Recommendation for a Good Car Seat (Forward Facing)

D.,

She is definitely not too old to be rear facing as new studies have found that rear facing for as long as possible is the safest way to go. Most convertible car seats have rear facing weight limits of 35 pounds now. If your daughter is in her infant seat still she has probably outgrown it by height, rather than weight unless it is a Graco Safeseat as it is the only one that goes up to 32". So, you should coose and buy a seat as soon as you can.

Check the boards at car-seat.org for seat recommendations and also for the rear facing info. Many of the posters on that board are certified car seat technicians.

1 mom found this helpful

We bought 2 Recaros for our daughters earlier this year and we love them. I also swap out my 4 year old niece who is a skinny minnie as well and she rides very comfortably in the seat. Our seats came with removable cushions and padding around the headrest so that she can rest her little noggin comfortably too. I have a Saturn Vue and both seats fit great in my back seat and it's a smaller SUV. I love the fact that the Recaros also have the side impact protection too, that was one of the main reasons we bought them (other than the fact that they are pink and my oldest fell in love). Hope this helps!

1 mom found this helpful

I have and like the Alpha Omega Elite. I would recommend taking your vehicle(s) to Baby's R Us and actually have them help you try to install the models in your car. They fit differently in each car. I did this when I bought mine, and they have no problem helping you. I first used it in my Hyundai Santa Fe with absolutely no problems. I now have a Dodge Caravan, and forward-facing works well (but rear-facing is hard to get the correct angle because of the way the seats are made).
Hope this helps. =-)

Don't worry, your daughter is most definitely not "too old" to be rear-facing, especially since she's below 20 lbs - many seats have a *minimum* weight of at least 22-25 lbs to be used forward facing, and rear-facing seats provide a significantly greater amount of protection against neck and spinal injuries for young babies and toddlers.
The following link provides a lot of useful info on selecting a good seat that fits your child and budget. The author is a long-time Child Passenger Safety Technician http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&n...

Brittax has the best safety record, and we have their smallest model, the Roundabout. It's very comfortable for our baby and easy to move from one car to another. We love it!

we love our Recaro seat! we bought a 2nd one for our other car- they are comfortable, stylish and high on the safety rating, plus they are race car company and my husband likes that- they also turn into booster seats when baby is ready
your daughter is close enough for a front facing, try recarobabyseat.com for good prices

We love our Britax Marathon. Also, we got the Britax Regent for our older daughter who is also a skinnie minnie. The Regent is very large though. The Marathon is easy to move from car to car as we do it often when the girls stay with their aunt and uncle. Britax is also rated VERY safe.

Graco Nautilus - easy to install - very safe, fits in the back of our BMW 325I which is tiny. It converts to a booster so you'll be done buying these things. Order it online - the stores are ALWAYS sold out. Cost $180 approx.

I saw this post very late, so maybe you already chose a seat, but the law is that they have to be at least one year AND 20 lbs before turning them around. So even legally, much less safely, you can't turn her around yet.

Have you looked into extended rear-facing? It's much much safer. We plan to keep our daughter rear-facing as long as possible, but at least until she's 2 years. http://www.freewebs.com/sacredjourneys/newbornpreschool.htm

We have a Britax Marathon, which works both rear and forward facing.

I highly recommend the Sunshine Kids car seats. I was very impressed with the design and the structure. The Sunshine carseat is a slim modle so others can sit in your back seat comfortably also. It is also a travel seat, airplane approved. Google sunshine kids carseats...

M.

Hi D.,

I use the Britax Roundabout. It's a great seat and very safe. Just so you know, you daughter needs to be 1 years old AND 20 pounds before you can turn her forward facing. I know she is close but she needs to be the required weight. If she can get out of the current seat then I am thinking the belts are not tight enough. They should be tight enough that you can not pinch the belt over. It's hard to explain but when she is in her seat take one piece of belt and try to bent it together and see if the two pieces touch together. (Kind of like when we pinch an inch on our tummies).

I hope this helps. You can also contact your local Police Department and see if they do car seat installations. They will help you install the seat correctly and check to see if your child is tight enough in the seat.

Good luck,
J. W

D.,
I found that with my son the best car seat I got was at Toys R us and it had the arm that came down over the top of him. It kept him from unbuckling himself. If they are escape artists that's the best recomendation I can make. Good Luck
H.

I have the britex marathon. My 2 year old is only 24 pounds. It is great. I love it. I have another car seat in my moms car who is my babysitter, and I hate that one. Britex is the way to go, let me tell you. I love it. It is the best ever. It maybe costly but oh well. Well worth it

I love both my Britax car seats with side impact protection. They also have a very user friendly web site.

I would recommend any of the Britax carseats! We have the Decathlon and the Marathon (I think) and love them both. Both of my daughters love them also. They can be used as rear facing also until your little one is the right size to turn around. They are expensive but have the best safety ratings out there. We use ours in our Jeeps (Grand Cherokee and Wrangler) without any problems.
Wishing you luck on finding the right carseat for your family!

Hi D.,

The Britax Marathon is great. My 2 1/2 year old daugher is very happy with the Marathon. She currently weight 23 lbs and 31". Its a 5 pt harness, up to 60 lbs and 49". You can go to britax website and get more information on the Marathon.

To echo other moms here: We love our Britax Marathon. It made me feel better that it had the highest safety rating and it is supposed to be the last seat you will need to buy. I have a smallish mini SUV as well and it fits fine.

we bought the graco nautilus recently and it works great.
http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber...

i like that it will last until our daughter is out of the car seat and it wasn't expensive.

Rear-facing is safest so don't be in a hurry to turn her around. As for the carseat, Britax all the way. I also use the alpha omega but only as a back-up.

Hi D.

I am planning on buying - Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat (available in Amazon for $140)

You can try it out. This will last till the kid needs to be on a car seat.

All the best!

My son, like your daughter, is very tiny. Finding a carseat actually wasnt as hard as i thought.
First we had the Alpha Omega Elite. I loved it. It was comfortable, easy to use, and we had no problems. I was involved in a car accident, with my son in the seat, and the insurance woman recommended I get a new seat (state law thing). Since the insurance company was going to pay for it, i changed it up.
I went with the Britax Boulevard. LOVE IT! Great carseat. Nicer than the Alpha. Easy to install, easy to put him in, and it has all this amazing safety features the other did not (side impact) and such.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck!
R.

Hi D.,
Which Recaro? My 5 yo is 43" and only 37 lbs, so I understand the skinny thing all too well. After he grew out of his Britax Round-a-bout (heightwise), I bought a Recaro booster/ 5pt harness combo. Unfortunately it only goes to 40" in height. Luckily, my son appears to have long legs, but I will need to convert the seat to a non 5pt harness booster before he hits 40 lbs, which is not what I wanted to do. The Britax Marathon (and maybe Boulevard -- it wasn't around when we bought the Marathon) works longer as a car seat, both in terms of height and weight (it does not convert to a booster, but I doubt that you are looking for that feature at this point). It's fine in my husband's Volvo. With the Boulevard you won't be able to have someone sit comfortably in the middle of the back seat (though I have squished in there myself when the in-laws are in town and we all need to go somewhere in one car), but other than that, we have been very happy with the Marathon.

D.,

We started out with a Peg Perego infant seat and switched to Recaro once he was ready for a forward facing seat. Both brands are known for their high safety standards and reliability, and they are stylish. Recaros are great and adjustable.

Good luck.
V.

We have a Recaro, it works for us. I drive a Nissan Sentra and fits in the middle with room for two people to sit in the back as well. I read the ratings and you should read them for yourself, but you'll find it is a good seat. My son was 20 lbs. on the nose and 32 inches. He just looked so small in the new seat but I knew he was safe. BTW I installed it without my husbands help, it was very easy.
Good Luck

We have a Toyota Prius and use a Britax Marathon. It works great. Also, we just turned our son around (he's also skinny at 19 months he's only 20 pounds now)! Good luck.

Britax is the best my two kids love it. Any one is great. The bigger models go up to 65 lbs. We have the Blvd.

Hi D.,

We use the GRACO NAUTILUS 3-N-1 seat for our 18 month old. She loves it and we love it. It converts to two different types of booster seats so it'll take her up to 100 lbs (you won't need to buy another seat later). We consulted with a CHP officer when researching both of our seats. He told us that once you get into the front facing seats none is really better or safer than another and that you really have to go with what fits your vehicle and child. We use ours in a small suv and a full sized truck and have had no complaints. I know that they sell the Graco nautilus 3-n-1 at Goores, wallmart, and Babies-R-us (maybe even Target) if you wnt to try it on for size. My sister bought the same one for her daughter and also loves it. she uses hers in a truck and a camery. Good luck in your search. D.

My daughter was the same way. She is 7 years old now and barely over 40 lbs. It is in my family genes, as I and my niece were that way.

I would recommend that you get a Convertible Seat (can use rear or forward facing), that has the overhead shield. You can see a diagram of what I mean here: http://www.aap.org/family/Carseatguide.htm. These are a little more difficult to get out of completely, though you will still have to keep an eye on the straps on chest. I would try to keep her rear facing until she hits 20 lbs, just for safety sake.

If you have concerns or questions check out this site: http://www.cruisinwithkids.com/CaliforniaChildandInfantCa...

T. Solar
Founder
www.theparentpack.org

We love the Alpha Omega Elite

D.,

I have the Alpha Omega Elite car seat and I love it. My son has always been small for his age so this one has helped settle my fears of him being too small for a car seat. It's a little hard to switch between cars if the car doors don't open really wide. But I like the fact that he fits right into it and is very protective. I would hold onto the instruction book because I got the 3-in-1 version, lost the booklet and now am faced with figuring out how to convert it into a booster. I would suggest this one because I have had my son in it since he was 1 year old. I hope this helps

I also have a "skinny-minnie" who is now 2 1/2. It took the longest time for her to be turned forward facing in her carseat. At 15 months, she was 19# and 29" long. We turned her around then because she was too long to be rear facing in her carseat safely. Check with CHP but I believe that the 1yr./20# law is mostly so people won't turn their kids around before they are strong enough or developed enough (neck/back muscles) to be forward facing. We took our daughter to Babies-r-us and sat her in a lot of different seats to see which one fit her the best. We fell in love the with Britax Decathalon (it is the Marathon with extra pads!). She was much more secure and comfortable in this seat. It also set her up higher in the car so she could see out the windows. It is a little bulkier than the Alpha Omega (and a lot more expensive) but we felt that it was the safest choice for her. We use the latch system in my Yukon (the main "family" car) which makes it a pain to move back and forth! If you use the seatbelt it isn't that hard to move back and forth. We ended up getting one for my husband's truck so we wouldn't have to move it when my husband took her places if I was home with the baby. Hope this helps!

The Marathon is a great seat - I decided on this after debating a long time between it and the Sunshine Kids seats (Radian 65 and 80) because I wanted a seat that would last beyond 40 lbs, which seems to be the max for a lot of car seats on the market. Both the Marathon and the SK Radians can be installed rear-facing. I still have my 14 mo old (who is over the 1 yr and 20 lb threshold) rear-facing as I feel its safer for her if we were in an accident. I think that's why I settled on the Marathon, because it seemed to sit "higher" in the car so she could see out the windows even rear-facing. I liked the site www.hipmonkey.com for seat shopping as it seemed to very clearly break down the specifications for each seat. Good luck!

I'm a car seat technician, and we can't really recommend particular seats. Some popular ones that are user friendly are the Britax seats (i.e. Marathon, Boulevard...) and the Radian 65 is also very popular right now. Go to a store that lets you try them in your car, because they all fit differently in different vehicles. That way you'll know what will work best with you. I'm definitely not a fan of any Alpha Omega seat. Good luck!