Did you get a Graco or Chicco infant seat? Why?

[ourbabygirl]

For those of you who've bought infant (car) seats in the past couple of years, and you bought one of these brands, which one did you get? How did you decide?
I bought a Graco Snugride (22 lbs./ 29") a couple years ago but didn't know anything about car seats and all the patterns available from Graco, so I just picked one that was on sale in a local BRU. It's black, white, red, and grey, and I thought it would be gender-neutral, but I ended up really disliking the fabric style and still do. I contacted Graco c/s to ask about replacement covers, and for this particular seat there's only about 5 or 6 that she said would work with it. I honestly don't like any of them, either, and just want a really plain one with no pattern, so I've been looking at the Platinum (black & silver, smaller seat) and the Flint (dark grey, larger seat). I've also looked at the Chicco keyfits, and the only reason is because I know a lot of people have them, and I like that they have simpler, more gender-neutral color schemes, and you don't have to get a pattern as you usually do with Graco.
Is it worth having the much higher weight and height limit on the Graco, or is it overkill? DD grew out of her Graco by about 7 months because she was so tall, and she was pretty heavy to carry around in it, too. I'm wondering how long people actually carry the car seat with the kid in it. I know that with the bigger seat I can keep it in the car and not have to carry around the heavy kid + heavy car seat, but is that uncomfortable for an 'older' baby or toddler to sit in? Do they prefer sitting up higher/ more upright in a convertible seat?

Please let me know how you decided to go a certain direction, and what you did for the infant seat (including color/ pattern if you're willing to share ). Did you find the high weight and height limit pretty unmanageable to carry?

Thanks!

[mrspeachykeen]

Graco now has 2 versions of carseat the 22 (which the older version like you had) and the 35 which is comparable in size and use as the Chicco. The 22 version is a little bit lighter. I ended up with a Teutonia, which is basically a Graco, but has nicer fabrics and they are all solids. I like the sunshade on the Graco much better than the Chicco. The Chicco is small and doesn't rotate. The Chicco is supposed to be easier to install, but I had no problem with the Graco/Teutonia at all.

[smcdonald2]

I got the Graco Snugride 22, because both sets of parents already have a base for it, and it's a safe brand. However, I had a very hard time finding a color that was gender neutral and not pastel. Ended up getting one in "Sachi" on Albee Baby.

I like the Chicco ones a teeny bit better, but not enough to spend $160 on a couple of extra bases.

[HonoluluMom]

I bought the Chicco KeyFit 30. It's very easy to install/use and I bought it after my research seemed to indicate it was the safest car seat.

[Dream]

I bought the Chicco KeyFit 30. It's very easy to install/use and I bought it after my research seemed to indicate it was the safest car seat.

[catsnkid]

I got the Graco Tango in the Tongo car seat/ stroller. I think it is a metrolite. I had the 2006 edition of BB and read through that, and it basically said that Graco was the best bet though Chico was looking good. My mom purchased it for me but I didn't want to break her bank. I wanted something gender neutral and liked the animals. DS is a bit of a peanut. He is about 18.5 lbs at exactly 1 year. He has only gained about 4 or 5 lbs since he was 4 month old. It started to be a killer to cart him around in it at about 8 months, though it wasn't fun really anytime after he hit 15 lbs. We started transitioning to the convertible between 9/10 months old. Installed mine first, then dad's.

[Abby]

This is what I did. I bought both used off of craigslist. They both look brand new and I only spent $70 total. I bought a chicco keyfit 30 and a graco safe seat. I ended up only using the chicco but now that my baby is almost 6 months old I'm leaning towards using the graco because it's wider. However as baby gets heavier I would like to ditch the infant car seat all together and just go with a convertible one instead.

[GonnaBeNana]

We got the Safety 1st On Board 35 (not the "Air" version). Diapers.com did a price match for us (Amazon has it for $105) so it was a great deal! We chose it because it was rated to 35lbs, 32in and one of the only ones that went down to 4lbs, (just in case). The material is plush and it has dual support cushions, including side supports for infants to 11lbs. It was compatible with the Kolcraft Universal 2 infant carrier as well which makes for the perfect stroller combo.

Beth

[SnuggleBuggles]

This is what I did. I bought both used off of craigslist. They both look brand new and I only spent $70 total. I bought a chicco keyfit 30 and a graco safe seat. I ended up only using the chicco but now that my baby is almost 6 months old I'm leaning towards using the graco because it's wider. However as baby gets heavier I would like to ditch the infant car seat all together and just go with a convertible one instead.

Pretty please consider getting a new seat if you have more kids. Used...you just never know if it has been in an accident, cleaned inappropriately (thus weakening the harness straps), stored somewhere real hot or real cold (thus possibly damaging the plastic)...its just too much of a gamble unless you trust the previous owners 100%.

Beth

[o_mom]

I got a Graco SafeSeat (now the Snugride 32/35). I wanted it to last as long as possible, at least through the winter, and the larger Graco was the tallest infant seat out at the time. I didn't find it too bad to carry, even when DS3 was 20-25 lbs. I never carried it farther than from the car to the house or into a store, though. I mainly used it for when he was sleeping and preschool drop offs. After about 9 months old, I rarely took it out but loved that I could if needed.

Whatever you get, buy it new or from someone that you know and can trust has treated it well and would tell you if it were in an accident. It is not worth the risk to buy a used seat from a stranger.