One of Those Mom Things I Get Passionate About
I never expected that when I became a mom, I would get so passionate about things like diapers (Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, Target brand???), wipes and car seats.
But seriously. I am totally that mom.
If I ever see a mom buying Pampers or Huggies at Target, I ask if she has ever tried the Target brand. I then proceed to tell her they are amazing and she must try them.
{Ahem}
When it was time for Elias to move from an infant to a convertible car seat, I did a ton of research to determine what seat could stay rear-facing for a long time, was safe and comfortable. Despite the fact that many friends recommended Britax (and I originally thought that was the way to go), after doing a lot of research, I landed on the The First Years True Fit convertible car seat
Elias at almost one in his True Fit car seat
Three years later, I can say without question we made the right choice.
So when it became time for Adeline to get a convertible car seat, I was thrilled that The First Years offered to send me their True Fit Premiere Convertible Car Seat
Adeline in her True Fit Premier at 15 months, and Elias peaking in his True Fit at 4 years old
And it is even greater than Elias’s seat because it offers a new technology called the Rebound Energy Management system. This is a flip up rebound bar that actually helps manage the rebound in case you are ever in a car accident. Pull the bar forward and it snaps in place with your rear facing installation and flip it back with you move to the forward facing installation.
I can’t say enough about these car seats. Here is a list of why this seat is so awesome:
- It can rear face up to 35 lbs. and forward face up to 65 lbs. I strongly believe in rear-facing until at least age 2. Check out this post about the benefits of keeping your child rear-facing longer.
- It has a 5-point harness (while this is standard in many car seats, you don’t see it as often when kids get heavier and move to different seats). This is such an important safety feature!
- It has a headrest that can be removed when the seat is rear-facing. This is the only car seat with a removable head rest, which translates to more leg room for the driver or passenger in the front seat.
- The belt harnesses can be adjusted without having to rethread them.
- The seat is very comfortable, with padded seats that are layered. As the child gets bigger, you remove the pads, but even with the minimum, the seat is very cush. It literally offers more padding on all areas of contact for the child.
- The seat cover easily unsnaps for cleaning and it washes well
- The seats all have deep side wings and are all side impact tested to International Standards.
- While the overall size is comparable to other competitors, the internal dimensions of the seat are wider and deeper, which allows for a better fit for your child. We have a Britax for Adeline in our secondary car and you can definitely tell a difference in how she sits in that vs. the True Fit seat.
- The seat is very easy to install – I especially love that when you put the seat belt through the back, it locks in place. The True Fit premier has a 5-star rating for ease of installation.
- The price is great.
So if you are looking at convertible car seats, I urge you to consider purchasing a First Years True Fit Premiere Convertible Car Seat
Are you one of those moms passionate about certain products/brands for your kids? I’d love to know I’m not alone! 🙂
We also rear-face my 15-month-old and I love our decision to do so! We already had a convertible seat, but it didn’t rear face so we bought another. Once he’s at least 2, we plan on using it but we love ours! (Not the above listed brand.)
On a side note, we buy Pampers because the off-brands do not work as well for us and Huggies always make my son (and many other kids I know) break out in hives. Yuck! But hey, we did try the Target brand!! 😉
At least you tried it. 🙂 Well done on the rear-facing! So important.
I don’t know if I would rate myself as “Passionate”, but I had NO idea that diapers would have such a range of quality. My daughter was 6lbs 15oz when she was born and it was shocking how much in the first week I learned about some of these diapers having an amazing lack of absorbency. LOL Store brands (walmart comes to mind although we never tried Target) were TERRIBLE. We stuck with Pampers almost her entire way through her Pull-ups stage.
What do you use for Elias now that he has outgrown the First Years True Fit?
Sorry if that wasn’t clear – Elias is STILL in his First Years True Fit. 🙂 If you look closely in the picture featuring Adeline you can see that his seat is the same. We have been so, so happy with it.
I love seeing the picture of the two of them in the car, so sweet! We have a Britax and have loved it. It’s very plush and since we go on long rides and car trips I always liked knowing my baby was cushioned well.
Why do I feel like all the blogs I read are turning into one big advertisement? I understand you like your freebies but I won’t be sticking around to read any more product placement posts.
Hey Avery, I’m so sorry you feel that way. I actually do far fewer reviews than I used to do (only a few a month) and genuinely only feature products that I LOVE (like the First Years car seat – if you do a search, you will find that I have written about it several times over the years). Honestly, a few times I have received products that I thought would work well for our family, but because they didn’t, I sent them back/let the company know I couldn’t cover their product. I don’t share products that don’t resonate with me/I don’t believe are a fit for the Mom Creative community. I really keep readers in mind when I agree to product reviews.
There are definitely products I couldn’t do without, but each of my babies have been so different that it seems it has changed with each one! Carseats and strollers are big for us, though.
What a cutie! I am such a brand loyal person myself and love it when I find something that just seems to work! So happy that you found the perfect seat for your family! xo
Writing tips for Baby Shower gifts soon and this is a great idea!
Totally! 🙂 Thank you!
So really finding a brand you love and then you swear by it. What I love writing a blog is the exploring I do for my family and then sharing it.
You know what I love? That you have brands you love and a platform that allows you to share your passion and experience with other moms and dads… so many of us rely on the people we trust (like you) to share those experiences to guide us when we aren’t sure where to go or which brand might work for us. I know I don’t talk about many brands on my site either, but when I do, it is always because they are an organic fit for me and my family – they are something I love and/or have always used. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I was at the store looking for a convertible carseat last weekend. My daughter is about 20 pounds, so the baby carrier is getting small! Thanks for the recommendation. I will check it out.
I am off to the store tomorrow to try the Target brand diapers. I tried the Walmart brand and didn’t like them, I used huggies with my first because they seem to run small to me and she was a preemie. With my second baby I have been using pampers because they seem to be more true to size and she was a full term baby so they seem to fit her better. But, I always love a cheaper deal if I can get it.
I have a carseat for my oldest but will remember this when I need to change from a carrier to a carseat with my youngest. Thanks for the review.
We used Target diapers for awhile with our twins, and then they stopped working for whatever reason! But it was great while it lasted! Now we use Walgreens brand diapers, and they’re amazing! When my husband came home with them one day, I kinda got all snobby and thought, “Really? Walgreens diapers?” Love them, and often they have a buy one get one half off sale!
My oldest has always had super sensitive skin so we stuck with Huggies diapers for her, ANYTHING else would send her into an eczema flair! We still use Aveeno BABY soap on her skin and she’s 9 now! As a result our youngest (he’s almost 6 now) got the same brand loyal treatment.
As for car seats, both of our children were large babies and finding seats to accomodate them was tough. We did keep them both in 5 point harnesses well past their 4th birthdays. Our 9 year old is still in a back less booster because she’s very small for her age now, even though TN law says she can get out of it. Our almost 6 year old is in a high back booster. I think too many people rush to get their kids out of car seats. We’re sticklers for them!