Tired Mommy Tales

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I’ve had at least one child in some stage of car seats for over 10 years. Some I loved and some I did not. (Seats, not kids) At least one seemed like a great investment at the time and then turned out to not be all I’d envisioned.

Right now, Target is holding their Car Seat Trade-In Event so we’re taking the opportunity to get a good deal on a new seat for Leah.

(Don’t know what the Car Seat Trade-in Event is? You can take your old car seats to Target and they will give you a coupon for 20% off baby gear. For more info – click here.)

While researching what combination seat (a harnessed seat that will transition to a belt-positioning booster) we’ll transition Leah to next, I’ve been looking back at the seats we’ve had in the past 10 years.

Quick note on choosing car seats

Before I share what we’ve used in the past, I’m going to put my former Child Passenger Safety Technician hat on and say a few things about choosing car seats.

1. No car seat is proven to be safer than another. All car seats are crash-tested for the same standards and get a pass or fail.

2. Being more expensive does not make a car seat “better”. However, the higher price may be due to additional features that make it more comfortable, easier to install, etc.

3. The best seat is one that is a good fit for your child (height/weight/age/maturity), your car and your budget.

So what worked well for my tall girls who are a lot of leg in my Ford Escape might not be the best choice for a child with a larger torso in a compact car with a small backseat. The Facebook group Car Seats for the Littles is a great resource if you’re trying to find a good seat that will meet your particular needs.

Newborn/Infant Seats

With Brooke, we used a convertible seat from day one. It worked fine but when we were pregnant with Leah we decided an infant “bucket” seat would be a better choice.

We bought the Chicco Keyfit 30 and we were completely happy with it. Keith and I both had bases in our cars and the install was super easy. It also worked great in the Cortina stroller we found secondhand on Craigslist. Overall it was a great buy!

I’d probably chose something like the Chicco Fit2 or a Graco SnugRide SnugLock 35 LX Infant Car Seat Featuring Safety Surround Technology if we were researching an infant seat for a new baby today.

Convertible Seats

As I mentioned before, Brooke came home from the hospital in a convertible seat and never had the infant seat. Car seats have evolved so much I don’t know if they even make the kind of seats we had for Brooke. My favorite in all the convertible seats we’ve used is the one Leah currently uses in my car – the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible Car Seat. One of the features I really loved about this seat was the pull-out leg room extension. My girls are tall and we keep them rear-facing as long as possible so this kept them comfy much longer!

I would totally choose the Extend2Fit again if we needed another convertible seat. Another option I like is the Chicco NextFit Zip Convertible Car Seat. The zip-off cover is a feature I would love!! Cleaning car seats can be such a pain!

Combination Seats

The combination seat we first used with Brooke is another that I don’t think is available anymore. That was a Graco Argos which is very similar to the Graco Nautilus which ended up being the one that we had in my car. It was a great seat and was a good fit at the harness stage, the high-back booster stage and the backless booster stage.

We liked it so much I didn’t think twice or feel the need to do too much research when it was time to get one for Leah. I found a new version that has some really cool features like the SnugLock for easy secure installation, two cupholders (that’s great so each girl gets one!) and a cool place to stow away the harness straps when you have the seat in booster mode. We will definitely be using our Trade-In Event discount on this one!

Another great option is the Graco Tranzitions. This seat would be great as a backup seat for grandparents or after being hit by an upset tummy in the car. It doesn’t have many of the “fancy features” but has good weight limits and the no-rethread harness which is a must for me!

The Evenflo Maestro is another that has good weight and height limits and I would definitely consider. One drawback is it only has the harness mode & high-back booster mode. It does not have the no-back booster option. No-back boosters are cheap and easy to get so that isn’t a huge deterrent it to me but is something to consider.

Booster Only Seats

These are seats that don’t have a harness and only have the belt-positioning feature. These are handy to have if you have a child who carpools or rides with other families. They are typically pretty light and easy to move from car to car. We used two that I liked for different reasons. The first was the Graco Turbobooster. We used this in Keith’s car because Brooke wasn’t in it much so we didn’t need extra features. After she didn’t need the high back function, we took the back off and used it as a no-back booster until Brooke was ready to be in the seat belt alone.

The Bubble Bums was a great seat to have on hand for when Brooke would ride in other cars. It’s inflatable and slim which made it a great portable option. It was also nice to have on hand if we were taking another child somewhere who needed a seat. The Bubble Bum fit in the middle seat really well.

If you have car seats that are expiring or your child will be transitioning to the next stage of seat soon, I would definitely take advantage of the Target Car Seat Trade-In. And I hope my recommendations are helpful – just rememeber that what works for each child and family will be different. Talk a Child Passenger Safety Technician to be sure you have the right fit!

Do you have any favorite car seats from your time as a parent? Can you remember the seats you used as a child?