Highly technical - infant car seat !

[alia176]

Happy Holidays to all! The wife has given me the task of purchasing the proper infant car seat for the 80, otherwise, we won't be able to bring her home from the hospital in Feb I need to find a car seat that allows the baby to lay down more horizontally, rather than somewhat upright.

If you're pleased with your infant car seat, please post the make/model of your seat. A short description of pros/cons would be great too! I figured not all car seats fit every vehicle due to the seat bottom cushion, angle, etc..

Thanks.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Don't succumb to the perceived 'need' to have your infant lie down. This is untrue and unsafe. Get a rear facing infant seat. You'll be faced with a choice of two types:

1 - the frame/bracket stays in the truck and you remove the baby/seat
2 - the entire thing comes out, requiring rebuckling and belt hassles each time you get in and out, plus baby waking.

Obviously you'll thank yourself for getting #1. You just release the mechanical fasteners and pick up the baby and seat part and off you go. Great product.

We got one of the 'fully lying down' models for our baby shower. It was a glorified piece of tupperware, and IMHO appeals to parent's perceived need for the baby to lay down versus actual protection in an accident. The baby will sleep just fine laying back at a 45 degree angle in a real protective seat.

IMHO the Britax brand are the hot setup for safety. The designer/owner used to be Director of Safety for Mercedes-Benz. I don't know if they have one as I suggest you get but we've had our kids in Britax since the outgrew the rear facing ones. Bulletproof.

For rearward facing, I made a piece of wood (basically a smoothed 2X4) that lifted the rear edge of the car seats a bit. It made the seat recline a bit, and gave more surface area resting on the leather against which to pull the seatbelt down (just the baby seat edge will continue to sink the harder you tighten). Feel free to PM me for a phone number and I'll clarify any/all of this. Children are worth anything and everything.

DougM

 

[80me]

I have the Britax Roundabout (next stage of seats for you) and it is great. Very well designed and made. I would guess that the infant seats share the same qualities.

I used two different seat when my twins were infants (hand me downs). Peg Prego and Graco. The Peg Prego was nicer looking but the Graco functioned better than the Prego. Look for one that fits strollers as well as the car seat. Makes life much easier.

As with any car seat (I am sure you have heard this before) installation is of the greatest importance. The belts in my cruiser don't make it easy to properly install forward facing seats (mounting point of seat belt is too far forward and you need to use the set belt clip).

Good luck and congratulations.

 

[firetruck41]

We just got a britax convertible for Christmas, it is designed as a rear facing for up to 5-33lbs, and forward facing for 20-65 lbs, it would be the only one you would ever need. However the convenience of the baby carrier models that Doug describes is hard to beat for the first 6 months until they out grow it. Any baby carrier model will have the baby at ~45 degrees which is all you need, the baby can sleep fine in it. So we had a baby carrier/car seat (base stays in car, seat/carrier is easily removeable) until baby is now 6 months, now we will begin using the Britax convertible in rear facing mode.

 

[DaveyBoy]

I've never used infant seats in my LC, but the center position
(if you only have one child) is probably the easiest for rear facing.
I concur with all who said get one with a base that stays in the truck. You'll thank yourself later. Britax is great (and a bit pricey)
go to a Babies R Us or similar, and try out a bunch, seeing how their features work. I went by ratings on a few sites as well as my own
research. By the 2nd child, I picked the Century Triumph. It stays in the car though, removing the baby each time.
Good luck...and congrats!

 

[Hayes]

I'll put in another word for Britax. My wife did a lot of research when we started having kids, and Britax consistently gets the best safety ratings.

We used a rear-facing infant seat with a removable base. VERY convenient and very safe.

We've now got the littlest one in a full-size (rear facing) car seat, and like Doug, I've propped up the rearmost end (front of seat) with some dense foam to get the angle just right. I've also used some webbing and carabiners (gear from other now dust-accumulating hobbies) to secure the rear safety strap to the base of the front seat.

Finally, our big-guy has just graduated to a booster seat.

All of our seats have been Britax. We've been very happy with them.

I will certainly include pictures of the copiot's and gunner's seats in my upcomming ROTW.

Hayes

P.S. Make sure you tighten your kids' straps sufficently (as described in the seat's instructions). I see lots of kids with loosey-goosey straps--although it is presumably more comfortable, I can't see how it is as safe.

Hayes

 

[TroutRunner]

I put my child in the Graco brand for the infant seat. It is rear facing and worked great. It was the type with a console base that stays in the car and you just snap in and out of the carrier. The child can stay asleep once locked in and works great.

As they get older and longer we bought a Britax to rear face in the beginning and then turned it around. I bought a second Britax for the other car and they both are easy to use.

I've saved the Graco for the next baby coming this summer.

Most any of the seats will work safely. The differences are in the ease of use and adjustment.

TR

 

[Rainy Day FZJ]

I found that just about any of the removeable click in and out carry around car seats hits the rear of the passenger seat. The TLC is a little small in the necc rear seat area, so go to Babies R us and have them take one out to your car and do a test fit for you. That will help with mounting choices. Also the TLC doen not have the very latest LATCH system that all new cars and suv's have. Makes mounting very slick and easy, keeping the head of the seat from moving around. Do a google search on the new requirements for kids and car seats, might suprise you. I think it is still 8 years old and 80 pounds, I herd that it might change again. The local Fire stations in my area have a guy that comes by once a month to he helps people with proper car seat safety. It takes like 30 hours of training to be a car seat technition, how funny is that.

 

[Fly Rod]

We were given the Graco detachable car seats for our twins. They should be born any day now. (waiting, waiting, waiting) The bases remain in the truck and the carrier detaches and attaches to the twin stroller. As the children grow the stroller converts to a child stroller. Seams like a great setup that will grow with the kids. I will have input within the next week on how the whole system works. I will also try Dougs' trick for creating a more secure mounting surface.

Fly Rod

 

[alia176]

Thanks for the inputs gents....can't believe we're talking about car seats on such a manly forum

I'll notify the boss of the Britax brand and about the click in/out concept. It seems that she plans, ahem, to carry the baby in a sling - sort - of - thing. Evidently, her plan is for me to sport a dark green sling with a baby inside of it during Cruise Moab '06 Wonder if I can stick a IH8MUD logo on it somewhere! Or should it say IH8POO?

My life is over....

 

[brianinaustin]

There's more of the same [thread=66338]here[/thread]. Good luck!

 

[ginericLC]

So the kid will be 3 months at CM? Gabes first trip to Moab was at 8 months, his first CM was at 17 months, and his first Rubithon will be this summer hopefully.

Gabe turned 3 yesterday. And I'm looking at the next phase of car seats. I've been looking PRP racing seats as well the Beard racing seats. I can still do a 5 point harness. They do make them for little people like 1.75" harnesses instead of the 3". This will require removal of one of the rear seats completely. I've even thought about removing them completely and mounting the racing seat in the center. It is a lot harder loading him and unloading him, but safety is what counts. And I think he will be safest in the center. Then we could toss in the 3rd row seats for Gram and Gramps on those visiting trips. They are only here a few days of the year so I'm not as concerned about their comfort.

Any thoughts on the racing seat idea? Or should I be looking at the Britax Booster seat?

 

[Waggoner5]

I just saw this, Car seat.....thats funny stuff coming from you Ali. I like the race seat for kids, but I didn't start seeing them until Shelby was too big for them.
G

 

[MoGas]

We used the carry out Gracos for all three of our kids and then Century seats for when they could forward face. In my CJ I took the rear seat out and built a tube frame that used the factory mounts and bought Junior dragster seats and Jr. dragster 5 points. for the twins. I also made a rear halo and built a cage for the rear passenger area. Then we had another child so no more CJ's.

 

[MoGas]

THREAD HIJACK IN PROGRESS>>>>>>THREAD HIJACK IN PROGRESS>>>

Shelby was too big for them.
G

My twin girls were to be named Carroll and Shelby. My wife would not sign off on Carroll because of a run in she had with a "Carol" in 7th grade. So we have Kinney and Shelby. Still love 'em just the same.


Dave


END HIJACK

 

[nakman]

We've got the Graco setup, got the seat in a shower. I've got the bases in both trucks in the middle position, using a board like Doug suggests to shim up the seatbelt side.. that way the kid can sit back far enough so his head doesn't fall down. I wrapped one in an old towel, wrapped the other in some scrap carpet, so it doesn't poke the leather. I wish someone would have told me about the "board" trick before we drove home from the hospital, his head was totally hanging down on the way home, wife ended up sitting back there with him holding is forehead back.

Congrats, Ali! Our boy Gavin will be almost 9 months old at CM, hope to see you there.

 

[Sully]

You guys have all brought up good points. As a fireman who has taken the carseat tech class (it's actually 40 hours) and a parent myself, I'm glad to see such safety minded people. As has been previously stated, the seats with the removable buckets are great for the first six months. Most manufacturers will sell you a 2nd or 3rd base for a fairly reasonable price. Also, most have a matching stroller to go with the carseat and the stroller can be used without the seat as well. Britax is a good brand, so is Graco. Britax is expensive however and Graco does just as well. As for where to place the kid, the center is best, but sometimes it can be unstable given the tendency for seats to raise up in the middle. Haven't done any LC installs, so I can't say for sure. Also, bear in mind that the bigger the kid gets, the heavier the seat will become and the harder on your back it will be to hoist it to the middle. The wood base is an interesting idea, usually I just use cut up foam pool noodles from WalMart. Also, some kind of barrier to protect the leather is advised. The kid really shouldn't lie flat (unless there is a specific medical necessity for it). 45 degrees is the recommended angle. That will keep the kid's head from falling forward. While we're on the subject of the kid's head, don't use any of the aftermarket head stabilizers. They are not designed and tested with any specific seats. The best thing you can use are two receiving blankets rolled up, taped, and placed on each side of the head. As the kid outgrows the bucket-style seat, a convertible seat facing rearward is the best and most cost-effective way to go. IMHO, the Alpha-Omega model from Cosco is the best seat out there. I've got four of them myself. It is the easiest to install, adjust, and disassemble for cleaning when the inevitable in-car vomiting occurs. When you put the kid in, make sure that you check the straps for tightness EVERY time. They do loosen up or the tightness will change depending on the child's clothing. The shoulder straps should be tight enough that you can only slip one or two fingers under them. The chest piece should sit at the armpit level. When facing backwards, the shoulder straps should insert into the back of the seat just below the child's shoulder level. They move to just above the shoulder level once the child faces forward. The best thing you could do would be have the seats installed by a qualified technician. There are a lot of firemen and cops that can do it. Check the website http://www.seatcheck.org/index.html for one near you. The tech will show you how to properly fit the seat to your child and make sure that the seat works well in your vehicle. Don't just assume that because it's the "best" seat that it will fit in your car. Some just won't. Sorry to take up so much space, but this is a subject near and dear to me. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Hayes]

Good stuff from Sully.

 

[semlin]

i think any of the rear facing removable infant seats with the carry handles are fine. Once they get too big for that, say 5 months, go for the fisher price seat. It is by far the most beefy, durable, best quality and nicest looking I have seen in 8 years of parenthood and the strap location makes it very adjustable. My smallish but not tiny 5 year old daughter still uses it in one of our cars, and ym son used it until she was big enough for it so it has been in continuous use since 1997 and still looks like new once you sweep away the cookie crumbs

 

[Junk]

You guys have all brought up good points. As a fireman who has taken the carseat tech class (it's actually 40 hours) and a parent myself, I'm glad to see such safety minded people. As has been previously stated, the seats with the removable buckets are great for the first six months. Most manufacturers will sell you a 2nd or 3rd base for a fairly reasonable price. Also, most have a matching stroller to go with the carseat and the stroller can be used without the seat as well. Britax is a good brand, so is Graco. Britax is expensive however and Graco does just as well. As for where to place the kid, the center is best, but sometimes it can be unstable given the tendency for seats to raise up in the middle. Haven't done any LC installs, so I can't say for sure. Also, bear in mind that the bigger the kid gets, the heavier the seat will become and the harder on your back it will be to hoist it to the middle. The wood base is an interesting idea, usually I just use cut up foam pool noodles from WalMart. Also, some kind of barrier to protect the leather is advised. The kid really shouldn't lie flat (unless there is a specific medical necessity for it). 45 degrees is the recommended angle. That will keep the kid's head from falling forward. While we're on the subject of the kid's head, don't use any of the aftermarket head stabilizers. They are not designed and tested with any specific seats. The best thing you can use are two receiving blankets rolled up, taped, and placed on each side of the head. As the kid outgrows the bucket-style seat, a convertible seat facing rearward is the best and most cost-effective way to go. IMHO, the Alpha-Omega model from Cosco is the best seat out there. I've got four of them myself. It is the easiest to install, adjust, and disassemble for cleaning when the inevitable in-car vomiting occurs. When you put the kid in, make sure that you check the straps for tightness EVERY time. They do loosen up or the tightness will change depending on the child's clothing. The shoulder straps should be tight enough that you can only slip one or two fingers under them. The chest piece should sit at the armpit level. When facing backwards, the shoulder straps should insert into the back of the seat just below the child's shoulder level. They move to just above the shoulder level once the child faces forward. The best thing you could do would be have the seats installed by a qualified technician. There are a lot of firemen and cops that can do it. Check the website http://www.seatcheck.org/index.html for one near you. The tech will show you how to properly fit the seat to your child and make sure that the seat works well in your vehicle. Don't just assume that because it's the "best" seat that it will fit in your car. Some just won't. Sorry to take up so much space, but this is a subject near and dear to me. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Great info Sully.

Romer or reffug - can ya'll link this to the FAQs?

I will say this though, the lack of having a center shoulder strap means that once they go to a booster they'd have to sit behind either front seat. For that reason, I will not be driving another 80 like I'd planned. My son should be able to see.