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

[swissair81]

I have a Graco. My first carseat was a recalled Evenflo (something about the seat flying out of the base in crash tests), so I had to buy a new one for dd2. She was born in March 2007, right after the infamous CR infant seat report came out. I don't usually buy anything before the baby is born, but the snugride seemed to be the only safe carseat available & it was rapidly flying off the shelves. Of course they recanted the report when dd was a few months old, but it was too late by then. I'm very happy with it though.

[codex57]

I have a Graco. My first carseat was a recalled Evenflo (something about the seat flying out of the base in crash tests), so I had to buy a new one for dd2. She was born in March 2007, right after the infamous CR infant seat report came out. I don't usually buy anything before the baby is born, but the snugride seemed to be the only safe carseat available & it was rapidly flying off the shelves. Of course they recanted the report when dd was a few months old, but it was too late by then. I'm very happy with it though.

The recant wasn't a big deal for SR owners. It didn't mean that the SR wasn't safe anymore, just that the other seats weren't death traps like CR made them out to be. The fact still remains that the SR passed that crazy difficult test. Just look at it as the SR gives you a tiny bit more chance to survive a so called "unsurvivable" crash. Since you here stories all the time of people surviving "unsurvivable" crashes, any extra help can't hurt.

[jackyl08]

I chose the Safeseat in the pretty Jenny pattern. DD just outgrew it at 14mths by height. I love that lock-off. We never carried her in it past about 4mths old, but the installation was no convenient that anyone could do it.
I would run screaming from any Evenflo infant seat. That 1.5" of clearance and handle down rule are horrid.

[swissair81]

The recant wasn't a big deal for SR owners. It didn't mean that the SR wasn't safe anymore, just that the other seats weren't death traps like CR made them out to be. The fact still remains that the SR passed that crazy difficult test. Just look at it as the SR gives you a tiny bit more chance to survive a so called "unsurvivable" crash. Since you here stories all the time of people surviving "unsurvivable" crashes, any extra help can't hurt.

I'm not upset. I'm very happy with my SR. I wouldn't have run out and bought a seat 2 months before she was born if not for their test though. It was a much bigger deal for the people who actually threw out seats because of their report.

[lizzywednesday]

We have the Chicco KeyFit 30 in Adventure, which is a green & brown color combination. The KeyFit 30 is supposed to be good 'til DC is 30"/30lbs or somesuch ... I wanted a higher-weight/height limit because DH & I are not petite. At 11lbs & 22", DD is going to outgrow the newborn pad soon & there are instructions on how to move the straps up to accommodate a taller DC.

DH fell in love with the Cortina travel system & the KeyFit was on our short list of seats, so it worked out.

My only complaint with the seat is that it's so daggum heavy!!!

[Sweetum]

Price was my consideration. Gracos are generally less expensive. I was seeing various prices for both, and decided that Gracos are generally cheaper and that I would look for the best deal on a Graco. But for some reason I wanted one that had a higher weight and height limit. Good for me since DS turned out to be tall and is still on the taller side. By 14 months, he outgrew his infant seat by height, and I'd just bought a convertible, and we started to put him in that. I'm glad that I didn't spend a whole lot on it since I knew I was going to use it for only a year, perhaps a bit more, and that's exactly what happened. I wasn't too hung up on the colors or patterns, and it turned out to be a very neutral beige color. I can certainly use it for the next child. And expiry dates arent' that much of an issue either since, again, just for a year and we do intend to have another child and hope to have it within the time that the seat expires (not for that reason! but for our own reasons which coincides with the seat expiry).

[LoveBeingMrs]

We got the Graco Snugride 35, and my SIL got the Chicco Keyfit 30. We love ours, and my SIL totally regrets getting the Keyfit. Almost every time she sees our baby in his carseat, she says she wishes that she'd gone with the Snugride. I think the biggest issue she has with the Keyfit is that the back of the canopy is attached to the carseat, so it doesn't rotate. The Snugride canopy rotates, so the the baby is protected from the sun from almost every angle. Another issue is that she wants a new stroller (she got the Cortina travel system, which my nephew hates), but a lot of strollers aren't compatible with the Keyfit. Finally (and most importantly), my nephew hates his carseat. We've never tried putting him in our Snugride, so it might just be that he doesn't like carseats in general. HTH!

[clw]

We bought the Chicco last summer and have had great luck with it. We bought three bases - one for each car and for the sitter's car - and each time they were easier to install. What convinced me to go with the Chicco is that it was highly rated by Baby Bargains and seemed to be the safest seat according to consumer reports. We bought the BabyTrend snap n go stroller frame to go with it so we didn't have to lug around a heavy stroller. And the seat just sat right in (with the safety strap) around the top. It was great. My DS is almost 12 months and we are just now in the market for a convertible. He still has room in the Chicco even though he's in the 90th percentile for height. But he's getting tired of it and is ready for more of a big boy seat.

[christiedavid3]

I got the Graco Safe Seat (Snugride 35) when it was new on the market. At the time, there was no Chicco Keyfit 30, only the original 22, and I knew I wanted a larger infant seat. DS fit well in his SS til 16 months.

[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.