New Car Seat

We use a Graco 3-in-1 (fairly new on the market) that goes up to 100 pounds and becomes a booster. We seem to like it so far :)

Hi C.,
We, too, have the Fisher Price seat and love it. Too bad it's not being made anymore! I've read really good things about the First Years True Fit convertible seat. It rates very highly and has a headrest that can be removed to take up less space while it's rear facing. Here's a link to it on Amazon, but you may be able to find it less expensively elsewhere (Albeebaby.com, maybe?) http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-True-Convertible-Seat/d...

I have the Britax Boulevard and absolutely love it!!! It is forward facing 20-65 lbs and also rear facing 5-33 lbs...I jsut read the rest of your post about the costliness of these seats.. sorry, I spoke too soon...

We've owned three car seats. Infant, convertible, and the kind that only faces forward, but has a harness, and then turns into a belt-positioning booster.
We bought each one for our older son. When baby #2 needed the convertible seat, we moved our then 2 1/2 year old into the booster. They're still in those seats two years later. When DS #2 outgrows the convertible seat soon, I'll buy a regular, inexpensive booster for my oldest son.
I have fairly heavy kids, and there is NO way we're going to need any seat until 55 pounds. My giant son (off the charts for height, 85% for weight) won't hit 55 pounds until he's 5 1/2 or so (based on the growth chart), and he'll be well out of a convertible seat by then!
Our convertible seat was one of the least expensive ones out there, the Cosco Touriva Regal Ride (it has two names, sometimes Touriva, sometimes Regal Ride, sometimes both). It cost $40 at the time, on sale. My friend went to the fire station to get her car seats checked. She had three in the back seat of her little sedan, and the doors hit the car seats when she closed them. So the fire station gave her one of their sponsored seats, because they said it's the narrowest on the market. Turns out the fire station gives out Cosco Tourivas! She was given a seat identical to mine.
I don't know what kind of car you have, but there isn't much room in the back seat of our Jeep Cherokee with two car seats in back. But because the Touriva is so narrow, I can squeeze between the car seats if I need to. I definitely couldn't do it if I had a wider seat!

Hi C.,
We have a Britax Marathon as our primary seat and recently needed to purchase a second seat for dad's car. We looked for the Fisher Price Safe Voyage, but couldn't find it (I didn't realize it wasn't being produced anymore). Anyway, we ended up with a Graco Nautilus, and are so far happy with it. It is a three in one seat that converts from a forward facing seat, to a booster with a back, then to a backless booster, so it will fit kids from 20 to 100 lbs. I got it on Amazon.com for $123 with free shipping. Good luck with your search, hope this helps.

I have bought 3 Britax Roundabouts now. They are smaller than the Marathon for smaller back seats, but ahve the same safety features. They are top rated on Consumer Reports and they have worn very well. We got the last one on sale for $150 on Amazon. The others were $220.

I have two Alpha Mega Elite, I think it is Cosco brand. They are big, but go from 5-100 pounds, and from infant to booster seat. I love them! They sit my 11 month old up higher so she can see out, and they have arm rests that my 3 year old loves, too.

Hi..we have 2 Britax Roundabout convertible car seats and love them. They are easy to clean and easy to get my kiddo in and out. They are in the $200 range but oh so worth the money. I would highly rec this car seat.

A week or so ago Target.com had two of the Britax Marathons on sale for $59 (yes, $59 -regular $270). The sale was limited to 2 outdated patterns (a cow print and a tan print). I am a member of a fertility forum and there were a lot of girls buying them and some had actually received the seat in the mail already - others were saying delivery was delayed until mid-December. I haven't read the thread in awhile, but you might check Target's website.

I like the Britax convertible...

Both of mine had the Eddie Bauer convertible seats that went up to 100 lbs. We just had to get rid of my daughers and it lasted her six years! She is now big enough for a booster, which it converted too but since the age limit on car seats is six years I just got her a brand new booster. She is seven so she was due.

My son has one still, he is 43 lbs and four years old and will still be able to be in it a few more years. It wasn't the least expensive however not the most either. I think theirs were $150 each several years ago.

We did Graco. It was moderately priced and top of the line in the crash test ratings etc. I bought ours a couple of years ago. My sister just bought a car seat for her son and was telling us how great it was etc. it's the new version of the one we have. So it is still getting great ratings and reviews. it's wider than some, but we had captain chairs so it didn't matter to us. My sister has a smaller car but only one child--so something to think about BUT we have done several long car rides and my dd was really comfortable in it. We drove to California from Utah just after we got it and prior we had made a trip to St. George and she had whined and cried the whole way. Not in the new seat, I really think she was much more comfortable with the nice padding etc. it has. one of the biggest complaints I read was the strap system...which if you read the instructions is beyond simple, I really like it.

We have one that reclines and our son loves that for either naps or long road trips. I think it's by Cosco. The other great feature is the straps tighten and loosen, so it's easy to get him in and out while still keeping him safe. It's big, so you'd have to have room, but with two it would be fine. We probably won't get another one since I don't think it would fit having 2 of them in a back seat with another car seat, but that's my only complaint about it. I know it was more (I think $60 more than the other seat I was looking at), but it wasn't close to a Britax, either. It was a good compromise for us. It's the first one we've bought that wasn't a Graco. I have loved our Gracos, too. They just didn't have the recline feature. I think Graco consistently is safe. There was a post on this recently and there was a link to a website in it. If you're looking for safety studies you can look on the Institute for Highway Safety website.

We have two marathons and LOVE them. They install easier than any other seat I have tried and they can rear face to 35 pound. I know they are expensive, but, in my opinion, worth every penny. They are on sale right now at travelingtikes.com for 189.99 with free shipping. This is one of the best prices I have seen for them.