Question How soft should the car seat be?

hyruleprincess93 · Dec 1, 2015

My husband and I are trying to pick out a car seat for our first born due in January. We have found a lot that we like but have been hesitant to purchase when we feel the car seat. All of them have felt hard. How soft should they be? I want my baby to be safe and comfortable but am not sure how to tell how hard they can be. Any help is appreciated

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Keeyamah · Dec 1, 2015

It honestly wasn't something that was on my radar when choosing a seat.

I chose my seats based on my rearfacing goals (as close to 4 as possible) and fit in my vehicle. I also skipped the infant bucket seat (the one with the carry handle and base that stays in the car).

My oldest had one seat that was quite padded and soft, and one that was just the fabric of the cover, no more padding than his clothes. Neither he (nor his little brother when the seats were handed down) ever complained about the less padded seat. Even on long road trips.

rin2809 · Dec 1, 2015

I wouldn't be too concerned about the softness of a car seat. Remember that babies have the added padding of their diaper under their bottoms, so that helps. If it is a concern for you, there are some seats that are more padded than others: Evenflo has a new Procomfort seat that should be well padded, but I have not played with it at all. We found the Chicco Keyfit with the infant insert was comfortable enough for our son.

Just be sure to only use the padding and inserts that are included with your seat as those were what the seat passed the safety tests with. Additional padding can be dangerous.

AllieK · Dec 1, 2015

Remember that babies have a lot of padding (baby fat!

) and a thick diaper on their bums when they're in the car seat. Like Keeyamah, I don't even take padding into consideration until closer to age 4yrs, and even then it's low on my list of concerns when buying a seat.

Nedra · Dec 1, 2015

My daughter has sat in seats of varying padding and never complained about any of them. I wouldn't worry about it. As far as safety, the real crash force energy is absorbed by the shell and (if present) the energy-absorbing foam. As long as your kiddo fits properly in the seat and the seat fits properly in your car, then it should be fine to pick whatever seat has the features you like.

Congratulations on your first baby!

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gigi · Dec 1, 2015

I bought with padding and comfort as very high on my list. Every seat I bought was very padded. Good thing too, since neither of my kids have any natural padding at all and we used super thin disposables.

cookie123 · Dec 2, 2015

Really, newborns are quite light and don't compress the padding that much. It's only slightly on my radar. No kid I've had has complained about the hardness of the seat. I wouldn't worry overmuch about it.

Car seat blog has a nice recommended list. The preemie list includes a few more that are also great seats. I recommend looking through those lists and maybe look at a few reviews. Most entries have a link to a review. That might give you a little more food for thought when choosing.

http://carseatblog.com/safest-recommended-car-seats/#INFANT

joolsplus3 · Dec 2, 2015

I bought the cushiest seat I could find for my first kiddo, unfortunately that meant NOT buying a seat with some safety features. That was a long time ago, now you can definitely get both cush and safety

Are you looking at infant seats or convertibles? I'd say the Chicco infant seat has terrific padding, or the Snugride Click Connect 35LX or 40 have great padding. And a lot of convertibles have different 'trim' models, like Babies R Us has Britaxes with extra memory foam pads.
But I agree with the others that it doesn't matter too too much, since babies don't weigh quite as much as we do. I'd rather the covers be softer, like velour rather than the crispy wipeable polyester that seems to be all the rage now, but over the years all my kids haven't complained about either kind of cover in all their seats.

meljc · Dec 3, 2015

I'll agree with others that it's not a high priority for NB. That said, my kids were comfortable in the Keyfit. If you want *really* padded and don't mind a convertible, the Combi Coccoro is lovely for newborns and infants. It has a huge padded insert that is mandatory until 25lbs! We're a family of shorties so DS fit RF in the seat until 3yo. DD is still happily riding in it at 18mo.

Question How soft should the car seat be?

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