Please help me narrow down my options. My daughter has some significant medical needs so I haven't had the time/energy to devote to researching this a whole lot yet, so I'd love some help from all you knowledgable folks.
My 9 month old daughter is in the higher end of the average range for height and weight. Both my husband and I are tall (I'm 5'10", he's 6'0") with medium builds so there's a decent chance she'll be take after us. I drive a 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen and that's going to be car she'll be in the majority of the time. Cost isn't much of a consideration. We're fine with spending more on the seat if it's going to be the safest and best fit for us.
We're thinking about the following seats (in no particular order):
-Chicco Nextfit
-Diono Radian RXT (with the angle adjuster?)
-Recaro ProRIDE
-Clek Foonf
-Britax Advocate (I'm kind of overwhelmed about the differences between the various Britax models...so I'm open to others)
My top priority is obviously finding one that fits in my car followed by getting a seat that will allow her to be rear facing as long as possible.
Which seats do you think have the highest likelihood of fitting in my car without needing the shove the seats way forward (not an option since we're both tall)?
Which seats would maximize our chances of my daughter being able to rear face the longest? I'm thinking that height limits will be more important to consider than weight limits. From the reviews I've read I'm leaning away from the Britax's because it sounds like kids often hit the height limit earlier than they would on the other seats we're considering.
Another consideration is that we have a Chicco Keyfit 30 that we'd like to use again for a second child. It would be nice, but not crucial, if we had the option of putting the convertible on one of the sides and the Keyfit in the center (or vice versa) in order to have a spot for a third adult to ride in the backseat. I know there's no LATCH for the center position in my car so we've installed it with the seat belt (and had it checked by a technician to make sure we did it right). We may want a third child, but if that happens then I'll likely ditch the Jetta for a larger vehicle so I'm not planning around that possibility.
Other factors I'm thinking about: side impact protection, how comfortable it is to ride in, how easy it is to get child in and out of seat (seat height, harness/buckle operation, etc.), seat material and how hot/sweaty child gets in it on a hot day, ease of cleaning, use on an airplane, and how easy it is to install.
Any other seats that I haven't listed that I should think about? I kind of hope not because I'm overwhelmed as is
Also, my mom watches her two days a week so we also want to buy a second carseat for her car which is a 1998 Mazda 626. I haven't narrowed down the list for my mom's car. We're hoping for something very safe, but not-so-expensive (under $200). The Baby Bargains book recommends the Cosco Scenera and Evenflo Titan Elite as good less expensive seats that are still solid. Would you agree? Would you add any to the list? Any favorites?
My 9 month old daughter is in the higher end of the average range for height and weight. Both my husband and I are tall (I'm 5'10", he's 6'0") with medium builds so there's a decent chance she'll be take after us. I drive a 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen and that's going to be car she'll be in the majority of the time. Cost isn't much of a consideration. We're fine with spending more on the seat if it's going to be the safest and best fit for us.
We're thinking about the following seats (in no particular order):
-Chicco Nextfit
-Diono Radian RXT (with the angle adjuster?)
-Recaro ProRIDE
-Clek Foonf
-Britax Advocate (I'm kind of overwhelmed about the differences between the various Britax models...so I'm open to others)
My top priority is obviously finding one that fits in my car followed by getting a seat that will allow her to be rear facing as long as possible.
Which seats do you think have the highest likelihood of fitting in my car without needing the shove the seats way forward (not an option since we're both tall)?
Which seats would maximize our chances of my daughter being able to rear face the longest? I'm thinking that height limits will be more important to consider than weight limits. From the reviews I've read I'm leaning away from the Britax's because it sounds like kids often hit the height limit earlier than they would on the other seats we're considering.
Another consideration is that we have a Chicco Keyfit 30 that we'd like to use again for a second child. It would be nice, but not crucial, if we had the option of putting the convertible on one of the sides and the Keyfit in the center (or vice versa) in order to have a spot for a third adult to ride in the backseat. I know there's no LATCH for the center position in my car so we've installed it with the seat belt (and had it checked by a technician to make sure we did it right). We may want a third child, but if that happens then I'll likely ditch the Jetta for a larger vehicle so I'm not planning around that possibility.
Other factors I'm thinking about: side impact protection, how comfortable it is to ride in, how easy it is to get child in and out of seat (seat height, harness/buckle operation, etc.), seat material and how hot/sweaty child gets in it on a hot day, ease of cleaning, use on an airplane, and how easy it is to install.
Any other seats that I haven't listed that I should think about? I kind of hope not because I'm overwhelmed as is
Also, my mom watches her two days a week so we also want to buy a second carseat for her car which is a 1998 Mazda 626. I haven't narrowed down the list for my mom's car. We're hoping for something very safe, but not-so-expensive (under $200). The Baby Bargains book recommends the Cosco Scenera and Evenflo Titan Elite as good less expensive seats that are still solid. Would you agree? Would you add any to the list? Any favorites?