Car Seats

It's registry time! LilSugar reader Beaner is approaching her due date and is picking out all of her baby gear. As she selects a car seat, she asks our readers for some help in The Pregnancy Posse group.

I'm completely confused about what size car seat to get. Friends and family have recommended the Graco Snugride, and they make one that holds a baby up to 22 pounds and 29 inches tall. But they also have one that goes up to size 32 pounds and 32 inches tall. The first one is a bit cheaper, but will a baby outgrow it before they are one year old, when it's time to move up to a new car seat? The main reason I'm tempted to stick with the 22-pound car seat is because a friend gave us some extra bases, so that would save us some dough. But if our baby will outgrow it at 6 months (I heard some can), and we'll have to end up buying the 32-pound car seat, then that would not be saving us money. Any advice?

Want to talk pregnancy with other expectant mamas? Get the conversation started in The Pregnancy Posse group!

When a mama-to-be strolls the aisles of a baby emporium for the first time, everything looks enticing. Armed with friends' recommendations and the latest issue of Consumer Reports, a pregnant woman thinks she knows exactly what she needs. But, once the lil one arrives and the new mom gets in her groove she is likely to find that some of the items she swore she would need are not perfectly suited for her tot.

When expecting my first child, a car seat manufacturer had just introduced their latest and greatest infant seat. It claimed to hold babies up to 30 pounds and sure that I was going to give birth to a giant I quickly registered for it. What I didn't realize was that a car seat that holds such a big baby is bound to weigh a ton itself, and once you add a baby, it is virtually impossible to carry more than a few feet.

What is the baby item that you regret buying?

When it comes to car seats, moms can be pretty clueless. The inability to sit in them and test drive them makes buying them a rather haphazard event. In an ideal world, mums could borrow a seat for a day and roam the streets, which would allow all parties to evaluate the ease of use and comfort instead of solely relying on safety ratings and the advice of other mommy friends. Evenflo read my mind and invited me to participate in an ideal world when they sent me the Symphony car seat ($189) to test drive.

Described as an "all-in-one" car seat, the ultra-soft chair can be used for children as little as five pounds until they tip the scales at 100 pounds, which means mommy only has to buy one car seat for all of childhood. As the child grows from newborn to toddler, mom and dad will appreciate the ability to change it from its rear-facing position to forward-facing so the child can enjoy the view. The headrest can be adjusted to move up and down, and the seat itself can be launched into more of a cradle mode with one simple hand motion. With ease in mind, the designers of the seat included the SureLATCH system so that parents could install the seat rear or forward-facing with three simple clicks. Like most seats in the category, the Symphony has a 5-point harness seatbelt, which helps to keep the child in place and safest when in motion. And while it's the least of my concerns when it comes to safety, the flip out cup holder on the side of the seat is kind of genius. Giving a tot access to a water bottle will save mommy from aimlessly reaching to the back floorboard in order to satiate her screaming mimi.

To see what I would change about the Symphony, just read more

Mommy Dearest —

We are planning a trip to visit friends in New York City and are staying at a hotel on the opposite end of the city from where they live. In making our plans for the trip, we discussed meeting up at a central location, and our friend said the best way to get there was via taxi. I mentioned that I was not planning on bringing a car seat with us (I found a car service with car seats to carry my toddler and I from the airport to the city) and she laughed and told me that no one uses car seats in taxis — they simply put the child on their lap and hold on. I was appalled. Aren't car seats required whenever you transport a child in the car? What would you do in this situation?

— Concerned About Car Safety Mom

To see the response from Mommy Dearest, read more

Maybe our parents weren't so wrong after all. At least that's what the authors of SuperFreakonomics would have us believe. Moms and pops take every precaution to protect their wee ones from harm, including installing top of the line car seats with the highest safety ratings. On Good Morning America, dads and writers Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner told Robin Roberts that car seats may not be the key to keeping tots protected. Rather, the two men argue that harness restraints, like a regular old seat belt, will guard children against harm like a car seat or booster. While they don't promote ditching the seats all together, the below video does make one wonder about the modern day approach.

Check out the video and let me know if it sways your safety thinking at all.

Video courtesy of ABC

One of the things at the top of an expectant mom's checklist is to purchase a car seat, but often times she has no idea what to look for in terms of safety and design. Though five star safety ratings are helpful, there are some fairly simple aspects she may also want to take into consideration.

• First and foremost, mom should confirm the seat will function properly in her vehicle. Smaller cars may not work with every make and model. The safest seat on the market won't do any good if it can't fit!
• Make sure it is suited for infants if intended for a newborn baby. The infant car seats typically provide more padding and protection for a tiny noggin.
• If the newborn car seat is detachable and fits on a base, check for ease of use. Most recent models are a breeze to handle.

To see the rest of the pointers, read more