How Comfortable For The Baby Is The Uppababy Mesa
Its very comfortable inside the UPPAbaby MESA seat. So comfortable, in fact, that our baby kept falling asleep nearly every time we started driving when testing the seat.
A thick layer of padding and the soft fabric make for a very comfortable and safe cocoon indeed.
The MESA works for babies of all size. The area around the neck and head received extra attention with a soft and cushioned fabric. The infant insert is also very soft and cozy. Its perfect for preemies and small babies from 4 lbs .
The UPPAbaby MESA harness is very comfortable as well. The dual clips will keep your baby snug and tight while reducing strap friction around their neck. Its one of the best systems that we reviewed.
The chest clip comes with soft padding to keep your baby comfortable while the crotch buckle doesnt cut around the thigh.
One thing that we wished UPPAbaby would improve, however, is the length of the MESA canopy. Its about average but, like many other car seats, doesnt extend far enough to fully cover your babys legs. Even with the flip-out visor, it still falls a bit short.
The canopy does, however, come with a hard storage flap to keep the materials out of the way when not extended. It also makes the seat look neat and tidy.
Consider Your Car Model
A lot of parents arent aware of it, but some baby car seats are actually incompatible with certain cars.
Whether its due to the way seat belts are positioned or the shape of the cushions, this can lead to incorrect installation of the car seat. And thats obviously a safety hazard!
You have a number of options here.
First, you can ask the vendor or manufacturer of the car seat youre checking out whether or not theyve tested the car seat in question on a car of the same model as yours.
Second, you can check reviews online to see if others with cars like yours have installed it in their vehicles successfully.
What Is The Safest Car Seat For A Newborn
The safest car seat for a newborn is one that meets strict federal safety guidelines and is designed for the baby’s current size, height, and weight. Because an infant car seat is one of the most important investments parents will make, it makes sense to research various models, check out recent car seat reviews, and ask a pediatrician for guidance.
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Understanding Optional Safety Features
Some infant seatsincluding two of our picks in this guidecome with an anti-rebound base or a load leg, added safety features that can improve the seats performance and stability in a crash. Both features have been popular on infant seat models sold in Canada and abroad for years, but they have only recently become more common in the United States.
An anti-rebound base, also known as an anti-rebound bar, is a metal bar built into the foot-end of the seat base, which rests flush against the vehicle seat its designed to help decrease the car seats movement. In a front-impact collision, an infant seat moves forward and down and then rebounds back, potentially sending its passenger face-first into the back of the vehicle seat. The anti-rebound base can minimize that rebound effect.
A load leg is a metal pole that connects from the base of the infant seat to the floor of the car, making the seat more stable and absorbing some of the impact of a crash. Load legs can be installed in mostbut not allcars. So before you buy a seat with a load leg, youll want to confirm that your cars make and model can accommodate one. And you should find out if theres a particular position in the back where it should be used.
What Is The Law
Safety standards and regulations for minors differ between states, but in all regions, the safety of car passengers below 16 years of age is carefully outlined. Some states, like Colorado, are happy for children between 8 and 16 to use only standard seatbelts.Others, such as Delaware, have booster seat requirements, and the law prohibits children under 12 from sitting in the front passenger seat unless the airbag has been deactivated entirely. For the most part, all states expect infants, babies, and toddlers up to the age of four years old to be in an appropriate child car seat children up to eight are required to be strapped into a booster seat and those over the age of eight must wear a regular seatbelt. There are some variances in terms of height and weight across states, with some specifying offenses and fines as well.
Some states give more detailed rules, for example, adding to the regulations about child car seats for 2-year-olds: children that are 2 years old and younger should be in rear-facing seats, while others only expect this of little ones under a year old. Make sure you know what is legal in your state.
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Choosing A Car Seat For Your Newborn
If your car seat budget allows the purchase of two car seats within a year or so, an infant-only car seat is likely to provide a better fit for most newborns. The measure of convenience these seats provide is invaluable for some parents.
Check the car seats labels to ensure your baby fits within the weight and height guidelines for the seat you intend to buy. Once purchased, take the time to learn how to install the car seat tightly and properly. Youll need to use the manufacturers instructions for the seat as well as your vehicle owners manual.
Keep your child rear-facing when riding in the car until they are at least 2 years old. Most kids will become too tall for their infant seats around their first birthday, at which time they can move to a convertible seat. However, authorities like the AAP advise that kids should continue riding in rear-facing for at least another year before turning forward-facing.
All infant car seats should only be used for traveling and never for eating, sleeping, or playing outside of the vehicle.
Whether you start with an infant-only car seat or a convertible car seat, the most important thing is to choose a car seat that fits your baby and your vehicle.
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Uppababy Mesa Safety Ratings And Crash Test Results
Weve said it before: every car seat sold in the U.S. meets the minimum Federal safety standards. BUT, it wont help you if your car seat isnt installed properly. Its unfortunate, but weve seen too many parents install their infant seat incorrectly, thus putting their baby at risk in case of an accident.
Often times, parents install their car seat improperly because they cant tell precisely if its at the right angle with the road.
The UPPAbaby MESA addresses that problem head-on. Just like the Chicco KeyFit 30, its mostly thanks to a simple but very effective and well-designed car seat base.
The MESA base, that comes bundled with the car seat if you purchase it on , has a few special features that will help you safely secure it to your car every time.
It starts with the inclination level indicators. Two small bubble indicators, one on each side of the base, help you see exactly what the proper installation angle should be. Its simple but very effective. We wish all the other infant car seat manufacturers would include something similar on their own base.
In addition, the MESA base also has a tension indicator window to tell you when the LATCH connectors are properly installed. The base will tell you when the LATCH system is sufficiently tight to ensure maximum safety.
Its as simple as that! These two simple features help you make sure that the MESA base is correctly installed every time. No need to think twice or worry about it.
Helpful note
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Best Seats For Extended Rear
Consumer reports best car seats here but when youre looking for extended rear-facing car seats then top infant seats include:
- Britax Römer DUALFIX i-SIZE, £375
- Joie Verso, £225
- Recaro Zero 1. Elite, £495
- BeSafe Izi Modular i-Size and base, £430
- Joie 360 Spin car seat, £240
- Cybex Sirona M2 iSize, £210
Recommended infant seats include either an ISOFIX, in-car base or car seat belt to fit the car seat into the cars, as mentioned above.
When you have multiple babies then narrow infant seats can allow you to squeeze three car seats in a row. The NUNA Pipa car seat is a safe narrow car seat when you need to squeeze babies into the car.
Further Reading Recommendations About Uppababy And Infant Car Seat Safety
Weve used several authoritative sources to help with our review of the UPPAbaby MESA. We recommend that you read them if you want to learn more about car seat safety in general. These are also great resources if you want to understand a particular aspect of child safety or want to stay up-to-date with the latest research.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Child Passenger Safety Board have excellent in-depth resources on car safety for children. We recommend you start there:
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Car Seat Safety: What You Should Know
Its important to be aware that there are many car seats available for you to buy, marketed at different age groups by different brands. Its best to use a car seat that matches the size of your child, and fits well with your vehicle.
If you have a two-seater car or truck, it should be common sense that these are a big no-no for your children. Make sure you have a car that is safe and has a set of seats at the back to provide added protection for your child. Not doing so can be considered a major breach of the law, and cause other disastrous results for your family .
Always inspect your car seats for rips, tears and breaks, and make sure that theyre covered by the federal and also state seating standards. Remember, higher price doesnt always correlate to a safer car seat make sure that your child fits the seat comfortably as this is directly linked to safety.
Car safety is something you cant take lightly and based on the statistics to our right, it only reinforces the point. Too many lives are unnecessary taken away each year from families dont be a statistic.
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How Long Is The Chicco Keyfit 30 Good For
Wondering how long is your Chicco KeyFit 30 is good for? Just check the back of the seat to find its expiration date, its stamped on the actual seat.
The KeyFit 30 is good for 6 years from the manufacturing date.
Important to Know
Infant car seats have an expiration date. You should never use a car seat that is passed its expiration date as the safety of your child will NOT be guaranteed.
Always check the label on your seat to make sure that its still good to be used. You can also read this article to understand why infant car seats expire.
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Recommended Car Seats Based On Your Childs Age And Size
The NHTSA shares an image showing the overlap between the recommended car seats by age and size. This is why its difficult to choose the car seat based on your childs age.
The AA discusses Regulation 44 in relation to child restraint groups based on weight rather than age.
So lets look at the recommended weight and size of each car seat group.
Choosing A Baby Car Seat
Its recommended to buy a baby car seat before your baby is born if possible. Its important to buy a seat that fits your car and is suitable for a newborn.
If you have your baby in hospital or a birth centre, you will need the car seat to drive your newborn home safely. Its a good idea to practise fitting the seat before your baby is born.
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What Do You Mean By Tracking
Every visit made to BeSafe.com is tracked and stored anonymously. This means that we can look at information from site usage and analyse the content.
BeSafe does so to create a better service and user journey. For us to give you the best possible experience when on the site, we need to understand what we can do better.
You can compare this to for example a museum where visitors walk around looking at the exhibit. The person in charge of positioning the art pieces notices that very few people are visiting one of the exhibit rooms. He analyses the visitor movements, and takes action. He puts up a sign leading visitors into the room, and the problem is solved.
For us its the same. If we have an interesting article or product that you could be interested in, we need to understand how we can guide you in the right direction.
To get a better understanding of who visits the site, we also track different data, like what country and city a visitor is in, what age group he or she belongs to and what articles or products that person is visiting.
This and similar information can not identify you in any way.
Important! If you do not want any website to track you, it is possible to do so in your browser settings.
The storing of this kind of tracking information is often referred to as cookies. For a full list of what cookies BeSafe.com uses, you can for example search for our domain at this page.
Peg Perego Primo Viaggio
With Peg Perego, youre looking at the high-end of baby gears. The Italian brand is well-known to produce luxury car seats and equipment. They are expensive, but you get premium materials and fabrics and stylish design with a long-lasting quality. Our review of the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio shows that the car seat is no exception. It would rank number one on our list if it wasnt for its premium price.If you have the budget, go for it. You wont be disappointed.
Best stroller for the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio infant car seat: the Peg Perego Booklet 50 Travel System. The Book Pop-Up stroller is absolutely beautiful and maintains great resale value years later, so you can easily sell it on eBay if you want.
Here are all the other stroller combinations possible with the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio car seats:
| Stroller Brand |
|---|
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Should I Use A Convertible Seat
Convertible seats are designed to protect kids:
- from birth up to at least 40 pounds facing backward
- up to 65 pounds or even 80 pounds facing forward, depending on the model
Convertible seats are placed in different positions depending on a childs age and size:
- They face toward the rear until a baby is ready to face forward .
- Then, they can be turned around and converted to a forward-facing seat.
Some car seats are known as all-in-one or 3-in-one because they convert from rear-facing to front-facing to booster with the harness removed.
Convertible seats:
- are heavy and not very portable
- should be used only for travel
- can be economical because you might not need to buy a separate infant-only seat
- are a good option for larger babies who outgrow their infant-only seat and still need to be rear-facing
If you use a convertible seat:
- Make sure it fits your child correctly. A small child in a large seat may not be the best option.
- Dont use a model with a tray shield for newborns. The shield comes up too high on them. In a crash, the babys face could hit the tray.
How We Got These Results
We surveyed thousands of parents in the Pampers Community and asked them to choose the products they love the most, and to share their views on specific products and product categories. Based on the survey responses, we have taken the top product picks and added our own research to create this article. The aim is to help you choose the right product for you and your family. We might receive commissions on purchases made from the links in this article, but the products featured are the Pampers Communityâs top choices.
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Figure Out Which Type You Need
There are several types of baby car seats you can pick.
The most common categorisation splits them up into 4 options: infant car seats, convertible car seats, all-in-1 car seats, and booster car seats.
Its pretty easy to figure out when you need an infant car seat. These models are for infants and can typically support only babies up to 16kg.
Infant car seats are also usually rear-facing ones. Most recommend switching to forward-facing configurations only after the child has turned at least 2 years old.
Booster car seats, on the other hand, are generally for children 5 years and up. Most people consider booster car seats to be for those who weigh 22kg and up, and who have outgrown their baby car seats but still need some assistance to sit in a car.
Convertible car seats are among the multipurpose car seat types. Thats because they can be converted to suit either an infant or a toddler.
All-in-one car seats are similar but even more adaptable. They can actually be converted for use by either infants or children already of age for a booster seat.
Obviously, the multipurpose options on the list offer the most value. You may be wondering why people dont just pick them by default then.
Thats because theyre usually heavier and quite a bit clunkier than the less adaptable versions. Theyre also more expensive upfront, in most cases!