Due in 7 weeks and need advice

[DanisMom]

Hi all,

I'm due in just 7 weeks and so frustrated with Consumer Reports. I understand why they recanted their report, but now I'm struggling to find data on travel systems. Hubby would like to go with BabyTrend's jogger system. I'm fine with the stroller but would like some data about the carseat portion. Do you know of any such tests? Where can I find out which car seats perform the best in crash testing besides CR?

Help!!

[murphydog77]

Join the club! :) Consumer Reports infuriated every child passenger safety technician and scared the tar out of every parent with their little report back in January. We'll be feeling the fallout from the report, even though they retracted it very quietly, for a long, long time to come.

Basically, find a seat that you like and has features that work easily for you. That will be the seat you use correctly each time, which will be the safest. Look for one that installs easily (has built-in lockoffs on the base, for instance), has a front harness adjuster, has a handle that can be in the up position in the car, etc.

You can find a list of seats and their features here: www.CarSeatSite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm

You can also read more about the Consumer Reports article here: www.CarSeatSite.com/cr.htm

HTH!

Heather, CPS Tech/Instr.
http://www.CarSeatSite.com

[all together ooky]

Consider not buying a stroller/carseat system. When you by a travel system you will either get a stroller you like OR a carseat you like, not both.

Instead find the carseat that you will use correctly everytime, Graco Safeseat1 and Chicco Keyfit are very user friendly.

Then choose a nice stroller that will recline flat for infants. Babies should not be in carseats all the time. It is bad for their backs (in most infant carseats the padding and eps/epp foam only go down halfway down the back) and heads. Carseats are for cars.

IF you really think you want a travel system, there are many strollers that can accept different infant seats or can have adapters fitted to them. (check out the stroller section of the forum)

[denna]

I dont really have any info on the BabyTrend system but I do know that the Graco Snugride w/ EPS Foam is a great carseat and did well on the more stringent Consumer Reports Test. I have friends who love thiers (we had a Companion). And I know that Graco has travel systems. Im not sure if the travel systems come with the seats with the EPS Foam.

HTH,

[kekane]

I'm not familiar with the BabyTrend jogger system, but wanted to make sure you're aware of reccomendations against jogging with a newborn. (though certainly a lot of folks who have those types of strollers don't actually use them for jogging.)

Folks on the stroller forum maybe be able to tell you more about that.

[o_mom]

Beyond the NHTSA compliance testing, there isn't much out there. The compliance testing just measures the rotation angle of the seat in a standard impact.

I would really look at non-travel systems and pick a carseat and stroller independently. Your stroller will be used for years, but the infant seat only for 6-18 months. A good infant seat that is easy to use and a stroller frame (Baby Trend Snap and Go or Kolkraft Universal carrier, for example) would work for using the carseat as a stroller. Then getting something like a MaClaren Quest or a P3 would allow a newborn to lay flat, but not be bulky for long term use - they may even fit the infant seat. I would ask on the Stroller board about this.

Are you going to be using LATCH or seatbelts to install? You can't use LATCH in the center of most cars and many rear-facing seats can be hard to install with a lap-shoulder belt. If you want it in the center with a lap-shoulder belt, the Graco SafeSeat or the Chicco Keyfit are easy to install that way.

[trales]

We have the Baby Trend Latch Loc, it is very easy to install using both latch and the seat belt. We just traveled with it and installed without the base and it was very easy. This seat did preform well in the Consumer Report testing. We use it with a Zooper stoller and find the combination meets all our needs. The stroller does well on our dirt road with potholes and works well on the streets of Boston, the carseat attaches securely, though we usually take DD out and put her just in the stroller.

We have a Subaru Outback and b/c of the hump in the middle it won't allow any carseat to be installed even with a seatbelt. We have the carseat in the rear passenger side.

Tracey

Mother to Frances 9 weeks

[Joolsplus2]

Graco Safeseat1 and Chicco Key Fit are the easiest seats to install in the widest variety of vehicles, and the easiest to use seats on the market. The Baby Trend seat is a pain because you HAVE to put the handle down when driving (Graco and Chicco allow it up or down, I like to reward manufacturers that give us the best ease of use and make babies safer even if their parents mess up a little sometimes by forgetting to put the handle down).

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[ljackson]

(Graco
>and Chicco allow it up or down, I like to reward manufacturers
>that give us the best ease of use and make babies safer even
>if their parents mess up a little sometimes by forgetting to
>put the handle down).

Do you mean that it is safer to put the handle down on my Keyfit when I am driving even though it is ok if it's left up? I never put it down because the manual just says to leave it in any of the locked positions, but I will if it is safer.

[Joolsplus2]

Nope, I'm saying I hate the companies that MAKE you put the handle down (Cosco/Britax/Peg Perego/Evenflo/Baby Trend/Compass), because I think they shouldn't add extra rules to seats so that kids can be safe. Graco and Chicco are the best, because they allow the handles up or down (either is safe, I actually think up is a tad safer, it may prevent exess movement in a side or rear impact crash, and it's mandatory on European seats and Combis).

That's my soapbox moment for the morning, lol.

:D
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx