Carseats...

There are a lot of things no one told me about when I was expecting Marissa. Most of the things are awkward to talk about about or "protocol" had changed since those I knew had had babies and therefore felt that there was no sense in saying anything. One of the biggest things that no one ever told me about was the stress level that over takes me when its time to get a new car seat. Common sense would tell you that when you go to the store all the seats have been tested, passed and therefore are safe to place your child in. However in most cases, the tests they do are not "pass or fail" but instead just placed on a level of better than...or worse than. On a few tests especially one they did a while back on infant seats, they withdrew their results because the test done on a vehicle going 65 mph and hitting a cement wall head on. Many of the seats were launched from the vehicle on impact, separating from the base. However they withdrew their findings and did not recall any seats stating that it was a pointless test because "most" crashes don't take place with that kind of intensity. After I happened across that, I do a ton of research on our seats before buying new and refuse to just go and get what looks comfy or what is cheapest. Of course I'm going to try and find one in our price range, but we are talking about our kids safety! Both of the girls seats are due to expire this fall. We were planning on getting them seats for their birthday. However both girls have decided to put a damper on that and go through growth spurts, putting them past the last strap placement in their current seats. We currently have Madalyn in a Alpha Omega 3 in 1 and Marissa is in the Cosco Apex. We went shopping in Utica and found the seat that we have had our eye on. We wanted to look at fabric options in it and do some price checking. Based on reviews we decided to go back to our main brand and go with the Graco Nautilus. We found prices we couldn't pass up. The girls got to pick out what color they wanted. Marissa decided on this one....

And Madalyn decided on this one...no surprise there!
I can't say enough good about these seats. They excel in their safety ratings and the price isn't bad. They will be the girls lasts seats now. Unless the State of New York ups the booster age into their teenage years! LOL We are already at 8 so I can only imagine... LOL Doug and I both feel pretty strongly on extended harnessing anyhow so who knows how long we will keep them in one. This seat can be used till they hit 100lbs, so we have a long ways before we have to worry about it. Marissa will be 5 in May and she is still harnessed and will be until she doesn't fit anymore. The seats are built great. Very sturdy feeling and they utilize their space very well. There are two storage compartments under the arm rests so they can stash toys or stuffies. The cup holder is in the arm rest so its not taking up extra room. We gained about 2-4 inches in the back seat of the Vibe. We both feel really good about our purchase and feel like the girls are super safe in their new seats. I LOVE to do research, so if anyone wants any help researching car seats for their little ones, I have a few websites that I use quite often. I can also lead you to the safety tests that they have done on particular seats. Ok I think I'm done rambling! I hope you guys are all enjoying the beautiful day God has blessed us with today!