I got a Graco SafeSeat!

[mommy2maya]

I was planning on using my sister's Combi Tyro for our new baby, but I couldn't get the latch nearly tight enough, and since I am using the bench seat in our Ford Freestar and need to be able to move it back & forth for my older dd to get in the back seat, I wasn't comfy using the seatbelt. So, off to babies r us I went. The Safeseat was very easy to get a good install with the latch- not as easy as my Marathons, but a VERY close second! I'd say it was even easier than installing my sister's Roundabout rearfacing.

The foot is very easy to adjust, the seat pops on & off smoothly and easily. Also, from my limited playing, the straps seem easy to tighten/loosen. My baby is due soon, so hopefully I will have a more in-depth report soon! Oh, I bought the red colorway, which is $20 cheaper than the teal one, and the only difference I could see is that the red doesn't have the little foot cover, which seems pretty useless anyway. We use one of the covers that pop over the whole seat, which I think does a way better job of keeping baby warm.

[teagirl]

I also got a Graco SafeSeat this past weekend. We went up to BRU originally intending to buy a new SnugRide (we had been using an old SnugRide that we borrowed from a friend who is about to deliver her second child), but when we got there, my husband said, "Why don't we buy the SafeSeat because it has higher weight & height limits?"

I went along with it and we came home and put everything together (we also got a new SnugRider, which I like much better than the Snap-n-Go we've been using for the last 4 months because it has a smaller footprint, you can just pop the infant carrier in without having to use straps, and it has an adjustable handlebar).

This morning, I used the SafeSeat for the first time with my 4-month-old daughter when I dropped her off at daycare. It clicks in and out of the base almost as easily as the SnugRide did with its base, but because it's larger, it's not as easy to maneuver in a car with a low ceiling (i.e., our compact sedan as opposed to our minivan).

Moreover, even though the empty SafeSeat didn't feel much heavier than an empty new SnugRide at the store (maybe a 1.5 pound difference), with my 14 lb daughter in it, the SafeSeat feels significantly heavier than the old SnugRide did with her in it (I'm not sure if the new SnugRides weigh signficantly more than the old SnugRides did). So, I cannot imagine how heavy the SafeSeat will feel once my daughter hits even 22 lbs (which is the weight limit for the new SnugRide).

Because of the weight issue, I am tempted to try to return the SafeSeat to BRU (or sell it) and just get a new SnugRide instead. So far, my husband claims that he doesn't mind the added weight, but I am a small person (5'2") and since my daughter is not huge (14 lbs, 24.25" at 4 months), I think that she'll fit in the new SnugRide until she's close to turning 1.

The main benefit I can see to sticking with the heavier SafeSeat is that we can use it as a secondary car seat even after the baby hits 22 lbs/29". We're planning to use a Britax Marathon as our main car seat after she turns 1, but rather than having to buy a second Britax for my husband's car, it would be easier to just continue using the SafeSeat.

Furthermore, I think it would be easier to travel with the SafeSeat/SnugRider combo than lugging a Britax Marathon (or even a Roundabout) and our Maclaren Quest around airports, rental cars, etc. This is not a small consideration for us because we live in MN but our families live in CA and we travel a fair amount. I'm thinking that if we stick with the SafeSeat, the Grandparents won't have to buy separate car seats for our visits until much later.

I am a new mom, though, and would appreciate advice from you more experienced moms out there. For example, am I deluded in thinking that a child older than 12 mos would even be willing to sit in a rear-facing infant carrier (either in the car or in the SnugRider)? Also, we are planning to have another child, hopefully around the time our daughter turns 2.

[AdoptChina]

A couple things...you are not deluded thinking that a 12 month old will RF...my son RFd til after he turned 2 (just turned him around this fall b/c he is right around the RF weight limit and his sneakers kept getting stuck lol)....so you could easily keep a child RFing longer than 12 mth

Also, just b/c you have a Safeseat doesnt mean you always have to carry your child in it, kwim? Once your DD is old enough to sit up on her own etc she can sit in shopping carts or even go into a lightweight stroller and just keep the carseat in the car (but still be able to use it as a travel carseat & stroller if that works for you)

We are also deciding btwn the snugride and safeseat since I need a new one for this baby

good luck in your decision :)

[lilac0422]

Well, I was kicking around getting a Safeseat but I had the same question as teagirl. Will a 12 month old really want to RF in an infant seat? I can't imagine (although I am not a mom yet) that older childen would want to lay so flat on their backs in an infant seat. I know that RF is much safer but I was thinking RF in a big Britax not an infant seat. KWIM? Once children can sit up, don't they WANT to sit up in a RF convertible?

TIA,
Casey

[mommy2maya]

Well, with the safeseat, the base is adjustable, so you could have baby sitting more upright. Also, if what baby knows in the car is sitting in the safeseat, they have no idea there is any other way, yk?

[teagirl]

I just wanted to give you guys an update. After using the SafeSeat for one week, I decided to sell it to a friend (whose son, at 2 months, is the same size as my daughter is at 4 months, and who only had an older SnugRide, i.e., the one with the 26" limit).

I made this decision partly because several of my girlfriends who already have kids told me that almost no 2-year-old kid is going to be willing to sit RF and on their back (and my daughter probably won't weigh even 28 pounds until she's about 2). So, I think that the SafeSeat would really be most useful for parents who have a larger-than-normal baby (like the friend mentioned above) who would blast through the 22#, 29" limit way before they turn 1 because it sounds like it is unlikely parents with average-sized babies (especially girls) would be able to continue using it as a secondary car seat after their child gets older (even if they still are within the limits).

Instead, I got a new SnugRide (in the cute Cottontail pattern) and am happier with it because it is both smaller and lighter than the SafeSeat (yet has higher limits than the old SnugRide I had borrowed).

However, for those of you who are considering SafeSeats, please note that a few other stores are starting to sell them, so if you don't like either the Fusion or Roxy patterns (which seem to be the only ones that BRU sell), you should shop around. This past weekend, at the USA Baby store in Minneapolis, I actually saw the SafeSeat in several other (and in my opinion, cuter) patterns like the Central Park (black check & toile), the G Collection, etc. I didn't check to see if they were more expensive than the patterns BRU sells.

[Joolsplus2]

I'm glad you got a seat that works better for you (the cottontail is SO wonderfully soft, too!).

Yeah, 2 yo's are happy to rearface, but probably NOT in a very reclined infant seat... I'll be interested to see if this seat does end up working for kids that long as it gets older and the reviews roll in (maybe even my own, since I have to trek my new baby due february to Hawaii a few times, and infant seats are much easier to fly with, lol).

Glad you found a good home for your Safeseat, too!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[mariza]

>since I have to trek
>my new baby due february to Hawaii a few times
>
I'll be happy to take your place so you don't *have to* go to Hawaii, lol!

BTW, when we took the nonstop from Honolulu to ATL in October DD slept right after takeoff until we landed in ATL almost 12 hours later (and no I didn't give her anything to "help" her sleep)! That is why I love flying w/my RA :)