Car Seat Tips

The Combi Select Connection 8040 series car seat is an infant carrier/base carseat system. It is rated rear-facing with a 5-point harness for children 22 pounds or less.

Introduction

The Combi Connection is an innovative infant carrier system. The unique, narrow base has a serpentine seatbelt routing method that results in very good installations in many vehicles. The carrier is very light relative to some other models and has layers of energy-absorbing foam to protect the infant.

Features and Advantages:

Key Features
Car Seat Type:Convertible
Seating Direction:Rear / Forward Facing
Restraint System:5-Point Safety Harness
Adjustable Harness Height:Adjustable Harness Height

Other Features
Weight Limit:Up to 65 lbs.
Height Limit:Up to 49 In.

Miscellaneous
:38957032

After three years of hassling with “accurate” installation of various makes and models of car seats for a growing baby/toddler, it was a relief to finally hit booster seats at 40 pounds. Of course, there are still way too many choices with these also — backs, no backs, accessories such as cup holders, etc. We decided to go compact for ease in moving into and out of the car. That way when we want to go somewhere “sans kid”, it’s easy to leave behind (or in the trunk if you have a car). It’s also easy to move between cars if you only want to buy one seat but have two vehicles.

Turning three appears to be a rite of passage for our kids: the Binky Fairy comes and take their binkies for little babies who need binkies; they get to pick their own birthday outings, and, for some reason, we usually have a new baby coming which means everyone needs to bump up a carseat, and whoever is turning three gets a new “big kid” booster. My daughter has a Britax Starriser Comfy Booster Seat that we weren’t particularly impressed with, so when I spotted the Graco TurboBooster 8674 Buzz Lightyear Edition, I decided to break our Britax habit and give this seat a whirl.

Bought two of these after wait-listing at Baby 2 Teen in Manassas, VA for about 8 weeks. Manufacture date was 5 days prior to the day we picked them up at the store.

It was time once again for the car seat shuffle. Our once beloved Evenflo Triumph had met an early demise and had to be replaced immediately. Since our 4 1/2 old daughter was about to outgrow her Britax Marathon it only made sense to pass that down to The Little Guy and purchase Bugs a new Britax Regent

We purchased this car seat when my daughter graduated up from her infant seat. For $40 we really couldn’t beat it. It uses a 5-point harness system -very important for car safety. The seat is sturdy and durable, even my little squirmer hasn’t found a way out of it yet and she can get out of almost anything! The dark blue color helps disguise some of those unavoidable spills and the seat is easy to vacuum and brush off. All this and the seat is even comfortable!

For quite a while I’d been interested in getting the Britax Husky seat for my 3 1/2 year old son. However, his current seat- the Graco Platinum CarGo 8489 Booster Seat, was suiting us just fine for now. Since he is under the 40 pound weight limit we were still able to use it with the 5 point harness system. However, knowing full well that he was nearing the weight limit for the 5 point harness, and that this seat is not recommended as a booster seat (it has closed loop guides which hinder seatbelt retraction), and that quite honestly my son is not ready for a booster seat [read my horror story here when we tried the Graco TurboBooster 8493]- I was looking at other options to keep him in a 5 point harness longer. Then, Bamm - I was forced to make a decision and replace our seat immediately. Reason? I was in an automobile accident and all seats must be replaced after an accident.

I already own the Graco TurboBooster with the back but needed a second booster seat for my husband’s vehicle since he is taking our oldest daughter to school. I needed something that was safe but easy for him to move out of the way for clients when not in use.

My solution was found in the baby aisle in Wal-Mart next to the carseats. I already have a high opinion of Graco products. All of my carseats except one infant carrier have been Graco/Century. So for $25 I found the Graco TurboBooster 8491.

At Monster’s nine month well baby check up, we discovered that he had outgrown his infant carrier type seat by two pounds. It’s not easy having virtually no time to shop around for car seats. We ended up having to wait a month (an entire month of lugging the Alpha Omega from my car to hubby’s car to my mom’s truck- not fun!) before we bought a new seat. We purchased the Cosco Touriva because the price was right, it matched the gold interior of my station wagon, and we were happy over all with Cosco products.