NEED ADVICE ON BUYING A Convertible CAR SEAT

When my son outgrew his infant carrier, we bought 2 convertible carseats, one for my Yukon and one for my hubby's Dodge Ram. I got the Alpha Omega Elite Eddie Bauer($180 ish) from Babies R Us, he got the Alpha Sport ($130 ish). After using them both, we both agree we like the Alpha Sport better. It's easier to make level, easier to move between vehicles and get positioned correctly, easier to get my son in and out of (he's stocky). It's also pretty easy to convert from rear-infant position to forward position and easy to adjust the belts and headrest as needed.

One thing I noticed with my Yukon that you may also encounter with your Trail Blazer, is the rear seats are sloped funny so you may need to stuff something under the carseat to level it.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

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Hi there.. We just went out and bought our second Alpha Omega Elite from Safety 1st / Cosco. We loved the Alpha omega so much with our first child, there was no question what we were buying with our second child. It is so convertable..from 5 -100lbs. Rear, forward, reclines, and 5 point harness, to booster with seat belt. It's easy to remove the cover and clean, and they stand up very well...my daughter has been using her's sicne she was 9 months old and is now 3 and it still looks almost new. My 9 month old son will use his new one for the first time tomorrow. I hope you find what your looking for but give the Alpha omega a good look, cause we love it nad reccomend it to everyone. P.s. it is about $140-$150

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S.,

Because of money we bought a Graco Comfortsport. I found it was the only one that was rated 3 stars both rear and forward facing. Many other ones were a 3 at rear facing and went down to a 2 forward facing. My daughter is quite comfortable in it and it was affordable enough to where we could by one for my car, my husband's truck and my in-law's truck. Good luck finding one just right for you and your baby!

M.

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I suggest Eddie Bauer. Some are pretty expensive, but there are a few models that are in your price range. My three year old has been in an Eddie B convertible car seat for a couple years. It was easy to install. It is also easy to use. It requires four quick steps to getting him strapped in safely. Some of the more expensive carseats have fewer steps. My son's carseat is pretty sleek. It fits really well in my Honda Odyssey. To be perfectly honest all carseats take up a lot of space. Even when it was rear facing. Please do not buy any carseats that have the one arm rest that you lift above the child's head to get them in and out. Those are not safe. Make sure you study the owners manual and keep it in you car. It really comes in handy. If possible take your baby with you to try out a few different seats. Make sure you go to a place that carries a wide variety. Such as Babies R' Us.

Hi S.,

We lose more children in car crashes than any other reason. Having lost my grandson, I strongly agree with Amy when she states not to skimp on the car seat. If you feel that the Britax are the best choice, then purchase the Britax.

Your son must stay rear-facing as long as possible -- it's much safer. Don't be in a hurry to switch to forward-facing. You should keep your child rear-facing until he weighs 30-35 pounds (the maximim weight of most convertible car seats).

The Graco Nautilus, although an excellent seat, is forward-facing only. It would not be the best choice for your son at this time.

Call me if you have any questions.

Best,

-- M.

M. Cohen
Passionate Child Passenger Safety Instructor I-575114
###-###-####

Loving Step-Father of Melissa Monique 1980-2002
Loving Grandfather of Alec Jaye 2000-2002

"Again this year, Alec and his mommy won't be going to Grandma's for the holidays."

Hi S.,
I have three: a Britax Roundabout in my car, an Evenflo Triumph in my sitter's car, and a Graco in my husband's car. The Britax Roundabout and the Evenflo Triumph were the two top rated seats on Consumer Reports when I checked. I have to say of the three of them, the Britax is my favorite. It reclines, it has Velcro on the sides to hold the straps out of the way when your putting your son in, and the straps can be tightened or loosened very easily by pushing the button. The Triumph is really big and heavy, so it works in my sitter's car because she has captains chairs and not a bench seat. If you have a bench seat the Triumph will take up a lot more room than the others. The Graco was on sale at Target a few weeks ago for $64, and for the money it's not bad. It doesn't recline, I really wish it had the Velcro on the sides for the straps and that the straps were easier to adjust, but I think those are minor inconveniences. The problem with the straps is that you have to pull down on a tab if you want to loosen the straps, and there's nothing you push when you want to tighten them, you just pull really hard on the center strap. I think it's easier for my husband to adjust the Graco since he's stronger.

Good luck.

We're using our Britax now for our third child and love it! We only had to replace the cover this time as that certainly gets old no matter what brand you buy. I've never regretted one minute of our initial purchase of the Roundabout when we were poor starving college students researching reversible carseats 5 years ago. We just ousted our 4yr old from the seat when the baby came, but honestly we wish all three of our kids were all still sitting in a Britax in the car. When my 6 yr old moved out of it she really got frustrated not having the side to rest her head on or being as tall to see out the windows (she's now in a Graco booster w/ back rest). Good luck.

My son grew out of his carrier early too and we could not afford the Britax either. Our Dr. recommended the Cosco (aka Alpha Omega) three in one. This was the seat she had her boys in too. I think with the coupons it was about $130. It has worked well in my Camry. We did have to move the front passenger seat forward some so it could fit properly.

I have had several different car seats and I LOVE Graco brand the best. Most of them are easy to use, and sit lower to the seat. Some car seats are really tall which is a strain to get the child in and out. Also, I like the car seats that have one strap to tighten and one strap to loosen because the ones that use a push button for both tighten/loosen can have the straps fray or get off track where the button is. Be sure to register your seat ASAP tho in case of recalls!

I have the Britax Roundabout in our mid-sized SUV, and paid a little over $150 on amazon.com. If you're willing to take whatever color they have on sale, you can get a great price. If you're dead set on a particular pattern, the seat will run closer to $220.

We have 2 Britax Roundabouts and are very happy w/ them, though I know a lot of people rave about the Britax Marathon. We also chose Britax because they are top of the line in safety and are approved for use on airlines. As far as your 6 mo old outgrowing the infant seat, check your manufacturer booklet for weight/height limitations to see if he's really outgrown it. Most infant car seats are out grown when the baby reaches 22 pounds or when the top of the head has reached 1 inch from the top of the carrier. Do not judge his outgrowing by his legs hanging out....that is normal and not a sign of outgrowing the carrier and should not be worried about. You may find that you have a few more months of infant carrier convenience yet. Best of luck to you!!

Britax are the absloute best. To get it at a better price try signing up for emails from babies r us and they will email you coupons. They are usually 15% off but lately I have seen 20%. I dont know about other convertable car seats, but our Britax marathon (what I think is the middle of the road for saftey vs. price) holds kids up to 65 lbs! the only other seat you will ever need is a booster and that will be when your son is 4 1/2-5 years old! That is a long time. I am so happy that you know that your child is too big for the infant carrier. Many people use them way too long and it is not safe for their baby! Good luck!

Hi S.,
I would definitely try to go with Britax. Find the model you like and then shop around on line - lots of places have them at different prices and with different patterns. If you want to find another brand I would check the Baby Bargains book and Consumer Reports.com on line to see what they recommend as the best/safest brands.

Good luck.

I got the Britax Marathon convertible and the great thing about it is that it goes up to 65 lbs...seriously so you will have this seat for quite a while and IMO it is worth the extra $100. They are on sale right now at the Rightstart.com, and babiesrus has a coupon out for them. I would search this one out because it really is worth it. By the way I have a Ford Escape and the car seat fits in the back perfectly.

Hi S.,

Spare no expense for your children's safety. Britax is by far the best and worth the money. I have had Safety In Motion come out to my home 3 times now, each time I had to change seats, from infant to rear facing, from rear facing to forward facing, and when I got a new car. The ladies at Safety In Motion are the ones who actually teach the 40 hour class to the CHP, Police, County Sheriff, etc. It costs money, but again, safety for your children is worth every penny. These ladies have pretty much recommended Britax across the board. If you have any questions I think they do have a website, or feel free to call me, ###-###-####.

I couldn't afford that Britax either! I recently purchased an "Evenflo" Triumph edition at Target for $140. We've been really happy with it - it was easy to install and my daughter seems to love it. It has been side-impact tested and the cover is washable.
Good luck!

F.

I have all Britax, but when my daughter outgrew her Britax Marathon at age 4, instead of the new Britax Frontier, I bought the Graco Nautilus (considered just as good by the experts on car-seat.org) and half the price. It's about $150. We are very happy with it. Take a look at that.

Hi,

We just had to make the same purchase/decision about a car seat. I did my research on line and deceided to go with the Evenflo Triumph DLX. We are really happy with the seat. Very comfortable for the baby and easy to adjust the harness. Babies R Us has several differant Evenflo Triumph models. We preffered the DLX the best, because it had more padding. It seems to compare well to the Britax. Hope this helps

yes britax are the best but very pricey. the convertable car seat i have is a costco alpha omega. its very roomy and goes up to 110lbs you will never need another car seat again! it is usually between 100 and 150 bucks look online i believe i found it on walmart.com but bought it at sams club for 80 bucks (thanks to my mil). good luck

I have the Alpha Omega for both of my boys and like them a lot. I have a friend who bought the Britax for both her girls and she says that while they are great car seats you really need a huge car to fit them. They are very heavy as well. She's got a mini van so she has one on each side seats in the middle row with her third child in the third row. If you have the space and money the Britax is worth it. If not the Alpha Omega is wonderful as well.

Hi Cheryl,

I was also looking at the Britax. However, when I asked my friends, they said besides being really expensive, it is huge. They were having troubles fitting the car seat and other passengers in the back of their SUV's.

I just bought the Safety First - Alpha Omega Elite. You might see the Apha Omega Elite, by Cosco. It's the same thing. Safety First is owned by Cosco.

"Designed for your growing child, the Alpha Omega Elite™ Convertible Car Seat features our Quick-Fit Harness System that never needs re-threading and energy absorbing EPP foam. It fits children rear-facing from 5-35 lbs, forward-facing from 22-40 lbs, and as a belt-positioning booster for 40-100 lbs."

It has a base that is detachable if you need more room in your back seat. I had a bit of a hard time installing it in my 4Runner. I am using towels to make it level. I'm considering buying another one for my husband's car because I won't be moving it from car to car. However, once it's in, it's great. My 11 month old son loves going for rides in the car now. It's very comfortable and really easy to get him in and out of it. It's also really easy to adjust the straps for when your little one gets bigger.

I bought my car seat online through Costco. It is only $130. Shipping and handling is included. When I bought mine, maybe 2 months ago, there was an automatic $30 rebate. You can actually look at the instruction book to see all the features and installation directions. I thought it was really helpful to see it before I decided to purchase it.

My friends say they bought their Alpha Omegas at Big Lots. I was hesitant at first, but the store is able to sell it for less because they changed the pattern of the fabric and are selling the new ones for more at baby stores. All in all, I would definitely recommend this car seat.

Good luck!

The car seat that I registered for just happened to be at Costco before I had my baby and it was $40 cheeper than Baby's R Us. They have an upgraded model there now. It's a First Years Safety First brand and very comfortable and safe for my little guy. If this brand looks good to you, I would purchase it there and save the extra $50 in your budget.
FYI - Costco has a great return policy so if you decide you don't like it or it doesn't fit right... take it back!

My cousin is a certified car seat installer for the CA highway patrol. HIS recommendation is the Britax for safety and ease of installation (which in turn makes the seat safer as its rarely installed improperly). His motto is "There is no price you can put on the safety of your kids". I was really torn about the cost too, but went with the Roundabout, which is a little cheaper as by the time they are 40 lbs, you can move them to a high-back booster for the 40-80 lbs time-frame. The marathon is quite big and is a bit on the unecessary side. I know several people who origially bought cheaper seats, then found them to wear out faster or be incredibly difficult to get in and out of their cars as necessary so they ended up later spending the money on a Britax.

We have the Alpha Omega Elite. It cost about $150. My neice did the research and she said it had very high ratings for safety. We have one for each of our boys and have been very happy with them (of course, we have not been in any accidents, thankfully, so I cannot speak on their safety from experience). I think you can used them for kids from 5-100 pounds. We got them when each baby was about 16 pounds, and I know we can use them until they no longer need any kind of car seat or booster.

I think this is the same seat we have, just a newer style:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11273926...

I don't know if you are a Costco member, but this is even less than we paid for it, and they have several other car seats to choose from also.

Hope this helps!

Britex makes a few less expensive models and well worth the money! Add a Kiddie Kangaroo from www.kiddiekangaroo.com for bottle, sippy cup and toy storage to make your 6 month old a happy traveler!

The Britax seat is best since he's only six months old and needs to be in a rear facing seat.