Valentines 2015

Valentines 2015

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The convertible car seat debacle

When we were pregnant with the girls, we decided that instead of getting the "standard" Graco 22 Snugride car seats (or other equivalent models) that we would pay the extra $60 per car seat to get the Graco Snugride 35's (which got way better side impact safety ratings than the 22's) and we could use them for a longer period of time (until the girls were 35 lbs or 32" tall).

We have about gotten our use out of these lovely car seats. The girls aren't even close to the weight limits for their current car seats, but at their 1 year check up the girls were up to 30", so it's just a matter of time before we will have to make the transition to new seats. As such, we are now in the market for our next step in car seats. The convertible car seat.
(Right?? That is the next step, isn't it? I'm only confused because some of these convertible car seats say they could have been used from birth on! Really?! We could have used a convertible the whole time? How?! These things are massive! Any insight group?)


I've been trying to do some online research and find out what convertible car seat is the best, but what I keep running into is a statement that "the best car seat for you is the one that fits your car, your budget, and you will use correctly every time." Um, okay. But that doesn't answer my question!!! What is the top rated car seat? And do consumers love it?

We are looking at getting these car seats...Britax Marathon 70 in Cowmooflauge (or we could do the pink, but I think the cowmooflauge is precious!!)...it looks like they got very high ratings (top rated on Amazon), but they are also quite expensive. Si doesn't think we should spend this much on convertible car seats. I think you can't put a number on saftey. It's not like they are $1000 a piece or something...but they are about $275 (normally - but Aha! - currently on sale for $220 on Amazon Prime! Eat it Si!). Not that that still isn't expensive because it is, but, if that's the best car seat, and they are going to be in it for a while, well, it's worth the money to me. Right?

I know I'm not the first of my bloggy friends to make the switch to convertible car seats, so help me out here guys! Should I save my money and get a cheaper car seats? They have what I suspect to be the low end of the Britax car seats at Target for $150...should we just get those? Or a different brand all together? There are a couple others that look good to me...then again, I guess I don't really understand what I am looking for!

Diono RadianDXT Price: $309 (Si will never go for this one - lol - but it's PURPLE! HA!) It raves that this could be the ONLY car seat you could ever need...birth up to 100 lbs! That's just nuts.

Graco Nautilus Price: $149. See, but again, this is so confusing to me - this seat can only be used forward facing?! I thought the new guidelines were to keep kiddos rear facing as long as possible, or until they are 2 years old or meet the height or weight guidance provided for rear facing on the particular car seat. So...this isn't an option for us at this point? Confusing!

Safety First Complete Air 65LX - Price $227. Not a huge fan of the color, but I like how it is nice and tall...it "looks" safe...HA....can you judge a seat based on appearance? LOL!

So, what do/did you use? Do you like it, and why or why not? Was it uber expensive?

Thanks as always ladies! You guys rock! I've got to keep these two peanuts safe!

Miss Bri, sporting her Christmas dress and actually SMILING for the photograher (the one picture from the entire shoot she was smiling in - lol!). She is very particular with her smiles...reserved for the ones she loves =)

And Miss Livvy, hamming it up for the camera, as usual! I love her beautiful little smile! It lights up a room!


Until next time -
Megan

11 comments:

  1. Ok first of all, I have to say how absolutely DARLING that new picture of your girls is (the one in your header)!!!!! I could eat them with a spoon! So cute!

    Ok, now that I'm done gushing, let's talk carseats. We have had Amelia in a convertible seat since August (what can I say? She's a chunk) and Claire has been in a convertible seat for about 2 weeks. They are both still rear-facing and we plan to keep them that way for as long as possible. After a LOT of research, the carseat that I chose was the Britax Boulevard 70. Actually, Claire is in the Boulevard 70 CS (between purchases, they discontinued Amelia's carseat cover and the regular Boulevard didn't have another one that I liked so I got the CS for Claire so I could get a cute print). Anyway, the "CS" part is for "Click & Safe" which is an absolute waste of a feature. What made me choose the Boulevard over the Marathon was the side-impact protection. My girls ride in two captain's chairs in the middle row of our SUV so they are both at risk for a side-impact. I looked at a lot of carseat forums and they recommended paying the extra $ for the Boulevard. That being said, it doesn't really cost that much more than the Marathon. My thought is always that, god forbid, if something happened, I don't want to have the thought in my mind "Would his have happened if I had spent $50 extra?" So I got the best I could afford. But my husband was all for buying a cheaper seat...

    ReplyDelete
  2. THANK YOU Stephanie!!!! Awesome information! That is exactly the personal info I was looking for!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I'm guilting my hubby into spending more money...lol...it's necessary in my book! =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE these pics and your blog header pic! PRECIOUS!!

    I don't like making decisions, so with my twin-sis being a very experienced mom with 4 kids... I always turn to her! She has been through quite a few carseats and told me to buy the Britax Decathlon, not only because of the ratings, but she said that because of the design of the seat, the kids can see out the windows very easily... VERY important on long road trips, right?!! And it sounds like you're like me... concerned with the colors/prints! Haha! I ordered covers on Etsy in cute fabric and they're super easy to remove and wash! Great investment if you ask me! Here's a link to a pic of our covered seats:
    http://thehuttonhouse.blogspot.com/2010/06/greetings-from-montana.html

    (And I got your email back! Hoping to reply soon! LOVE chatting with ya!)

    Oh - and when are you going to start those baby bump pics/posts?! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought I'd add that my girls use $50 carseats in hubby's truck (used very rarely and never on long trips) and I'm not a fan. There's no padding and their heads fall when they fall asleep. That's what I love about the Decathlon... their heads never fall forward for some reason! Ok - I'm done :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. We're getting ready to get Amelia the Britax Roundabout 55. Its in our price range and the safest we can find. I'm finding them for about 150 right now... :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG!!!!!!! I LVOE the new pics....what dolls!!! I want to squeeze them and love them up!

    As for the carseat, we use the Eddie Bauer ones...if you want details on model I can send that to you for sure and we got them on sale for $150.00/each...they are super easy to use and safe BUT heavy! When we travel we use the cheapy Costco ones that were only $50 becuase they are super light...I agree you can't put a price on safety but when we consider that you and I probably never even had a car seat growing up...well enuf said. LOL!

    Can't wait to see some pics of that growing belly of yours...I mean if you plan to share...LOL!
    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was just thinking....You know who you should consult with...Olusola over at MyTwintopia...do you follow her? If not, she is listed on my Bloggy friends list on my main page...she is a totally up on all this "stuff"!

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hate google. This will be my 4th attempt at commenting. First off, I'm loving those pics. Your girls look so Christmasy cute, and if I may say so Miss Bri is looking more and more like your mini-me each day.

    I'm still trying to figure out the whole convertible seat myself. plus I guess you'll have to also consider how it'll work with the carseat for the new baby. Ive be doing a lot of browsing on the NHTSA ease of use ratings and the car-seat.org forums. Good luck mama.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You can use convertible seats from birth. I think the minimum on ours is 8lbs. BUT you can't take them out and put them on the stroller usually. They're too heavy and awkward.

    We have the orbit. And you know I love it. I LOVE IT! I wish hospitals sent all moms home with ORBIT! LOVE LOVE LOVE! And it is pricey, but its sturdy, AJ is comfy in it, and it orbits for easy in and out. Once we switch to front facing (Which is a LONG time away for us as he doesn't mind rear facing - that's all he knows and he crosses his legs criss cross style) then we won't have the orbit feature anymore. It has great side impact. Oh I just love it!!!!!!

    Also love the pics of the girls! Little Christmas fairies!!!

    Have heard great things about the Britax brand also.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Reading this post and comments with much interest, but keep getting distracted by the massive amount of cuteness in your new Christmas pics!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. We had two sets, one for each of our cars... the Britax Boulevard (pricey) and the Evenflo Triumph (not as pricey). I assumed the Britax ones would be better, so I had them put in my car (I am the one who drives the twins around the most). You know what? The Evenflo ones are better. They are more comfortable for the twins, the covers come off easier, and the straps don't get tangled as much and don't require as much work to adjust. We switched them, and I have the Evenflo ones now. :)

    And... I've been away from blogging for a few weeks. I LOVE the new name and especially the precious new picture at the top of your blog! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!