Question for new parents about car se...

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Author Message   Eric N (Grnrvr) Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 08:35 pm:    Ok, so, looks like I'm going to be a dad in about 9 months and I was wondering what are some really good car seats. I found a great stroller but, haven't had much luck on a car seat that I feel is built really well and will last a long, long time. Also, something that can be cleaned pretty easily. Any body got any suggestions? I don't mind paying extra for quality.   Kyle Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 08:54 pm:    If it doesnt have to be real comfortable I can put something together with a 5 point harness in it... Kyle   Eric N (Grnrvr) Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 09:12 pm:    Thanks Kyle.. I think comfort might keep the crying down to a minuim though. Now do you think that you could add a 5 point harness and a roll cage to the one I do get? Got to take the little one out on the trails once he/she is big enough to hold their little head up..   Heather Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 09:28 pm:    Congrats Eric!! That is wonderful news, I am so happy for you!!!   Neal Glessner (Nealg) Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 09:35 pm:    Eric, I bought one of those stroller/car seat/carrier combo units. I also bought a 2nd base for my rover. I could never find a way to secure the car seat in the rear-center without it wiggling around. I ended up putting 2 carabeaners through the base of the seatbelt strap where the seat belts bolt to the floor. I then used a tie down strap to secure the base well. Another note, if you are looking at the combo strollers, choose one that the baby carrier is light. Mine is too heavy.   Kyle Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 09:36 pm:    Hmmm , I am thinking "Escape Pod" for the little guy...... Hmmmmmmm.... :D Kyle   Neal Glessner (Nealg) Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 09:39 pm:    BTW Eric, congratulations!   Peter Carey (Pcarey) Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 10:37 pm:    Eric, Any infant seat you get will move around in the middle (where it should be) unless you tie the front down some how like Neal suggested. Since you only have one strap and it goes through the back, you have to work something else for the front to make sure it doesn't go anywhere. That being said, that one strap works well and the thing doesn't really move side to side much unless the whole car is doing it a LOT. Having the second base is a great idea and if you go with some popular brand, like Graco or that other one, then you can find bases pretty cheap. My wife and I have the infant seat and also two of the 0-80 units from Alpha Omega. It's been our experince that the infant seat realy is best for when they are small and especially before they can hold their head well. Even after she was able to hold her head up, when she fell asleep the Alpha Omega really let her head droop. They do come with little head rests which help an can be taken out when they are bigger. The 0-80lbs units seam to be great from this point forward and it's highly adjustable, but you can't really see your kid when they are rear facing (1 year/20lbs....you mileage may vary), which will make any new Mom concerned whenever the slightest abnormal breathing noise is made (be prepared on any trip in the first 3 months to have to stop once per trip and examine a perfectly breathing baby just to calm you both down :-). As far as cleanability.....don't give them food in the car. :-) Most are cloth so you don't stick to them, unlike highchairs which are all plastic to make cleaning easier. Things to look for: Adjustable arm straps, ease of carying with a sack of potatoes in it (none of them are), and as Neal said, the ones that can clip into a stroller are great the first 9 months or so. After that, they start not fitting in the infant seats. Nothing easier than getting a baby to sleep while shopping and then just lifting the car seat and plopping it in the base unit for the ride home! Good luck! Shop around and enjoy your last months as a couple! Also check out http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html for recalls. They have a link to the NTSB for car seats. But everything else you can think of is mostly in there. pwc   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 12:11 am:    Congrats Eric! We've tried several seats and what I like is the Britax. I mount it in the middle and attatch an anchor around the seat mount post. There is no way to move the seat and the seats are all 5 point. Another reason I went with the britax (now other makers are catching on and doing it too) is that they also included foam padding to protect in a side impact.   KJ Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 12:29 am:    Congrats to you and Kristin, Eric! Sounds like someone was in a hurry to see that little "+" in the box, eh? (G) You might have a baby for tax time! Karen   Neal Glessner (Nealg) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 12:46 am:    just to clear things up. The rigging that I was sugesting does not anchor the front of the base. My sugestion works in conjuntion with the seat belt.   Curtis N (Curtis) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 01:59 am:    Eric, I have had just about every brand of car seat under the sun. There is only one word when it comes to protecting your most valuable little one: Britax. Throughout their line they are tops in every regard according to all of the reviews and standards. You pay for it too. They are easily the most expensive brand out there. However, what you get is undoubtedly the best seat made. No gimmicks. Just a great seat that will last forever and outperform every other seat in a crash. Curtis   Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 11:15 am:    Eric - note that its likely to be at most 8 months now! Doesn't time fly?   Zak Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 12:25 pm:    Congrat's Eric. My wife and I are also in the same boat. We just found out this weekend that my wife is expecting as well. And I had the same question, I love this forum!!!! Eric, hope to see you in a few weeks at GWNF   Blue (Bluegill) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 12:27 pm:    when they're brand new, strap the babies into a rear-facing "bucket" car seat that is integrated with the stoller (hell, it's not a stroller, it's a mobile baby support unit). Graco's (or is it Evenflow???) stuff is good with the "base" left in the truck that the seat clips into. The seat then unclips from the base in the truck and clips right onto the top of the stroller. However, the base is longer than the rear bench seat, so it is a little loose on the seat even when the middle belt is cinched down tight. I use all three rear belts criss-crossed through the carseat and everything is reasonably secured. Once the tikes are older, get a quality forward-facing seat. One of ours is made by Cosco (not Costco) and it has a 3-point harness that is very secure. Again, locate it in the middle with all three belts and you're good to go.   Jude (Jdonato) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 12:38 pm:    Eric, Congratulations on the new addition. In your searching you'll find that every infant/baby/child seat on the market these days will meet some sort of Federal DOT standards. If you go to any vendor that sells the seats, they usually don't mind if you take a seat out of the box and "fit" it to your rig before buying. Read your trucks owners manual (under infant seats) for seating arrangements. I tried 3 different seats before buying some that would fit properly in 4 different vehicles. They are a royal PITA to "PROPERLY" secure in the back seat. Ended up w/ Graco, Century (20+lbs), and an Evenflo. Evenflo has the rear facing type (infants up to 20 lbs) w/ the removable seat base. Definately a must have. What PC wrote is very true. Spit-up, puke, and poop (yick) come out of fabric if you dont't let it dry. Sure stinks like hell but you'll get used to it. Most fabric covers are removable and machine washable. Also car seats have an expiration date (5 yrs I think). Mfgs. state that the heat from sun, use, exposure, and general wear and tear weaken the plastic and webbing on car seats, never use one thats been in a wreck, never buy a used one, yada, yada, yada. Good luck. And congrats again...Daddy. Jude. 22 mo. old and 2 due in Sept.   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 01:41 pm:    Eric and Zak Let me know next time you go to GWNF. If you don't mind maybe I'll tag along. I'm in NoVA and vist the park when I can. In terms of installing the seats. The Evenflo Cosco and Graco seats I tried were POS's and much harder to install than the Britax. DON'T get a seat with a 3 point seatbelt. There is no reason for it. Look for 5 point. The only drawback to the Britax is that there isn't a much of choices in seats that can be moved with the baby. So it's something you just bolt into the car and move the baby. This is a big drawback when it comes to moving a sleeping baby but Britax makes VERY solid seats. I have three of their seats now and only the ISOFIT version will convert to rear or forward facing with no problems. Whatever seat you buy take it to your local fire department and have them inspect it. You'll be amazed how secure they can get it and if by chance you do install it right you'll have the peace of mind knowing that your new addition is safe.   Zak Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 01:51 pm:    Al, If you look in the Event Schedule Neal is trying to get some people to go wheeling and camping hte weekend of hte 19th. You're welcome to come. I've never been there, so I'm really looking foward to it. Those Britax seats are cool, i really like the one with the Safari pattern!!!   Blue (Bluegill) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 02:16 pm:    yeah, I meant 5-point seat belt system - 2 anchors over shoulders, 2 anchors by butt, and 1 anchor between legs. The belt locking mechanism has 3 separate parts that come together into one fastener plus a chest clip. Our Cosco works very well. Any pics of theis Britax stuff? I need another one for my wife's truck... let's see if my 46kb image will load this time....   Chad Hamon (Flounder) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 03:09 pm:    What's up everybody. Long time lurker, first time poster. Congrats on the baby. I had to put my 2 cents in here since I have a 5 month old and did a ton of research on these things when buying one. I checked all the stores and read all the magazines and websites my wife could come up with and finally decided on the Britax Roundabout I think is the name. Anyway, it's by far the best one out there. My wife's mom has the pumpkin seat thing that fits in the base and doubles as a car seat / carrier since she keeps the baby during the day. That thing is complete crap imo and we try not to use that whenever possible. The Britax is pricey but when you get it installed and see the stability and safety record it has, you'll understand why. Britax is awesome about recalls too or even redesigns that don't require recalls. I read somewhere that they redesigned a seat and changed some parts to make it safer, then posted the changes on their website and mailed the new pieces free of charge to people when they inquired about the upgrade. I checked did a ton of research and still do a ton of research before investing any money in any baby product since there are so many useless features out there that people pay for and never use. The britax I bought was the best money I have spent yet on baby equipment. Search around too on the internet. I think I picked up mine for around $260 shipped. I can't remember which site but you can get a good deal if you shop around. Also it's the only seat I plan on buying since it works for kids up to 50 lbs.   Eric N (Grnrvr) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 03:59 pm:    Thanks everybody, that britax roundabout looks pretty nice. Zak, It is looking like I'm not going to be able to make it at all to the GWNF that weekend. I have a wedding to go to on Sat. and hopefully if the moon and stars and sun are in the correct alignment I will be getting my bumper on Sunday. KJ, the only real reason that we got married was to start a family. Didn't even think about the taxes part of that..   Curtis N (Curtis) Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 04:47 pm:    Eric, I will even carry the Britax seat one step further by saying that there are really only two names to remember in baby stuff: Britax and Peg Perego. Get the former for your car, and the latter for stollers, high chairs, or anything else PP makes. Both are the best you can buy and will last through several children. We only have one Britax. Our other currently installed seats are Graco, EvenFlo, and Cosco. I thought the Cosco was the best of the bunch until I got a Starriser for our three year old. It puts the others to absolute shame. I will not every buy or reccomend another seat besides Britax. The money spent is money that is obvious once installed. Good luck! Curtis   Kai Dussling (Kai) Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 05:07 pm:    Curtis, "I will even carry the Britax seat one step further by saying that there are really only two names to remember in baby stuff" I think you forgot the other two big names: Pampers and Huggies. Our son is 3 and almost potty trained. I am about to get a raise$$$$$$$$$$ KD   Curtis N (Curtis) Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 01:41 am:    hehehe...you only think so. As soon as they are potty trined is when extracirricular activities start! Soccer, computers, bikes, motorcycles....it never ends Curtis   Erik Olson (Jon) Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 02:24 am:    Congratulations on the pending arrival! I've got a three year old and twins who are just about five months and we've used the On My Way System from Graco. These rear-facing seats have removable bases (we have two sets, one Volvo and one Disco) so they can stay firmly in place once installed. The seats are more like cradles and go from car to stroller just about silently which is a real godsend with sleepy trolls! Also, the seats are about third generation now - recalls are very unlikely with this system. When they're bigger, go for the Britex for forward facing seats - nothing better! Good luck and congrats again! Another Coniston guy with mods and lots and lots of kids, e   Eric N (Grnrvr) Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 08:23 am:    Thanks for the help, I'm probably going with the Bertini M5 or Shuttle stroller and the Britax car seats. I really like the Bertini strollers and have heard nothing but, great things about them. I met a few people that had them this past weekend and their only complaint was that they are a little heavy and that they don't fold up as small as others do. Neither of which is a concern to me for a stroller.   KJ Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 06:28 pm:    Heeheehee....I love to read Daddy Chat.... Karen   muskyman Posted on Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 08:05 am:    ok karen you want daddy chat britax is a great choice you will be very happy, they feel welded in when thay are installed correctly. We have ours in the center of the back of our D1 and its solid as can be. but if you do get the Britax car seat that then dirrectly aligns you with the Peg perago high chair and the hanna Anderson clothing! get your wallet and forget about those lockers and gears and axles you been wanting.   Zak Ruck (Zak) Posted on Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 11:04 am:    We went looking last night at car seats and strollers. The Britax's are really nice. We're definatly going to get one now. Thanks for asking the question Eric!!! We're not sure about the strollers yet. We don't want one of those robocop looking ones, the ones that have a ton of plastic on them and are huge. Actually they look like pontiacs. We like a few of the Peg perago's. We really want a nice jogging stroller, but they really don't work well for infants. Now we just have to find a crib, changing table, etc.........   KJ Posted on Monday, July 15, 2002 - 11:11 pm:    Hey Muskyman, Did you see the six year old kid who landed something like a 50 inch musky a couple of weeks ago? I saw him on some morning program or other. Karen   isaac Posted on Tuesday, July 16, 2002 - 03:53 pm:    i'll put in another vote for both britax and the peg perego strollers. both are sturdy as hell, and have held up very well. BUT - DON'T ACT NOW! For the first six months we used an infant carrier/base unit from Graco. We had an Alpha Omega, but after the hospital to home trip were horrified by the lack of support, and terrible fit for an infant. I don't believe the Britax would have worked near as well, either. Newbie parents "R" us . . . the infant specific seat was really a life saver. If only for one small advantage, buy one and get the britax later: when the child falls asleep in the car, removing the carrier doesn't wake them up to take them inside, or back into the car. Our daughter would sleep in it at resturaunts, the park, or where-ever we happened to be, and it's a ton easier strapping them into and out of the carrier in the house, and then just clicking it into the base that is left in the car. As for jogging stollers, if you do any cycling at all, consider a Trek bike-trailer/stroller. it has attachements for the 3rd wheel if you're jogging, and a bike arm if you're biking. works great. I have the double and there's loads of space. The other cool thing is that after going out a few times in stroller form, my daughter (who's about 21 mos now) wasn't freaked out when it was hooked up to the bike. It folds down quite nicely, and fits well up on the roof rack (just a 2-bar Thule w/ fork mounts and trays) between our bikes when going for an off-road ride. Now that I think about it, my rover would be pretty burly if it weren't for all this stuff. good luck, isaac   isaac Posted on Tuesday, July 16, 2002 - 04:02 pm:    oh . . . one more thing. did you guys begin to notice how SMALL our Rovers are when compared to some of your friends' SUVs? In all reality, I think explorers, durangos and the like are probably better suited to the car seat / family thing. My RRC seems to be at an optimal capacity with just one britax, and a full size dog in the rear cargo area. The Britax is one of the more narrow units available, and it can be a challenge for rear passengers to buckle up on either side of it (ours is center mounted). Having said that, none of my other "Dad" friends want to follow me up when taking the little-un sledding down snowed in forest service roads. I think one friend of mine is set on trading in his Durango for an FJ80, which will be a good choice for him. damn, I'm rambling. later   Horness Spencer (Horness) Posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 09:05 am:    Congratulations Eric! I noticed the "size issue" too - I had the choice of either a "people carrier", or a Disco/Range Rover when I was looking to replace my saloon car. (funnily enough, this forum made me opt for the Disco!) I went in a friends Chrysler Voyager, and he has three kids. It was like a tardis! You could have played table tennis in there with the seats down! We already have one child seat (not sure of make) fitted behind the driver seat, and another one is due in 4 weeks. I too am going to be a Dad all over again. Glad I bought a seven seater Disco - at least when they're old enough I can shove them in the back and get some space back! Who says Land Rover drivers arn't caring?   Doug W Posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 11:18 am:    When the Brat gets a little older buy a RECARO child seat. There the best for 20-80 lbs. Aluminum tube construction fully adjustable and the only seat to meet European and U.S.A. safety standards in a crash test in all child weight categories.