Car Seat for a 22 Lb 11 Month Old

I totally understand! My baby is 7 months and is 22 lbs and I have a little PT Cruiser- Not much space. We just graduated him over to a rear/forward facing seat yesterday. It's and EDDIE BAUER black one from Target. I think it was only like $60.
We went for a drive and my baby loved it; there is a lot more freedom for leg and arm movement! He was still comfortable while sleeping in it too.

You absolutely should visit www.hipmonkey.com - a retail website that 100% of profits go to assisting families who need proper car seats that can't afford them. And, they price match to anything you can find on the web.

Their customer service is fantastic, and they are trained in the very best safety and product information. A woman named Angela Lam helped me find a carseat for my 11 month old 21.5 pound child. One that he will be in for many years. They can help with size, features, etc. However, the most important feature is True Side Impact. It is a must. I went with the Recaro Signo, and am so happy. I feel that if an accident were to happen, he would absolutely be safe. Find the contact us number on their website and give them a call or email. They will steer you in the right direction, 100%.

Also - to the people who still consider boosters - they are not as safe as you think. Keeping your child in a 5-point harness as long as possible is imperative. Also, they have now changed the recommended time rear-facing to 3-years. Hard to do, but so much safer rear-facing. Check out the video about Kyle Miller - and spread the word. It is heartbreaking, but at least their loss can help us learn how to keep our children safe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

We purchased the Britax Marathon and have never been happier. It's super safe and very easy to put in and take out...not sure how big it is compared to other car seats but my car is pretty small and it fits pretty well. I'd definitely buy another one! :)

I am a big Britax fan and have them in my car for my boys..however, my husband has a two door and the Britax are way too big for his little car. I got the Sunshine Radians for his car and they are GREAT! Super safe, super narrow and go up to 80lbs! We use the Radian seats to travel as well. Hope that helps.

I used to have a Honda Prelude when my almost 9 year old was small. I went two two different stores (one was a specialty baby store like USA Baby and the other was Toys R Us) and they were very nice and had someone come with me (and do the heavy lifting) and let me place the car seats in the car to make sure that they would fit. The base of the Honda seat was so small, I needed to make sure that the car seat would fasten and be level and everything. I did buy it from Toys R Us because of the price, but the specialty store had a great selection of car seats as well. You can go on line and see which seats are rated the safest, but even the safest seat will not protect your son if it does not fit appropriately into your space. (This was in Vermont, but I am sure that the stores here would do it as well. Ask to speak to a manager if you get flack from the sales person). Hope this helps.

I had 2 Britax Round-Abouts in my 1998 Honda Civic with my twins. This seat doesn't turn into a booster, but was good from 9 months through 4 years. And boosters are relatively cheap so I wouldn't worry about that yet. The Civic was great and the seats fit fine.

I have been researching this as well for my 22lb 6 month old - the Britax Diplomat looks tops in safety and is smaller - it only goes up to 40 lbs but the reviews say it fits well in smaller cars, may be worth trying it out...

I understand your dilemma. I am not sure about a specific car seat that will fit in your Civic. Just be sure to save the box and receipt so if it does not work out, you can return it. I agree that keeping your child rear facing is the best for a while longer. You might also want to look for a car seat that once you do turn him forward facing, the harness is rated higher than 40 pounds. That's a feature that is very important in my opinion too! Good luck!

I have a Honda civic too and LOVE our Radian 60 convertible carseat. Got it a few months ago for my 16 month old who is still too small to face forward! It is so narrow you can fit 3 of them in the back seat. It also folds for travel. Also, it's one of the few U.S. carseats that has a floor tether for rear-facing, a safety feature that is common in Europe but not the U.S. It got great ratings online and in Baby Bargains.

One thing that is sort of a pain- the passenger seat has to be pretty far forward. But that might be true with any of these with a rear-facing convertible seat.

We got ours at USA Baby in San Dimas- they were willing to let us try the floor model in our car before buying!

Hope this helps!

I second the recommendation of the Radian by Sunshine Kids. We got one for a recent airplane trip because it was slimmest seat we could find. We ended up trading in our regular seat for it when we got home because though we have only one child, we often have passengers in the back and it allows more space for them in the back. There are 2 types the Radian 65 (up to 65 lbs.) and the Radian 80. They are pricey, but considering you can use them for so long, worth it. Also, if you have baby who sleeps in the car often, buy good, soft head supports that wrap around the straps, because when forward facing, the seat is very upright and little heads flop around when sleeping.

Good luck!

After looking at a few different car seats, we opted to purchase a Radian 80 by Sunshine Kids. I believe they brought the price down, but you're looking to spend over $200. However, the nice thing is that it can be used for quite awhile. I bought one from Baby and Kids WOrld Furniture in San Dimas - actually the floor model because they were waiting for more to come into stock, so I got a discount on that. Then, I bought a second one for the other car through Amazon.com. I believe it was marked down as well for a new one. It's definitely worth it, and I like how it's slim and foldable, so moving it isn't a hassle and it's great for traveling. I brought it with us to Alaska last Christmas and it fit in one of our big rolling duffel bags. However, look into various ones and try them out to see which one your child is comfortable in. I have a friend who wanted to get a Radian, but it sat low and her child couldn't see, so she opted for the Britax because it allowed her child to look out the window. Look around on the internet and at the stores for deals. It doesn't hurt to consider the floor models and get a discount.

We love our two Britax Marathon Convertible carseats. They are for up to 65 lbs front facing.

Have heard great things about the Radian ones as well and will most likely be upgrading my 4 yo son to the Radian soon as he is about to outgrow his Marathon. He is 4, 37 lbs but very tall for his age.

The Britax seats are the best. Your baby will stil need to be rearfacing until he/she is a year old and that is the law. The Marathon is fairly large but I have heard the Roundabout is good for smaller cars.

Britax car seats are by far the highest rated and come in different sizes.
I love them!
Best,
S. G.

I have 3 boys ages 4.5 (42 lbs), 2.5 (29 lbs) and 3 months (15 lbs). We have Britax Marathon car seats & LOVE them. My husband is in law enforcement & they are by far the BEST! My oldest & youngest both have broad shoulders and there is still plenty of room for growth! We, as moms, OF COURSE, want our babies to have the best & Britax is it!