Claire's A Big Girl

Yesterday we picked out Claire's convertible car seat for my car! She has been so uncomfortable in her infant seat (although she has at least 5 more pounds until she hits the seat limit) the last couple of weeks. We put her in it and almost instantly she has spun around and is on her stomach. It's a workout trying to get her buckled up!

We decided yesterday was a perfect day for the switch because our old drop down side crib was officially recalled! So we packed that baby up and took it back to BRU. With a little trouble and about a 1/2 hour at the return desk, we got the full crib price on a BRU gift card!! Definitely made the purchase of her convertible car seat so much better. She also got a 4th of July outfit!

We decided on the Safety 1st Air Protect Car Seat. We were going to go with either the Graco My Ride 65 or the Evenflo Symphony. We didn't end up with either of those because while we were in the car seat aisle, Eric and I were talking about when Claire is older. See, these two seats go up to 65 and 100lbs, which is great but if you are in 4th grade and still in need of a car seat do you really want to tell your friends good bye, run to your car and plop yourself into your car seat, one that you used when you were 10 months, one that looks like a car seat?! We thought, how embarrassing! So we decided to spend the money on the Safety 1st Air Protect seat (which goes up to 50lbs) since it has one of the best safety rating and when the time comes and she reaches 50lbs, we will buy her a booster seat. They have great seats for only $80 and they even break down to just a little seat as the child gets older. They are way less baby-ish!

We are very happy with our purchase and I'm sure Claire will be too!

Here's a little more info on the Safety 1st Air Protect Car Seat from the Safety 1st website:

ABOUT AIR PROTECT™ TECHNOLOGY

What is Air Protect™ Technology?
Air Protect™ Technology is the most innovative safety feature ever offered in a car seat.  It is a technology that protects our children at their most vulnerable – the head.
How does Air Protect™ work?
Through the precise release of air, Air Protect™ shields children from side impact intrusion and immediately reduces crash forces at the most critical spot: around a child’s head.  Air Protect™ does this by extending ride-down, the amount of time it takes to slow a child’s movement in a crash.

How is Air Protect™ different?
1. Primary Focus on Head Protection
Air Protect™ Technology has been designed to defend against the biggest threat to children on the road today; side impact collisions.  Side impact are by far the deadliest type of collision for children, accounting for one in three child fatalities; nearly all of which are caused by head trauma.  The placement of Air Protect™ Technology on the car seat diverts crash forces away from a child’s head, the most vulnerable place in a side impact crash.
2. Superior Testing Methodology
The Complete Air™ Convertible Car Seat is tested with an intruding door technique, which best replicates an actual side impact crash.  Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) collaborated with Kettering University’s renowned Crash Safety Center to develop a new standard for side impact testing.  This new testing method is so significant that DJG and Kettering University have shared their findings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), supporting NHTSA’s efforts to provide more comprehensive regulations for side impact crash testing.