Infant Car Seats
Infant seats are just the right size for little babies, but their real strength is their convenience. You install the base in the car, once, and then the infant carrier just clicks in and out of the base. The baby can stay sleeping while being moved in and out, which can be a big deal with some babies. The down side is that most children outgrow these seats quite quickly, between 4-8 months old. Since the convertible seat can convertible seat can be used from birth, the infant seat is really unnecessary, though most families do choose to use them.
Top features to look for on infant seats
- Front harness adjuster: makes it far easier to keep the harness tight on the baby every day, regardless of clothing type. A snug harness is critical to keeping your baby as safe as possible in the car seat. Some rear adjusters are also fairly easy to operate, but we have noticed that the metal bar type rear adjusters found on most Century and Graco infant seats are really fussy. You have to put the child in the seat, measure the harness, remove the child, adjust the harness, and so on until the harness is adjusted right. So make sure you find an adjuster you think you will really use, every day.
- Five point harness: Little infant bodies are slumpy and wiggly. The 5 point harness does a better job than the older 3 point style of keeping the baby in the correct position, and allowing the harness to be nice and snug on the child's body.
Top infant seat choices
- Graco SnugRide DX or LX: Be sure you've got one with a front harness adjuster, since even some of the DX versions have the back adjuster. But some SnugRides do have both that terrific front adjuster and the 5 point harness. They have an adjustable base that tends to fit well in cars. Parents tend to like this seat. The weight limit is 20 pounds, height limit is 26" (though I recommend only using it until the child's head is one inch from the top of the shell or until reaching 20 pounds).
- Baby Trend LatchLoc: Finally, we've got an infant seat with a front harness adjuster, a 5 point harness, AND a 22 pound weight limit (on some models). Most models also have rigid latch attachments, two rigid bars that clamp onto the anchors. This gives an amazingly tight fit, and probably provides side impact protection as well. Some newer models have the flexible latch straps. So if your car has Latch, check this one out. The down sides are that the seat is heavy - the base is one hunk of steel. And the fit with regular belts is not as reliable. So if you are going to use it with belts, try it out before you buy if you can. Apparently the seat fits into some Baby Trend strollers, but not all. The basic LL20 has the 5 point harness and front adjuster, but the LL22 also has a moving headrest to make it taller. The LL22 comes in some travel systems. It can be ordered without the stroller directly from Baby Trend for about $90.