BEST Baby Seat,Car Seat or Convertibles??
Posted by admin on Aug 12, 2008
1st time moms & dads always come to this point of decision……
1. what should I get?
2. Should I get the cheap cheap ones or should I invest in a good one?
3. which brand to go for?
There are just so many many brands la……so much to consider Maclaren, Bugaboo, Sweet cherry, chicco,peg perego…etc
What to look out for when buying a baby,car or convertibles? Here is a questions requested by Sun.
Feedbacks :-
sun: im am shopping for baby car seat, can anyone reco and share their experiences? thanks
mommy2A: how old is ur child? Tht’s d most important question bcoz kids of different age need different car seat.
sun: my son is 8 months old, i am currently looking at convertables as it can be used for rear and forward facing. do u think it is necessary?
mommy2A: Convertibles is a gud idea. Find 1 tht can be adjusted as ur baby grows. Saves more money as u can use it longer
Any other opinions from mothers & fathers ? Share Share…
shoppingNsales
Most car seats go by weight and not by months – seems to be a better gauge for whether a child can fit the seat or not. We bought a convertible car seat (booster) for our son when he was almost 9kg (b4 he turned 1 years old). It was a little big for him at that time, but soon enough he grew into it and this would save us from buying another car seat till he’s at least 4yrs old.
Most car seats (non-convertible, though able to do 2-way facing) will last only till they are about 2 yrs old but 4 some larger children, even less.
After a child grows out of the infant carrier car seat and makes the weight for front facing, you can remove the passenger seat headrest and give your child a better view. Helps with moms carrying their kids alone in the car.Point things out to them as you drive, etc… Our son loves looking out for birds!
Nomjleem, good idea on removing the headrest..
I am shopping for the car seat. Mostly looking for the recline function and have shortlisted 3 brand.
1. Recaro Sino
2. Maxi-Cosi Priori
3. Concord
1. Recaro Sino
In my view, Recaro Sino looks very comfortable but has a head protector (not sure what is it called) that protect both side of the baby’s head. It is a good security function, but will it be too hot for baby in our climate?
2.Maxi Cosi
This seat do not have much cushion and seems to be a little hard.
3. Look nice, but am not sure about the brand.
Have anyone use these sit and can share your experience?
Thanks.
In my opinion, there is no need to get baby car seats that are too expensive or branded (unless you have a lot of money to spare), for few reasons:
1. Baby outgrows it very quickly.
My baby is only 3 months old and already reaching the limit of 60 cm (in terms of head-to-toe length) of the infant car seat. So I think by 5 months of age, he can’t fit into his infant car seat anymore.
2. When a baby is in the car, as a responsible parent, we will naturally take precautions and be more careful when driving and keep out of the way of aggressive/dangerous/reckless drivers.
Take all precautions like rear facing, etc. Even the most expensive brands of baby car seat will break apart if the crash impact is too great!
3. Whether it’s Sweet Cherry or some unknown brand, this kind of thing is all OEM products (but for imported brands, I dare not say lah). E.g. I went to Jusco and saw a Sweet Cherry infant car seat (selling for RM130). So I read the car seat’s manual leaflet to see how to install etc. Then other time, I went to Tesco and saw this infant car seat by the brand Otomo (selling for RM90, then later a 3-day promotion selling for RM50!) and saw that the manual leaflet is exactly the same kind of printing and sentences as Sweet Cherry’s!
me too is looking for car seat.
for my first daughter we bought a travel system which come complete with infant car seat carrier. as inexperience mom back then i thought i really need a travel system *sigh* but we hardly used it together as my hubby is not keen to carry the bulky thing around. nevertheless i used the car seat a lot to transport my daughter everyday. and lucky enough she is a small baby so we do not really need to move into car seat until she’s about 1yr+
but for my coming baby, i am contemplating whether to buy infant carrier car seat, or car seat that can be used for newborn. the latter is much expensive but will save in the long run as i can use it until baby grown up.
but thinking that i already has car seat, maybe i’l just buy not so expensive carrier car seat, and later move baby into existing car seat. for the sister maybe i’l buy the booster seat (which will cost me <300)
Personally, I never liked d baby carrier. Who in d right mind wud want to lug tht thing around wt d baby in it…can u imagine how much it weighs???? U can break ur back, meh….
Infant car seats are great, especially d bucket-like seats tht can be adjusted to kinda ’slide’ up n down. It sorta grows wt ur baby. It makes more sense as u can use it longer..until d baby is about 2. Then u can change to d regular upright car seats. Find ones tht can be adjusted as ur child grows as well. These ones can be used till the child is about 6 or 7, depending on his size.
Another thing tht shud be considered when choosing a car seat is the seat cover itself. Try to find one tht is removable n washable…coz u bet its gonna get dirty!! Also, with d convertibles tht last longer, try to find a brand tht offers replacement seat covers as well. Thru d years d sponge lining tends to disintegrate n u might want to change the cover. Having jez to purchase a new seat cover instead of having a new one tailor-made, saves a lot too….
Choosing which brand is entirely up to the parents…we all have our own different budget. The most important thing is to choose d right functions. We all want value for money, regardless of how rich or poor we are. So be smart n research well….. Gud Luck!!
Hi All,
Well, being a 1st time mommie, I had quite abit of headache trying to figure out which carseat would be best and value for money. But after months of window shopping, researching, arguing and budgeting, we finally decided on the Concord Ultimax. I think this is the one 1st time mom is considering, yes?
Well in the 8+months our daughter’s been using this carseat, I have to say its well worth the money. Yes, its one of the more expensive carseats (RM1k plus) but we figured it would be a good investment based on these facts:
1. It can be used from infancy to about 4 years old, depending on your baby’s weight.
2. From newborn to about 6months, there is this extra pad attachment that supports the baby’s back as babies are not recommended to be put in a “sitting” position just yet. Once your baby can sit on his/her own, you can remove this attachment and it becomes a normal carseat.
3. It has an adjustable headrest, so the seat “grows” with your baby.
4. Its made of sturdy solid materials. The inner part of the seat is made of styrofoam (not sure of the spelling) foam rather than hard PVC or soft sponge so its safer as this material is used for the inner part of helmets and such.
5. It can be placed facing the seat (for 0-18months)or facing the front (18months onwards).
6. The padding is not too thick that its too warm, but is just enough to make it comfy.
7. The fabric is cooling and funky colored.
8. The 5-point harness is easy to manage, easy to clip on, and most importantly, easy to tighten/loosen — with just a simple pull of 1 strap! Very handy esp when ur baby gets squirmy.. hehe.
The only downside to it is probably the bulk and weight of this seat. When the seat was delivered to our home, the guy from the shop was huffing and puffing like nobody’s business.. haha. My hubby also sweated abit trying to install the seat into our small car.. huhu. But still, its not like u’re gonna constantly take it in and out of ur car, rite?
We chose this seat coz we think we can use it longer, rather than having to change from infant seat/carrier to carseat. Also, we couldnt imagine lugging the baby around in a baby carrier coz the carriers themselves are so heavy… add in a 4kg baby??? Can pull your arm out of their sockets i would think. But i guess it depends on whether u can do alot of heavylifting or not lah… huhu.
So to those looking for carseats, do consider these points before you buy, ok? Hope this helps abit.
Cheers!
Oh and 1st time mom… Dont worry bout the concord brand.. if u google the Concord Ultimax u can find that its won several awards overseas… chk this out:
http://www.mothercare.com/gp/product/B000M4W390
Hi Haze,
Thanks for sharing. Yes, i am referring to Concord Ultimax.
They do delivery? Where did you get it from? I only saw it being sold in 1Utama.
Just to share my opinion on carrier car seat. I’m having my 4th soon and over the years I have the range of carseats, from carrier to booster.
I love the carrier as it’s portable, i.e. I don’t have to wake my baby if I’m sending her to the baby sitter or we are out shopping. I also got the one that can be attached to the stroller frame, so it’s not bulky like the travel system. So I would recommend a carrier esp if it’s your 1st child and you plan to have more kids, value for money in the long run. (Like yours truly!!) So now my no1 is in the highback booster, no2 & 3 in the carseats and no4 will be in the carrier pretty soon. No 2 will take over no1 highback booster soon too while I get a new backless booster for no1.
As for the brand, I prefer one that confirms to safety standard. Of course we all don’t want to be involved in any accident, but `accident’ can and do happen and should it does happen to me (touch wood!) I want to make sure that my child is protected to the max. So if you can afford that little bit extra, go for it!
anyone heard of bugaboo? They;ve got preety good strollers. Can use from 0-4years old. Nice colours too. INVEST in a good one it’s worth every cent!
Hi MoMZ,
I actually plan to buy the Bugaboo Bee stroller. Can you give some feedback on it if you are using it? Thanks!
I am using it! It’s a great investment. Very easy to fold & open. Very nice to push around. Are U expecting your 1st? It well worth it to get the entire set. We bought ours from the states. Much cheaper. Here is abt Rm2369 i think.
Hi momz, I fell in love with it when I saw the commercial. I plan to get the yellow one because it resembles the bee! So cute! What colour did you get? And I like the fact you can open it with just one kick!
How much did you buy it from the states?? Was it online shopping?? Yes the price here is steep and they are never discounted because it is an agent controlled item.
Yes, am expecting my first…therefore it would be a worthwhile investment. I’m so excited and can’t wait to bring the bee and baby to the mall!
Hi I’m going to be a first time mom and I use a Myvi..I’m quite confused which kind of car seat or carrier to get at a good budget. 1k plus seems really pricey to me
Hi Leona,
Hope you will be reading this. I bought one back in 2002 i.e. a huge blue colour stroller that comes with a carrier cum car seat.
Honestly, I only used the huge stroller couple of times as it’s too bulky (well my husband bought it without much thought and experience) as for the carrier depending your baby’s weight, if your baby is heavy carrying that carrier is not easy at all. my baby was huge so i only use it as car seat until she was like 2years+.
We bought another stroller (umbrella) stroller if not mistaken for rm199.90 from toy r rus back in 2004, this is the best stroller for me.
I know these days all these car seats, strollers are much more expensive and some local brands i would say the quality is going down the drain.
Sweet Cheery has plenty right? do check out one, well just buy one like rm300 for a stroller and rm200 (if there still are) for a car seat, anyway, baby outgrows very fast and they don’t sit on stroller and car seats all the time right?
I’ve been shopping for car seats too, and have come to realise that many “Malaysian” brand car seats don’t adhere to any safety standards. How is that possible/allowed? These car seats aren’t decorative. They serve an important purpose ie safety. Without any certification, these seats shouldn’t be allowed to be on sale.