Last weekend we bought a car seat. Yes, it's early. Yes, we could have waited to put it on our registry. Yes, we could have crossed our fingers for a perfect condition hand-me-down. And yes, we could have purchased a cheaper model. But, after much research (we're talking hours and hours), and many recommendations (from colleagues to my hairdresser) we found the one we wanted and then we found a Babies-R-Us coupon and we put the two together and are now the proud owners of a Chicco KeyFit 30 in the "cubes" pattern. It's a pretty cool car seat and if I were a baby, I would feel pretty happy about it. With-two toned grey fabric that features mod rounded cubes, this seat has an uptown feel. It's not baby-ish and it's not cutesy. It's simple, clean and modern: in fact, I can see a baby sipping virgin martinis while reclining in the seat.
But hey, hey, not only is this seat good lookin', it's safe. In fact, that's the main reason it inched out the Peg Perego, our other front runner. The Chicco KeyFit has the highest safety rating of any infant car seat on the market. After reading a bazillion reviews, we also learned that owners of this seat tend to like it a lot. While we were at Babies-R-Us this weekend, it was by far the most common car seat used by parents in the store. I politely interrupted the shopping of several of them to ask how they liked their Chiccos. They were all thrilled, not a bad review in the bunch. And, I must say, their babies looked pretty content too.
My only concern with this car seat was that I had read a few reports indicating that the fire retardant chemicals used in the fabric of some of the KeyFits caused some pretty scary skin irritation for some babies. I despise icky chemicals, so I was a bit reluctant. I am not sure exactly which chemicals are the culprits and on which models they prey, but I am hoping that this is a problem that Chicco has addressed and remedied. We also chose a car seat that had a much different fabric than the other Chiccos they had in stock. My fingers are crossed that we don't encounter this problem with our new seat.
The hlighlights of this seat are endless. As I mentioned before, the biggest draw was its saftey ratings. The cherries on top include the following:
- While the actual seat has some heft to it (you will certainly tone your biceps carrying this seat), it is extremely easy to install. I know this because we installed it twice, with no problems. It's also easy to get in and out of the car.
- It fits small cars, like out Honda Fit. Our Fit is certainly petite, and we are tall, so our front seats are set back. Despite this, we were able to snugly fit the car seat behind the passenger seat. It certainly had more room in the middle seat, but we both thought this location was less convenient, as it left less room for storage in the car.
- The base of the KeyFit 30 features a unique, easy to pull LATCH tightening system. This really simplified the whole LATCH installation drill. The base of the seat also comes with a slick little leveler and green indicator that clearly lets you know if your seat is resting properly. We did not need to tweak the leveler at all, because the base rested perfectly on our seat.
- The car seat is made for babies weighing between 4 and 30 pounds (or up to 30 inches long). It features a newborn insert for wee ones under 11 pounds. Due to the recent weight increase, many parents have shared that their babies remianed in the seat far longer than they expected. One even had a petite little girl who is still riding in her seat at 10 months!
I hope this seat proves to be every bit as good as we've heard. I loved the look and feel of the Peg Perego, but I've heard more bad than good. I'm excited for the baby to come so that I can tell you how it works out for the little turnip.
As I mentioned above, we found our KeyFit at Babies-R-Us and used a $20 off coupon from their weekly circulation (we printed it off the always-amazing FatWallet.com) The savings weren't huge, but considering the safety features, at $179.99 the seat was fairly priced to begin with. I will keep my eyes open for future deals on the seat and post them here.
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Hi Christina! We live in Minneapolis, MN - so we experience the hottest of hot and the coldest of cold. Our little girl has not had any trouble overheating in our Chicco. We have been thrilled with the seat.
Hi again Jessica! We ended up getting a lightweight stroller that was, unfortunately, not compatible with the Chicco. So we ended up getting a Baby Trend Snap and Go to help transport her. It worked just fine, although it's not nearly as nice as a stroller. I have heard great things about the Chicco Cortina and it seems like a great stroller. Good luck!
Thanks for all the info. I also purchased the Cubes for my baby due in October. My concern is the complaints of baby getting sweaty and overheating. The material felt different on the Cubes pattern so I am hoping this one doesn't have those issues. Do you live somewhere that gets hot and do you have any issues? I would appreciate any info.
Me again! May I ask what stroller you paired with your Chicco car seat? (Was it the Cortina?) Sorry for picking your brain so much. Thanks again! :)
Fantastic!! Chicco Cubes it is! (It feels so good to Finally have a decision made! I've been struggling with this for a while.) Thank you soooo much, Alicia! :)
Hi Jessica! The Keyfit has been GREAT for us. The car sear does not produce any odors and Ayla has not reacted to it in any way (and she has pretty sensiitive skin). The cubes pattern seems to use a different material than some of the other Chiccos out there, and I would highly recommend it. Good luck and congratulations!
Hi! We're expecting our first in January and my car seat research is pretty much mirroring yours. The Chicco Keyfit 30 seems to be the best safety-wise, but I'm also concerned about those few reviews noting chemicals/a smell/rashes, etc. How has the Cubes pattern worked out for you? Did it have a strong smell or cause any problems? Thanks so much for this great blog and congrats on your beautiful daughter!!
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