Child Car seats

[OUTBACKUFO]

So in about a month there will be a little one causing a bunch of diaper changes to happen every few hours that will comsume my life with an interesting new chapters.... but to start with a lot of poo :lol


we have been trying for a month to reaserch and find a good quality car seats... one for infant that can also be a carrying thingy to take her in and out of the car easily... and one more convertable oen that will be used for longer...


it is a pain in the rear to find info on any of them... plus Comsurer Reports and other testing places wants you to register and pay for the ratings... and the personal reviews you can only take with a grain of salt just like gossip...

dont know if anyone here has more "recent" experience which seats work and are the most comfortable for the little????

[88bmwJeff]

I wish I had better advice for you. When our little one came in February, we were given a Graco carseat by some friends of ours who had a kid a year earllier. It's worked well; however, I can't say that I did any research before getting it. We were also given the stroller option for the carseat--this is a special stroller for the carseat. It works well since we do not have to take him out of the carseat when we go places. We just transfer the carseat from the car to the stroller.

If my memory serves me right--it's been over six months since we took the "baby classes"--there are some convertible carseats now that can handle more weight than previously, and they can convert from rear facing to forward facing. I do not, however, know which models they are or how they perform. Not very helpful here am I? We will probably start looking at convertible seats for the guy at the beginning of next year. This way we wont have to store the convertible seat for him. It's amazing how a little guy can have SO MUCH stuff.

Congrats again on your little, and I expect to see some photos posted here in about two months.

On a side note, get in as much riding as possible before the little guy or gal comes. All too often, I'm unable to ride due to Daddy duty.

[kahuhna]

First, Congrats!
Second, Get your rest now!
As far as seats and carrier/seat/stroller combos...Go to one of the big box stores. Kmart, Walmart, or Target. They have displays with actual functional units, so you can try them.
The one that cradles a baby and snaps into either a seat base or stroller is cool.
I went through this 3 years ago and just today my son graduated to a booster type car seat. Much easier to use (smaller) and he loves it.
Ask around, but they are pretty much all the same except for level of fanciness and price. This industry is closely followed by the Govt., watchdog groups and consumer groups...translated, they are all similar due to the laws.
Good luck and Cheers.
Greg

[SCQTT]

I visited the BMW Welt in Munich back in May.

They had these for sale

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/24/baby-on-bimmer-bmw-sauber-f1-child-seat/


Almost made me want to have a kid.


Almost

[swleejr]

Hi

Our son is 2 and we started with a Graco that is a chair with a base unit. The base unit stays in the car and you take the chair in and out. We got a universal carriage that holds a few different types of seats. It all worked well until our son was about 1. We got a Britax Marathon, which should hold him until he's 4 or 5.

The Graco we go does not have the handle going length wise to the seat, its a "older model" with the handle that goes across. We did not feel there was much difference since we did not carry him much in the chair, just from the car to the carriage, or into the house.

Most car seats for infants are similar - just our opinion, just some ergonomic changes and how the chair fits to the car and you carrying it.

The Britax is a bit big, but we like it because our son sits higher and can look out the window. Fits both the big car and little car that we have. Easy to attach. Just heavy, so if you don't expect to carry it around, its a very nice seat.

Babies R' Us also puts out a wide selection. Sometimes makes it difficult to choose.

There weren't very many "reviews" we could look at so we just went with what we like. Brands like Graco, Chicco, Peg-Perego etc. are all well known. We did try to check some baby forums (as well as checking with friends) and it did help. There were many opinions, for and against various types. You might try searching for mom/dad/baby forums..maybe even some local community forums that have baby/parents sections.

[hlothery]

My son is 27, so I have no current experience. However, here in San Antonio the Fire Department/EMS folks hold regular seminars on which child safety seats are best, and exactly how to install them for maximum safety. Might check with them in your locale.

[86755]

I visited the BMW Welt in Munich back in May.

They had these for sale

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/24/baby-on-bimmer-bmw-sauber-f1-child-seat/


Almost made me want to have a kid.


Almost

UGH! Where does it end? Might we expect a BMW engineered sippy cup in the future for an MSRP of $15.95?:dunno

[SCQTT]

UGH! Where does it end? Might we expect a BMW engineered sippy cup in the future for an MSRP of $15.95?:dunno

They have got a long way to go before they "outbrand" HD.

KTM is even beating BMW on the logoed doodads. They have KTM dog accessories!

BMW is one of the most recognized brands in the world.

IIRC top five, but they do tend to limit the number of items you can buy with their logo.

[Belquar]

We used a Peg Perego infant seat for both our girls. Has the base that stays in the car and you snap the seat in and out with the kid and it can snap onto the stroller. Peg Perego makes a stroller frame that just takes the infant carrier and thats it and they also have regular strollers that take the carrier and then can be used as a regular stroller as the child gets bigger. Expensive stuff though. I can make you a good deal on our rig if your interested. PM me.

The infant carrier is only good for a little while. Then the kid is too big and you end up having to buy another seat. Lesson learned. It is real nice though if you only have one child to be able to pop and go with the carriers. They sit nicely in shopping carts and what not. Once we had number 2 though we ended up carrying her in a sling or baby bjorn and pushing number 1 in a stroller.

Both of our car seats now are Evenflo brand. They are good up to 50 or 60 pounds and were used as rear facing first and then forward facing. Both girls are forward facing now.

We did the research. And then bought the best we could afford. Britax is one of your leaders in safety but you pay for that. Our car seats ran about 140 or 160 bucks. I can't remember. Britax can be over 200.

Looking back....could have done without the infant seat. But it was a gift and we made good use of it. Like I said, if you are interested, PM me.

Other experience....don't waste money on a diaper genie or any type of diaper disposal system like that. Take the smelly ones out right away. We keep a can on the front porch for poopy diapers. Pee pee diapers can go in the trash inside but poopy ones go right out. There isn't a system on the market that keeps that stink contained.

We really liked the First Years infant/toddler tub that you put in the sink.

Get a changing table. Very convenient. Yeah...you can change them on the bed, in a drawer, on the table, on the floor, but a changing table is a nice convenience to have.

Nuby sippy cups are the best. Easiest to clean.

If your wife is going to breastfeed, I can sell you a nice Medela breast pump too. You would just need to get new attachments for it is all.

Found the Boppy pillows to be useless. Others love them. Buy most of the kids clothes at yard sales. Like us many others get rid of clothes with tags on them still because they grow out of them so fast. And they spend most of their time in pjs anyways.

Much more to say....but I gotta go get the girls from daycare. PM me if you have any questions.

Brian

[R100RS]

I believe that all the Consumer Reports stuff on child/baby car seats is available on-line for FREE:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/baby-toddler/travel-gear/car-seats/reports/index.htm


Here is my opinion...

For really little ones, the removable seat/base units are the most convenient, as you can buckle the little one in inside and just carry it out to the car. You don't have to be hunched into the car trying to get them in the buckles. I see no reason a full-sized seat would be any advantage as to comfort, except for the fact that it will be useful for longer. The infant seat actually seems more comfortable, as it coddles the little fella better, but they may not be useful for very long.

Our oldest outgrew the infant carrier carseat in something like 4 months, due to his height, not weight. Our second made it more like 9 months in the infant carrier. It has been quite a few years since we've dealt with infant carriers, but make sure you get one with a chest clip that seperates via a clip, a whole lot easier than the type that has to be threaded/unthreaded to get the child in. If you will be securing the seat via seatbelts (not LATCH), make sure the loops that the seatbelt passes through have slits in them so that the lapbelt can be routed through the loops and the shoulder belt out of the loops. Ours had closed loops so the lap and shoulder belt had to be routed through both loops which made it a bit harder to install, as the shoulder belt was pulling UP on one side of the carseat because it had to be inside the loop. I think all infant seats are 5-point racing harnesses now, but that was another of our must-haves (versus 3-points which were still available when we were shopping). Carry them around the store for a little while and see what's comfortable to carry.

We had a Graco SnugNRide and I converted the chest clip to a clip apart design (with parts from another brand). It had closed loops which I learned to hate (didn't even consider that when we bought it). It was highly rated at the time and was most comfortable for us to carry. Today, I would look seriously at the Britax infant seat (Companion?) as it addresses one of my complaints with the other infant seats, and that is the ease at which they sort of flip towards the seatback.

For the larger seat, we used a Britax Roundabout, though I think they have a better model (Marathon?) that is essentially the same but will stay with the child longer than the Roundabout (both of ours outgrew the Roundabout based on height before they hit 4 years - and neither one is really tall - about 50th percentile). For the convertible, our most important feature was the ability to tether the seat in the rear-facing posiiton. Only Britax can do that, as far as I know - others can be tethered but not while rear facing. I have never felt a child seat as secure as our Roundabout in the rear facing position secured by the car seatbelts and the tether towards the front of the car (we didn't have LATCH back then). Even with LATCH, I'd imagine that the tether towards the front would make it rock solid. Also, check carefully, as I think the convertibles might have a minimum weight.

[Belquar]

One of the main features on most vehicles 2002 and newer is that seat anchors for the child safety seats. We sold our Pathfinder and bought a Honda Odyssey for that very reason, plus minivans truly are very family friendly. But before we had the van strapping the base into the pathfinder was a pain. Once we had the anchors, it is as simple as buckling a seatbelt. Very handy and the recommended way to secure a child seat anymore.

Here is my first all buckled in the seat I was telling you about.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/belquar/DSCN0343.jpg

[OUTBACKUFO]

One of the main features on most vehicles 2002 and newer is that seat anchors for the child safety seats. We sold our Pathfinder and bought a Honda Odyssey for that very reason, plus minivans truly are very family friendly. But before we had the van strapping the base into the pathfinder was a pain. Once we had the anchors, it is as simple as buckling a seatbelt. Very handy and the recommended way to secure a child seat anymore.

Here is my first all buckled in the seat I was telling you about.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/belquar/DSCN0343.jpg

This will be be within a month.... Most likely from murphy's law i will go to the GS throphy finals and get a call right when i get to do my run that the wife is heading to the hospital... i though feel the little one will show up in about after such...

thanks for all the help.. :thumb

ended up getting a Graco infant car seat so we are ready and can take the time to get a more longer life convertable seat... was recomended a Britax fo the convertable...

[OUTBACKUFO]

Well does it match the GS ?




:doh


well her first riding gear in about 10 yrs will match the cycle... and she will have sword to go with it... :lol


so far everything is green shades with little animals on everything

[Belquar]

:doh


well her first riding gear in about 10 yrs will match the cycle... and she will have sword to go with it... :lol


so far everything is green shades with little animals on everything

That is a running joke with me and my wife....We always see the green graco stuff. A real top seller. We just see it and say green graco....kinda like punch buggy. It all works. There is too much hoopla about what to get. Our parents didn't have this stuff.

[lkchris]

Don't like that BMW seat?

How's this for a brand?

http://www.recaro.com/index.php?id=1531&region=3&L=2

[lkchris]

Here is the full range of BMW baby/kid seats:

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237710lBaby-seat---lrg.jpg&title=Baby Seat 0+

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237716lJunior-seat---lrg.jpg&title=Junior Seat I-II

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237722lJunior-seat-2---lrg.jpg&title=Junior Seat II

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237728lJunior-seat-3---lrg.jpg&title=Junior Seat II-III

[88bmwJeff]

Here is the full range of BMW baby/kid seats:

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237710lBaby-seat---lrg.jpg&title=Baby Seat 0+

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237716lJunior-seat---lrg.jpg&title=Junior Seat I-II

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237722lJunior-seat-2---lrg.jpg&title=Junior Seat II

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/accessory_show/0,,,00.html?pic=/images/bmwuk/accessories/large/181237728lJunior-seat-3---lrg.jpg&title=Junior Seat II-III

Yes, but do they have final drive issues? :bolt



Just couldn't resist

[nhbmw]

My son is 27, so I have no current experience. However, here in San Antonio the Fire Department/EMS folks hold regular seminars on which child safety seats are best, and exactly how to install them for maximum safety. Might check with them in your locale.


Our son is soon to be 32. I don't remember any standards back in '76, but we bought an infant seat and Duncan came home from the hospital in it, strapped facing rearward in the middle of the back seat, despite comments from *NURSES*, who asked my wife why she wouldn't carry the baby in her arms! I decided that a discussion of Newton's first law wouldn't accomplish much, so off we went.

[lkchris]

Good story!

Times have changed.

We're all apparently extremely lucky we survived riding our bicycles to school without helmets. I found a Playboy in the street riding home one day from grade school and hit a parked car trying to look at it while riding. But, I survived.

Still, all the new ideas are good and worth adopting.