Inconvenient, but very safe
Written: Nov 03 '02 (Updated Jan 13 '03)
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Pros: I'm a believer - this is a safe seat!
Cons: Adjusting the straps when this seat is rear-facing can be a chore.
The Bottom Line: If you want to keep your baby rear-facing past 20 pounds, this is a safe and sturdy option.
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| evans_mom's Full Review: Eddie Bauer Booster Seat |
I wrote this review a few months ago when we bought this car seat. I was (and am) disappointed with how difficult it is to adjust the straps, as the straps seem to constantly twist. HOWEVER, recent events have made me more a believer in this car seat.
We were in a car accident on New Year's Day. Our car was very heavily damaged, but the baby barely woke up! This car seat, big, bulky, and frustrating as it is, protected my little guy perfectly. In fact, the emergency response personnel on scene commented on what a sturdy seat it was. They also commended us on having our baby rear-facing even though he is over 20 pounds. According to them, we likely saved our baby from what could have been a serious neck and back injury. The ability to have a larger baby rear-facing was why we bought this car seat, so I was glad for the decision.
My complaints about this carseat remain unchanged (the twisting straps are a constant irritant), but this seat did its job when it counted most. I'll put up with all the annoyances in the world if it keeps my little guy safe.
I've left the rest of my review intact below, and you can assess for yourself whether this is the seat for you. Based on my scary experience, though, I have changed my position on this seat. Despite its problems, I would now recommend it to anyone who is looking for a seat to keep their larger baby rear-facing through the first year.
Here's what I had to say before:
"I have a bigger baby (18 pounds at 4 months!), and with winter setting in, his infant seat was not working for us any more. We were attracted to the Alpha Omega because it is rear-facing to 35 pounds. We don't want to have our guy face forward until he is a year old, so this seemed like a good choice.
"Unfortunately, this seat has proven to be a disappointment. We purchased the new version with the UAS system (a.k.a. LATCH - the easy way to attach it to your car). Our car doesn't have the LATCH clips in the seat, but we figured we would want to use this seat for a while. Now I'm not so sure.
"Installing the seat was pretty easy, but adjusting the harness when the seat is rear-facing is pretty impossible. The two straps are never even - one is always looser than the other. Plus, tightening the straps involves one hand behind the seat and one hand in front to try to adjust the thing. It is quite the undertaking. This process is compounded by the fact that the straps twist constantly.
"I will say that the adjustment process is very easy when the seat is forward-facing. For the next 8 months, though, my husband and I are just going to have to deal with trying to adjust this thing when it's facing the back. (Kind of disappointing, as the main reason we bought this seat was to use it rear-facing to 35 pounds...)
"Another disadvantage is that this seat is very large. We have an SUV, and this seat could not be installed behind either of the front seats unless they were moved forward. The car seat fits in the middle position, but just barely. In a smaller car, I just don't see how this could work in the rear-facing position.
"Because the back of this seat is so high, it is very difficult to see the baby from the front seat, even after setting up two baby-viewing mirrors.
"Getting the baby in and out of this seat is also a challenge. Once he's in, he tends to tip forward when he falls asleep, even though we have the seat in its most reclined position.
"I will say that the seat is very nice-looking and sturdy. Once we actually get our guy buckled in and the straps sorted out, I feel that he is secure. Sometimes that process can take quite a while, though, and even the most accommodating baby will eventually have something (loud!) to say about all the fiddling.
"Perhaps I'll have better things to say when I can turn the seat around, but as a rear-facing seat, I cannot recommend the Alpha Omega."
I can now add that this seat did what it was designed to do. The high back that is so hard to see around was critical in absorbing the impact of our crash. The fact that it was so big forced us to put it in the middle of the backseat, which turned out to be another factor that saved our baby from injury. Somehow, these "faults" don't seem so bad anymore.
One last note: after talking to the emergency response guys, I will definitely be keeping by baby facing the back of the car until he is at least a year old.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 110
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
evans_mom
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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