Car Seat Tips

Over the past three years I have purchased a grand total of five car seats. FIVE! I almost can’t believe it, myself. But with two working parents and two crazy kids, we really needed to have two car seats in each car. I’ve bought one on the super expensive side (The Evenflo Medallion V XL), one on the super inexpensive side(the Century 1500 STE Convertible), and all the rest fall someplace in between.

Shortly after our oldest turned one it was time to purchase her a convertible car seat. I did some research and headed down to our local baby store where I was a given a song and dance about the $200 Britax car seat. The sales woman looked shocked as I corrected the errors in her sales pitch and proceeded to buy the exact seat that I wanted, an Evenflo Triumph.

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.

I purchased my Alpha Omega car seat at Walmart in Canada in August 2001 when our first daughter outgrew her infant seat.

WHY WE BOUGHT IT

We purchased two of these car seats (one for each of our cars), when we suddenly realized our infant son was quickly outgrowing his infant carrier and our older son was not quite ready to graduate to a booster seat. We wanted something that was safe, comfortable, and easy to use. In general, the Evenflo Triumph Deluxe fits the bill.

I received this carseat as a gift before my son was born (in a different pattern though-the pattern that I got was called Heirloom) and the seat is amazing. My son is now 9 and a half months and he still fits into the seat. It has three setting so babies really can fit in it longer! My son is now 27 and a half inches and weighs over 19 pounds and I don’t expect to have to move into a bigger carseat until he is 1 year old.

Bought the Tyro with the Tetra system two years ago. Loved both parts (stroller and seat). Car seat is a bit larger than others, but loved the material and safety. Here’s my problem currently: I am now having another baby and want a dual stroller. I’d like a sit-n-stand since my toddler pretty much hates strollers at this point. A few of the duals work with Combi connection and centre series, but say nothing of Tyro. I called customer service and after about 20 minutes of being on hold (by the way their reps are pretty rude and their hours of customer service availability are quite limited), I was told the Tyro WILL NOT WORK WITH ANY DUAL STROLLER!! I had read that it is compatible with one of the dual Combi’s (a regular tandem one- can’t remember the exact model), but that’s not what I’m looking for and it has horrible reviews. So I don’t know what we’re going to do yet, but there are plenty of safe, reputable infant seats that would have been a better choice if you plan to use it again. My other issue is that I purchased a car seat cover (just for fun) and found out that the Combi’s canopy is quite different from all others and had to have the canopy taken to a tailor (since I don’t sew) to have dual snaps sewn on and boning installed. Not a big deal really, but I would not buy this seat/ system again if I had the choice!!!

I have always been a little car seat obsessed, so my girls never went anywhere with someone else unless I had schooled them on proper use and installation. I always worried that if I wasn’t the one to install the car seat, it would be done wrong (and it usually was!). Since discovering Britax Marathon, I can relax a little. It is SO easy to install! I have a 1998 Chevy Venture minivan (no LATCH) with a really awkward seat configuration. It is the two front seats, a middle row with three seats, and the back row only seats two. This has made my life very difficult with regards to car seats. Upon the birth of my little guy, we needed to have three kids in the middle row, because we don’t always have the rear two seats in, and the seats are a tad narrow. The infant carrier fit well, but our Alpha Omega was absolutely incompatible with our model of vehicle(when used in any of the seating positions in the third row, rear seats it was fine). The plastic base of the seat was just too wide. If I removed the base and used pool noodles to adjust the incline, it was acceptable, but was really finicky, and frequently I would spend 45 minutes trying to get it right and still not be happy with the fit. So I started to research my options a lot more thoroughly than in the past.

Introduction

I recently moved from Idaho to Oregon.

What does this have to do with a car seat? Well, in Idaho the weight requirement for car seats and belt positioning boosters was 4 years/40 pounds.

My oldest son is six and a half years old and has been riding with a seatbelt for two years.

Shortly after arriving in Oregon my mother-in-law informed me of Oregon’s safety requirements. In Oregon children must be in a car seat or belt positioning booster until the 6 years/60 pounds mark has been reached. That means 6 years AND 60 pounds–whichever comes later.

***UPDATEd 9-14-06 (See Note below)***

Admittedly it is a good car seat. It meets all safety standards and is the #1 choice by the majority of consumers. However, I still find it hard to justify spending that much money for a car seat, when you can get the same and even better features with other car seats at a much more reasonable price.