Car Seat Recommendation - Watertown,MA

I had the same exact issue with my son. Get the Britax "Decathalon" it is the only one the will recline, and face backwards and then face forwards and still recline and you will have it forever. It more than pays for itself.

I know you like popping it in the stroller, but you are probably better off getting one of the carseats that can be rear facing, but then forward facing and takes them all the way through until 60lbs or whatever. Otherwise in 3 months you have to dish out more $ for another carseat. Good Luck!

Since she's 9.5 months, forget about trying to use the car seat in the stroller. She doesn't need that anymore! Just put her in the stroller (although it is a bummer if she's asleep). We got a Britax Marathon for rear-facing at 9 months, then moved to forward facing at about 14 months. Very easy to use once I learned how to install it and adjust straps. Fisher Price Voyager (?) (I think that's the name) is made by Britax for FP, but less costly. We got that one for the grandparents car. It's not quite as good and comfy and easy as Britax, but still very good value. I think we'll be using the Marathon for years. It's weight rating is higher than some other car seats.

Have you thought about a Britax marathon? they are expensive, but last for the rest of your child's carseat years. my daughter is 6 (always been on the tall side too) and still fits in it. it can be rear facing, and then it can be turned around for forward facing as well. it is comfortable and gets high safety ratings. it won't work w/ your stroller, but once they grow out of the infant bucket seat i don't think any do anyways. the britax is pricey, but we love it, and it lasts forever!
good luck
L.

I had the same issue with my son who is 29inches at 9 months as well, you have to go with the convertible car seat the a goes rear facing, then will go forward facing at a year old. Unfortunately, you cannont use the csrseat with a stroller anymore, you just leave it in the car and buckle the baby in and out, but it is much quicker. I have the graco triumph, but it is comparable to the britax marathan, good luck

I would recommend just going and getting a Britax convertible car seat (most recommended by Consumer Reports). We put our daughter in it at about 9 months rear facing, then just switched it around when she was just too long. The rule is 20 lbs. AND 1 year old, although they now say that as long as they can fit comfortably, the longer they are rear-facing the better. In the rear-facing position, the car seat takes the impact in an accident. We switched our daughter front-facing at 15 months when we realized she was having to prop her legs up on the seat to stretch her legs!

You're not going to be able to get a carseat that you can put into a stroller anymore. She should be ready not to need that anyway. She's heavy enough now that carrying her in the carseat still is too much anyway! If you need a way to carry her, I would recommend a Baby Hawk. Coming from someone with a heavy baby, the Baby Bjorn was awful for my back. I can even carry my 39-pound older daughter in it!

Anyway, she's ready for the convertible and it will last her until she needs a booster (around 4 years old)!

Hi G.,
Whichever you choose, just be sure to try the convertible seats in your car in the rear-facing position. We bought the Evenflo Triumph and it is VERY difficult to adjust the harness rear-facing. Love it forward facing though! The downside to convertible car seats is that if you don't have the Latch system (I've got a 2000 car) you have to use the belt clip which is a pain to adjust in grandparents cars. My 14 month old has FOUR different car seats, just so that we don't need to change them. Bought 2 on Craigslist, one from family and one brand new for our truck. Best of Luck!

There's research showing that it's better for kids to stay rear-facing longer than a year, but yes you can turn them forward at 1 year as long as they're some minimum weight. It'd also be better to leave them in 5-point harnesses as long as possible (heck, we'd all be safer that way!)

If you don't want to have to buy more than 1 more seat, I'd recommend going for a convertible carseat - one that can be rear facing now, but turned to forward when you're ready to turn her, and you can look for one with a high weight limit. I haven't seen any convertibles that unplug from the car for the stroller.

For us, we have the Britax Marathon which is convertible and forward-facing works for up to 65 lbs. It had the highest recommendation in Consumer Reports, but it is one of the pricer options.

Hello G.,
Look into the Britax carseats. They are expensive but can go from back to forward facing and are rated to be one of the best. No luck with the stroller as these stay in the car but they really are amazing. My sis-in-law has one and I really liked it so as soon as my daughter out grows her we will be getting her a Britax. Just be careful.. sometime they don't fit very well in a car. I would go to a store and bring it out to test in your car before buying it. Good Luck!!

We transitioned our kids from infant carriers to the Britax Marathon. It is a convertible (can be used as rear facing and forward facing) carseat that holds up to 60 pounds. My daughter is 5 1/2 years old and she still uses hers at 40 pounds! They're not cheap but worth the investment given how long you can use them.

Good Luck!

You'll have to get a convertable. They make them that go from 5 lbs. to 100lbs. They start off rear facing and then go forward facing when you're baby is 1. Since she's so big, you're not going to find a car seat that is going to be able to go with your stroller, however, if your baby is 9 mos, and is as big as she is, she should be able to go in the stroller without being in a car seat. If you have a Graco, it should recline if your baby is more comfy that way. I went through all this myself, except my baby was 6 mos. when I had to get another car seat. Good luck!

my daughter outgrew her carseat early too. We went ahead and got a toddler seat that allowed rear-facing and forward facing. It wasn't worth it to us to get another infant seat just to use it for a few months.

We got a Britax Car seat because it goes from 5lbs to 65lbs and from rear facing to front facing - they are costly but they last - give them a shot

Hi there!
I haven't heard this seat mentioned but I absolutely love it! We bought it before my son was born and put him in it when he outgrew the infant seat...he loves the seat...it is very comfortable and safe. Here is the link to the seat http://eddiebauer.djgusa.com/product/detail.asp?ID=2677. I like it because you can use it forward or rear facing and it grows to the booster seat as well. It has all the conveniences you could want or need to go with it as well. Good luck!!!

We have had a convertible carseat since day 1. Although the ones that click in the stroller are convenient att 1st, you do end up like you have to and get another carseat.

We have a Cosco, I am not sure what the name is but its black and red and seems pretty comfortable. It can be used up to 100lbs since it converts to a booster and then a backless booster as our daughter grows. When she was a newborn we did have to use one of those neck pillows. It seems to have held up so far, she is only 2 but there's hardly any wear and tear. My mother in law found it on onestepahead.com I think.

G.,

You should check with your childs pediatrician about forward facing. Our daughter was given the clearance to go forward at her 9 month check up due to her weight and height. That way it will save you some money and not have to purchase a couple of car seats. Or just purchase one that is forward and rear facing, we bought ours at target for $70 and it gave both options so that way you can use it until they are in a booster seat.

Hi G.,

When my son outgrew his baby carrier I bought a convertable car seat. I got the Alpha Omega Elite with the 5 point harness. It was rear facing until he was just over a year old & the doctor said he was ok to go forward facing, then when he turned 5 this year I converted it to a booster & it goes up to 100 lbs. Even though it was a little expensive at the time it has been well worth the price not to have to buy multiple seats in a short time frame. Also note My parents got the same seat but with the bar that comes down in front of the child - there's was not as user freindly (it sometimes took 15 minutes to get him buckled & he was a thin child, if he had been chubby he would not have fit) & we were unable to figure out how to convert it so they got a booster when he outgrew the seat. I know you said you wanted a seat to go with the stroller but I found that taking him out of the seat & using just the stroller was not as tedious as I thought it would be. Hope this helps

I believe you will not be able to get the next size up and use it with your stroller anyways, so don't worry about the brand. The next size will not "click" in to your stroller, so you'll join the rest of us moms who had to learn the ropes of taking your child in and out of the car. :-< I know it is a change, but my daughter adjusted fine. We moved up to the Britax Marathon, which was a bit pricier, but our car company (on-line site) listed it as one of their best fitting car seats in our car model. I would check your car model website and see what they would recommend. It made me feel better. The Britax Marathon also continued to allow us to sit our daughter rear facing until her legs were too long to sit comfortably. There are instructions/video on-line with Britax to help you safely and sanely put it in the car, too. Good luck with this new milestone!

Christa- They cannot forward face until one year of age AND 20lbs. So, if your child is 1, but only say 18lbs they need to remain rear facing until they reach 20lbs. And, if they are 20lbs but not yet 1.. they still need to remain rear facing.

Anyways- as for the original post- I would go with a convertible seat as others suggested. My older son is 3.5 and still in his Evenflo Triumph. My younger son (6 months) is in a Graco Safeseat, which is nice since it goes to 30lbs (I forget the inches),but I can use it until a year. But, when he reaches one, I'll probably get another Evenflo Triumph since I had good luck the first time around. Good Luck!

i thought the recommedation was 1 year of age OR when they reach 20lbs. my daughter is 3 now, but i am pretty sure that's what it is. if that is the case she can face forward now. if i am wrong, get back to me. i would love to know.

I had the same problem with my first son. He outgrew his infant car seat at 7 months old. We spent the money on the Britax Roundabout, and he fit in it until just a month ago (he's 25 months now). He's been above the 100th percentile for height and weight his entire life, so for a car seat to last us 17 months, it was great! Besides, we love that car seat and can't wait to use it with our second son. It can be both rear and forward-facing, so you don't have to worry about that. If you look on amazon.com, you might find it on sale or with free shipping. They also have them on sale at Babies R Us sometimes (or you can at least use a coupon).

Im pretty sure they have car seats that can be rear facing and then you can switch it to forward facing.

Like others, we moved on to a convertible Britax at that same time. Convertible means it can go back facing when needed and front facing when needed. Some Britax ones are kind of big, so make sure it will work in your vehicle. My two year old son has been in his Britax since about 8 months and he's still in it now at 2 1/4...and isn't on the highest notch for the shoulder strap. The one I got says it goes to 65 lbs, which is like 6 years old.

About your stroller issue, once babies are in convertible carseats, it's not a carrier that snaps in and out of a base. The seat just stays in the car all the time. It's time for her to sit in a stroller without the car seat. Is she sitting? Does your Graco have that option for her to sit without the infant car seat carrier? If not, then you may want to get an umbrella stroller or some other stroller.

I think your best bet would be getting away from the infant carriers. You should look for a convertible car seat - one that can go from rear facing to forward facing and that has a pretty high maximum weight for rear facing. I found this one on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Triumph-Advance-Convertible...

You would only need to buy one more car seat when she outgrows that one - and the last one a booster should be good till she is 4'9".

don't forget to find out if the carseat is compatible with your car! I have heard you can check it on the mfg website or on nhtsa.com.

Good luck!

my suggestion is go to babiesrus they let you try out the floor models in your car. you can see how your daughter fits in them how fits in your car and how much leg room she will have when the seat is reclined in the rear facing position. We got the cosco alpha omega. It goes up to 100 lbs. 30 lbs rear facing and no height limit for rear facing then it goes forward facing and then to a booster. I would stay away from the evenflow triumh i think, it is one piece so if the straps get twisted or stuck you have to buy a new seat. Good luck

Britax Marathon, hands down.

It goes to 65 lbs Forward facing, 35 rear facing. It's expensive at first, but we bought them for our children because they will be the last ones we'll need for a few years. Plus I plan on keeping my DD rear facing until she's at least 33 lbs, so the higher RF limit is better.

Invest in a convertible carseat, like the Britax Roundabout. They work both rear and forward facing (hence the name) and safely hold toddlers until they're ready for a booster seat. The Roundabout, for example, holds a child up to 40" long/tall. Best of luck.

We love our Britax Decathalon. We used it rear facing until my daughter was 18 months - she's a peanut.