Car Seats?

Wife is totally going nutty to do this registry thing for the baby (Our first, due in August).

Looking for some recommendations for a car seat. I think I want one of the ones that goes from newborn to whenever-they're-allowed-to-sit-on-the-real-seat, but if those suck, well, I'll deal.

So, thoughts from the parental types? If not a specific brand, are there specific features to look for or avoid?

Thanks!

Not for infants but at least they will be the coolest toddler around.

Funny, 'cause my thought was to stick to the brands that make racing seats.

In reply to Marty!:

Holy E36 M3! I've seen the other two posted but that Sparco is awesome. Hmmm, what's the weight limit on that thing? I'm only 135#

Back on topic here.... and disclaimer, it's been 6 years since I last purchased a car seat.

We tried the convertible all-in-one type and found it to be a complete PITA. I found it was much easier (safer?) to get a seat designed for each age. Consumer Reports has a pretty good guide on them.

My brother has a set of 4 kids and swears by Britax seats

+1 what Marty said.

For an infant get one that has the base that mounts in the car. Get the matching stroller and you can remove the hopefully sleeping infant, seat and all, and secure them in the stroller without her/him waking.

The ones facing backwards are safer and I think mandated by law when they are infants.

When the little Stig gets older make sure that it has the sides on it like your mothers wingback chair. When the little sprog falls asleep there is a nice place for the head to rest, again without waking.

I wouldnt and didnt invest a lot of $$ in one. They will outgrow it and if you wait a while betweene down loading dependants your wife will want a new one wich might not be a bad idea. How often do you replace your racing harness and helmet?

What ever you decide on make sure it is very tight in the auto seat. Hopefully your car is new enough for the built in anchors. If you must use the seat belt you can get a ratchet thingy at Wally World or We Be Babies. It slips on the cars belt and you ratchet that seat down till it is tighter than dicks hat band. Think of mounting a seat, you dont want YOUR seat moving around, Neither does Junior.

Hopefully your municipality will look at your install and make sure it is correctly done. They used to around here but the lawyers will no longer let them.

Marty! wrote:

We have two of these Recaros (Young Sport). They are fantastic and are designed for side impact protection. But, they are for kids that are over a year old (front facing) and they are pretty heavy. They're very well rated and are easy to install and remove. They also have a tilt feature. Set it to recline and the kid will often fall asleep.

I don't think that there are any seats that go from birth to age six. You need a rear facing seat for the first year. We used a Graco infant seat. You want something that's comfortable for the baby, easy to clean and comfortable for you to carry. Get a base for each car and just move the seat itself from base to base.

The "convertible" seats go from age 1 and then convert to a booster seat as the kid gets bigger.

Porks mentioned a good point, having a seat that snaps into a stroller is the way to go. Head support is a must for a infant, so make sure it has plenty of that. If it were me shopping for a seat/base/stroller combo I would look for a jogging stroller travel system like so:

I always preferred the larger wheels of a jogging stroller, smoother ride and seemed more comfortable for my son when he was a toddler. Made zoo trips much more pleasurable for us both. I suppose a lot will depend on where you are registered at. the one pictured above is from Wal-Mart and gets good reviews from those who bought it.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Trend-Jogger-Travel-System/5621878?sourceid=1500000000000003260330&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=5621878

Our first car seat a few years ago was a Graco SafeSeat. We liked it - the construction was pretty solid and it had some nice safety touches.

When our kid grew out of it, we had a Britax for a few months but sold it when the new Recaro models came out. Right now we've got two Como G2's - we like them and and they're pretty high-tech seats. The safety trade off is that the side impact bolsters make it safer but also harder to get kids in and out of than other seats.

I've never seen that Sparco before - is that thing really carbon fibre?!

As as side note, I've actually found that it's easier to put the kid in the back of a two door than a four door. With the two door, you set the kid back into the car seat. In the back of a four door, you have to reach across and then make a 90 degree turn into the seat.

Yeah, we're pretty sold on the B.O.B. Revolution stroller. I just can't stand the thought of those small plastic wheels I see on cheaper strollers.

All the input so far is appreciated.

we had one that had a base that stayed in the car. bought a second base and kept it in the other car. no issues on cars to use.

Trying to figure out how to get that sparco seat past the wife for my son.

Britax baby-safe + with the isofix base.

The problem with going for an infant-to-toddler convertible right away is that baby may have too short of a seated shoulder height to be safe in it. When our kids were born, we got a mid-range infant seat and saved our money to get a better toddler seat since they would be in it longer.

Go with the Sparco. Better yet, try to clean one after a kid pukes in it, spills a little chocolate milk in the mix and it sits in the hot car all day after leaking down between the non-removable cushions.

Then decide.