The First Years Via Infant Car Seat Review! @TheFirstYears

If youre searching for the perfect car seat, look no more! Ive found it in The First Years Via Infant Car seat. It is true love, let me tell you.

With Emma, my first baby, a travel system was gifted to me and so I never really did any shopping around or comparing of different car seat features. I accepted that car seat gratefully. But now that Im more savvy to the different types of baby gear out there, I know that that car seat wasnt the best. It did its job in keeping my baby safe in the car, but it wasnt padded well, had more of a sharp chair-type angle in the seat than a comfortable recline, and it was heeeavy!

My baby boy due in January is going to have a completely different car seat experience with the Via Infant Car Seat. Check it out:

This car seat is made for both safety and comfort, something that makes me very happy. The inside of the car seat is made up of cushy padding including a head rest and removable car seat strap covers, and underneath that is yet another layer of foam padding. LOVE! I know that this makes a difference because I tested this out on a friends little boy who cries every time she puts him in his car seat. We put him in the Via and he didnt make a peep, just looked up at us contentedly. Now that, folks, makes a mommy glad she did her research.

The seat has a nice comfortable recline, and can be rocked back and forth to soothe baby.

More excellent features of this car seat include:

• Super easy one-hand release of the car seat from the base (SO nice!)
• 5-Point harness system with easy adjustment
• Wipe-clean padding
• Six handle positions including recommended position for maximum safety when on the go
• Easy base height adjustment

• An expiration date printed on the bottom of the car seat (helpful!)
• A built-in storage place for instructions
• Two separate LATCH points for extra security and control

Five-Star Safety Rating!

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given this car seat a 5-star rating for safety, overall ease of use, securing the child, and installation instructions. It has a higher overall rating than any other infant car seat on the list! See the list for yourself here.

Other Important Stuff:

Weve established that this car seat is one of the safest available and has some impressive features. But how about the day-to-day usage? The questions moms have are:

– Is it easy to buckle and unbuckle?
– Is it a beast to carry?
– Is it a pain to detach and attach to the base?
– How long will my baby be able to use it?

Let me answer those now. The car seat is happily very light when detached from the base much lighter than my previous car seat (praise God!). The one-hand release lever on the base is awesome. One pull and it is detached and were on the go. Love it! The car seat handle is easy to grip and has a curve to it that makes it easy to bear the weight and normally awkward feel of a bulky car seat. The 5-point harness system is a cinch to buckle and unbuckle quickly, not a hassle at all.

I also love how easy it is to clean. We had many spit-up messes and other accidents (Ill spare you the details) with my last car seat and I absolutely hated trying to get every nook and cranny clean again. With the Via, all padding easily comes out and is wipe-clean. Then, you just snap it back in place no re-threading of the harness necessary!

This car seat is made for babies 4 to 22 pounds and is to be used in the rear-facing position only. More safety features and information about the Via Infant Car Seat can be found here at the Learning Curve website.

My Verdict:

I am very happy with the design of this car seat. The only feature I wish they had added is the ability to snap it onto shopping carts for an easy shopping experience. I was a little surprised when I realized that feature was missing since so many car seats include it. Still, it will fit into the bed of the shopping cart, or theres the option of babywearing which many moms do while shopping anyway. So its not that much of a con for me. And honestly, the car seat surpassed my expectations in every other way!

There is nothing else I would change about this car seat. If youre looking for a safe, comfortable, high-quality car seat to bring baby home in, I highly recommend The First Years Via Infant Car Seat!

Buy It!

You can purchase The First Years Via Infant Car Seat at the Learning Curve website for $159.99. It is also currently available at Amazon.com in Cappuccino for $108.99 right now!

The Via Infant Car Seat is Compatible with The First Years Indigo and Wave Strollers.

Giveaway Closed

Thanks to the awesome people at Learning Curve/The First Years, one of you will win a Via Infant Car Seat!

{Prize} The First Years Via Infant Car Seat ($159.99 value)
{Eligibility} Open to the United States only.

{Mandatory Main Entry } Visit The First Years and tell me in a comment another product that you would like to own.

Optional Extra Entries Get 1 extra entry for each unless otherwise noted:
(Leave a separate comment for each extra entry!)

• Like The First Years on Facebook
• Follow The First Years on Twitter
• Add my Maternity Event Button to your sidebar (it can be found in my lefthand sidebar)
• Like my Kindred Spirit Mommy Facebook Page
• Tweet this giveaway (daily tweets available!) You can use the Retweet button in the top right corner of this post if you want.
  
• Stumble/Digg/Share on Facebook (1 extra each)
• Add my button to your sidebar
• Follow my blog, Subscribe to my blog by feed reader, and/or Subscribe to my blog by email (1 extra each)
• Follow me on Twitter (@kindred_spirit)

Giveaway will be closed on October 20, 2010 at midnight PST and winner notified by email. Winner will then have 48 hours to reply to my email or I will have to re-draw another winner. Good luck, everyone!

I received a Via Infant Car Seat from The First Years so that I could share my thoughts and experiences with you. This post is 100% my own opinion and written in my own words, and was not edited or reviewed by anyone. I do not feel obligated to write a positive review Ill always share my honest thoughts on products.

Im shopping at