Need New Infant Carseat - Help!

[JPrecht]

My daughter was born in 2009, and we bought the Graco SafeSeat, then the only Graco model that fit up to 30 lbs, and we loved it. That said, she moved out of it into a Britax Marathon (rear facing) at 10 months because she was tall enough and she was MISERABLE lying back so far. Now at 2.5, and forward facing in her Marathon, she only weighs 27.5 lbs. Also, after my emergency c-section, I couldn't carry my own car seat for a month after my delivery because of how heavy it was. This was a major pain in the rear.

I tell you this to say that we are now expecting our 2nd, and it suddenly seems like all the best rated car seats are HUGE (or at least comparable in size to our old 09 SafeSeat) and accommodate children up to at least 30 lbs. We'd like something a little smaller, especially since our Marathon will also still be residing in the back seat.

Any suggestions for a highly rated, uber-safe, smaller car seat? It doesn't matter to me if the car seat accommodates higher weights as long as the seat itself is smaller. Is my only option the Graco SnugRide (that goes to 22 lbs)? Anyone have any experience with any of the Britax infant seats (we love our Marathon)? Thanks!

[bostonsmama]

I almost got the SR22 for the same reason. My SR35 *kills* my back when I have to lift it in and out of our vehicles (DD is 22lbs now and sometimes falls asleep in it). I don't think any of the Britax infant buckets are as light as the SR22s. The smallest (B-safe) is almost 10 lbs (9.8); the SR22 is 7.5 lbs. If you do a repeat C, you're probably going to need help anyways.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I just never lugged the seat around. :) I kept it installed in the car. When we were out and about I wore the baby. If baby was still sleeping I didn't worry because little ones just fall right back asleep, ime. At home I would often bring him in in the seat but that was a quick walk. I only did it so I could buckle him in the carseat in the middle of winter from inside. I switched to a convertible seat at 2m (didn't want to buy a new seat for ds2 and the one from ds1 expired then). Anyway, it's just an option to consider- buy the seat and intend to keep it installed and not worry about the weight.

Beth

[Joolsplus2]

Yeah, just leave the infant seat in the car, or get a snap n go and don't carry it anywhere at all. It'll fit better than a convertible, in terms of lower straps for the infant, and a shorter back that won't press into the front passenger seatback. You can use them more upright for older babies, no need to leave it in the newborn recline mode (Graco lets you just install as upright as you can, other brands have level indicators for differently weighted children).
Snugride 30 is a very nice seat, though, it might be a good choice for you, including it's narrow base and foot that might fit next to the Marathon. Snugride 22 is harder to find with the front adjuster now, and it's very wide, much wider than the 30 or 35 at that critical foot spot.

[JPrecht]

Thanks Ladies! I was planning to basically leave it installed and wear the baby out and about. I was more concerned about it fitting in the backseat beside the Marathon/behind the passenger seat. My husband and I are both pretty tall, and that was one reason (besides safety) that my DD rode in the middle seat when she was in her SafeSeat. Since we'll have the Marathon in the backseat as well, that won't be an option. The other problem is that there is no BabiesRUs or other big box baby store within 2 hrs drive of where we live, so there's no way for me to compare sizes other than online (arg).

Thanks again for the advice! :)

[AnnieW625]

If you are fine leaving the infant seat in the car all of the time I would look at the Combi Cocorro, it's a smallish convertible seat that fits little newborns quite well. We ended up using a Safe Seat with DD2 (and loved it; used it in the car only from about a year old on), but had we not a Cocorro was an option we thought about esp. for our 01 Corolla. Go over to car-seat.org and look for reviews of it.