Overhaulin'

Car seat woes.. convertible? Britax Decathlon for a newborn?

I'm attempting to pick out my first car seat but I am getting overwhelmed by the plethora of information and reviews.. It seems to -me- that small infants won't fit into most convertible car seats due to the lowest strap-setting being too high for them. Like, the Britax Decathlon is an awesome and very safe car seat and fits an infant with 9-10" (at lowest setting) shoulder heights.. but I'm concerned that infants tend to be smaller than that when newborns? Do you think YOUR newborn would've fit into the Britax Decathlon? Is there some other convertible car seat with lower shoulder settings? Did any of you use a convertible car seat from day one and have no issues with it? If not, and if ya'all think that going with a classic infant car carrier/seat is best.. Which one?! I don't like these base-things. I don't like the idea of any extra moving parts. Extra moving parts means extra parts to FAIL. I read on one consumer-reporting site about consumer complaints about safety .. Britax convertibles and Evenflo Triumph convertibles had very few (only a couple hundred) complaints .. whereas Graco Snugrides, Safeseats, and Chicco carseats (the plastic seats with bases) had thousands of complaints involving cheap materials, ie. they break easily, infants tear up the foam, latches come undone or break.. (And these seats are not what I would necessarily call CHEAP) sometimes causing injuries. It could just be that Britax is used a lot less often -- but, somehow I don't think so. Somehow, I think they must just manufacture their seats to higher standards. That being said, I don't think my mother-in-law will buy me the infant Britax (Companion) since it can only be used up to 22lbs. She won't like spending 300$ on a carseat that could possibly only be used for about 5 months if my child ends up large. Most likely she'll insist that I get a cheaper car seat if I think I must use the newborn carriers instead of a convertible. She wouldn't mind spending 300$ on a car seat that I could use for possibly 3, 4, or 5 years, though. Like the Decathlon. Sooo.. Decathlon? Newborn? Anyone?

Public Comments

1. "Did any of you use a convertible car seat from day one and have no issues with it?" We did, with no problems. Those infant seats strike me as silly, and using them as a "carrier" is a dreadful habit -- no baby needs a plastic casing instead of a parents' arms... We have a Cosco "Alpha Omega Elite." Pregnant, I looked at the Britaxes and the Maxi-Cosis, and I'm relieved I didn't spend the extra cash; the Cosco is perfectly safe and serviceable. My parents just bought a car seat for my daughter recently, and bought an Alpha Omega themselves. They're comfortable and sturdy.
2. The Decathalon is a great seat for infants, as it comes with an infant body support that's removable as your baby grows. The Evenflo seats are crap--I would highly dissuade you from those. The Britax seats are top of the line--you don't get any better than a Britax. My biggest concern would be fitting it into your car rear facing, as it's fairly large. A smaller option that's safe, too is the Compass True Fit. Good luck with your decision! I'd go with a safe convertible seat over an infant seat any day. Most people only use them for the first three or four months anyway because they get bulky and heavy with the baby in it. Plus, you've got more of a chance of something happening in an accident if it detaches from the base. But, that's just my opinion! FYI, the Cosco Alpha Omega is not the greatest seat. For its' price bracket, it's adequate, but it doesn't hold baby for as long as a car seat should, the LATCH connectors are flimsy, the straps are slippery and are constantly twisted (therefore hazardous), and the entire frame is plastic. In an independent crash test at 30 mph done by car seat installers in the Chicago area, the Evenflos, Coscos, and Safety 1st seats all shattered upon impact. The Britax was untouched. That's because the national minimum for crash testing carseats is 25 mph. All of the lower end use that number as their standard and that's what they test at. Britax, Maxi-Cosi, Peg Perego, Chicco, and Recaro crash test theirs at 45 mph. I like those odds much better than 25 mph. When's the last time you drove 25 mph? Getting several cheap seats is a waste when you could just buy one really good one. The Britax Boulevard CS might be even better than the Decathalon because it rear faces longer. I'm not sure which is less expensive. Another option is the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 seat, but it is really bulky and I haven't seen it with a newborn, so I'm not sure if that'd be the best fit for you or not.
3. we have the britax decathlon and we love it. fitting it rear facing in a small car is no problem, we have 2 honda civics and it fits fine in there. however we used the infant carrier type seat first and then bought the britax decathlon later but with the infant insert i definitely believe my son would have fit in it just fine as a newborn (when we started using the decathlon at just under 4 months my son was too big for the infant insert so we never even had to use it, so i am sure it should be fine with a newborn with the infant insert) i must say i did like the infant carrier for the first few moths just because if we went to a restaurant or something my son could just lay in it and sleep so that was a great thing bout the infant carrier. however we only used it for maybe 4 months before he got too big for it so it was not the most useful item ever and it got to be VERY heavy towards the 3rd and 4th month, i barely ever actually took it out and carried him in it at that point because it was so heavy. if you only want to buy one car seat then get the decathlon. (you will end up having to buy a convertible seat later anyway because the infant carriers only last a few months before they outgrow it) britax is known as a very safe, reliable brand for car seats