Car Seat Is Too Small

I love my Britax Marathon. It is both rear facing and forward facing and in fact my son started sitting in it at 4 months and is still stitting in it now forward facing at 3 years old. It is expensive but worth every penny.

I know exactly how you feel. My son outgrew his infant carseat right at 4 months. I now have an Eddie Bauer Convertible one that goes from infant to 100 lbs. I wish I had gotten it first. I got the Evenflo Triumph and it was a waste. My son was 30 lbs and too tall for it by age one. Plus it retained to much heat in the summer. Hope that helps.

We have the Evenflo Triumph and haven't had any problems with it. We used it rear facing and are now using forward facing. The straps are a little tricky but once we figures out how to tighten and loosen them they are a sinch. We looked into the Britax but according to Consumer Reports, the Triumph is just as safe and once we outgrows this one, we are going to move him into a booster.

The Britax Marathon is the one that is so much bigger and you can start using it rear facing now. It was recommended to us by an inspector where we had our car seat installed.

http://www.britaxusa.net/products/detail_marathon.aspx
Rear Facing:
5 lbs. to 33 lbs.
Forward Facing:
1 year old and 20 lbs. / up to 65 lbs.

The Marathon is also one of many Britax products renowned for its ability to keep your child in a harnessed restraint up to 65 pounds.

Unique features including a patent-pending rip-stitch tether - reduces G-force effects on the head and body in the event of an impact, a sculpted base, push button release LATCH system with patented Versa-Tether®, and built-in vehicle belt lock-offs, make a tight installation in your vehicle quick and simple. The tangle-free polyester 5-point harness helps to effortlessly secure your child every day. The Marathon™ also offers a patented HUGS™ system, belly pad, and a plush & washable seat cover for that ultimate comfort experience for children rear-facing from 5 to 33 pounds or children forward-facing from 1 year old and 20 to 65 pounds.

Ahhhh yes, the tall child.... My ds grew out of his bucket baby seat at about 4 months so I know your pain. :) We got a Graco convertable at that point; however, those only last until 40 lbs (I forget the height limitation) so we had to buy yet another car seat -- the Britax Regent -- several months ago.

The Regent is soooo much sturdier and safer than the Graco ever was. Chunks of the Graco styrofoam lining was falling out before we replaced it. The Regent is good until 80 lbs and until the child's ears are even with the top shoulder strap (or something like that). It's the only car seat that keeps them in a 5 point harness that long. Very safe!!

Looking back on it, I wish I had just gotten the Regent at 4 months. Yeah, it's big but it's way way safer. It does fit in my teeny car no problem though. It's more expensive, but had I just gotten the Regent and not the Graco, I would have saved about $90.

Also, please keep your child rear facing until at least one yr. People will tell you (some peds even) that with a tall child like ours you should turn them around sooner so they won't hurt their legs. If you do some research on it, as I did, you'll find that this isn't true. Even if it were, a leg injury is much better than a head injury any day.

We had an Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 convertible for the past 3 years. Now he's in a Britax Regent. I wish I had gotten that 1st!

Try one of the 3 in 1 convertable seats. That is what we have used for our 27 inch 25 pound 8 month old.

Walmart.com has some convertible car seats at reasonable prices, & they can be used rear facing.

I do not like the Graco Triumph. My husband has it in his car. My daughter has been in a Britax Roundabout since she was 5 months. It is great. Easy to use and easy to install. It is expensive but well worth it. If you take it to your local firestation they will install it for you. You would be amazed at how many car seats are installed wrong.

Hi J.,

The Evenflo Triumph DLX is the best!! It is a larger rear facing car seat that reclines and then when she is old enough, you can use this forward facing as well up to 40 pounds. My daughter loves hers (she is 2 now) and we travel well with it too. Wal-Mart and Babies R Us both have this car seat.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=245227...

Good luck!

-Char

i love my britax but they are pricy. it is a convertable and rear facing up to 35 pounds. but i recently bought a 3 in 1 carseat. it is rear facing, upright and a booster for when he is old enough to use the seatbelt in the car. it was about 200. but it will last for a long time. they have lots of 3 in 1's at babies r us.

Ihave two 95%ile plus boys and we went to the BRITAX at 4 months. My youngest is 2 1/2 and uses the britax boulevard comfortable. We also have the wizard (not made any more) and they are both great.

We don't usethese convertable ones for my oldest...4 and very tall as he is just too big.

You will really enjoy britax at the younger age. Plus they are super safe.

Good luck!

we to had the same problem with our son. We have two of the Cosco Alpha Sports from Babies R Us and they are great, we also have an Evenflo Triumph and that one is nice also but I like the Cosco just a little more. Go to Babies R Us and see look at all of your options that what we did.

We have the alpha omega and we LOVE it. I would probably like the batrix more because you can keep it as a 5 point harness until they are old enough to go withouth a booster.

Many of the convertible car seats accommodate babies from near birth onward and are designed to face forward and backward. For example, the Evenflo Triumph Convertible Car Seat holds 5-40 lbs., Graco ComfortSport Convertible Car Seat holds rear-facing infants 5–30 lbs. forward-facing for 20–40-lb. children less than 40" tall. There are lots of other seats to choose from but these were the first two examples I saw on Target.com.

Good luck!

Honestly, most any convertible car seat should work for your situation. I have long babies too, so with this last one I bought the Graco Safe Seat, which is a pumpkin seat but it holds up to 30 lbs, and 32 inches. But, unless you know you will be having more little ones, you may not want to buy another infant seat, so just look for a seat that says is can be used rear or forward facing and you should be fine. Good luck in your search! ~A.~

My 5 month old son outgrew his at 4 months our Peg. seat only went up to 26 inches. I went ahead and put him a Britax Marathon and I love it. The only problem with that is he was not sitting up so I made it difficult to go anywhere with him. So I borrowed an infant carseat from my friend and left it in the back of my vehicle. It was a Graco and went up to 32 inches long. I am not sure of the name, but look on the website they list all the carseats and height limits. You could probably still use yours just to take her places if she is not sitting up yet and buy a new one for the car. Good Luck!

We've used our Britax through two children. We like it because it's a five point restraint for up to 65 pounds.

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