Hi all of you moms, I need your advice on what carseat to buy for my son. He is 9 months old and weighs 21 lbs. We now have him in an infant carseat - but he is quicky approaching the 22 lb mark. We would like to buy a rear facing/front facing seat that will go up to at least 60 lbs. We were looking at the Graco Nautilus and loved it until we found out that it was only a front facing seat. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
Another vote for BRITAX MARATHON!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!! The best safety ratings and my little Bella loves her seat! Side impact protection is key as well. Try it out. I think you'll be glad you did =-)
Good Luck!
P. L.
I bought the britax marathon and love it and so does my daugher. We kept her rear facing in it until she was 2. I believe it goes to 35 lbs rear and 60 front facing.
Britax carseats are the highest safety rated carseats. All are excellent, it's just a matter of finding which one has the features you want. They are some of the most expensive carseats out there, but many go up to 65 lbs or higher and are worth every penny. They are usually pretty large seats, too, so you'll want to make sure it fits in your vehicle. Just make sure you get a convertable seat to use rear-facing until your baby is at least a year (but preferrably longer - my kids used their Britax Marathon rear-facing until they were 18-months old).
Britax Marathon - amazing car seat up to 65 lbs and super safe for the kiddos. A bit pricey, but worth every penny!!!
We have the Nautilus for both girls(3 1/2 and 15 mos). Our ped wasnt worried about our daughter staying in her infant carrier till she was one, so thats what we did. We bought both Nautilus car seats at the same time, and I only have a few beefs that you may want to consider about any seat. The covers are VERY hard to get off- it requires my husband unscrewing a piece and its quite the chore. Our kids are allowed to eat in them, and so spills sometimes are inevitable. The ones we got were a pink butterfly pattern, and the material scuffs and marks very easily. The buckles are a little bit more difficult to clasp as well as undo, AND they don't always make that "click" for some reason. I'm a big fan of Graco because of their customer care. We had tons of problems with a lower model seat. I called them, they paid to have it shipped back to them, then refunded me for the seat so I could pick a new one out. This is not a fun choice, and it seems like everything is so expensive! Make sure to shop around- Babies R Us proce matches, and they often have coupons for 10-20% off carseats! Oh yeah... and recently, the Nautilus has supposedly been rated as well as Britax, which was a selling point for us, because it was about $100 cheaper.
Some of the ones that I have seen that will go to higher weights yet rf include: Britax seats, Safety first Apex, Radian Seats, Evenflo Triumph Advanced. All of them are only going to rf to 35-40 lbs.
What I would do in your situation is actually purchase a costco scenera (about 40 dollars) to use until your son outgrows it rf (35lbs, 37"-since this is a doral manufactured seat it is must be used ff only if the top slots are at or just above the shoulders as those are the only slots reinforced for ff)than purchase a graco natalus that will get your son from that point until he is 100 lbs or 57" (65# 52" in harness mode).
T.
Check out the Britax brands of car seats. They are wonderful. We have two, one for our 14th month and one for our 3.5 year old. You can face them forward or back. Depending on the model you get, they go up to 75 lbs. They also have a reclining position, which is comfy and great for long trips. They have lots of padding that you can remove. They are easy to remove the cloth to wash and last for a long time. I love them. Good luck!
We have the equivalent of a Britax Marathon and it's been just fine for our son, but I've decided on a First Years True Fit Premiere for the next one. It's more reasonable than the Marathon, but best of all, it has a higher shell and will last longer. It's been getting rave reviews on the car seat websites (like car-seat.org -- see http://carseatblog.com/?p=3054). It also has a top section that can come off to make rear facing a bit easier until little ones are at a certain height. Definitely worth checking out!
LOVE our Sunshine Kids Radian 80 carseat (especially in the coolmax fabric!)
We had the same problem with my son, so ended up purchasing Evenflo's Titan convertible car seat. It faces either direction and has worked well for us.
Britax Boulevard. Love this seat. My son is 14.5 months over 24 pounds and I am still able to have him backwards. I will probably have to turn him around soon, but the longer, the safer!
Another vote for the Britax Marathon! They are a bit more than other brands, but well worth it! You won't be disappointed. They are the safest seats available, easy to use and very comfortable for kids. The straps never develop those irritating wrinkles and twists I've heard about in other brands. We've been using Britax for the past 8 years and have been extremely happy with them.
I bought a Britax Marathon when my son was about the same age. Great safety ratings, easy install, comfortable, and works up to 49" in height or 65#. It is pretty big when installed rear-facing, so make sure you can return it if it doesn't fit your car rear-facing. My son is now 3 and I recently bought a pricey Safeguard Childseat (forward-facing only for bigger kids) and my son still prefers the Britax. Go figure. Good luck!
I have the britax boulevard and it is rear facing 5-35 lbs and forward facing 20-65 lbs! It is WONDERFUL and has side impact protection!
As far as I know Graco's convertibles only go up to 40 lbs. We have had 3 and love them all. 40 lbs. is still a good long time to have a seat. Our kids have gone from the convertible directly to a booster. GL! I know shopping for car seats is not my favorite past time. :) If you're willing to put in the big bucks, some of the other companies do make seat that go bigger. We've never spent the extra. Graco has an excellent safety record.
Britax (spelling?) carseats are the best! Hands Down!
:)H.
You should look at the Safety 1st Apex 65. It's MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE than the Britax carseats (which are wonderful, but I can't afford them)! The Apex 65 can be used with the 5-point harness up to 65 lbs. Then it can be used as a booster up to 100 lbs. This is the seat we bought for my son and we love it!
The Britax Marathon costs about $260. The Apex 65 costs about $120, but I found it at Burlington Coat Factory for $90!
Oh, I just remembered you're looking for a seat that faces rear. This one doesn't. Sorry!!
