The BEST car seat
/Little did I know how quickly our little Jacob would outgrow his car seat! When they say overgrowth disorder, they really mean it! At 7 months old he is the average size of a 12-18 month old weighing in over 26 lbs and 31 inches long. Which meant it was already time to find a new car seat.
I did a ton of research and even asked parents on our Facebook BWS group about which car seat would best accommodate his accelerated growth. If I was going to spend the money on a new car seat, then I figured might as well make it an investment and buy one that will grow with him (hopefully).
We looked at several choices. I knew I wanted a convertible one, but even the convertible car seats didn't have much higher weight and height limits for the rear-facing position. It is much safer to have him rear-facing as long as possible, especially since he is under 1 years old. So the research began. A few I had on the list were the Graco, Maxi Cosi, Recaro, Evenflo, Britax, Peg Perego and Diono Radian.
In looking up reviews, I noticed how many people raved about the Diono Radian. I decided to take a look at the car seats in person at Buy Buy Baby before making a decision. The first thing I noticed about the Diono Radian is how much less bulkier it was than the others. This was actually one thing I liked because I have a smaller SUV. It also had the highest weight and height limit that I could find on the market.
This was a huge plus because if there was going to be a car seat that would last us through his growth spurts, then this would be the one! It also has the SuperLatch system which makes installing this car seat much easier with one click and an easy release button. Much easier than our latch system with the Graco model. Last, it had a very high safety rating with steel reinforcements inside the car seat (huge plus).
The size difference between the Diono Radian and Maxi Cosi
All in all the Diono Radian was the way to go. There were several different types of models to choose from, and all had similar features. The big difference I noticed between the two Diono models was the fabric. I like the fabric texture on the Rainier model better, and the head rest is also adjustable.
We went with their newest model the Rainier because the rear-facing weight limit was a whopping 50lbs versus the RXT which had a rear-facing weight limit of 45 lbs.
Rear-facing 5-50 lbs and 44"
Forward-facing up to 90 lbs
Booster up to 120 lbs
Max height 57"
Graco Infant Carrier
"Mom I'm a little squished!"
Graco Infant Carrier on mybwsbaby.com
Diono Radian-Rainer Model
"Thanks Mom, I'm so much happier now!"
Diono Radian - Rainier model car seat on www.mybwsbaby.com
If you want to take a closer look, here is the description on Amazon. It is definitely not the cheapest car seat out there, but I know it will last us a while. And it's worth paying for the extra safety features.
1. Diono Radian Rainier
2. Diono Radian RXT (our second choice)
3. Angle Adjuster
I might look into purchasing this because it would give us more room in the back seat.
Here is the Diono Radian Website. They have a comparison chart to show the different models and features for each one.
Diono Radian Car Seat Comparison Chart
