Because Doing My Own Research Would Be Too Hard.
November16
So, I realized, as I’m staring week 30 down, that I probably should shake my ass and get the baby things prepared BEFORE my daughter arrives. In that vein, I’m turning to my trusty Internet Posse to ask your opinion:
Which carseat should I buy?
The criteria is as follows:
Not a Graco SafeSeat. I have one, and it’s too heavy to carry (it’s like 11 lbs WITHOUT the baby in it). Plus, it barely fits in my truck.
Preferably less than $150
Needs to be a “bucket” infant car seat, as I can’t imagine carrying Alex AND Amelia around together.
Anyone have an opinion?
Peg Perego.. all the way. I had Graco with my twins, and this one feels lighter and the handle is better for carrying.. hope it helps! Try looking on ebay for retailers that sell on there discounted. Mine was
$149..BRAND NEW IN BOX
hmmm no real suggestions, I hate infant seats I have always tried to get my kids out of them asap, my son no longer used his after 4 months (because he exceeded the length recommendation) , my daughter will be ditching hers soon (and she is nearing the 6 month mark and also nearing the length recommendation)….. I do love my Alpha Omega convertible seats though. I have an older Evenflo infant seat because I am using the same one my sister used for my niece and the same one i used for my son…. its ok but aside from when they are first born, i find them horribly heavy and they never seem to fit into carts correctly. Good luck on your car seat hunt!
if you have to have a bucket, i say the peg like someone else mentioned or the maxi cosi.
graco should suck it, and suck it hard!
might i also recommend getting a bubble.
http://www.uppababy.com/products/product.php?id=10
because no one needs sticky fingers on their brand new little girl.
I do notice that in their quest to make things safe and sturdy they weigh a ton.
How old is Alex? You may need a Graco double stroler (front/back), then if you got a Graco carseat, you could fit the infant carrier in the front of the stroller and Alex could sit in the back. (Just my opinion, this set-up works great for twins, and you may as well treat Alex and the new baby as twins – honestly, he’s not going to be toilet trained until she is!)
I hated the ‘bucket’ seat for Mr. Farty…used it for less than 2 months.
I swear by the Britax Decathlon or Marathon. Farty falls asleep in minutes, and I just recently got him the Wisconsin Badgers seat cover. You can usually get them on sale/clearance for less than $200 (Marathon). They’re good for up to 65lbs. (Hey, Ceara is in 5th grade and weighs 65lbs, can I still strap her in one?)
I will say to avoid the Baby Trend bucket seat like the plague. I had nothing but problems with it-the handle would NOT go down, and the seat cover wouldn’t stay on, kept slipping off the bottom corner of the seat. Also had a hell of a time keeping the straps untangled.
Bucket? WTF? I have no clue what you’re talking about! Sorry, no suggestions here, my kids haven’t been babies for a looooooong time. I have been sending my prego sister over here to read your blog when it pertains to baby stuff, though.
Wow, that was stupid. Anyhow, good luck finding a baby seat!
If you must have a bucket, I vote for the Peg or the MaxiCosi. Otherwise (and this is a big otherwise — it’s what we did with Beans), buy the Britax marathon and you won’t have to buy another one in six months.
If you don’t mind slinging (hahahaha!) her, that’s always what I did with Beans when we didn’t use the bucket.
Good luck, I’ve got NO advice on this!
Hey, if I’d had a thought in my head I would’ve told my few peeps that I found C’s blog THROUGH YOU. I still can. I think I will. 🙂
And I have no wisdom regarding baby seats. 🙂
These 2 Briitax car seats are on sale at Target…
http://www.target.com/Britax-Marathon-Convertible-Car-Seat/dp/B000YSP0VM/qid=1226877081/ref=br_1_1/186-8673537-2324903?ie=UTF8&node=3579961&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=3579961&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=1
and
http://www.target.com/Britax-Marathon-Convertible-Car-Seat/dp/B000YSNMG2/qid=1226875959/ref=br_1_14/191-1908579-2959041?ie=UTF8&node=13552231&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=13552231&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=2
From what I have heard, they are AWESOME car seats. Check them out 🙂
Oh shit – forget it, they are out of stock 🙁 Sorry to pig up your page.
I HATED my Graco Eddie Bauer bucket one-it was so freaking heavy. I loved the Eddie Bauer booster, though.
Oh my. I remember when we just let the children bounce their tender little heads off the metal dashboard.
Oh wait- that was MY tender little head.
My kids at least had seat belts.
We have an Alpha Omega Convertible for Landon. The only issued we encountered was that yes, it is supposed to be able to be rear facing…but no, it will not fit in the vehicle we bought it for in the rear facing position (luckily we were able to switch with our other car seat for the rear facing time.) So whatever you get, make sure it will fit backwards in the vehicle it is intended to be in.
Graco seems to get a bad rap here, but I have to say I now have the third kid in the Graco Snugride that we bought for the first one, and I’ve NEVER had a moment’s unhappiness with it. I love that I can take the bucket out of the car and bring it into the house and leave the little sleeping monster in it. I love that I can use a warm cozy car seat cover so I don’t have to shove the kid into 16 layers of clothes for a brief trip to the car, there to roast until I get home again.
I don’t find the Graco too heavy to carry, and it has worked for my boys for at least a year for each of them. Then again, my boys are pretty small for their ages.
I second the motion about the double stroller – it’s been a lifesaver with the two that are only 13 months apart. However, and maybe this is just me, I HATE the front and back double strollers. They seem so icky because the kids can’t even see each other most of the time. I have a Peg Perego side by side and LOVE it. And Dean loves it too, so he can pet his brother.
Go to http://www.elitecarseats.com
They have every car seat you could ever imagine, with tons of customer reviews for each on. I forgot to put that on my last post, sorry.
Well, I loved the Baby Trend Latch-Loc seat, but they discontinued it and everyone seems to hate its replacement, the Flex-Loc.
Consumer Reports has good information about car seats (barring the one disaster where their data was flawed and they failed almost every seat) and they recommend Chicco highly. It’s a bit higher than your $150 price range, but still less than the Britax or the Peg.
I, too, liked the Graco Snugride, which I think is smaller than your Graco. FWIW.
Hated the million pound Peg Perego and loved the Graco Snugride. I’m willing to lend for the very brief time that you’ll need it.
Definitely get a side by side stroller and skip the piece of shit Graco tandem. Got recs. if you want’em.
I also had the Graco Snugride. Made it to about 10 months with Cenzo in it, then my arms couldn’t take it anymore. And I vote for the side-by-side stroller, too. Much easier!
get one of the ones that go up to 35 pounds, so you won’t have to get a new one when your child gets to heavy for it at 4 months. yes, I speak from experience. Ours was from Cosco, Eddie Bauer had one, too.
I would definitely recommend anything Britax! My favorites would be Cosco Scenera or the Britax Marathon.