best car seat

Hi I see that my Best Friend has outed me again! Just kidding! Actually anyone that knows me would tell you that one of my passions as a Pediatric RN is child safety specifically car seats! I will tell you that I will not recommend any seats or reference any brand negatively. The "Best Seat" for your family may be very different from another family. Getting opinions from other people seems like a great idea, however you need to evaluate your situation and shop based on that. I recommend that you know the height and weight of your child and start there. The "Best Seat" should be one that 1. Fits your child and one that your child can grow into a bit. 2. Fits your car and can fit with any other seats that you may need to install next to it. 3. Can be used by everyone that will be using it correctly everytime, especially if you are going to be uninstalling it and reinstalling it often. Check the harness straps and determine if they are easy for you to secure your child in place. 4. One that fits your budget. Babies R US will let you take the seat to the car and try it out and I would recommend that if you have a small vehicle or need to check to see if there is enough room to fit several seats next to each other in the seat. Put the child in and check to see if the should straps fit where they should and read the manuals for both the seat and your vehicle.

To answer your question about the 3 seats that you are looking at. I have had an Alpha Omega in the past and I liked it. I am currently using the Evenflo Triumph for my son and I love it, especially the fact that it has the side tightening system, much easier for me to tighten than pulling the strap when in rear facing mode. This is also one of the seats that allows it to semi recline in forward facing position. I have a friend that has the Graco Nautilus and she loves it because she wants to convert it to a booster some day and it goes to a higher weight limit. Each of them are about the same in price and all the seats on the market have been crash tested to the same standards by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. Each of the 3 seats that you are considering have slight differences, but you need to decide which works best for you. I would recommend that you make pros and cons list based on the features. The more that the seat costs does not mean that it performs any better, so don't get hung up on choosing the one with the highest price for it to be safer. I can tell you the reason that I chose the Triumph over the other 2 was that I wanted it to recline and side tighten as well as hold my 28 lb 3.5 year old until he is between 35-40 lbs to fit into a booster. He is average height and the other seats would not accomodate his height while we wait for him to gain weight. His seat goes up to 50lbs and 50 inches. I didn't need the seat to become a booster since his baby sister would need it in 1 year. I also love the way the harness straps raise to accomodate his growing. You don't have to take them out to adjust.

Stats Natinally show that on average that 73% of car seats checked by technicians had at least 1 or more critical misuses. Locally seats that have been checked had an average of 90% misuse.
I am employed by Memorial Children's Hosptial here in SB and I run a program that is a Permanent Fitting Station to check seats. For an appointment call 647-6880.
I know that this is a lot of info. Please don't hesitate to email me or make an appointment. I am on maternity leave until January, so if you want to see for the appointment you can wait until then or see one of the other technicians that work for me.
Wendy Nash RN, CPSTI