First – the babies are getting so big and doing so well!!! I am more in love with them as each day passes – and can you believe they are going to be six months old soon??!!
Quick question for you all – we are going to need convertible car seats soon, mostly because little Sugar is getting big quickly! I am assuming we will need four – yes, four convertible car seats – because they are too bulky to take in and out of the vehicles??? I drop them off at daycare and DH picks them up…
So, is it your experience that they are too bulky to take out every time? Also, consumer reports gives the evenflo triumph a very good rating – any of you use it? One of the britax received a good rating too – but if we are buying four, britax is out of the question at about $300 a piece!
Meinsideout 
very interested to see what responses you get here. we just put convertible car seats in two weeks ago. we ended up going with the first years true fit b/c baby bargains gave them good reviews and said they wouldn’t break the bank. they were right. i think you can get them on amazon right now for under 150 including shipping and free returns. so far they’re good.
….we only got two for now. i think we will end up getting two more, but will wait until our schedule changes a bit. this semester b is doing pick ups and drop offs.
and i totally agree about the britax ones. who can spend more than 1k on car seats???????
btw: thanks so much for the sleeping advice. we were already doing some of the things but not being as consistent with them as what we should have been. 🙂 it’s just nice to get other people’s view and help on these “delicate” matters, lol.
we have one convertible car seat. here’s the fun part. we don’t actually own a car! this means that our convertible car seat (chicco i believe) is constantly being put in and out of cars. fyi it is convertible in the sense that it goes from newborn to 18 kg. i find it very quick to take out and put in. that’s not a problem at all, but VERY heavy to carry especially when I am also carrying the baby. it is heavy, awkward and bulky enough that i can no longer take a taxi by myself. when we had her first delightfully small car seat (a hand me down or else we would have gone with a convertible one right away) i could easily take a taxi and then walk to whereever with her and car seat. now that both she and car seat are bigger and heavier that is no longer an option and i bus it everywhere when i am travelling alone with her.
bottom line – easy to put in and take out. not easy to carry.
We have three Britax convertible car seats — one for Bean and then two for the twins. I can’t speak to taking them out and putting them in, but I do love this car seat. My mom bought one used from Craigslist for when Bean is in her car, it was $80. And I just found a new Britax Roundabout on Amazon.com for $150 so I snagged it. Just an option if you did have your heart set on a Britax. Good luck with your search! 🙂
Britax is the way to go. We purchased the Evenflo Triumph for both of our younger kids because of the cost. And you know what? Then we bought Britax when they were too big for the Triumph. So the Britax will cost you more money up front, but the seats will take your babies until age four and beyond. Specifically the Britax Marathon. My sister just told me that Target has several on clearance this week. Albeebaby is also a good site for Britax sales. Another site (that gives part of it’s sales to a good cause) is http://www.hipmonkey.com/ If you’re not picky about the print or the color, certain colors go on clearance. Again, you’re spending more money now, but less money later. The Britax that goes up to 50/60 pounds will hold your child safely for years and years. My DD1 is almost five, 32 pounds, and we just moved her from a Britax Marathon (needed it for the baby) to a Britax Regent. My son is seven years old, 42 pounds, and in Britax Regent. They are just top quality seats that will last for years and years because they have such a high weight and height parameters. Let me know if you have any other questions! The Regent has been discontinued (and also is not suitable for rear facing) but the Marathon is an excellent choice. We have two of those. There is also a Roundabout, I believe.
I bought the Triumph when A was a few months old and she used it until she was 2? (She’s tall – out grew it)
We bought a Britax last year.
You can probably find the Britax for fairly cheap if you shop around.
Wow! Six Months!!!
Buying more car seats makes me cringe. We just spent $360 on the infant car seats. And a stroller at the same time… ugh! Maybe something to ask the inlaws for, since it will be around Christmas. lol!
Seriously, six months is just amazing though!
My parents have the Triumph for carting around various grandchildren, and we have the Evenflo Symphony 65. They are pretty simliar, with the Symphony being slightly more expensive, but it will also last up to 65 lbs with a 5 point harness, then up to 100lbs as a high back booster. If you’re worried about growing out of a Triumph, that is probably a cheaper way to go than Britax.
Hello again, I wanted to mention that if you contact Albeebaby.com or Hipmonkey.com personally and mention that you will be purchasing four car seats at once they will probably give you some sort of discount.