Need Feedback on Upgrading from Infant Carseat to a Bigger One

Hey L. my husband and I had to get our daughter a new carseat early as well. We got our daughter one from Target. I think we paid like $50 for it or something like that. It is a rear or forward facing both. She loves it because it sits up high so she can see out the window and it has enough padding that she doesn't get a sore booty for sitting to long. It is make by Graco. They had a couple to choose from. Brown for boys and flowered for girls. We just went with the brown one because it was 10 dollars more for the flowered one. We love it and our daughter loves it. Good luck!

L.:

We have the Britax marathon, which I love. We bought it online (cheaper, and free shipping) however, I can't remember the site. If I think of it, I will email you again (sorry about that). Before changing car seats, your child must be 20 pounds AND 1 year old (a lot of people think it is either/or). Good luck.

A. L

My daughter also grew out of her carseat before she was a year old but in the length dept. Her doctor (Dr. Stuppy at Pediatric Partners) said it was fine to switch because having her in a seat that was too small was just as much of a danger (and a lot more uncomfortable) as one that was too big. We got this:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_8/601-###-#...

It's nice and comfy for her and a good, sturdy seat. It's easy to clean and the cup holder is great!

Hi L.. We got all three of our girls carseats forward/rear facing from Wal-mart. They were all under $100, which was great for us because we had twins the first time around and had to get 2 just for one car. Ours go a step further than just having the harness set up, you can remove the harness' after they have reached the weight requirement of 35 pounds and use the same seat as a booster seat with a regular seatbelt. This is thankfully allowing us to not have to purchase seperate boosters seats and saving us some money. Our seats were all made by Graco. You can find some even cheaper, but I would recommend checking the weight limits so you can keep the one seat for a longer time.

As for gates, get ones that swing open! I am visiting my mom right now and her's are pressure type and driving us all crazy having to step over them. At home, we use a mesh type (climb-proof) that can be easily opened by an adult but not by kids. I found great selection at Babies R Us on 135th and Metcalf (I think). Also, teach your little guy to climb down the stairs backwards on hands and knees so that should anyone ever accidentally leave a gate open, he will be relatively safe.

We got the Evenflo Triumph after the infant carrier. Although I believe it only went up to 40 pounds. We then realized that we wanted something that would last awhile (and safer) and decided to do the Britax Marathon because it went up to 65 pounds. She will be turning 4 soon and the Britax is still going strong and will be around for a few more years since she is only 38 pounds.
We bought a second car seat (basic and inexpensive) for my husband's car. Didn't want to invest a lot but wanted to have it 'just in case' kind of circumstance.