When I was pregnant with my first son, Jack, I bought one of those infant bucket seats. It didn’t occur to me to get a convertible seat that would grow with him; the convertibles didn’t seem comfy for a newborn. Before he turned one year old he grew out of it. I finally bought a new one when I found myself pushing him into the seat to buckle him in. I bought the cheapest one from Target and figured that would last him. I didn’t really think about the future. It was cheap and it fit.
When my second son, Exley, came along I bought another infant bucket seat. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me! He outgrew it even quicker than my first son and I needed to buy a second car seat within 6 months. Turns out convertible seats are perfectly comfy for newborns and they even throw in some cushions to make mommy feel better. Infant bucket seats, in my opinion, are completely useless.
As I did more research on car seats and Jack got taller than I ever thought he would (why are us moms in such denial that our kids are going to grow?) I discovered that rear facing is the safest position for a car seat. I decided I wanted to keep my sons rear facing as long as possible. Turned out Jack was just a few pounds under the rear facing weight limit for the seat he was currently using. Oh joy, I get to buy yet another car seat.
I did my research on car seats that had the highest rear facing weight limits. There aren’t many. I was drawn to the Diono Rainier because the rear facing weight limit is 50lbs. It’s forward facing weight limit is 90lbs. And finally converts to a booster up to 120lbs. It also has a unique space saving design where the base is much smaller than other car seats. This provides more room for mom or dad to sit next to their child.
The Diono Rainier also has deep side walls for extra side impact protection and an aluminum reinforced headrest with 12 height positions. It has the SuperLATCH system that makes installation much easier (no more bloody knuckles and howling of curse words). It folds flat and has straps for traveling. The Rainier sits low on the vehicle seat for easy child boarding.
I have two Diono Rainiers in my life. I have one in my Ford Edge and one in my mom’s Ford Focus. These cars vary greatly in size. The Focus being quite small and the Edge quite big. It fits in our Edge without moving the front seat forward. In the Focus the seat needs to be slid forward, but both my mom and I have room to drive.
Diono offers many resources for their customers including Youtube videos about installation and proper use. The Rainier is a great seat. Both my 3.5-year-old and 10 month old are comfortable in it. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Just buy this seat and skip all the other ones in between. You’ll save a bunch of money. It’s the only one you need.
I had the pleasure of meeting the CPST (Child Passenger Safety Techinician) at Diono, Allana Pinkerton, and we shot a little video for you! It’s worth watching!
Check out the Rainier and other seats on Diono’s website and follow them Facebook!
Abby Theuring, MSW
