would go to a secondhand store and buy one. The covers are removable and washable so you dont have to worry about germs or anything like that. I believe we bought Graco, its a good brand and cheap. Plus you can get the stroller cheap and the carseat snaps right onto it. So when you want to go out you dont have to fuss with waking up the baby and moving him. Plus, the carseat snaps onto shopping carts so you (again) dont have to worry about taking him/her out or setting the carseat in the grocery part of the cart. I hope this helped! I know you can find them on walmart.com
I really liked the Graco carseats. I had a two carseats for my son a Evenflo brand and a graco brand and my favorite was the Graco. He fit into it a little longer and the hands adjeusted more positions then just all the way down.
Infant carrier = your arms or a sling
Car seat = any well-rated convertible
Really, don’t fall for the nonsense that it’s a good idea to put your baby in a hard plastic casing and treat him like a snail. He’ll be miserable, you’ll be stuck with 20lbs of plastic bashing against your legs… It looks stupid and the kids cry. Leave the car seat in the car and carry the kid; much nicer and easier for all concerned.
Good article: http://mothering.com/green-living/car-seats-are-for-cars
http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/01/22/baby-essentials-that-arent-part-2-infant-car-seats/
We went straight for a good convertible from day one. The Evenflo Triumph and the First Years True Fit both have newborn inserts and fit newborns well. I just couldn’t see buying a seat, and then tossing the seat in less than a year. Those things cost $$$, and we put the money into a long-lasting seat. We used a baby sling (a ring sling or a Slingling pouch), never never had issues of ‘waking baby’ getting in and out of the car. The lil ones snuggle right back to sleep. Plus, many many babies are injured every year while carried in infant car seats. I don’t trust the things. I prefer to just get that car seat in the car once, and be done with the seat for the next 2+ years!