April 13, 2012 - New Car Seat

Today we finally bought a new car seat for the Baby.  The infant carrier seats are great when the baby is small, but once he gets big it becomes very heavy.  Our infant seat only holds a baby up to 22 lbs, and with the Boy this was only until 8 months.  The new regulations for car seats came into effect in January, and if I understand them correctly, while the laws haven't changed for consumers, they have for the manufacturers.  The new weight regulations on car seats set onto the manufacturers can be taken as a suggestion to parents.  I am thinking this is a good idea.  So now that car seats are made to carry infants until 30 lbs, in a rear-facing position, and up to 65 lbs in a five point harness, we decided to purchase a rear-facing car seat that would remain in the car. 
We bought the Radian RXT.  We liked it because it has a steel frame and a lot of sturdy padding on the sides.  The other plus is that it is narrower than most other car seats, and in the future it might be possible to fit all three kids into the back seat of the Honda Civic.    To say that it was a little more pricy then some other car seats on the market is an understatement, the $359 price tag is heafty.  The Boy thought that if a car seat was that expensive it should come with a bottle warmer and two hands to feed the baby while we are driving!  Great ideas:)

The downside of a stay in car seat, is that when he is sleeping, he will need to be transferred to either the stroller or his bed.  I know that as he gets older he will sleep better, making this transfer easier, but now he sleeps so lightly that he will surely wake up when we attempt this manouver.  On the otherhand, this car seats seems to be above the standard for safety and I feel confident having the Baby ride in the car in this seat. 

I almost forgot, the Boy thought we should purchase two more for his sister and him, when technically they could both be in a 5 point harness, and the Girl is so light, she could be rear-facing, I would not subject them to this step.  Until the law is actually changed, I will let them continue to ride in the booster seat:)