Erin's new ride!

We got Erin a new car seat the other day. Babies R Us was doing this gear trade-in event, where if you bring in something old and crappy, you can get a voucher for 20% off something new and shiny, so I thought that was a great idea to go ahead and get at least one of Erin's car seats that way. We had this crappy old booster seat from which the straps were missing so we couldn't harness her in it. We traded that in, and got 20% off this beauty!! It's a Graco Nautilus, which is a high-weight-harness car seat. It'll harness her to 65 pounds, and considering she just hit 40 pounds at six years old, that means we'll probably have her in this seat until she's 8 or so. She'll be in it until she outgrows it, that's all I know, and that'll be a while. This seat goes normally for $180, but we got it for about $150 with our discount. You can't beat that.

It's a huge seat, which is why I didn't go with it for the car right off, because in the car, now she and Orren both sit by windows, and there's not enough room between them for a third car seat. In the truck, however, she can fit in this, Orren in his Britax, and there's still more than enough room for a third seat in the middle so when we have another baby, they'll all fit without a problem. For the car, we've got to get her a Radian eventually, but right now, we're happy with our Nautilus.

I have realized how spoiled I've become with car seats, though. To be blunt, with Orren, we've used expensive seats from expensive brands. Our infant carrier is a Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP which sells normally for $280. Our car seat that he ride in now is a $260 Britax Diplomat. Those two seats spare no expense, and they just feel expensive. The straps feel nice, the clips feel nice, the way they adjust is easy and luxurious. This Graco Nautilus is a well rated seat, which is why I bought it, but it's no Britax. It's hard to get used to the fact that the straps feel kind of rough, and they get twisted more easily, and that the clip feels so light weight compared to a Peg Perego or Britax clip. I'm not worried about it because, like I said, the seat has excellent ratings, and that's all that matters. Plus, Erin will only use it for maybe three years. For Orren, though, we're going to buy a Britax Regent for the truck because honestly, he'll be in that seat for the next seven years, and Thak and I both agree that Britax just feels sturdier.

So Erin loves her Nautilus, and the ratings are good, so obviously it'll keep her safe. Plus it's cute. What little girl doesn't love a pink seat with butterflies on it?! That's all that matters right now. I'm just REALLY glad I didn't buy this seat when she was 2, with the intention of using it for 6 years or so... But Erin thinks her seat rocks, and I'd never tell her otherwise.