I am about to have my fourth baby and am going crazy trying to figure out which infant car seat to purchase. I have looked at Chicco, Graco and Baby Trend and can't decide which one is best. I thought I was set on Baby Trend, but went to the store and tried it out and really don't like the puzzle lock system used when getting baby in and out of the seat. Then I looked at Chicco (which is ranked #1 by consumer reports), but was told it doesn't hook in a grocery cart so that make me wonder if it would work in a sit and stand stroller. So I went back to graco (which was the brand of seat in the seat I used for my other three? but really don't like any of the styles they have for boy. Any ideas? I would love to know what you have and why you like it. Also, I noticed the baby trend had a real simple way to change the height of straps as baby grows. Do any other good car seats out there have that?
Thanks everyone for your thoughts! I did want to say I wasn't looking for a seat just for it to go into a grocery cart...I wanted one to fit in a sit & stand stroller b/c that is the kind of stroller I will be using. I already have two doubles, but one is a jogger the baby wouldn't fit in yet, and the other is so bulky I wanted a smaller one. Anyway, you all helped me so much and I want to thank you. I just ordered a Chicco Key Fit b/c it is the safest seat out there and after looking at what seemed like a million seats yesterday they were the only patterns I liked for a boy. If I was having a girl I could have bought several I liked!! Thanks again for all your help! Just a couple more weeks and my baby will be using a great seat thanks to all of you.
I did first purchase a graco I found that was a great pattern and a great price. Once I got it home I noticed that the adjustment for the straps was in the back and you would have to loosen it from the back everytime to get the baby in the seat. I couldn't believe it was like that and can't imagine anyone wanting to use it. BTW-my youngest daughter has a Britax Marathon that we absolutely LOVE!!! I had always gone for safe but cheaper for my kids before but after buying that one I will definitely get another Britax for this baby once he is older.
Last time I researched infant seats I found that the Chicco seats did very well safety rating wise.However my Husband is a carseat tech. at a Fire Dept so I waited until I could talk to him today and get his opinion.He said that the Chicco brand is by far the best.He would more specifically recommend the Chicco Key Fit 30.
I have the Chicco Keyfit 30 and I love it a lot, I had the evenflo with my first child & this chicco is so much better. I do put it on some grocery carts, but some it doesn't fit to well, I'm short so its to hard to see over them. I also have the baby trends snap & go stroller that it sets right into, and I love it, its really smooth. My favorite part of the chicco carseat is the base. It is so easy to install into the car & easy to adjust. The car seat with me first child was so hard to install the base & it always seemed like the base was loose, with the chicco one I can actaully install it & get it really tight, I love it!
I have never used the type of car seat you are talkig about. I have always used the type that stays in the car and used an old carrier seat from a friend to put in the shopping carts at the store, for restaurants etc..You can find a carrier at a garage sale or from a friend and since you aren't using it as the safety seat in the car it won't matter if it's up to current regulations. Good Luck!!
While the puzzle lock on the Baby Trend car seat is a little annoying, it really isn't that bad. You get used to having to put both sides in at the same time. I really like the car seat. The triangular handle is nice, because you have several different ways to hold the seat. If you have the latch system in your car, the Baby Trend latching mechanisms are supposed to be really good. I have an older car right now, and have not been able to test it out yet.
I also have the sit n stand stroller, and I really like that too. It navigates really easily for being a longer stroller, and is not too difficult when I have the baby and my three year old in there. It can get a little heavy going up hills, but it might be all the stuff that I have to cram in there to take with me also :)
i have a graco. i love it. it isnt to have or even that hard to adjust the straps. it is brown with letters and animals all over it. i bought it from walmart. i couldnt afford anything to expensive but it works. I am happy with it. you might try checking it out too.
If you have found a seat that you like and it is the pattern of the fabric you are having problems with, go check out the same brand at another store(or check online where another pattern is sold)... I know the one seat I liked had three different patterns offered at three different stores. So pattern A was at Wal-Mart, pattern B at Target and pattern C at Babies R Us and they were all the same function and style of seat, just different fabric, and the price only varried $5.00 between the three stores....
Then the last thing to look at is does it have the options that you like and you know will work for you and your vehicle. If the seat is being sold at a reputable store, it has a lot of standards to pass to be sold, so no matter which one you pick, if installed and used correctly, your precious little one will be safe.
Hey M.,
I am not sure this will be much help, but here goes...
I have the Baby Trend car seat and LOVE it compared to the Graco we had with our son. We love the sit and stand stroller, it goes in and out of vehicle MUCH easier,the shade protects her from the sun much better,and love how easy it is to adjust straps up as baby grows. As far as the puzzle lock. That was frustrating for about a week and now it is cake. What I would do until I figured it out well, was to loosen the straps, snap the "puzzle" in and then tighten the straps back down.The button to loosen and strap to tighten were both right there and it made locking her in very easy.
I hope this helped more than hindered your decision. Congratulations on baby #4 and good luck!
We used Baby Trend infant carriers for my two year old twins. I don't remember much about the latch system, but we loved the car seats. The triangular handle made them especially easy to carry.
We had a Baby Trend also. The triangle shaped handle was awesome and the seat always seemed very sturdy. I don't know if any other carseats have the adjustable straps or not. I would highly recommend the baby trend. And like the other post said, you get used to the puzzle type buckle.
I used the Graco with both of my sons and I liked it b/c it hooks to everything, seems to work with everything and the kids fit in it well. My friend had the Chicco and it did NOT fit in her sit and stand stroller, or any stroller for that matter except the chicco stroller she bought it with. I do not know anything about the other brand you mentioned. I woudl stick with what you know, personally.
Infant carseats are and never have been designed to fit on a grocery cart. Even if they appear to latch to it, they are simply not designed to safely latch to the cart. Thousands of babies are injured from this.
I would look for one that has a highest weight and height limit. One year and 20 pounds is the minimum but it has been shown the safest way for young child to ride is rear facing.
I went with the Graco snugride. It is super easy to get in and out of the car, snaps in shopping carts very easily, and has the adjustable straps you are looking for. In fact, I just moved the straps on ours up to the upper slots last night. It was incredibly easy. I think they redesigned it in the past year, so you may want to take a look compared to what you have had in the past. They do have different patterns at different stores, so check online at multiple places- Target, Babies R Us, and Walmart.
I have the Chicco Keyfit 30 and I put it on grocery carts without any issues. Its also side impact tested and had the best reviews so I got it. I love it. I have a baby trend stroller that is sets right into, cost me 59 or 69dollars, as apposed to the chicco strollers for a couple of hundred bucks. They work great together, easy to get in and out of the car with the base, definitely feel it was worth the money.
Get one with a 5 point harness. They are safer!
God bless!
I vote for the Graco Snugride (not the Graco Safeseat). The Graco Safeseat did not test as well in crash testing as the Graco Snugride did. Plus the Snugride did well in side impact testing & only one other brand of seat passed that test in 2007! (Side impact testing is not required.)
The Snugride is easy to use & clean. As for rear-facing, I would rear face as long as you can. It really IS much safer.
Considering the #1 cause of death for children are car accidents, I'd get the safest out there. You can get a convertable carseat when baby gets older & just keep it rear facing as long as you can. Sunshine kids Radian 80 can rear face up to 35 lbs. (It might be up to 40 lbs now since they re-tested it.)
I HTH!
J.
We had a Chicco, and liked it. I felt it was on the heavy side though. It fit into some carts, but not all. I tried not to do that too much anyway. I've heard it is very unsafe for baby. Try a sling or baby carrier when shopping. Good luck!
Asking for advice from other moms is a great way to start. You can also go to your nearest car seat safety check point, usually a fire station or police station and ask their opinion. They will know which ones they see the most problems with. They also have the ENTIRE list of recalled car seats. (There have been a bunch lately and you don't want to accidentally get one of those.) Some times you can even get a car seat from them at a deep discount. The one we got from the fire station is a Graco and is great, the straps are extra easy to change the height of and also very sturdy. The only drawback is that it is not removable. It is one of the seats that you turn around when they are old enough. The removable seat we had first my son HATED (screamed when ever put in it). It fit on most shopping carts except for Walmart's, which I went alot. A lot of stores still have the carts with baby seat on them. You can always cover them with a blanket if you are worried about how clean they are. If you are worried about the car seat you are getting fitting on you stroller, I would look for one that is the same brand as the stroller. Most car seats are interchangeable with the same brand of stroller.
