Advice/suggestions for infant carseat??

[Classical Country Mama]

Hi all--HELP PLEASE! :)

 

A friend gave me her Britax Roundabout (it was never in an accident), which in her opinion is not great for rear-facing, and is best for later. And now my office wants to go in on an infant carseat for me (I'm due in April with kid # 2). Sounds perfect, right???

 

So here's my question. What should I ask for? Should I just go ahead and ask for an expensive convertible one like the Britax Marathon which will last forever (but which also seems embarrassing since I already have the Roundabout), or should I get some sort of smaller carseat that has the removable infant carrier, realizing that it can only be used a few months? If so, which? Or something else altogether....? (p.s. I drive a tiny Toyota Matrix)

 

Feeling terribly grateful to my office, but otherwise overwhelmed and completely clueless here now that I've started digging. My first kid is 5 and all her carseats were freecycle....

 

Thank you so much for your help/advice/comments/suggestions!

[RainbowSprinkles]

I think it's a good idea to use an infant carrier in the first few months. It's more practical at first i think. this way you don't have to wake a sleeping baby by transferring the baby to a stroller.

 

i would ask for infant carrier. i had the britax companion, i think that's what it was called.

[Ottakee]

I really liked the infant carries so that you can move a sleeping baby without waking them. You might though see if you could borrow one of those from a friend who has a child that just outgrew it. Then if you have a 2nd car, get a nice convertable seat for the 2nd car. It is really a pain to have to move the big car seats from car to car.

[courtney.byrum]

The Roundabout is a good seat. We had one and used it rearfacing with 2 kids with no issues. I have no idea why she doesnt' think it makes a good seat rearfacing, I would agree it may not be best for a newborn.

 

I would probably go with a good infant carrier - they tend to fit longer now as the infant seats have higher weight/length limits.

[LittleIzumi]

If you have a tiny car, I'd go to a Babies R Us or similar and try out some car seats to see which ones FIT in your car first. I have a Hyundai Accent and the Britaxes would never, ever fit in my car, lol.

[SonshineLearner]

I had a Marathon and loved it... bought it for my baby before the Britax one specially for infants was out... anyway, one day out of frustration when he was a couple of weeks old... I went over to Toys R Us and bought an infant seat... (with a 5 point harness) There is one specially for infants from Britax now... BTW, my son was 10lbs 3oz at birth... and he was just swallowed by the Marathon...

 

http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats

http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/chaperone

 

For bigger kids... This would be mine.... http://www.mypreciouskid.com/car-seat-safety-radian80.html

[Mom-ninja.]

The Graco Snugride or the Chicco Key Fit are two great seats. Both come with inserts for newborns as well. I had both. I liked the Chicco Key Fit a little bit better.

[Dinsfamily]

My little sis used the Roundabout rear-facing with her first and is planning on using it for her 2nd when she grows out of the infant carrier. She kept her dd rear-facing till about 2 and didn't have any problems.

 

I would get an infant carrier, though. Ours expired after our last baby grew out of it and I was thinking of bypassing it for the next baby, but the idea of taking an infant grocery shopping without one wasn't appealing. Add that to the idea of moving a sleeping baby out of the car and I was convinced to get another infant seat. Our last was a Graco and we'll get the same again.

[kalanamak]

We were very happy with:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Triumph-Advance-Premier-Convertible/dp/B0015ASLNC/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1267242844&sr=1-10

 

Which we used rear facing to 25 lbs and forward to 35, and then moved up to a bigger seat with 5 point. I was a bit of a reactionary to babies I saw living in their removable carseats, and hubby did everything that first year with a baby in arms or in a backpack. However, if you not-robust or have an unruly pack of other children, I don't suggest going this route.

[teachermom2834]

The Graco Snugride or the Chicco Key Fit are two great seats. Both come with inserts for newborns as well. I had both. I liked the Chicco Key Fit a little bit better.

 

I had the Chicco Key Fit 30 (goes up to 30 lbs) for my 4th dc and I loved it. I'm not a car seat expert like some moms. I'm usually pretty thrifty and seldom splurge on high end items like this. I had less expensive carriers for my first 3 dc and they were just fine.

 

But I ended up getting the Chicco Key Fit 30 because I really wanted the Chicco Trevi stroller that went with it. I felt silly spending so much $$$ on an infant carrier.

 

I really loved this seat though. It was so snugly and safe and easy to use. My dd was able to use it well past her first birthday and I really was sad to give it up. Luckily I was able to pass it on to someone who I know really wanted it but couldn't afford it.

 

I can't believe I've written so much about a car seat but I really loved that seat! It will serve you well until you move into the Britax.

 

Even with the hefty price tag, if I happened to get pg again, it would be the item I splurged on.