Graco Nautilus 1 2 3

Bought a Graco Nautilus 123 C car seat in July for our toddler due to be 2 end October. He escapes the harness with worrying ease, leaving the 5-point belt harness just secured at his waist (we re-secure him but often its a matter of gritting teeth and a prayer as our record is 12 stops on a 10 mile journey. Today however, disaster - he's figured out how to press and release the clip to undo the whole harness. We looked over shoulders to find him facing the boot! You'd laugh except it just makes me burst into tears because of the realisation that I cannot protect him. Urgently looked at Graco website and American system has a secondary harness higher up, then googled 5pointplus which then advised this is outlawed in Europe - hence no sight on UK websites of a secondary cross clip. However, that is as nothing to this afternoon's events: as he managed during one shopping trip to Tescos managed to unclip the buckle 5 times. The horror when we turned around to check on him to find him facing the boot of the car on his knees. What the hell do we do now! Help please. Our car is no longer safe. It's just another playground.

The Graco Nautilus 1-2-3 Car Seat. Suitable for 9months to 12 years.

I recently had the fantastic opportunity of testing this new car seat from Graco - and here is my review!

Opening the box - First Impressions
Don't you just love new equipment for your kids! Such a guilt free buy too - they need it. And so great when it's a fab bit of kit like the Graco - Nautilus - flexible, durable, super safe and protecting and it will last years. 12 in fact! Divide the cost of the seat of the 12 years - what an investment.

So - getting it out of the box - recruited hubby for the heavy work- he glances at the instructions - makes a few deft gestures and few clicks and voila its assembled - that was very pain free.

First impressions - its roomy, has extra padding for little ones, a cup holder - WOW and little storage pockets in the arms. Looks like the cover will be easy to remove for washing, absolutely essential. I can see just how this seat will adapt to suit from 9months onwards, it has lots of adjustment in all the strap fittings to make sure it's exactly the right safe fit, an extra head rest for when they get really big and quickly transforms to a backless booster type seat too.

Very impressed with the extra pack of instructions - hope this is standard - for a seat to last 12 years spare instructions are a must.

We made sure the straps were at the right height. Crotch strap is also adjustable so that's another good point. All in all takes about 5 min's even with a little one helping - great!

Fitting - it was easy to pass the seatbelt through, plug in and lock in. Seriously - a big plus here we often need to move car seats to relatives cars for days out etc. So all nice and secure -fitting tight against the back seat easily.

Generally I found the seat was wider than other seats we have used and although doesn't recline as far as some does easily recline for napping.
There is a button to release the straps for getting in and out and you just pull the belt to tighten back again. The shoulder pads are not too thick either so will definitely suit older children too.

Overall we found the Graco Nautilus to be:
•Easy to assemble and adjust to child's size
•Simple and quick to fit into all the cars we tried
•Comfortable and roomy for LO plus the nifty storage extras
•True to description with plenty of adaptability for children from 9 months to 12 years.

I have been fortunate enough to receive the Nautilus to review. I have been very impressed with it. It is perfect for longer journeys as it has a handy drink holder which was useful with my middle son (age6). I was looking for a car seat that would suit my lil one for years to come. That is exactly what you get this model. It suits 9months to a whopping 12 yrs. Therefore it will see Erin through to the age when we are at secondary school and not requiring car seats (a scary thought when she is only 9months old at the mo!).

The nautilus was very easy to fit in our Touran, it's very secure. It has a five point harness for little ones and can then be adapted for older ones as they grow. It has side impact protection - hopefully which I will never test but you never know. It has a recline handle for when lil one sleeps on longer journeys.

The seat is aesthetically pleasing and was certainly comfy as verified by my lil one, Dylan 6 and Chloe 10! Pleasing for me is that the cover is machine washable - I'm sure that will come in handy over time.
I think it offers great value for money."