NYC baby needs car seat advice

[Liss]

Hi! I need some help choosing a new car seat for my 6-month old son, Owen, who is outgrowing his Snugride. We live in Manhattan and mostly take the subway to get around, but we rent cars to travel once every month or so. I want a safe carseat that we can install in a variety of cars. I've heard great things about Britax seats, but I'm not sure which is best for our needs. It would be great to save some money, since this seat will be in our closet most of the time, but safety is more important than a few hundred dollars & some of the Britax seats can be used for a long while. My husband doesn't know as much about installing car seats as he thinks he does, and like many New Yorkers, I'm fine with the subway but TERRIFIED OF ROAD ACCIDENTS, so I really need some advice from people who know their stuff. Please share your wisdom on ease of installation and all-around safety/value.

I would also appreciate any info on what to do in a taxi. Do I just avoid taxis for the next 7 years or so (ugh!), or is there a portable safety device that I can carry with me?

Thanks!

[bensmom]

It's a tough question - I know I've seen it asked before, so hopefully others will chime in.

The Cosco Touriva (since replaced with the Scenera) often is recommended because it's relatively light weight and installs pretty well in most cars. The Britax seats are great too - if you would be carrying the seat around with you (i.e., you want to be out and about taking taxis), I'd probably go with the Roundabout just because it's a little smaller and super easy to install anywhere. If you would be storing it in the closet and using mostly in rental cars, one of the larger Britax seats (Marathon, Decathlon, Boulevard) are a great value and also install well.

Having said that, there's a new Graco seat on the market, the Graco Safe Seat, which has a 30 pound weight limit. I have not used it (and it's new within the past few weeks, so most people haven't), but it might be a great option for you. I believe (again, though, you would need to check it out, or hopefully someone else knows) that it can be used without the base just like your Snugride. It's probably heavy to carry, but might "snap" into a stroller, but might make the most sense in a "city" situation. By the time your son outgrows that seat, you should have a lot more options (since hopefully he would be well over the 1 year/20 pound minimum to FF).

I saw the Safe Seat at Babies R Us the other day (but had my 23 month with me and didn't have a chance to play with it).

HTH!

Ilana

CPS Tech and mom

[skipspin]

You can use the Safeseat without the base, just like the Snugrides. I have pictures of it on photobucket- just look for my post "Pictures of Graco Safeseat" from last week. (Sorry, I don't have the link right now) My 28 month old borderline fits in it- and she outgrew her convertable Evenflo before age two. I would consider it for the taxi if I needed it for that all the time. For rental car I agree that a convertable seat will be more seat for your money. Any baby that outgrows the safeseat would probably then be able to use one of the harnesses for taxi rides. I know next to nothing about them, so someone else will have to help you when the time comes.
HTH

[bensmom]

Thanks! That was helpful.

I found your photobucket link (http://photobucket.com/albums/d83/skipspin/Car%20Seats/)


Ilana

CPS Tech and mom