car seat recommendations?

[bitsofbeauty]

 I'm looking for a safe carseat for my 5.5 month old (20 lbs). Something that doesn't smell too chemically or of fire retardants. Anything out there with natural fabrics? Or am I basically going to have to go mainstream on this

Comments

[krasota]

The only one with different/fewer flame retardants is the Orbit. It's rather pricey and I have no clue if it's approved in Canada.

Baby buckets are no safer/better than a properly fitting convertible car seat. They are sometimes more convenient, but if you're trying to reduce carseat time, that doesn't really matter. Find a seat you like.

Sweden has awesome car seats. *wistful sigh* I wish they were street legal in the US. I don't need to import a seat (tiny kid), but man . . . the Britax Multi-Tech is awe-inspiring.

[bitsofbeauty]

Thank you for responding to my post! I'm a bit confused (sorry I'm really new to this), are infant car seats called baby buckets?

Also, do I really have to pay attention to whether a car seat is approved in canada? Does anyone really check that if one gets pulled over? I mean if Sweden approves it (if I wanted to get one from here) surely I can trust it's safe to use anywhere else in the world...? Is the Britax you mention Swedish?

Do you have personal experience with the Orbit? Is it good / comfy / easy / safe?

Man this is complicated stuff - the sheer amount of choice is overwhelming! My baby and I are so happy cruising around with him tucked into his simple, plain linen ring sling. But you can't side-step a carseat when you need a car unfortunately so I'm forced to figure this out!

[unconformed]

If you only need it for 6 months, and your baby is only going to be a year old, I wouldn't spend a ton of money. You don't need a high weight/height limit or anything. Go with a cheap but decent convertible like a Cosco Scenera
and call it a day.
I wouldn't get an infant seat because your little guy might outgrow it too soon.

[bitsofbeauty]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

[lustychan]

I know a lot of people like this seat, but I absolutely hate it. It feels cheaply made, it was always a pain to install, the straps didn't tighten as much as some other car seats I've used, the straps were always getting twisted, etc... I could go on and on...

[princessenoire]

I would get a convertible seat because otherwise you risk growing out of it too quickly. We use either Britax or Sunshine Kids Radian and would highly recommend those two brands. The Scenera is another one that's fairly well rated but cheaper, and the Evenflo Triumph, if you want to spend a little less.

[bitsofbeauty]

Thanks, this is helpful. Which Britax do you own - there seem to be quite a few out there!

[princessenoire]

Right now we use the Britax Roundabout for our youngest, and an SKR for our middle child. When the youngest gets bigger we'll probably get an SKR for him as well.

[bitsofbeauty]

Great, thanks.