Does anyone have any suggestions of a good convertible carseat that will be rear facing for a small backseat? My husband has a hatch back saab and it's pretty tight back there and our 9 month old is now out of his infant seat, and I'm having to drive all the time cuz i'm the one with the convertible seat. I need some good ideas of ones that are safe and compact as well...
have a look at the combi coccoro... it's online only from what I can find. They have it at Target, babies r us and I'm not sure where else. You can fit 3 in the back seat of a toyota corrolla.
here are some links to reviews
http://carseatblog.com/?p=2285
http://carseatblog.com/?p=1750
I have a Britax Roundabout and I love it. It's a bit smaller than the Marathon. It has the same weight rating for rear facing (35 lbs) but only goes up to 40 lbs forward facing. I figured that even though my LO is a BIG baby (26 lbs at 9 months), by the time she is 40 lbs she'll probably be ready for a booster seat.
What I've heard from many Certified Child Passenger Safety Techs (CPSTs) is that if you can fit an infant seat in a space, most rear facing convertibles will also fit, especially now that your little one is 9MO and doesn't need the seat to be reclined the full 45 degrees that an infant requires.
A few seats that come to mind: the First Years TrueFit has a removable headrest that makes it easier to fit rear facing in many cars. The Combi Coccoro is often mentioned by CPSTs as a good convertible seat for tight spaces as long as you don't mind the fact that it'll be outgrown before your child is ready for a booster seat.
here are some links for great car seat info/reviews from certified Child Passenger Safety Techs:
Babycenter.com Car Seat Questions bulletin board http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a7645/car_seat_que...?
Babycenter.com Car Seat FAQs http://community.babycenter.com/post/a13026565/faq_links
Convertible seat reviews/recs:
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a13106735/faq_-_reco...
Car-seat.org discussion forums:
main page http://www.car-seat.org/
reviews: http://www.car-seat.org/forumdisplay.php?f=4
car seat questions: http://www.car-seat.org/forumdisplay.php?f=2
Good luck!
J.! Wow! I think you may be the only other mom with this car trouble. I had a SAAB 92x (which I loved!!!), but it was a tight fit with the car seat. I am a major Britax fan (because of the safety ratings and I am a total car seat nazi!) My husband and I are very tall and we drove and rode in that car with the seats alllll the way back which created quite a tight squeeze in the back! When my daughter grew out of her infant car seat at 9 months due to her height we went to Goores and tried out convertible seats in our car to see what would fit rear facing. It turned out (much to my excitement- I got the zebra cover) that the Britax Marathon fits in the middle of the back (rear facing), and of course forward facing as well. It kinda wedges between the front seats and ends up being super secure - no chance of it going anywhere!! It doesn't get in your way when you are in the front, but it is right there. I absolutely love that seat!
I hear people complaining about ease of installation, but most of those people don't properly secure their car seats anyway, so what do they know! If you get trained by a professional to install your car seat properly it is easy! Besides - who cares about installation when it keeps your precious cargo safe! (Okay - I'll just shut up now! ;))
Anyway, The Britax Marathon may be a bit more expensive, but it will last a long time!!! My daughter is almost 4, tall, and still fits well in the seat. I like knowing that she is still very safe and secure in her seat!
We recently purchased the Britax Frontier for my husband's car which has a 5 point harness and converts to a high back booster and then to a backless booster and we love that seat as well...just FYI for the future.
Well....I hope this helps a bit....feel free to email me if you have any other questions!
Good luck!
D. and Layla
