[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Thanks a lot arjithin for clearing some of my dilemas. I am still struggling with understanding the difference between a regular car seat and a booster car seat ? I googled a bit, but unable to understand much. Any insights ?

If possible, check-out at other Mom n Me shops as well. Some times you may get to see entirely different set of models. There is one in JP Nager Opp Kalyani Magnum IT Park and one on BG road after Hulimavu junction. When I was searching, Mom n Me JP Nager and BG Road had totally different set of models. Mothercare also has good options.

Before buying ask them fit it in your rear seat and test it once.

Regarding booster seats, it is used when the kid outgrows the child seat. There are models, which has an option of Child Seat + booster seat, basically you can detach the lower part and use it as booster seat when the child grows. But i think these options are available only with the models which can be used for 15Kg+. We have one similar model for my elder son.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Thanks a lot arjithin for clearing some of my dilemas. I am still struggling with understanding the difference between a regular car seat and a booster car seat ? I googled a bit, but unable to understand much. Any insights ?

Primary function of a car seat is to hold the baby in place instead of throwing around in case of a sudden reduction in speed. It does pretty much the same function of a car seat belt for adults.
Car seats are designed for different height/weight combinations of the baby
1. rear facing - baby cannot hold his/her head or neck muscles are not strong enough for supporting head in case of of sudden deceleration. This one is typically used till 12-18 months. the more you keep a baby in rear facing position, the better.
2. Front facing with 5 or 3 point harness - Baby is able to sit upright. typically 1 yr to 4-5 year. There are different variants in this group with primary difference is reducing the number of harness points. Some uses 5 pt harness, some uses 3 pt harness and some uses car seat belt as the baby grows
3. Booster seats - The baby is tall enough to sit alone, but the seat belt provided by car is not at chest level of baby. So booster seats are used to 'boost' the baby's sitting height and have a correct fitment of car's seat belt for baby. Normally used for kids >5 years and 45 inch in height.

Hope this helps. The rule of thumb I follow/suggest is to outgrow a car seat class only when the child outgrows in height not by weight. So one should outgrow a car seat class slowly. (But in my own case it was difficult, my daughter is 95 percentile in height, which means I had not much options to buy. I bought Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 and am very happy with it.)

[aneezan]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Hope you have figured it out already. If not done and if you are near to HSR Layout area, I can help. I've been using car seats for last 5 years.

Yes arjithin. All set. My kid has been using it now for some days and he seems quite happy with it.

[arjithin]

well, I did some research today to see the best bet for rear facing car seat and am in a deadlock now. Need your suggestions

I am 6'2" tall and my normal driving position is driving seat almost all the way backward. Because of this normally only short (read 5'1" or smaller) people can sit behind me. I have a Ritz VXi. My plan was to put the rear facing car seat behind the driver seat, my wife (5'3") to sit behind the front passenger seat and my daugheter's booster seat in the front passenger seat which is pulled all the way up.

I measured the space behind the driver seat and rear backrest in my normal driving position, and its only 22 inches. The smallest car seat I saw today (Mee Mee 806) needs 26 inch. I cant put car seat in the rear middle as it will still hit the driver seat. Wife prefers she sit beside the new born. If I pull the driver seat to make 26 inch room, I cant get in/out of the driver position.

I was planning to buy one with a base unit ( evenflow or graco) and thats a whopping 32 inches length; so no way in my small car.

What are my options here?

[khoj]

1. Once you are in the driver's seat, is it possible for you to pull it up a bit so as to allow your wife to sit behind you. The baby' seat goes to the other side. This would be the easiest fix. Sure you and your wife will have to adjust a bit while getting in or out but as long as you can drive comfortably with the seat pulled up it should work-out.

2. The other could be to get your wife to agree to sit up front. This would be ideal as in this case your daughter' seat also will be on the back bench which would be ideal.

3. Your wife drives and you sit with the newborn, assuming that your wife does drive.

Originally Posted by arjithin

I cant get in/out of the driver position.....

.....What are my options here?

[arjithin]

thanks. My comments in line

Originally Posted by khoj

1. Once you are in the driver's seat, is it possible for you to pull it up a bit so as to allow your wife to sit behind you. The baby' seat goes to the other side. This would be the easiest fix. Sure you and your wife will have to adjust a bit while getting in or out but as long as you can drive comfortably with the seat pulled up it should work-out.
This is the the solution I am inclined to.
2. The other could be to get your wife to agree to sit up front. This would be ideal as in this case your daughter' seat also will be on the back bench which would be ideal.
No agreement
3. Your wife drives and you sit with the newborn, assuming that your wife does drive.
She has got a DL, but dont know driving

[latentpotential]

Originally Posted by arjithin

well, I did some research today to see the best bet for rear facing car seat and am in a deadlock now. Need your suggestions

I am 6'2" tall and my normal driving position is driving seat almost all the way backward. Because of this normally only short (read 5'1" or smaller) people can sit behind me. I have a Ritz VXi. My plan was to put the rear facing car seat behind the driver seat, my wife (5'3") to sit behind the front passenger seat and my daugheter's booster seat in the front passenger seat which is pulled all the way up.

I measured the space behind the driver seat and rear backrest in my normal driving position, and its only 22 inches. The smallest car seat I saw today (Mee Mee 806) needs 26 inch. I cant put car seat in the rear middle as it will still hit the driver seat. Wife prefers she sit beside the new born. If I pull the driver seat to make 26 inch room, I cant get in/out of the driver position.

I was planning to buy one with a base unit ( evenflow or graco) and thats a whopping 32 inches length; so no way in my small car.

What are my options here?

This is a common issue with our cars, my Swift poses the same challenge. So we prefer to have the driver and the car seat in diagonally opposite corners. In the Ertiga (One of my reasons to buy it), there is no lack of space, so I use the middle seat lap belt with the lap buckle that comes with my car seat.

At present my kid is an infant, so I have the rear facing car seat with me.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by arjithin

well, I did some research today to see the best bet for rear facing car seat and am in a deadlock now. Need your suggestions

I am 6'2" tall and my normal driving position is driving seat almost all the way backward. Because of this normally only short (read 5'1" or smaller) people can sit behind me. I have a Ritz VXi. My plan was to put the rear facing car seat behind the driver seat, my wife (5'3") to sit behind the front passenger seat and my daugheter's booster seat in the front passenger seat which is pulled all the way up.

I measured the space behind the driver seat and rear backrest in my normal driving position, and its only 22 inches. The smallest car seat I saw today (Mee Mee 806) needs 26 inch. I cant put car seat in the rear middle as it will still hit the driver seat. Wife prefers she sit beside the new born. If I pull the driver seat to make 26 inch room, I cant get in/out of the driver position.

I was planning to buy one with a base unit ( evenflow or graco) and thats a whopping 32 inches length; so no way in my small car.

What are my options here?

The most ideal position for a child car seat is the rear center position.
(Reason being, the farthest position from front/rear/side collisions)
The second best would be behind the passenger seat.
(Reason being, passenger side would be the farthest from oncoming traffic).

In this particular case, I would say, the car seat can be placed behind the passenger seat rather than settling for an uncomfortable position.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by arjithin

well, I did some research today to see the best bet for rear facing car seat and am in a deadlock now. Need your suggestions

Well I guess its time to change cars . But on a serious note, don't put the baby seat behind yours as it will be uncomfortable for you as well as the seat would not fit as you have discovered.

Originally Posted by sarathlal

The most ideal position for a child car seat is the rear center position.
(Reason being, the farthest position from front/rear/side collisions)
The second best would be behind the passenger seat.
(Reason being, passenger side would be the farthest from oncoming traffic).

In this particular case, I would say, the car seat can be placed behind the passenger seat rather than settling for an uncomfortable position.

I agree with your points, the center position is the most ideal as it is the fartest but is it also good for a rear facing seat?

Even I am in the market to look for a car seat for my 3.5 months kid. I have the same problem of her already being in the 95 percentile with regards to height. I am inclined towards buying a used seat from Olx or Quikr as this would hardly be used for long, is that a good idea?

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Well I guess its time to change cars . But on a serious note, don't put the baby seat behind yours as it will be uncomfortable for you as well as the seat would not fit as you have discovered.

. I am inclined towards buying a used seat from Olx or Quikr as this would hardly be used for long, is that a good idea?

I was seriously considering upgrading to an Ertiga, but with the help of 1 article ( total cost of ownership), GTO pulled it down. .The total cost for next one year is coming around 75K higher for a 1 yr used Diesel Ertiga compared to my 4 yr old petrol Ritz; so decided to wait till the baby is ready for frequent long drives.

Have a look at this post about used car seats

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by arjithin

I was seriously considering upgrading to an Ertiga, but with the help of 1 article ( total cost of ownership), GTO pulled it down. .The total cost for next one year is coming around 75K higher for a 1 yr used Diesel Ertiga compared to my 4 yr old petrol Ritz; so decided to wait till the baby is ready for frequent long drives.

Have a look at this post about used car seats

Good to know that you have already done some research and used car seats for more than 5 years. Yes, I did have plans to check the used seats inside out and only if satisfied will buy it. But one thing I found interesting was the amount of cushioning in these seats is pretty less, I mean the hard plastic can be easily felt so how comfortable it will be is another one of my doubts.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Even I am in the market to look for a car seat for my 3.5 months kid. I have the same problem of her already being in the 95 percentile with regards to height. I am inclined towards buying a used seat from Olx or Quikr as this would hardly be used for long, is that a good idea?

No way. STOP!!

My baby's car seat (Evenflo Titan Elite, 9k INR in 2011) is usable till 50 pounds (22.5 kg). It has done daily duty since the day he was born, and will continue to do so till he outgrows it.

As parents who spend gazillion amounts on meaningless gadgets or expensive meals - I find it a terrible idea to save a few pennies for something that does daily duty and is a life saver. Why?
- Car seats have only picked up in the last 2-3 years. You won't get a good variety (I didnt find a single 5 point harness in used)
- They don't have wear and tear - so they are disposed when the child outgrows it,i.e 3-4 years. By that time, the hygiene of the seat cover is questionable, seat may begin to fray as well, some accessories may go missing, and most importantly, it may have been dropped (you dont know whether its been permanently in the car since day one or used occasionally) compromising structural integrity. Even otherwise, most folks don't know - car seats have an expiry date! Infant car seats often have five (a few have ten) years. You are buying a product at like 50-60% discount but only with 12-18 months of usable safe service left.

I would never recommend a car seat unless you are buying a "travel system" (meant only for infants) from an expat, who are normally paranoid aboutsuch things and use them properly - which itself has only 12-18 month usable life!

My suggestion is a good car seat which can accommodate a growing child for 4-5 years, bought BRAND new from a store which handles inventory nicely. Please don't cut corners - not for your 3.5 month old baby. NO!

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

I agree with your points, the center position is the most ideal as it is the fartest but is it also good for a rear facing seat?

Yes, it is for rear seat also, provided the cars rear bench is good enough for that.

I am inclined towards buying a used seat from Olx or Quikr as this would hardly be used for long, is that a good idea?

If possible, please donot buy used car seat.
You can invest in a good convertible car seat which can be used as rear facing car seat first, and then as a front facing one. A good one in the market will cost you somewhere near to 9k for such types and they are really good and sturdy.
Most these types can be used right from newborn till around ~ 3years.

An eg;

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

My suggestion is a good car seat which can accommodate a growing child for 4-5 years, bought BRAND new from a store which handles inventory nicely. Please don't cut corners - not for your 3.5 month old baby. NO!

Relax phamilyman and thanks for your concern and certainly not cutting corners for the little one, just weighing out options or might I say thinking aloud!!

Originally Posted by sarathlal

Yes, it is for rear seat also, provided the cars rear bench is good enough for that.

This one looks good and looks like usable till good amount of years, I guess Mee Mee is a good brand? How is Sun Baby as a brand.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

This one looks good and looks like usable till good amount of years, I guess Mee Mee is a good brand? How is Sun Baby as a brand.

IMO, go with some reputed brands (Britax, Gracco etc.). Probably it’s a good idea to check out popular stores like Mothercare, to get an idea of the options available.

Another point to note – popular brands’ car seats, strollers, travel systems etc. get revised every year (similar to cars). For e.g.; around Nov-Dec this year, the 2014 range will get released and normally the updates are minor evolution from the previous models. Once the new range is released, you can get some good discounts on the previous year models. I don’t know if this practice is there in India, but it maybe worth checking with shops like Mothercare.