Products
Babble Best Picks: Car Seats
There might not be a more important baby product that you'll buy than a car seat. You can skimp on hand-me-down clothes, used toys or even second-hand strollers, but experts agree that car seats should be brand new - especially if you don't know the history of the particular car seat. There are two options for babies: First there's the standard infant car seat, which is fitted more securely for a baby and is also lighter and more maneuverable for parents. An infant car seat can easily transfer between multiple cars, as well as turn into a travel system by hooking onto a stroller or shopping cart. However, infant car seats only face backwards and have a relatively short weight and height capacity, meaning you'll need to buy a bigger car seat toward the end of your baby's first year. The second option is to just go with a convertible car seat from the jump, saving you money on the infant car seat and multiple car seat bases. Every convertible car seat that we tested can be used rear facing starting with newborns, although they generally don't have the best fit and features for the littlest ones. Convertible car seats are naturally much bigger and heavier than an infant car seat, and aren't as simple to move in and out of cars. Plus, you'll need multiple car seats for multiple cars, rather than just buying an inexpensive base (as with infant car seats). Yet once your baby hits around 30 lbs., a convertible car seat can last you until your child is 65-100 lbs., possibly making it the last car seat you'll buy. But with so many different features, manageability and price points, it can be hard to tell just which ones are the very best. So to give you a hand, we tested the most popular infant and convertible car seats to fit your lifestyle and budget.
BEST INFANT-TO-PRESCHOOL CAR SEAT | The First Years True Fit Premier C670
While we’ve found that infant car seats provide the best fit and convenience for small babies, this True Fit Premier is our top pick for a car seat that grows from beginning to end.
One problem people have with using a reclined rear-facing convertible car seat is that the extended height requires more room, pushing the front seat passenger up closer to the dashboard. What makes The First Years True Fit so smart is that the top headrest is removable, making it generally the same height as an infant car seat. And then when it is time to pop on the extended headrest, it has the tallest height of any car seat we’ve tested – making it safe for the biggest kids.
Plus, there’s a new “anti-rebound bar” underneath the front of the car seat, which is designed to butt up against the car’s back seat when in a rear-facing position. So instead of the car seat rebounding into the back seat after an accident, the bar is the buffer, absorbing energy from the crash. Not only that, but the included infant support cushion (keeping even the tiniest babies snug and secure) and the 2-position recline handle make it a great option for rear-facing infants, who are safe all the way up to 35 lbs. in the True Fit.
As your baby gets bigger, this will turn into one of the tallest, roomiest car seats, even for a 65-lb. child (which is the weight limit). But that also means that it’s one of the widest, so be aware. The Britax Advocate is wider only because of the side-impact feature, but the actual seat is roomier with the True Fit. It’s also a little on the heavier side.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for one car seat to last from beginning to end (and don’t mind the lack of portability for infants), The First Years True Fit Premier is the best value.
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Thank you Thank you THANK YOU for this list Babble!!! PERFECT timing. I’m currently shopping around for car seats for my first-born (due in July), and this is one of the easiest-to-read and understand lists I’ve seen. Thank you for breaking it down to what I need to know.
I love this carseat. I had a premie and this seat with infant insert was the best fit. We had a peg pereggo for about a week before switching to this one and for the tiniest baby this keyfit is what I would choose. Our little girl is now 13 months and still in this seat (& still small at 16 lbs).
I love this seat–we had a Graco Snugride with my first baby, and it was just okay. This was an unexpected gift when my second baby was born, and the Chicco just blows the Graco away with ease of use. Also, my son outgrew the Graco (in length) at 7 months, but my daughter stayed in the Chicco until 14 months.
my kiddo HATED this car seat. we borrowed it from a friend and she cried EVERY time we put her in it. after 4 months, we bought the Graco snugride35 and she’s perfectly happy going in her car seat now.
We love this carseat and several friends have purchased it too. Both daughters almost instantly have fallen asleep when they have been placed in it. Plus since it is a top safety pick form consumer reports it is also reassuring. My brother used it for his daughter who was a 3lb preemie and it worked great. And both our daughters were close to 9 lbs and it worked great for them too. So any size and it seems to work nicely. We just had some friends have twins at 5 lbs and they had to go buy new carseats when they realized the ones they had purchased wouldn’t work for their small daughters. They actually picked this one and it works great for them too.
We love this car seat. We used with our first and now our second actually sleeps in it every night (need to get him to the crib)…I’ve only found two drawbacks of this seat. The fabric while easy to wash tended to make our first quite sweaty in the summer months. Also as you mentioned I haven’t found a stroller it’s compatible with – if you know of one please advise.
Just be sure you KEEP your child in a safety seat long after their out of these infant seats, please!! New AAP “best practices” recommends in a booster until they’re 4’9″, which makes my tween NUTS but it is all about her safety. Car seat belts don’t fit children, they fit adults. And she’s just not big enough yet to be safe in just a seat belt. PLEASE don’t just go by your state’s minimum rules. Do the best practices and do all you can to keep your child safe!!!
This is compatible with the revolution bob 2011 stroller
PaulaOfTheTweenAndMeDotCom- There is no way in HADES that I would make my 10 year old sit in a booster. My sister was 4’9″ until she was 13! Also, my husband’s cousin is 27 and 4’10″ as an adult. She should’ve stayed in a booster when she went to college? I think good judgement is in order once you reach state requirements.
I love my KeyFit 30 but.. it is a bit heavy and as my LO gets bigger I realized that it is not the weight limit that is going to get him out of this car seat.. it is his length! At 5 months he is at the top slits for this car seat and we will probably have to get another one by the end of this month and he weighs only 17 pounds. The company focuses on the weight limit and the height falls to the waist-side but for most babies that is where they will hit the limit first! Also, he gets very sweaty in this seat when it is warm out.
FYI: Leg room doesn’t matter in regards to height limit of car seats. In an infant seat, the top of the infant’s head is at the limit when it’s 1 inch away from the top of car seat shell. This limit, combined with weight limit, tells you when to switch
Stay with this guys, you’re helping a lot of pleope.
The Chicco KeyFit infant car seat is a great car seat that touts many features that make it a premium car seat for any parent to invest in. One great feature of the KeyFit is the energy-absorbing ESP safety foam installed in the infant seat for improved side-impact protection. FOR MORE INDEPTH INFORMATION ON THIS CAR SEAT PLEASE VISIT…www.best-baby-seat.com
Love it! My husband and I have bases in both cars, makes going from car to car so easy! Used the same seat for both kids 5 goods,years! Wish they had a booster this amazing