I love my Element. It is roomy and wonderful and the easy-clean floors are perfect for having kids. But there's one problem. The back seats are set so far back, it makes rear-facing car seats nearly impossible to load baby into. (And out of.)
See how the seats are actually behind the door frame of the car back there? To get Myer in and out of a rear facing convertible car seat, I'd have to climb in there and maneuver him out. (There's plenty of room to climb in there and do that, but it's a hassle none the less.)
Right now, Myer is in an infant seat that detaches from its base. This has been GREAT because I can just pull the seat from the base and set it on the floor of the Element to get him out. Like this:
It's the perfect height. This has been awesome for me because I use my sling rather than a stroller, so I have just been able to pop his seat out the base, set it down on the floor, unbuckle him, and throw him in the sling and go. When I come back to my car, the seat is sitting there waiting for me to put him back in. Easy Breezy.
However, Myer is now much too heavy for me to carry around in the infant seat, plus the airline lost the LATCH strap for the base, and that car seat is old and a piece of it has been recalled, so it is definitely time for an upgrade.
We obviously wanted to get a convertible seat, since babies are only in the infant seats until they are one year old. For us, this means no more detaching carrier, though, so I can no longer set it on the floor of the car to load and unload Myer.
Hmmmm. Problemo.
Enter the Combi Zeus. It's a car seat that rotates 360 degrees on a solitary base for easy loading/unloading. It's convertible, so when your child is big enough to switch to a forward facing car seat, you just turn it on it's base and you're good to go.
I haven't received the seat yet, (I'll write more once I do) but I can see how the rotating feature will be great while Myer is still rear-facing. I will be able to get him in and out easily and even flip him around while we're parked if he's fussy or needs something.
***edited to add: HERE are photos of the car seat in action- it's awesome!!***
