Monday, February 22, 2010

The Great Trade In

Over the weekend, Bree got a brand new car seat. Babies R Us (Toys R Us) was holding a promotion called, The Great Trade In. By trading in an old car seat, stroller, or high chair (just to name a few), you could get 25% off of a new car seat, stroller, high chair, etc... Sounded like a pretty good deal, and we knew that Bree really needed a new car seat. The one she had just wasn't working out.

When Bree turned a year old, it was time to move her from the baby carrier to a forward facing car seat. At the time, we were flat broke, but somehow managed to fork out 60 bucks for a car seat made by Evenflo. It was possibly the cheapest car seat one could by:
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I'm still trying to figure out how it passed inspections, because it would tend to tilt 3 inches on either side when going around curves or making turns, and the seat just didn't seem to be padded that well. I always thought that if we ever got in a wreck, Bree would probably get hurt. The thought of that alone scared the crap out of me.

So we browsed the car seats, amazed at how luxurious these things were. I don't remember any car seat of mine ever being so nice and fancy with little gadgets attached. My booster seat consisted of a plastic seat with a plastic arm wrapped in foam that came down across my lap. These new booster seats that were being displayed were nothing like that. They had arm rests and cup holders!

Have you seen the new Safety 1st Air Car Seat?
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I wish this thing wasn't 250.00 or it would be sitting in my back seat right now!


We spent about an hour or so in Babies R Us before we finally decided on something. The sales guy talked us into getting this car seat:
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It's a 3 in 1 Convertible car seat. So, if we ever decide to have another baby (God forbid), we can re-use this car seat as an infant seat too, and instead of having to go out and buy Bree a booster seat when she gets to that age...this seat converts right in to one! As you can imagine, Bree is feeling pretty good about herself now that she's got a bangin' new ride. She does love it, and I do love it a lot more too! It has more padding, and best of all...it doesn't tilt at all! Plus, it makes the back seat look bigger. Bree was pretty ecstatic about the cup holder. She couldn't wait to put her cup in it!

Thats what we were up to this weekend, what about you?
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

It drives me nuts at how many choices there are for carseats! I remember buying them and my head would spin.

There should be just 1 and it is a great one for all kids so that everybody has the same great and safe ride!

Katherine said...

Oh man, isn't that Safety 1st car seat awesome! I wanted that one, too. We ended up with an Evenflo Triumph Advanced, which I'm really happy with. Ethan is still rear-facing, but it's a convertible seat, so we'll get a lot of use out of it.

That car seat looks all pretty and comfy...I bet Bree is loving it! It'd be nice if they made buying car seats easier.

Ian said...

Chilled and went from Level 5 pissed down to zero on Saturday till Sunday night. Was good times. Glad you were able to get a good deal!

Salt said...

Obviously I haven't spent much time looking at car seats since I don't have a child yet, but I didn't realize they were so fancy!! When I was a kid, I was probably strapped to a piece of wood in the back of the car.

I'd be excited too if I were Bree. It looks comfy! I wish they made an adult version.

Anonymous said...

I love my convertable Brittax carseat. Spencer used his Snug Ride until about 6 mo and then we switched to the convertable. We did a lot of research prior to getting it. Best money spent on our kiddo! My Mom uses the Evenflo Triumoh and it is also really great.

Samantha said...

@ Salt....car seats now are so incredibly fancy. They have improved a lot in the last 20 years. I wish I had a fancy one too! :)

Melissa said...

Nice upgrade and that's a neat promotion thing!

Our current carseat is pretty awful. It works well, but it is falling apart at the seams (literally).

Hopefully next year (or maybe in two years) we will be able to get booster seat and upgrade. For now, we will just settle for our carseat that is falling apart.

Christina said...

looks cool. I hadnt seen that "air" one. Are those supposed to be like airbags on the sides?

Brandy@YDK said...

what a fancy car seat. I bet bree is totally digging it.

we have the true fit.

Confessions From A Work-At-Home Mom said...

Geez, girl, that is the Cadillac of car seats! Bree will be riding in style (and comfort)!

~Elizabeth
Confessions From A Working Mom

Pandorah's Box said...

Looks like a fancy new ride for a sweet little girl!

AWesome that you feel better about it now! xoxo

Menopausal New Mom said...

What a great idea to trade in your seat like that for a discount. yes, there are some nice car seats available, I always have one seat ahead because when my step grandchild comes to visit each summer, she is 16 months older than my daughter so I always buy the right seat for her visit and then it's ready when my daughter grows into it. I have a nice plush booster seat in the attic ready and waiting for this April when my daughter turns 4 and is the right height to use it.

Unknown said...

Ok see I grew up in the era that car seats were not required. I had nothing lol. So when my kids came along my mother was like a kid in a candy store looking at all th gasgets and gizmos they had..

Shandal said...

Dang that Safety 1st one looks FANCY. BUT so does the one you ended up getting too! My girl is about to turn one so it's time to get a new one for her. We're also going to have to get a new booster seat for our son too. I wish our local Babies R Us was doing that trade in deal too!