Online Car Seat Shopping with buybuy BABY

This post was sponsored by buybuy BABY, but as always all opinions are 100% my own.  

Madison is currently still using her infant car seat; the original car seat we took her home from the hospital in!  We have the UppaBaby Mesa car seat and I can't say enough good things about it.  This car seat clicks into our stroller (the UppaBaby Vista) which was super convenient.  She would probably be okay to stay in it a little longer (according to the height/weight requirement), but I think she'd be a lot more comfortable in a larger seat.  It's time to upgrade to a convertible.  Who else better to turn to for our car seat shopping needs, then buybuy BABY!

buybuy BABY

Have you ever been to a buybuy BABY?  It is the mecca of all things baby!  We sadly don't have a buybuy BABY in our area (please open one in Portland!), but I was able to do some shopping there when we lived in Indiana and during a visit to California and I'm obsessed.  Luckily, they have an amazing website!  They offer free shipping on orders over $49, buy online pick up in store, same day delivery (in select locations), and my favorite feature - their car seat selector tool.  We are really picky when it comes to selecting a car seat.  It is one of the most important items you will purchase for your baby and it could potentially save your child's life.  Hospitals won't even let you leave without one!  We like to do a lot of research to make sure we pick the right car seat.  It also has to be easy to install, easy to use, easy to clean, and comfortable.  This great tool will help us pick out the perfect car seat for Madison.

My super sweet helper! - Desk 

Tips: Before You Shop

I have a few things for you to think about/research before shopping for a car seat (whether it's online or in store):

1. Read over your cars owner's manual to determine where your car seat can fit and where/if your car has the LATCH system.  All new models have this system.  You'll also want to find out how much space you have in your car.  It would be a bummer if you found your perfect car seat only to find it doesn't fit in your car! Our Maxi Cosi's actually don't fit in my husbands truck.
2. Make a list of must haves, such as ease of installation (if you're going to be moving it between cars often, you'll want it to be easy to install), ease of use (I need to know the straps won't constantly get tangled up!), and climate.  You'd probably want a more breathable fabric if you live in Arizona vs. here in Oregon.
3. Price.  How much do you want to spend?  This really is an investment item for us and I don't mind dropping money on something that we'll use every day (and potentially save our children's life!).
4. Is it comfortable?  I mean for you!  For an infant seat, it is important for it to be light weight since you end up lugging it around SO much.  Add in an 18 pound 9 month old and you can go ahead and cancel your gym membership.  Also, for me it's important (when looking at an infant car seat specifically) that it click in and out of my stroller or at least have an option of adapters.  Most strollers offer multiple adapters so you don't have to choose the strollers car seat companion if you don't want.

Car Seat Selection 

When you get to the buybuy BABY website, you will go to the car seat selector and choose the age of your child.  You can select features that are important to you, such as easy to adjust harness or safety stabilization bar.  Then, your recommended car seats will show up!  This is where the fun part comes in.  You can click on different car seats to compare them.  So, say you wanted to compare the Britax Boulavard XE Series and the Chicco Nextfit.  You would just select both of those and click 'start comparison'.  You will then see both car seats compared side by side.  It will show you available features such as easy to adjust harness and if it converts to a backless booster.  You can also see what age the car seat goes up to and the weight minimum/maximum.  Through the car seat selector, we narrowed down the selection between the Britax Boulevard ClickTight XE Series and the Maxi Cosi Pria 85 and we ultimately decided on the Maxi Cosi!

This is what the comparison looks like on buybuy BABY's website 

Madison's Car Seat

We absolutely love the Maxi Cosi Pria 85!  I'm not going to lie, I really love the gorgeous color.  I also obviously love all of the other, most important features!  There is side impact protection with air protect as well as FlexTech for multi-directional energy management.  It is super plush and comfortable compared to other car seats I've seen.  The weight range goes up to 85 pounds (starts at 14 pounds) which is the highest weight range on the market.  I love the one hand harness height adjustment which is great because you don't have to re-thread the harness or even take the car seat out of the car.  There are also harness holders to keep the straps out of the way while your child gets in.  The cover is machine washable and again, you don't have to take the car seat out of the car or re-thread the straps to do this.  It is super easy to install.  We own a Maxi Cosi for McKinlee and we love it.  I purchased all of our car seats online so far, and have had a great experience.  I would highly recommend this car seat and buybuy BABY'S online car seat selector tool!

Excited sissies! 

McKinlee's Shoes 

Moccasins (sold out) - Our other faves here! 

How did you choose your car seat?  What are your likes and dislikes about it and what would make choosing one easier for you?   Check out our other baby gear review here where we review the UPPAbaby CRUZ!