Convertible Car Seats

I have a Britax Marathon, and it's fine. But it was very expensive! And my parents bought an Evenflow Triumph, to have in their car. It was half the price, and I like it so much better! It's so easy to adjust, really comfortable, and did I mention half the price??? :)

BTW both have the exact same safety ratings, too!

I just got the First Years Sure Fit convertible car seat to replace my son's infant seat (he is 11 months old). We have had it about a month and my son seems to like it. We drive 3 hours to visit my parents a few times a month and he sleeps comfortably in it the whole way there. He is not overly sweaty like he was in the infant car seat either. It doesn't have the best directions for installation and we had to put a rolled up towel under the car seat to tilt it back more so his head would not tip when he fell asleep. There is a lot of soft, comfy padding that comes with it that you need to remove for older babies but the directions are unclear as to when to remove it. I'm thinking by 6 months all the padding should come out. My favorite things about the seat are that it can be used until 65 lbs and it got a really good safety rating on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. Here is the site: http://www.nhtsa.gov/
It's also a lot cheaper than the Britax, with as good or better NHTSA ratings than Britax.
I'm also 5' tall and I have no problem getting him in and out. It's a little tough to adjust the straps when it's in the rear facing position, so I would put your son in the seat and adjust the straps to where you want them before you install it. But you won't need to adjust it often anyway. There is also a video that shows how to adjust it on the babies r us website.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3137030

Hi E., I have a Jeep as well and use the Recaro Convertable car seat. I highly recommend it! For my oldest daughter we used the Roundabout and I love the Recaro even more! I saw it on BabyAge on sale - fyi ;^)
K.

Hey E., Im 5'4 and have a jeep and only use Britax roundabouts or marathons. They are fine until the kid is as heavy as my four year old (cant beleive they go up to 65 lbs cuz hes so huge and only weighs 38) but im gonna switch him to a booster and want to sell it. id let you bargain the price with me. Its got the best safety rating. Im in Dix Hills. email me at ____@____.com if you want it. Between myself and my inlaws we have 5 britax! One was never even opened! Yikes! Really would love to get rid of a couple!

you can get a carseat that has liftable arms..this helps alot when putting in and taking out of the seat..once they are in the seat put the arm down..lift to take out or put back in.. they are mostly for forward facing seats though...20lbs and up i believe.. they do make one that swivels it think..try leaps and bounds or one step ahead web site and see what you can find...good luck ....

I just ordered the Even Flo Triumph Advance from Amazon.com for my 8-month old. A friend recommended it and said she likes it so much she is getting one for her second child too. Amazon had the best price by far: $112 and free shipping. It's $139 everywhere else. Good luck!

We have an Alpha and Omega convertable seat (not sure of the model name). It can be used rear facing, forward facing and as a booster seat. My son is almost 3 and almost 40 pounds (39 lbs, 39 inches tall) and still fits fine in this seat. We just moved the harness and headrest to the highest position in December. We had a convertable seat in the other car that outgrew totally but we replaced it with a Graco Nautilus which has a high weight limit (I think 65 lbs) and converts to a booster but can't go rear facing. It just depends when and how you want to spend your car seat $.

Hi E.-
I just bought a britax boulevard (a little pricey- $300). I choose that particular britax over marathon and roundabout because it has extra comfort padding, goes up to 65 lbs and is supposedly much easier to use- who knows??? Whatever you buy, make sure you go with one that is up to 65 lbs. So many of my friends have bought a seat that only goes up to 45 or so (like the roundabout) and then had to buy another transition seat before the child was ready for the booster seat. I wouldn't buy one for each car since it's so expensive, just the primary car. For the second car I'd get something like a graco comfortsport or a cheaper britax model. I also have a jeep and am 5'3". I can't see the mirror as well but at this age I don't need to constantly check on him. Hope this was helpful.

E.,

I am short too (5'2"), so I can feel your pain. We used the Britax Marathon and Roundabout for my oldest (now 3 1/4 so I just moved him into a Graco booster) and will be using them for my 7 month old (probably in a few weeks since she is already 20 lbs). I really like them. They are expensive, but they fit trucks really well and feel so secure (we have an Explorer and Tahoe and both car seats fit nice and snug in each, both rear and forward facing). Also since you will be using them for some time (can hold up to 65lbs), it is worth the money.