Pls Help me in choosing an infant car seat

Surekha:
Lots of communities (I am sure in Houston this is true) has government information on best seats. Public health nursing service? Social Service? Look for that and they can give you lots of details and I think training. We had a lot of trouble with defective seats being sold over the years so this has been a hot topic, especially since seats are mandatory now.

 

I would highly recommend Chicco Adventure Travel System.. It would be a little costly but am sure its the best.. Graco is also good and i have lot of my friends using it.

we have this

Chicco Chicco Keyfit 30 Travel System-Adventure Travel Systems

 

Agreeing with Tina here. It is best to go look for recommendations also from someone who has the list of the lastest recall reports. I believe you do have car seat installation inspectors in the US who will tell which car seats will fit your car best.

 

I am using the Chicco Cortina Travel system -Sahara.
I love the way the seat is so stable and the stroller is very roomy too. Of course it's lil bit on the heavier side but did not want to compromise on the safety. Chicco car seats and travel systems are rated very high (better than graco too) with regards to safety.
But the car seat is only upto 22 lbs.
Here's the link I have
Chicco USA - 22lb Cortina Travel System - Sahara

As Cutepavi mentioned you can go for the 30 lb limit too.

At 9 months, I am already shopping for a new car seat. Wish I would have known earlier, I would have bought the 30 lb limit one

Anyways, I love chicco because of stability and safety.

 

Mridusudha

I used a Chicco car seat for my daughter as well, and it worked out really well. I just wanted to reassure you on the point below

that you probably have not lost out in any way by NOT buying the Keyfit 30 - I had it, and had to buy a larger convertible car seat for my daughter when she was 8 months old!

She was only around 14 pounds then, but in the 95th percentile for height, so it is not only weight that matters. This means that although the car seat was able to safely bear her weight, she had become too tall for it at 8 months.

Your child is probably not a banana baby like mine, but I thought it'd make you feel better to know the Keyfit 30 may not necessarily have been a better buy for you

Surekha

I used a Chicco Keyfit 30 for my daughter from birth to 8 months and have no complaints. It is the only car seat I have had any experience with, so I can't compare it to other brands. It did come with an infant insert that made it more comfortable for a newborn.

I didn't want a heavy travel system, so I bought a Chicco Liteway stroller. Again, I can't compare this to other strollers, because I've never used any other stroller. This stroller was easy for me to lift into and out of the boot (it's pretty light) and it folds really easily too.

Now that my daughter has outgrown her infant car seat, we have a Britax Marathon convertible car seat, which we also like very much. I mainly read lots of online reviews when I'm making purchases/decisions like this.

Something else we have found indispensable is this mirror that attaches to the backseat, facing your baby (who is facing away from you), so you can see her in the rear view mirror when you're driving, or when you turn around (if you're not driving).

 

Ansuya,

Thanks for the assurance .
DS is almost there reaching the weight limit. Probably by the end of this month I have to replace the car seat.

I am not sure about using the mirror though. I agree it's very convenient because you can see the baby while driving but when I took the car seat safety class I was told that it's not advisable to use anything infront of the baby specially mirrors. In case of a crash the mirror might hurt the baby.
Anyways, I didn't think too much at that time nor I am using one right now.

Just thought I would share the info I was told in the class!!

 

Mridusudha

Yes, this is true, but if you look carefully at the link, the mirror I bought is shatterproof, and not made of glass. It's made especially for use with infants in cars and is therefore quite safe. I have some Haba soft blocks (I love Haba more than my daughter does, I think!) that use the same kind of mirror - it seems to be some kind of highly reflective plastic material.

It's really important for me to be able to see my baby in the car; for instance, right now she takes great delight in removing her hair accessories and trying to eat them. Of course, this may not be as much of a concern for all parents. I just thought I'd throw it out there for Surekha to consider, since it has been such a boon for me.

 

Ansuya,

True, true I agree...The mirror is not made of glass. It is plastic. Even I have one but never installed it..

I didn't mean to question your action. I just shared the info I knew..