Time for a New Car Seat (For 10 Month Old)

Baby Bargains also likes the Evenflo Triumph (convertible car seat), and so do I. My 2 year old is still rearfacing in it (granted, he is one the shorter end). It goes up to 40 lbs. Don't go straight to a booster after it though. The Graco Nautalus is a forward facing seat that goes up to 60 lbs with a 5 point harness and 100 pounds as a booster. .

My boys are unusally tall for their ages too. I started to front face them at 10 months. Their feet were too long for the rear facing and had no where to put their legs and feet, plus they were walking at 10-11 months. As long they were able to support their necks by themselves which they were able to do at 1 month, I felt comfortable forward facing as long as they had the cross bar in front of them. My toddlers were bigger than some 1 year olds.

Hi N.-

Quick tip I learned many years ago, that I find REALLY helpful, if your child's shoulder blades are higher than the straps, it's time to move the staps. In an accident, if their straps are too low, it can break their colar bone.

Good luck carseat hunting. Remember to have it professionally installed or checked by certified carseat installers, often you're fire department will have a program. 80% of all carseats are installed wrong.

R. Magby

I don't know if it was mentioned but Britax is releasing a whole new line up of seats in August if you can wait. Or you might get a really good deal on the current product since retailers will need to make room for the new seats.

For my daughter, we got her a convertible seat (accommodates 5lbs to 40lbs) after she outgrew the infant carrier. It was rear facing until she was 15 months, although new guidelines now want us to keep them rear/facing until 24 months.

My tip about the convertible carseats is to choose one that will fit in your car's available space (when in the rear facing position). If you buy one that you want to grow with the child (and can accomodate a really tall child), keep in mind that (because the back is so long) it might force the front passanger seat to slide as close as possible to the dashboard (so the carseat can fit in the back seat) and basically, it makes the front seat unusable for an adult passanger. Since my car is a 4-door sedan, we bought one smaller (as in shorter back) convertible seat and then bought a longer carseat (that goes up to 80 lbs) once she started to sit front facing. Even at age 4, our daughter can still use her first convertible carseat (it's in her dad's car; she's not 40 lbs yet) while my car (which is what she travels in normally) has the seat that goes up to 80 lbs.

A convertible is probably the best option for you. Do your research so you're not buying a car seat for his first year, then as a toddler, then as he gets bigger, etc.

We just recently switched our 7 month old from his snap-in seat because he is 21 pounds and his toes were *just* starting to come to the edge and hang over. He is currently in a Britax Roundabout. We used it with our older son as well. The Roundabout can handle 5-40 pounds and a 40" height max, and can be used both rear- and forward-facing. Our older son, who is 3 1/2 has a Britax Marathon (5-65 pounds, 49" max, also rear up to 35 pounds and forward) in one car and a Britax Frontier in the other (25-85 pounds, 30-65" tall, forward only can be used both as a 5-point and can convert to a belt-positioning booster that holds up to 100 pounds).

Check out this blog: http://carseatnanny.blogspot.com/

I think her comparisons of different carseats are really interesting! I didn't find the blog until I had already purchased my MyRide65 (which I LOVE) but it is still very useful.

I recommend you stay away from the 3-in-ones. We looked at some, but they seemed uncomfortable and too upright, and since a booster seat only runs about $25 anyway, we didn't think we were saving that much money. I have heard good things about Britax, but we didn't have $200-$300 to throw around (especially since we wanted to buy two seats - one for my car and one for my husband's). The MyRide65 is awesome. We used a BRU 20% off coupon for it, and so it only cost us about $130. It is side-impact tested with wings, it has cup-holders, is good rear-facing up to 40 pounds and forward-facing up to 65. My son is also very very tall - in the 92nd percentile at 16 months old, and he fits comfortably rear-facing. His legs do cross, but he doesn't mind. The only downside we've found is that it is a very wide seat, which is probably good for comfort, but not good if you're trying to fit 3 seats in a small car or something like that. In my van, absolutely no problems.

I would also like to recommend AGAINST the Graco Comfortsport. We bought that seat with our credit card points when my son first outgrew his snugride (he was about 7 months old!), and it's just not as good a carseat. The chest-clips felt flimsy (the same thickness as the snugride, but the baby is so much bigger now!), and getting it tight and level in the car was really difficult!

Good luck!

You need to get a convertible carseat. I work at a baby store. The best that I can recommend to you is either the Britax Boulevard or a Recaro. Britax makes several different models, but the Boulevard offers 'true side impact protection' -which is basically extra protection for his little head. Also, the Boulevard has a knob you just turn to adjust the shoulder straps. All the others you have to manually unhook and string through the different slots- which is a huge pain.
Recaro used to have 2 carseats, but just recently came out with a combo of those 2. It has all the same features as the Britax, but is a little (not much) cheaper. Recaro makes Nascar seats, and has recently in the last few years started making carseats. They are really great quality.
Either of these two are a great choice. I have the Boulevard for my son.
I had him rear-facing until he was about 18 months, then turned him around. He is now 29 months and is very happy and comfy in his seat.
Hope this helps.

We use the Eddie Bauer front or rear facing car seat. They are supposed to be rear facing until at least 2 AND 30 or 35 pounds (I forget which). It's nice that it works both ways and will then turn into a booster and hold up to 85 pounds. My son has been in this car seat since he outgrew his infant car seat and he doesn't complain about it. It has an optional cup holder and pillow that come with it.

Hi N., I have a daughter who is 3.5 years old now, and I bought her a cosco car seat designed for children 0-20 lbs rear facing and 20-to 40 lbs forward facing. We got it at walmart inexpensive. We've used it with my girl since she was 11 monthes old rear facing til she was 20 monthes old because she was a preemie and only weighed 18 lbs then. She was much more content when we put it forward facing. Hope this helps. H.

http://lifeofasahm-lisa.blogspot.com/2010/03/car-seat-bas...

this has all the carseat info youd ever want including 2 crash tests showing you why you want to keep your child rear facing for as long as possible. My daughter is two and a half and she will be turned around after our second is born when she is 3

If he is very tall, your doctor may advise you turning him around because there is an issue with impact on his legs if you were in a crash and he were rear facing. Also, it is pretty uncomfortable for a child with long legs to be rear facing. From a safety perspective, the Britax Boulevard is a great car seat that goes to 65lbs and has side impact protection with the wings. It is big so it is best being permanently installed into a car rather than moved from car to car. If you need something a little smaller, then the Britax Roundabout is a good 2nd choice. Good luck.

If his is with in an inch of the top of his seat he needs a new one. You can get one car seat that is rear face for now, then use it forward and he can use it for years. With some of these seats it is hard to see out the back when they are rear facing check that with your car. Our state law is rear face until 1, 5 point until 40lbs, check your law before buying a seat so it fits it. I have Evenflo that was about $170. They sell it at Target, Babies r us. It is very comfortable and side impact "tested" - like the $$$ seats. It goes from something like 5 to 60lbs. rear-forward-booster It is more money, but is bets buy 3 seats.

We borrowed an Alpha Omega convertible seat until DS was big enough for his regular seat.
Did the trick. We didn't want to buy anything, since that was only designed to be temporary.

It's worth noting that something about THAT seat, DS HATED. He loves his regular booster now (Safety First), but anytime we had to use the AO, he would cry!

I found this great link. I hope it helps.

http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/cartravel/a/car_seats.htm

since I am in Kids' transportation business, I found it.

http://www.kids-kab.com

Hi N.,

I would recommend a Britax convertible car seat. We have the Britax Marathon, which is the only one that fits in smaller cars and have been very pleased with it. They're not cheap (around $200 or more), but this is really the only car seat you need (until you move to a booster seat). For a second car/nanny/grandparent, I recommend the Cosco Scenera ($50). The book Baby Bargains gives the Britax seats very high ratings, and the Cosco Scenera does okay, too.

Best,
R.

N.,

I was at a safety checkpoint for carseats a few years ago. The police officer had me turn the carseat around from rear to front because our daughter's feet were hitting the back of the seat. He explained that it is extremely dangerous if the babies feet hit the back of the seat and you are involved in a rear end (most common of all car accidents) accident. The babies legs could go up in to the babies vital organs and cause severe to life threatening injuries. He was very upset when I said but "they say you are suppose to keep them rear facing until they are one or 20lbs". He said "who is they?". He said "I am telling you what could happen if you keep your child in this carseat they way you have her right now". He told me not enough people use common sense when it comes to safety and it leads to more injuries. So, please to you and all the other moms out there that have their kids facing rear because they are either under 20lbs or they are not one yet, take a good look at where the baby's feet hit and if they push against the back seat of the car..turn them around.