Car Seat - Council Bluffs,IA

I got the Evenflo Triumph Advance... about 140ish, my little guy loves it and it goes up to 50 pounds front facing...20 pounds rear facing....he loves it:)

I know you said you didn't want to spend a lot of money, but I can't recommend the Britax Marathon enough. It is on the pricier side, but it will last you a long time. I love ours, I couldn't be happier with it. It's convertible (rear & forward facing), the straps never get tangled, and most of all our DD is sooooo comfortable in hers, she finally doesn't mind car rides!

You can purchase used, but perfectly good condition carseats from other parents on craigslist. Just be sure to look at the expiration date on the back.

I am on my 2nd Evenflo Triumph (my kids are 6.5 years apart, so the first one "expired" before my little one needed it), and I love them both! The newer one is good rear-facing to 35 pounds, and forward to 50. It has VERY easy shoulder strap height adjustment (no slots, no re-threading straps) and strap tightness adjustment. I think it was $150-$175?

We really like our Evenflo Triumph Advance. It was a good price, gets good reviews in consumer reports for safety, and has great features.

Graco MY RIDE is about 160 dollars. rear facing to 40 lbs forward facing to 65. My son is almost 21 months and still happily rear facing in this seat he still has a ways to go to reach the height restriction and is quite tall for his age. HE loves it. It is worth every penny i paid :)

I agree 100% with what Beck W. said.
All 3 of my boys are in Britax Marathons (they are 4, almost 3, and 13 months) but they were all gifts. We could have never been able to afford them on our own. If we would have had to buy our own seats we would have gone with the First Years True Fit.

I do not agree with the person that said you can purchase a used seat off of Craigslist. I would never, in a million years, purchase a used car seat. Unless I knew the person very well and knew the history of the seat. A car seat that has been in any accident (whether a child was in the seat at the time of the accident or not) is not safe to continue using and there is no way to know if a stranger who is trying to sell their car seat is telling the truth about the seat's history.

Hello,

Based on my own research, I would stick with the Britax brand. There are several and all very safe. Also, I would never, ever buy a used car seat from anyone unless you knew 100% for sure it has never been in an accident. If you like to buy online, Albeebaby.com has all kinds of car seats available with no sales tax and free shipping. I just bought two new Britax Frontiers and saved a bundle with a 15% off coupon to boot. Good luck!

The First Years True Fit Convertible Car Seat gets the highest rating from the NHTSA:
http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-True-Convertible-Cappuc...

I just bought it for our 8-month-old. It's super easy to install and adjust, and it says the cover comes off easily for washing, but I haven't tried it yet.

I have an evenflo triumph and like it a lot. Very simple, easy to get my son (and he's a chunker) in and out of, easy to adjust but secure once you are finished adjusting it.

What I recommend is going to whatever store you're going to get a seat from (babies r us is a good one, they're very helpful) and actually ask to try them in your car. See which one fits your car well and which one your child looks comfortable in. This way you can really see what getting your child in and out of it will be like. Keep in mind it will take a while to adjust to the new seat so it will take a bit of time to get your daughter in and out of it. You get a little more fluid at doing it once you've had it for a month or two.

If you find a seat you like that's just a little outside your price range then write it down or something and look at reputable places online to order it. Some places offer free shipping and a little bit of money off and it helps. Babies r us frequently has the 10% off coupons too for car seats which was really nice when I got mine.

More money doesn't necessarily = more safety from what I've been told. Not that the pricey Britax ones aren't nice, I think its just more important to find the one that works for you guys.

A rear facing car seat (infant carrier too) is outgrown when the child goes over the weight limit or there is less than 1 inch of hard shell above the childs head. Until either of these happens, the seat is not outgrown. Legs over the end of the infant seat is not a problem, and not a danger, and not an indication of the seat being outgrown. While rear facing the harness should come from below or just at the shoulders.

Now, that being said, most infant seats (the lower weight ones, 22lbs) are outgrown around 5/6mos of age. What you want to purchase is a CONVERTIBLE car seat so she can remain rear facing as long as possible. The AAP (and NHTSA and SafeKids) recommends children remain rear facing in a convertible car seat until at least 2yrs and 30lbs, or until the child outgrows hte seat rear facing. Convertible car seats on the market today will rear face until 35lbs, a few to 40lbs, and one to 45lbs. Most children can remain rear facing until their 3rd birthdays in the US. In Sweden, children ride rear facing until 50lbs, and they have had less children die in 10yrs in auto accidents than the US has daily. That speaks volumes!

There are many many car seats on the market that will rear face your child, then forward face, and last your baby until she needs a simple booster around 6yrs of age. A child should remain rear facing as long as possible, and then in a harness as long as possible, and in a booster seat until the child is 4'9" tall, or around age 8.

First Years TruFit, $150 will rear face to 35lbs and has a super high shell, and will then forward face to 65lbs. This seat will harness most kids to age 6/7yrs old. GREAT value and highly recommended.

Graco MyRide, $150 will rear face to 40lbs and forward face to 65lbs. Will fit most kids to age 5/6 in the harness and is a GREAT seat for extended rear facing. Its super plush too, very comfy. I really like this seat.

Those two seats are the two I would recommend. Steer clear of the '3-in-1' seats like the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite or the Eddie bauer 3 in 1. They are ok for rear facing, but they are generally outgrown forward facing before a child is mentally and physically ready for the booster portion, and the seats are so wide that they hold the seatbelt away from the child too far in booster mode and make very bad booster seats. They aren't worth the money, you are better off buying one listed above and using it to the limits and then purchasing a dedicated booster that will fit your child better when she is older.

So the seats I listed above are the two I would recommend, you get the biggest bang for your buck, the seats are both comfy and easy to use, an both will last your daughter until she is at least 5/6yrs old in the harness. However any convertible car seat will work for her... but just beware of the 3 in 1 seats, you can get way more for your money with the other seats.

A few things for you to google while researching car seats- Extended Rear facing, internal decapitation, seatbelt syndrome. Go to the Safekids.com website, and visit www.carseat.org too. The best time to be informed about car seats is right now.

I would also recommend the True Fit.

My little girl is 29 months and she has outgrown the britax seats. She is about 50% on the height charts but she had a relativly long torso so the Britax seats had to go. We used both a Marathon and a Boulevard. They are awesome seats...but I honestly think that they are overprices given the shell height. We are now in a Radian XT and a Truefit and she will have plenty of time in those seats before we go to a high-back booster.

The MyRide is going to have the same shell height issues as the Britax. Your child will probably outgrow them well before their 3rd birthday and you will be left looking for another 5pt harness seat.

The True Fit has great shell height and should give you lots of time. The install is not as easy as a Britax but it is defintely do-able. For the money...the true fit is an awesome seat.

If money were less an issue I would be reccommending the Sunshine Kids Radian. GREAT seat...very safe, if not THE safest on the market...will last a loooooong time... And bonus...they rear face to 45 lbs.