Help me with selecting a carseat please!

Hi!

I asked this question of my FB friends, but found this forum when searching, so hopefully I'll get some good responses here too.

My youngest daughter, Sadie, just recently turned 1 year old. She has just about hit the height limits on her Chicco Keyfit 30 infant carseat & it's started leaving a sore on her back, so it's time to get something else. What seat to get is the question.

She currently weighs approx. 19lbs (give or take a few ounces depending on which Dr. we're at) & she is 29".

She has Down syndrome, low-tone, Lymphedema (causes swelling), Reflux, etc.

My main concern is potential neck issues & the risks of that if we were to get into an accident. With numerous Dr. appts. & life in general, it seems we spend a ton of time driving here, there, everywhere. We are frequently "on the go".

We have 4 kiddos total & I drive a '96 Ford Windstar Minivan (sliding door on passenger side only). My boys sit in the back, 13yr old with seatbelt, 3.5yr old in Graco Nautilus. My girls sit in the middle, 6.5yr old in Graco HB Turbo Booster, then Sadie (in the true middle but closest to the door).

I'd love to not spend a fortune, but ultimately price is not a huge concern - my main concern is what is the best, what is the safest for my baby.

Thanks!! {sorry so long}

Stephanie

I am going to give you two of my favorite suggestions.

True Fit. This seat has a rear-facing weight limit of 35 lbs, but if your daughter is only 19 lbs at a year, I suspect it will last her until at least 3 rear-facing. It is just very cuddly and supportive (nicely padded). I like this one because it has a lower base which might be nice if you need to help get her in the seat for a while. There is a also a premier version which has an anti-rebound bar that offers extra protection in the event of a collision. It has a lock-off system which is handy for older vehicles withough latch.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-True-Convertible-Aurora/dp/B001O0F5H8"]Amazon.com: The First Years True Fit Convertible Car Seat, Aurora: Baby[/ame]

My Ride - The My-ride has nice high side walls to support and protect a child and the seat offers a nice recline for a forward-facing child. It has a 40 lb rear-facing limit. The harness slots are lower, as is the shell, so it won't last as long as a forward facing seat at the true-fit. It is a very easy seat to install with a seatbelt but I believe you'll need a locking clip based on your vehicle's age (not sure though).

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-MyRide-65-Convertible-Car-Seat-Mavo/15579367

I hope these suggestions are helpful. I consider these two seats to be the best "bangs for your buck"

Those 2 are good suggestions. You could also look at the Complete Air and the Radian, though I am not sure of prices in US. Whatever you choose, get a seat that you can use RF for a long time since with low tone etc she will benefit from RF even more than most.

I love, love, LOVE the graco my ride for my low tone DD! It's super supportive and just about the only seat that will work for her. However, she is very low-tone. She cannot sit or even hold up her head. If your DD's low tone is milder you probably have a wider range of seats to choose from.

Here is a post I did recently with pics of my DD in a few seats from babies'r'us.

Thanks y'all.

I am glad I came back to check - I thought noone had responded since I didn't get any email letting me know.

I'm really surprised - I was thinking for sure the recommendations would be "get a Britax".

I am planning on rear-facing Sadie as long as possible.

I like the My Ride the best for children with low tone.

The Complete Air will last longer than he My Ride though cuase it has a taller shell.

I am glad that you want to RF as long as possoble it is the best thing for her:2thumbsup:.

If you need any more help dont hesitate to come back.

How severe is her low tone? If it's severe I'd definitely go with the MyRide, at least for now, and realize you might need a taller shell to rear-face longer later. If it's not as severe, I think the Complete Air could be an excellent choice-- it is narrower so a little more supportive than, say, the True Fit, comes with a removable cushion to support the sides if needed and the headwings are excellent for supporting a sleeping kid's head, and its continuous harness makes it easier to get a slightly "floppy" kid in and out with minimum trouble.

Why do y'all prefer the My Ride - is it the most supportive? Sorry if this is a silly question.

I haven't really looked at the My Ride all that much (I will now), but in all of the seats I looked at besides the Britax, I was pretty disappointed with the amount of cushion/padding, especially in the back area - I didn't have to push down very hard to feel hard plastic. Since Sadie already has a sore on her back, I'm trying to get something that doesn't cause that again.

Are the Britax's not good? I was looking at BRU tonight & liked the Boulevard 70 CS, but for whatever reason the Boulevard 70 display was gone & the associate didn't know anything about them anyways (I wanted to know the difference between the regular & the CS). I like the "Safe Cell" feature of the Britax, which is why I've been leaning towards those.

She's pretty severe when it comes to her low-tone. She does sit up now - but it was a long road to get there. And, her Lymphedema is the worst in her neck (left side), so we're still working on correcting the "tilt" that she got used to doing to compensate for the swelling. She is also very sensitve to heat - she gets overheated easily & it makes her Lymphedema worse.

The click t safe is supposed to click when the belt is tight enough. of the one I have seen come through seat checks the thing did not click when it was tight enough I think it was only 2 seats but maybe some one els has different expirence I still would spend the extraon it , It is not necissary.

Although the safe cell feacher seems intriging we really dont know for sure one way or another if it relly does ad safety.

The shape of the seating part of the My Ride has a nice recline (or is it incline) to it that helps those with low tone as far as support goes. I would realy recomend it for her.
and if not that one then the CA the way the head wings are made for RFing they may offer some support. (they do for my kids although they are bigger and do not have low ton) The CA you would just want to makesure it is installed reclined enough for her. it comes with support pillow but you may or may not need to ad rolled towells for support on her sides.

In explanation of the non Britax recommendations:

Britax used to be the end all, be all in car seats. However, in recent years, many manufacturers have matched or exceeded the features that made Britax the gold standard.

Many non-Britax seats have the same/higher rear facing limits (40-45 lbs), taller FF harness heights and built in lockoffs. Some seem to be more comfortable for larger/older kids rear facing than a Britax while being less expensive.

Shaunam said:

I love, love, LOVE the graco my ride for my low tone DD! It's super supportive and just about the only seat that will work for her. However, she is very low-tone. She cannot sit or even hold up her head. If your DD's low tone is milder you probably have a wider range of seats to choose from.

Here is a post I did recently with pics of my DD in a few seats from babies'r'us.

Click to expand...

Did you see the linked thread that Shaunam provided? It has some great info. Shaunam's DD has low tone and was not fitting well in seats, and as she says above, after an extensive search the MR provided the best support. The Shell is nice and deep and it is relatively narrow so that it seems to hug the child. Even if the shell wasn't close enough to offer support, placing rolled receiving blankets or towels along the sides would work well as the padding would be unlikely to slip. Also, once it needs to go FF, the MR has a natural recline which can help with reducing FF head flop and strain on the child to try to sit as upright. I find the padding to be pretty cushy. I can't for sure recall the rules for using the extra (extra cushy) infant padding but I think it's allowed when using the bottom 2 slots?

Here's a link to the carseatblog review of the MR from when it came out (I hope it works, I seem to be having issues):
http://carseatblog.com/2312/maybe-the-graco-my-ride-65-could-be-my-ride-a-review/