Yet Another Car Seat Question...

the forums at http://www.car-seat.org are great for these kinds of questions - many certified child-passenger safety techs are regulars there so they're super well-informed and helpful.

Besides Britax, there are now several convertibles with high height and weight limits that are good for extended rear facing, including the Graco MyRide 65, Sunshine Kids Radian, First Years TrueFit, Evenflo Triumph Advance and their new Momentum65, and Safety First Complete Air

My boys were both 20lbs by 4mos old... they were tanks! We moved them to rear facing convertible car seats at that time as well.

If an infant seat fits in your back seat a convertible will too because they sit more upright than an infant seat, providing more room. That being said, some car seats just do not fit into some vehicles. It may be something you have to try before you buy (babies R Us does this)

I can't say enough about how tickled I am to read that you know about Extended rear facing! The AAP, NHTSA, safekids, even the car seat manufacturers recommend children remain rear facing until a bare minimum of 2 and 30lbs, but shoudl remain rear facing until they outgrow the convertible car seat rear facing! A rear facing car seat is outgrown when the child goes over the weight limit or there is less than one inch of shell above the childs head.

Graco Myride 65 will rear face to 40lbs, forward to 65lbs. Its a great seat, excellent side impact protection and very comfy.

Britax Roundabout 50 will rear face to 35lbs, forward to 50lbs. Again a great easy to install seat.

First years TrueFit will rear face to 35lbs forward to 65lbs. Excellent seat, we just bought this one to rear face our 3yr old daughter we are adopting from Ukraine. She has CP so until we fully know her needs she will be rear facing.

If you are having difficulty getting a seat into your car, please find a CPST at www.safekids.org to help you. This is national car seat safety month so you will find plenty of events all over the country right now.

I'm sure you'll get a few other similar responses - but Britax seats are awesome. They're safety record is the best. I'm also not sure if you're just buying one seat - if you are Britax are also easier than most to move from car to car. We had a Graco for my husbands car and he HATED any time he had to take it out - it was such a nightmare to get back in. The Britax's are much easier to deal with. They've just released their new models - so you can get great deals on the older ones right now. And they have several seats that go up to 65lbs - which will save you $$ in the long run with your "linebacker"!!! Good luck!

I have heard fantastic things about the Combi Zues Turn/360 in an Element. The seat swivels to allow you to load them easier in a RF position. There are pics of the seat in an Element and a review here: http://emeryjo.blogspot.com/2009/06/5-months-old.html
And a link to the seat itself: http://www.combi-intl.com/Products/Item.aspx?Item=48

Your other option would be to load him from the trunk, like they show here: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=117096&highl...

I hope that helps with the Element, I'm no help with the Jetta :(

I think the Britax is a great seat but a little on the larger side. We have a First Years Learning Curve True Fit and it is a little smaller. My youngest son has one and it is the great seat since sliced bread in my opinion. It is safety rated the same as the Britax seats. Here is the ratings website I use, also Babies R Us will allow you to go try seat in your car if a sales associate acompanies you.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/nhtsa_eou/info.jsp?type=conve...

Sounds just like my son. He had to be moved to a Britax Marathon at three months. I really really really love my Britax. It's super comfy, big, but easy to work around, and super safe. The new ones have started going up to 40lbs and not just 35. I sadly got mine right as they were switching so it only goes to 35 so in a month or two I'm going to have to switch (or somehow find the money to get a new one) As for the expense. . . I got mine off of ebay brand new for $170 which they normally are close to$300's so I know it's possible to find it cheap. OR The Sunshine Kids RadianXTSL Convertible Car Seat goes to 45 lbs rear facing and up to 80 lbs forward facing. I've heard a lot of good things about this seat and fits nicely into smaller cars.
ps M. is the only good way to spell our name!

go to babies rus and ask to try their models in your car. even if you dont decide to buy it there you'll know which type will fit and be easiest to use.

I've found this site to be very helpful and accurate.
http://www.carseatdata.org/search. You enter your car info and it'll tell you the best car seat for that car. In addition, I've taken this info with me to Babies R Us and actually taken a seat out to my car to see if it fits the way I need it to. They'll do that with you :) Good luck :)