Car Seat Questions

Baby should be at least a year old AND at least 20 pounds to be forward facing. It is so much safer to have them rear facing.

The forward-facing rule is that the child must be 1 year AND 22 lbs. So, you've got a few months of rear-facing to go. Also, please check your infant seat for the height requirement as well as the weight requirement. Many infant seats only go to 25", which most 7 month-olds have surpassed.

I highly recommend Britax carseats. Their convertible carseats are rear-facing and forward-facing, and some go up to 65lbs, so it's really the only seat you'll need for a long, long while. We have a Marathon and I've had no problems with it whatsoever. They aren't the cheapest option, but they are the safest.

The rule for forward facing is at least 1 year and 22 lbs. However, I've seen several "expert" comments that say rear facing is safest until the child is 30 lbs. I personally switched my little boy around when he turned 1 and he was about 25 lbs. He outgrew his infant carrier pretty early, and then I put him in the convertible Britax roundabout. We also have the Britax Marathon, which goes up to 65 lbs. (both are convertible). Like another mom said, they aren't cheap, but they are so easy to use and are the safest thing out there!

hi J.!

we JUST went through the same thing with our daughter. i did a whole lot of research and actually asked on here too, and we found a wonderful convertible car seat by cosco; its the alpha omega elite 3-in-one. we got the bella print which is cute pink & chocolate, but they have choices for boys too. so far, emma really likes it. there were some people that said the crotch strap was too short, but emma is not super petite and we haven't had any problems with it. (i honestly think they just didn't have it adjusted right.) its covered with really soft fabric and its nice and cushy (with memory foam stuff, i think). it has arm-rests and a cup holder. and i really love the fact that it has a sort of lumbar support in the seat for her back. the seat is rear facing up to 35 pounds. from everything i've read, our babies need to be rear facing until they are 20 pounds AND 1-year-old. then it's front facing up to 40 pounds and then can be used as a booster until 100 pounds. emma is 9 months old (on the 5th!!) and at least 20 pounds (she hasn't had her check-up yet, but she was 18 lbs at 6 months). like i said, i did a lot of research and this one was my favorite. it's very highly rated in safety and almost everyone that has this seat gave it very high reviews. its $159 at babies-r-us. there is another really good seat by britax, but its well over $200, and i liked this seat better. you can go look at it at:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=240131...

i know this was a long email... but i hope it helps you!

good luck!
S. (emma's mommy)

Sad but true, as the other mom's say you need to wait until little guys is at least 1 year old and 20 lbs. (20 is what my pedi. told us) My daughter is 16 months and still does not meet the weight requirement.

I too recommend the Britax. The seat is not cheap, but it is by far the safest and my daughter LOVES it!

I was in a car accident recently and after one son took off his belt he was ejected from the car. The other boy was untouched and in a Britax. I bought two more. Yes they are pricey but I will pay whatever I have to to make sure my kids are safe! I did find one on sale at www.albeebaby.com It goes up to 65 lbs!! They just changed the law about waiting til 8 yrs old to get out of a car seat. So I plan on using this one forever. Plus it fits in an airplane which not all carseats do. And it is rear facing as well so you can use it now. I think I paid $210 no tax and free shipping. They usually run around $259?? I think plus tax at Babys r us. Hope this helps, if you need more info or can not find the website email me back. L.

J.,

The safest car seat out there is the Britax Marathon. I have 3 of them and would not by anything else. Also leave your son rear facing until he is at least on year old. The rule of thumb is !year AND over 20 lbs. But they need to meet both requirements. Best of luck.

M.

Your baby is too little to turn - check the height/weight limits of your individual seat and you'll notice it lists those but also says AND the baby has to be AT LEAST one year old. You'll want to get a convertible seat for him. I really like the Britax seats but the Gracos are ranked well, too, and they're more affordable.

This CPS gal has really educated me about car seat safety. Here's a cut and paste post of hers - I'll include the link to the board where tons of mamas are discussing car seat research:

Here's the page that shows spinal development to start with, let me get more and edit:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&a...=

Here's The Carseat Lady's page: http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_seats/rear-facing_seats...

And CPSafety: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

And Car-Safety.org: http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Basically, you want to rearface to the limits of the convertible seat. That is either 30, 33, or 35 pounds and when the head is about even with the top of the seatback. For most kids, that's at least age 2. There is NO danger to the legs when they touch the seatback, and if it hurt my 4 year old (she was in a Britax Marathon and not 33 pounds till she was 4.5) would have told me about it

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

And the board where Julie posts is on www.babybargains.com message boards. Scroll down to find the board called Places to Go: Carseat Safety. http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&a...

Good luck and don't turn that baby forward-facing for a while! :-)

Andi

We made the switch to the Graco Comfortsport and love it. It has all of the features we wanted, very safe ratings, and still very affordable. We bought it when he was about 9 months old and used it rear facing, and moved it to front facing at 1 yr, as he was well past height and weight requirements. Definitely one to check into. We got ours on clearance at USA Baby for $88. It was a discontinued print.

They make carseats that will face both rear and forward. Here's a link to the kind I'm talking bout.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3932603

I used this type on all 4 of my kids. By the time they out grew it it was time for a booster.

Finding the right car seat has been the most time consuming endeavor for us! We also did a lot of research with both of our seats--the infant and the convertable. In the end we chose the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite for our daughter. Its a mid priced seat but the research I found indicated that it is quite safe. My daughter loves hers, and I have found it very easy to use and install contrary to some of the consumer reviews I read. If you are on a tight budget like I am, but still feel like you pay for what you get (meaning some of the cheaper seats might not be as safe) this might be a good choice for you. Check it out and see, we bought ours at Babies 'R Us, but they are sold pretty much everywhere. You can buy this seat and use it as a rear facing up to 30 pounds (I think)--we bought ours after our daughter was over 22 pounds and 1 year so she never used it rear facing. It can also be used as a booster up to 100 pounds. Hope this helps!

Britax REGENT is awesome!!!

This will make you reconsider forward facing your child until you absolutely have to......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI&NR=1

I think the SafeGuard Child seat is a fantastic option, too.

It doesn't have the weight limit of a Britax Regent, but this booster has a teather and 5 point harness. http://www.elitecarseats.com/SafeGuard-Go.pro

The carseat is really amazing, but it is very pricy. Again, better than a Briatax, but more expensive with a lowerweight limit that the Regent. http://www.elitecarseats.com/SafeGuard-Child-Seat.pro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a5Q6aoqZsQ&NR=1

still turn him backwards in his new car seat until he's at least one, or walking.... even though he's past twenty pounds his neck muscles aren't strong enough to face forward until at least 4+ more months. my older son didn't walk until he was 16 mos and weighed about 27 lbs, and we turned him forward once he was walking... he was big facing backwards, but our doctor had us wait to make sure he was strong enough & could really hold his head in case of accidents. we have always used britax and they are the best- yes, they are pricey, but well worth the money. i believe there is a britax with a 5-point harness that goes up to either 60 or 80 lbs so you'll use it for years. i would not skimp on a car seat- get the best you can for his safety. how exciting that he's getting so big! both of my boys were out of their baby infant carriers before 7 mos b/c they were such big babies :) good luck!!

We love our Alpha-omega. It has now seen us through 2 children and I am sure the it will see us throught the 3rd as well. The batrix I belive is the only one that you can use the 5 point harness until they are old enough to be in the car without a carseat though and I think that would be nice. Our 2 year old is an escape artist and can get himself out of the Omega.