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We have an infant/bucket seat with two bases. (gifted)
We have 3 convertibles: one each in my car, dh's car, and dad's car. (we bought all three).

The one in my dad's car we sometimes use for vacations as our travel carseat.

We got tired of lugging the infant seat and put DS in the convertible at 5/6 months. DS isn't fussy in any of the carseats, but the ones in our cars (Britax) are much more cushion and support, comfort. The travel carseat is the cheapest, then the infant bucket seat, and we spent the most on the convertibles in our cars.

We have two vehicles (Van (used to be an SUV) and a 4 door tacoma truck).

We had the Britax Chaperone infant bucket seat. Not anything too luxurious but a nice one I would say. We just had the one base because this seat is really easy to install with a seat belt (totally just as safe as long as you do it right). So whenever we needed to ride with grandparents or in dad's truck, we just did a seat belt install. The money we saved on a base we put towards the convertible.

We have 4 different convertible seats.

1) Britax Boulevard - I really like this seat. Just a good size, easy to get in and out, etc. LO1 used and we are now passing down to LO2.

2) Graco MyRide (65 i think) - A lot wider because of the cup holders and seems to sit up a bit higher. RF seems to be about the same distance front to back as the britax. Its not a bad seat, again LO1 used it and now LO2 is in it in my husbands truck.

3) Diono Radian RXT - I love the low sides on this for once LO1 got bigger. We have only used this FF. It was SO easy to get her in and out of it and its a narrow seat. Sturdy seat but not crazy heavy.

4) Britax Frontier (technically this is a combo seat because its only FF and then goes to a belt booster). - Love this seat. Got the new Click Tight system. Has cup holders. All around love it.

We had one infant with a base in each of our cars. He grew out around 7 months. It was a chicco. Only went up to 22 lbs though! Should have gone bigger

We currently have one convertible in the car I drive (I stay home) and we drive on the weekends. We probably will get another one for the other car at some point. The convertible is a diono radian.

For both LO's we used the Chicco Keyfit with 2 extra bases. One for me, one for DH and one for inlaws (our daycare provider). For LO1 I got tired of lugging it around 9 months and LO2 grew out of it at the same time.

For each LO we have 3 convertible seats. Britax's in both my and DH's cars and for LO1 we have an Evenflo (I think) and Graco for LO2. LO1 used to get carsick in the Evenflo until we FF but otherwise I don't think they have a preference.

When I think about the $$$ we have invested in car seats it is crazy!

Infant seats: One infant seat, three bases (me, DH and my parent’s cars). We always brought her infant seat into daycare, so if my mom picked her up from there, there was no need for her to get anything more than an additional base.

Convertible: One for me, one for DH, one for my parents, one for MIL.

When did your LO outgrow the infant car seat?

Hmmm, I can’t remember – we used it until she outgrew it though! We had the Chicco Keyfit, and pretty sure we used it until she was about a year old.

How luxurious was your infant seat compared to your convertible seat?

I don’t consider either of the luxurious. They are what they are – car seats. Unless you line it in chinchilla, I wouldn’t say it is really luxurious.

If you used multiple convertible seats, did your LO express a preference?

DH and I have Britax and my parents and MIL don’t (I think they have Safety 1st brands?). LO expresses no preference.

We only have one car and no other caregivers, so one infant seat and one convertible.

Infant seat was a Graco snugride- it was a hand me down from my sister and fine, but I would have bought a chicco keyfit probably if I was choosing. C was fairly petite and still within the height and weight limits when we moved her to the convertible at 11 months. We only moved her then because we bought the convertible and had no where to store it.

We got a chicco Nextfit for our convertible. It got best in our sedan and has high rear facing limits. Latch installation is so easy but the seatbelt is pretty easy too, which was important since our old car didn't have latch. I was less concerned about price since we only had to buy one and will use it for 3 years at least.

Depending how big LO is you may not use the carrier long. Once my son could sit up in a cart I had him out of the bucket seat fast, he was incredibly heavy. But he was a big guy length and weight.

We have two infant seats/bases - Graco Snugride 35 (they are nearly 4 years old now). At the time LO1 was born, we couldn't leave her seat at her daycare and we needed both of us to be able to do pickup (I always drop off). We used these until LO was 1. I intend to do the same with LO2.

Convertibles, we also have two. We have Britax (Boulevard 70 G3, I think) - also about 3 years old. LO is 3.5yo and has been in these since 1 yo. We will use these for LO2 as well (I need to double check expiration dates).

We don't rear face in the convertibles, the convertibles don't fit well in our cars RF.

We are a 1 car family, so we just bought 1 infant seat--the britax b-safe) and 1 convertible--the Foonf.

LO hates all car seats

We bought one infant car seat and base, but were given two extra seats and bases. So there were bases in my car, DH's car, and my mom's car who took care of my son while we worked. She also kept one of the spare infant seats. We stopped using the infant seat at about 5-6 months when he was able to sit up well. Then we got three convertibles - me, DH, and my mom.

DS2 used the same infant seat and bases. But we moved him to a convertible in my car at about two months. He hated the car so we hoped it would help. My mom still uses the infant seat in her car. We just bought big brother a new Graco seat for my car, so his old one (Britax) will now go in my mom's car for little brother. DH will just take it out if he needs it.

The more expensive convertible car seats were Britax. They definitely were comfier than the cheaper Safety 1st seats we got for my mom and DH. DS never expressed a big preference but buckling him in and adjusting the straps in the Britax was so much easier.

So many car seats!

We had 1 infant seat and 2 bases and then also the seat given to use by the hospital. He outgrew both at 4.5 months he's long from torso to head and once their head is within an inch of the top you're supposed to switch is what I read.

We now have 3 convertibles, DH, mine and my MIL.

One infant seat (Britax B-safe) with two bases. Once she grows out if that, we'll have to get 2 convertible seats, one for each car.

I have one child and I think I win for the most number of car seats (he's 4):

Infant bucket, used 8 months, no longer used
Britax Boulevard, now front facing in my car, used 30 months rear facing
Britax Swedish Rearfacing, used from 8 months to 22 months while we lived abroad
Graco MyRide, now front facing in my father's car, used from 24 months to now
Britax Frontier, in my husband's car, used from 30 months to now
Graco Nautilus, in my mother's car, used from 30 months to now
Cosco Scenera, our travel seat, that we used on airplanes and for rental cars

1) Just out of curiosity, how many car seats did you buy (gifted) for your car situation? Caregiver situation?
- We were gifted Graco Snugride Click Connect 35 and one extra base. It was wonderful to be able to pop that into the "wheels" or stroller frame
- We have 2 safety first convertible seats that go up to 65lbs one in each car and my parents just bought themselves an evenflo carseat that goes up to 40lbs. If anyone else needed a car seat we would just install one of our seats in their car

2) When did your LO outgrow the infant car seat?
- We switched her to a RF Canvertible at 10m and let my SIL use our Infant seat and bases since she just had her 2nd and didnt want to purchase another base.

3) How luxurious was your infant seat compared to your convertible seat?
- I would say their both midlevel as far as price point

4) If you used multiple convertible seats, did your LO express a preference?
- they're both the same brand but different seats shes in my car more often and for longer periods of time but she loves the car and would happily sit in either

So far we have one car seat & two bases (hand me down, bought extra base). Extra base goes in my mom's car. We have the Britax B-Safe, I would say it's mid-range? We click it onto the Britax Agile stroller.

After that we will probably buy 2 convertibles.

@Mamasig: did it help your car hater? My 3 mo almost always cries the entire way!

Just out of curiosity, how many car seats did you buy (gifted) for your car situation? Caregiver situation?

We have 1 infant carseat - the Uppababy Mesa. It lives in my car but its such an easy install we can move it to DH's car in a few minutes. We wanted to have the one seat/base first and see if we needed the second base. Never needed it. Also its a really easy seatbelt/baseless install in a pinch. Snaps right into our UP Cruz, huge sunshade, love it. Only con is that its a heavier seat, so its a lot to lug if you include the baby. We just never really kept DS in the seat outside of the car so it wasn't an issue for us.

Right now, I've started doing research on convertibles and we're leaning towards the Maxi Cosi Pria 85 for my car. Because I will be returning to work in the fall, we'll probably get a cheaper, lighter seat to use in DH's car and as our travel carseat, like the Evenflo Tribute.

When did your LO outgrow the infant car seat?

Well, the seat goes to 32 inches and 35 pounds. DS is a long skinny thing, so he's only around 17 pounds but over 28 inches at 7 months, so I think he'll be ready to move to a big boy seat in a few months. I want to use the Mesa as long as possible because it is a pricey seat, its super easy to adjust, and DS is used to the seat by now (he hated it as a newborn) and never complains when he's in it.

How luxurious was your infant seat compared to your convertible seat?

If we end up with the Maxi Cosi, they will be equally luxe.

If you used multiple convertible seats, did your LO express a preference?

Don't have them yet so I can't say, but I know the Maxi Cosi seat is super cushy compared to the Tribute, but DS is a sweaty baby so its possible all that cushioning on the MC seat will make him hot.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Nissan has SnugKids car seat safety guides where they detail the recommended seats for your car. They don't carry one for my vehicle anymore, but I Have mine from before. It really helped me to narrow down my seat choices.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I think a lot of the bigger convertible seats sit up high (my britax boulevard and the graco are about the same). I've also heard the Clek sits up high too. Definitely wasn't drama free when she was RF but it helps. Until she got to be 35+" tall and it got way too hard to get her up over the side of the seat without bumping her head on the roof of the car. Thats when we went to the low sided Diono and it was much better.