Friday, November 19, 2010

Snob!

I'm a self-confessed car seat snob.  Just ask my friends.  I admitted it.  Katie was in need of a new car seat since she is (A) almost a kindergartner (B) has grown 4 inches in the last year and (C) could just about launch herself out of the old one if she tried, her legs are so long...  So the hunt began.  Here is the seat that she has been riding in since she got out of the infant carrier car seat (so about 4 years).  The Britax Marathon.  A tank for babies...no kidding.  Mimi and Papa got it for Christmas for her that year. We loved this seat...still do.  (She had one with pretty pink and red flowers on the seat cover.)
 
So, when we started looking for a booster seat we had certain standards that had to be met.  Katie's standards were that it "sit low like Buddy's seat" and that it had cupholders for Sonic drinks and juice boxes.  :)  Ours were that the latch system was strong enough for almost zero wiggle when you try to move the seat, from all points (top, bottom, center) and that she could be secured in a five point harness for a while longer.  We decided to try the new Graco Nautilus and of course bought the pink and gray one. 
It got great ratings, was about $100 cheaper than the Britax Frontier 85 booster, and Katie like the color and the cup holder.  But, man, did we have trouble with this seat.  It didn't buckle in as secure as her old Britax.  The latch system on the five-point harness kept getting stuck and it was very difficult to unlatch it to get her out.  Even my son and my mom (who thought it was just the normal way a latch would work) said they had trouble getting her out.  So what if we HAD to get her out fast?  Good thing Target took it back.  We used it for a week.   

So, we went back to what we know...what we had trusted the last four years, (and what I should have gone with since it was my first instinct) and ordered this seat: The Britax Frontier 85. 

We ordered it in Onyx so that it matches our car, Minnie.  :)  That would be black and silver.  And look!  TWO cup holders for Kate.  Two arm rests...  A state of the art latch system and three ways to use it.  This is an awesome seat.  No apprehension when putting her in it, no regrets for spending a little bit extra.  And, guess what!  We didn't pay the regular price in the store...Amazon had it on sale for $50 off!  Woot!  And look how happy little Kate is in her new chair.  She loves it. 
 
 It's ok to be a snob sometimes, 
isn't it? 

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