Best infant seat

I loved this infant seat. The Snugride has great crash test ratings (although every seat sold in the US meets the US crash test and other safety regulations) and is a very safe seat. It is SO easy to use. Very simple to install, it snaps on and off the base easily. My favorite part about this seat is that it can be used without the base. We never had to and it is much easier to use it with the base, but in case of an emergency, I felt that it was a good feature to have in a car seat.

This seat is fairly lightweight, especially compared to most of the newer models coming out. The newer models, including the newer Graco model offer higher weight limits for baby which is supposed to make the seat last longer. First of all, both of my children outgrew their infant seat by height far before they outgrew it by weight. Second, even before they actually outgrew the seat it was WAY to heavy to carry around with a bigger infant inside of it. My vote would be to get the lighter infant seat and then buy a nice convertible seat that will be much more comfortable for the baby and easier for you. Many of these new “step” versions of car seats offer a higher weight limit infant seat, and then you step up to a convertible that CANNOT rear face. Personally, I prefer to keep a baby rear facing for as long as possible. If you google rear facing you will find countless articles & studies proving that rear facing in a vehicle is by far the safest possible place for your baby in a crash. They are much less likely to sustain head and neck injuries that are the most likely causes of death for a child in a crash. And, what is the number 1 cause of death for children? Car accidents.

Back to the seat.... There really isn’t anything bad to say about it. The harness doesn’t tangle easily like some other seats. They buckles are very easy to use (why they make difficult buckles for an infant seat, I don’t know...because a newborn can unlatch them? Seriously?). The cushions in the seat come out easily to clean & the fabric cleans up very nice. I did not use this exact seat, but bought the cheapest EPS foam Snugride that I could find in a very neutral color. I used my seat with my P3 Peg Perego stroller and it fit inside of it very nicely.