Anyone have car seat recs?

[thanate]

We're approaching that time when we actually need to make a decision and buy something, so I figured I'd ask if anyone with recentish car seat experience has recommendations.

We kind of like the idea of something with a (preferably minimal) bassinet/seat for which you can buy a fixed base to put in each vehicle, but we also rather like the idea of something that does the modular room-to-grow-in sort of thing so we don't have to go out and get another one in a year or two. Preliminary research suggests that we'll probably have to pick one or the other of these models. (Also, I am hoping to do much more wrap-carrier carrying than carting the kid about in a car seat bucket or modular stroller system, if that makes a difference to what you'd expect to be useful.)

(ETA- we're good on carriers-- being me, I'm far more comfortable with a 5-yard swath of linen and helpful youtube videos than all the odd strap & buckle things.)

Comments

[dragonvyxn.livejournal.com]

i hope you don't mind that i have a lot to say about this topic!

car seats - the amount/type of seats you buy can depend on how fast your baby grows, too, as it seems to be doing for us.... i probably would have been ok if we'd bought the britax advocate first and just gone with that, but we got the chaperone and now will be getting the advocate or possibly boulevard. the chaperone has a bar on the base that prevents the seat from flopping up and killing your child, so i'm a fan of that. when you look at the top 3 rated for safety in britax, the seats are very similar, usually, so that's a positive note. the advocate is only better for planes and side impacts, and we go on planes, so there's that. britax seats have the highest safety rating in german safety tests and husband (german by birth) is all about that. we take ours on the plane and the base and seat aren't all that heavy together. that said, she really doesn't spend a lot of time in it.... i think it's incredibly awkward to carry and i don't use a stroller ever so it's either in the car or empty in the house if i'm on my own. husband is willing to carry it around so if we're together and she's already sleeping sometimes he'll haul it around. the convertible seats aren't ones you're going to want to carry around at any rate as they are very heavy; i would suggest buying an infant seat if you intend to carry it around at all. you'll have to buy a new forward facing seat once she tops 40lbs as well. i'm just researching the new seat we've got to get in possibly a month depending on how tall she gets in that time. fun!

carriers - i love my moby wrap - liilt loves it too - super great for soothing and swaddling and rocking early on (starting at 8lbs; there's a way to use it for smaller babies, but i don't know the exact wrap) and it's very easy to put on (i can do it within a minute, standing or seated). the ergo has a nice insert that you can remove with a sleeping baby in seemingly with no problem, according to my friend who used it like that (she also nursed in it, which i can't do with any carrier)... i never used it because lilit got too tall for it. she's also in between sizes for sitting correctly in the ergo so i can't use it until her legs grow even longer! she loves the bjorn and my husband loves it too, but on me it's just sort of awkward (thanks, anatomy...).

i hope this helps... i'm happy to answer any other questions you might have, if i can!