Carseat Commotion Part 1: Infant Carrier

Since this blog was promised to be about kids, spouses and all things in between, I have decided to do a Carseat Commotion segment. This segment will be in two parts starting with the seat your babe will need to come home from the hospital.

Meet the Chicco KeyFit 30. 

This car seat was my best friend when we had Baby Bee. I am the type of person that will research until my fingers can't type any longer, before I buy something. This was no different. I spent 3 months, 8 trips to Babies 'R Us, and countless hours researching this seat. Since I knew baby Bee would be early (six weeks early, actually), I knew I needed a seat that would accommodate a small baby. This seat goes all the way from 4lbs to 30lbs (talk about bang for your buck). Another reason we picked this one was, the ease of use. I am the person that likes to loosen the straps to get babe out then tighten them back up once she's all snug in her seat. With the Chicco, that was no problem, one push of the orange button to loosen and a pull of the strap to tighten and, Voila!

"So why is it called the Chicco KeyFit 30 instead of just the Chicco KeyFit?"

The reason this seat is the KeyFit 30 (theres actually two, the regular KeyFit and the KeyFit 30) is because it holds babies up to 30lbs or 30 inches. Where as the regular KeyFit only holds babies up to 22lbs or 30 inches.

Durning my research I tested seat, after seat, after seat (I won't name brands but they all essentially sucked), the winning moment for this seat was the installation. No beach towels, pool noodles or foam seat pads needed to get the base (which is included when you buy the seat) level. Chicco designed an ingenious self leveling mechanism that you can move up or down to get it level. Another plus? its connected to your car via the LATCH system. You can learn more about LATCH here. The base has two buckles that connect to the anchors (already in your car, unless you're driving something overly outdated) and make it exceptionally easy to get them tight.

No need to purchase accessories. Seriously. This seat comes with everything you need and its all washable in your washing machine. Straight out of the box you get: 

-Manual

-Car Seat

-Base

-Infant head and bum support

-Padded Seat Cover

-Shoulder Strap Covers (so as not to hurt those precious little cheeks and necks when tightening)

So, as I posted this review and sat on it for a while, I realized I forgot the biggest part; SAFETY. Like I said earlier, I am one to research something until I've read every review known to man and all the company/ foundation reviews (in this case IIHS). The biggest reason I we picked this seat was how safe it was. It scored the highest in front, side, rear and rollover crash ratings. You'll notice that babe sits in this one a lot deeper than most, thats by design. Its to keep them safe, and an extra inch that my arms have to reach to get her out is just dandy with me if it means I can have the piece of mind that she is in the safest seat I can buy.

 I have decided that I will make this a three part series and explain the seats that didn't make the cut and why.

So, do I recommend you go try out this seat for yourself and purchase it? Yes! 

Until next time (when we will visit convertible carseats!). 

A.B