Best Car Seats For Infants and Babies

While convertible car seats work well for children who are growing but an infant seat is best car seats infant for infants. They are also lighter and easier for you to clip into strollers than their larger counterparts.

CPST instructor Kecia Healy liked the Chicco KeyFit's spring-loaded recline foot and bubble indicator on the base, as well as its ease of use (the more user-friendly a car seat can be, the more likely parents are to set it up correctly). The model can also be used with three across in many midsize vehicles.

1. Clek Liing Infant Car Seat

Clek, an Canadian manufacturer, is renowned for its top-rated convertible car seat. The infant Liing is among their top infant seats. It is fitted with best-in class safety features including a steel load-leg and a simple installation. It also comes with 7 different recline positions that can be adjusted to suit the slope of your car's seat. Plus, a simple bubble indicator makes it easy to ensure that the seat is at the right position before your child rides in it.

The base of the Liing is easily installed with the help of LATCH connectors that slide into the lower anchors of your car which makes it easier to secure the seat. The Liing is a great option for families that plan to switch cars frequently or want a simple, reliable way to install car seats for their infants. You can also use the belt-tensioning system included to buckle your child.

One of the features that makes the Liing apart from other infant car seats is its two-piece Newborn Support System. This includes an upper insert that slips over the crotch buckle and an attachment for the head that connects to the harness to prevent newborns from slumping or bending their heads while in the seat. This is an important feature for babies and preemies. It's also among the few rear-facing infant car seat best car seats that provide this level of support.

Another great feature of the Liing is its metal crash-test frame, which can reduce crash forces by up to 40 percent compared to other infant seats. The shell of the seat is bolstered by EPP foam that protects your child's head and body during a crash. The seat's base has an aluminum load leg that absorbs energy, and also assists in reducing crashes.

2. Chicco KeyFit

This is a top-rated infant car seat. It's easy to install, easy to use and can grow with your child. It can also be used with strollers to create an overall travel system.

The KeyFit is a good pick for parents looking for an easy-to-use, secure and versatile seat. It scored high in crash tests and is light and easy to carry. It also offers a broad range of weight and height limits. It was also designed with the comfort of babies in mind. The click-in point has soft materials around it so your baby isn't burned by metal, the newborn insert also has an enclosed head-skirt to protect their heads, and the seat pad that babies sit on is surrounded by cushions that absorb energy for comfort.

Installation is very easy. It is crucial to install the seat correctly, since a mistake in installation can increase the risk of injury. The KeyFit's top connectors for LATCH and a SuperCinch tightener ensure the safety of your child's seat while requiring only minimal effort. The base also has a ReclineSure leveling feet and two RideRight bubble-level indicators to ensure that the vehicle's angle is correct. For alternate installation clear belt routing, lock-offs and the seatbelt of the car make it easy to place and tighten.

The rethread harness height adjustment is a feature prevalent on many Chicco seats including the original Keyfit model. This means you have to remove the harness and manually re-thread straps from one slot level to another, which takes longer than non-rethread adjustments. But this is still an acceptable trade-off for the ease of use this seat provides.

3. Joie i-Snug 2

The lightweight Joie i-Snug 2 infant car seat is built to the highest safety standards. It features a no-rethread harness and is compatible with Joie strollers that use Maxi-Cosi style adapters. It's simple to use with clearly labeled installation guides and built-in bubble levels that aid with alignment. The car seat is comfy, with plenty of padding. It has a nice canopy that shields your baby from direct sunlight.

The iSnug comes with an ISOFIX vehicle base that allows a secure vehicle attachment. It can also be used in conjunction with an appropriate stroller to create an entire travel system. This rear-facing infant seat offers maximum cervical and head protection for newborns. The exclusive Tri-Protect Headrest is equipped with a layer of Intelli-Fit Memory Foam to shield your child from collisions with the side.

You'll need a new infant car seat once your child reaches the weight and height limits or their first birthday. After that you can upgrade to a convertible, or an all-in-one car seats, which allows children to be rear-facing for longer and is more secure for them.

A convertible car seat is larger and more spacious than an infant seat, and also has a higher weight and height limit when facing backwards. It's a good idea change to a convertible seat as soon as possible to avoid your child from growing out of it too quickly. In certain instances, parents can even transition their child to an all-in-one car seat, without ever needing to purchase a new car seat for their infant. It's therefore important to choose the best car seats for newborns convertible car seat for newborn seat for your family and yourself. Our extensive guide will provide all the information you need to make an informed decision.

4. Nuna Pipa Aire RX

The Nuna Pipa Aire RX is one of the most highly-rated infant car seats because of its safety, light weight design and the flexibility. It can be installed using rigid lower anchors on outboard seats in most vehicles and is also equipped with a vehicle seat belt that utilizes Euro routing (which utilizes pretty much the entire length of the vehicle's seat belt to ensure an extremely secure installation). It also comes with an organic GOTS baby insert which is a great choice for parents who are environmentally conscious and want to use organic products for their child.

The Pipa Aire RX weighs only 6 lbs. without the canopy or inserts. It's one of the lightest infant car seats on the market. This is due to the revolutionary Aeroflex foam, which is extremely light but incredibly durable, reducing the force transferred to your baby in a crash. Other security features include the five-second steel-reinforced True Lock base installation, side-impact protection and a multiposition steel stability leg that has an area of crumple to limit forward rotation for enhanced rearward-facing security.

The ergonomic aluminum handle is light and luxurious, adorned with leatherette accents to provide the perfect grip and an ideal option to carry the bag. A magnetic buckle holder keeps straps clear when buckling your child in and color-coded indicator for installation ensures the correct connection. The low-profile base enables easy, super-fast loading and the open belt path with locks that secure shoulder and lap belts.

Parenting can be messy But cleaning up doesn't be a chore. The inserts and fabrics of the Pipa Aire RX can be cleaned by a machine to ensure that your car seat appears as good as it did following each use.

5. Nuna Pipa Urbn

Nuna's PIPA air Rx and PIPA Rx car seats are excellent choices. But the newly launched Pipa Urbn is a step beyond. This ultralight infant car seats is extremely easy to carry, weighing less than 7 pounds with the canopy and insert attached. It also has a luxe, user-friendly design that includes useful features such as magnetic buckle holders to keep straps clear while you're buckling baby in and a green/red indicator to ensure the installation is secure (we wish all car seats had this! ).

The unique pipaFIX technology allows it to be used without a base, unlike the Pipa RX or other base-compatible PIPAs that need a base to be installed. This makes it the ideal choice for parents that frequently use rideshare, taxis or travel.

Like other Nuna products, the Pipa Urbn is designed with environmentally-friendly materials that are free of added fire retardant chemicals, and is GREENGUARD Gold certified. These green-friendly materials include a Merino wool and Tencel branded lyocell blend headrest, as well as a machine washable, water-resistant body insert and cover.

The main drawback of the Pipa Urbn is that it has an upper weight limit for rear-facing children of 30 to 35 pounds, so you might have to upgrade to a convertible car seat sooner than other brands. It's still a great choice for babies. This car seat is travel infant car seat system-ready and pairs seamlessly with all of Nuna's strollers--just click it on or connect via the rings adapter.