Help with infant seat recommendation

I'm trying to decide which infant seat(s) to recommend to a friend. They just bought a new Accord (probably only a few years old). They are both small people (short and thin) so baby could be quite small too. She has a bad back, so I was thinking light weight would be good, as well as easy to pop in and out of the base. She is due mid/late January. What would you all suggest?

Probably the embrace 35. It's the lightest, and is rated from 4lbs. Crotch strap can be shortened and there are shorter loops on the end that attach to the splitter plate so that harness will adjust small enough to fit the 4lb baby it's rated for.

It requires 1.5" of clearance behind the shell, but the handle has an anti-rebound position so it shouldn't be an issue even in the case of parents who are taller. (The old handle used to stick out a good 3" behind the shell and then you needed clearance on top of that, so that's why it was such a problem in terms of smaller vehicles. With smaller parents and the rebound handle you should be fine without any concerns.)

With a bad back I'd probably suggest the KeyFit. It has the nicest seat-to-base recognition, which means all she needs to do when docking it on the base is get it sitting overtop of the base and sort of let it fall into place, (you need to make sure it's attached correctly, of course but you don't need to line anything up like most other seats. It saves your back from having to lift the seat again to re-align before docking. I hope that makes sense.

And of course it has all the other good things going for it, which I know you know because you own one.

canadiangie said:

With a bad back I'd probably suggest the KeyFit. It has the nicest seat-to-base recognition, which means all she needs to do when docking it on the base is get it sitting overtop of the base and sort of let it fall into place, (you need to make sure it's attached correctly, of course but you don't need to line anything up like most other seats. It saves your back from having to lift the seat again to re-align before docking. I hope that makes sense.

And of course it has all the other good things going for it, which I know you know because you own one.

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Yes, for ease of use I love my Keyfit! I just know it is somewhat heavier than some of the other seats. That's why I'm not sure if I should recommend it or not.

snowbird25ca said:

Probably the embrace 35. It's the lightest, and is rated from 4lbs. Crotch strap can be shortened and there are shorter loops on the end that attach to the splitter plate so that harness will adjust small enough to fit the 4lb baby it's rated for.

It requires 1.5" of clearance behind the shell, but the handle has an anti-rebound position so it shouldn't be an issue even in the case of parents who are taller. (The old handle used to stick out a good 3" behind the shell and then you needed clearance on top of that, so that's why it was such a problem in terms of smaller vehicles. With smaller parents and the rebound handle you should be fine without any concerns.)

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What is the install like on the Embrace35? Does it have nice UAS connectors? Does it connect to the base easily? I've only ever installed one Evenflo infant seat, so I'm not too familiar with them.

featherhead said:

What is the install like on the Embrace35? Does it have nice UAS connectors? Does it connect to the base easily? I've only ever installed one Evenflo infant seat, so I'm not too familiar with them.

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Install is usually easy. It has the hooks, but those are only a big deal if they need to move it back and forth. The belt path isn't a bad design the way the Mico and the Designer 22 seats are, so I haven't run in to compatibility issues other than front to back space with the old Embrace - the new Embrace 35 has a near identical base - though it can be visually recognized to be different from the old embrace base and the manual very clearly identifies it as different.

I've never had problems connecting it to the base - it's not one of the seats I have to consciously pay attention to lining up properly anyways.

It's really the only seat that pops in to my mind as a light seat. That being said, usually most seats aren't bad with a newborn, but they all feel heavy when baby reaches 15lbs or so. So she's likely better off just going with what she likes and what fits in her car or with her stroller. Those few lbs may be noticeable in the beginning, but in the grand scheme of things, comfort of the handle and all sorts of other factors may play in to what works best for them.

Well, I think what I might do is let her try my Keyfit, and see what she thinks, and then also recommend the Embrace35 as being lighter. I guess she'd have to wait if she wanted a Keyfit anyway, cause I don't think the new ones are out yet.

featherhead said:

Well, I think what I might do is let her try my Keyfit, and see what she thinks, and then also recommend the Embrace35 as being lighter. I guess she'd have to wait if she wanted a Keyfit anyway, cause I don't think the new ones are out yet.

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If she decides on a KF and needs it now, tjskids still has some current models.

And it's not that other seats are difficult to dock. It's that the KF basically docks itself as long as you make half an effort to get it near the base. You can set it on half sideways and give a little turn of your wrist and it will fall into place. I wouldn't actually do this with a baby inside of course, but it goes to the ease of use factor the KF is known for. I dunno, I always appreciated it.