Car Seat

we have tried the eddie bauer but my son was not comfortable with it. we have the britax roundabout and marathon and are VERY pleased with them. my son never liked a infant carrier and when we put him in the britax he was happy and actually was a quiet car rider.

I think that you were right to start out with the seat that you did. I know some mothers that started out with the larger seats and their newborns head and body just looked so uncomfortable. I would recommend getting a convertable seat for the next one - one that can face back for forward in so he can keep it for a long time. The consumer reports website has great reviews. I got the Evenflow Titan. It is comfortable and rated really well on all of the tests posted on the site - it is also a lot cheaper than some of the others that did not rate as well. It is ranked #2 overall ($70-$90). The Britax is #1 but is a lot more expensive (around$300)

Hey i was just going through the same thing just remember that the child cant be in a facing carseat till they are one... I went to go buy that and then her doctor said she couldnt been in her new one till like 1 year and she had to be i think somewhere around 20 pounds. You need to but a carseat that can face to the back and then reversed to the front. so when you buy this then you will want to make sure that the pounds in high enough to last for awhile so you wont have to but one again for awhile if at all. I bought mine from walmart online.

We went from the carrier type to a Graco ComfortSport, and now we have an Eddie Bauer one. The comment I wanted to make is that unless your baby is sitting up alone,or 12 months old,he still will have to face the rear, that was the issue with the ones up to 100 lbs. (I asked my pediatrician if he could face forward since he weighed more that most 5 month olds and he said they have to sit up alone for it to be safe) I also recommend getting one of those little mirrors that stick to the back window so you will be able to see your little guy. It is harder to see over the backs of the bigger seats. My little guy is 4 years old now so I'm not exactly sure what's out there these days but that's the issue we had. I do love the Eddie Bauer seat, my son doesn't need the extra shoulder room, but it just seemed more cushy than the cheaper brands since this is the last one I intend to buy, I splurged.

A.,

I am a local firefighter/EMT. I have bee trained to safely and properly install carseats. I can say that if your son in not pass the 20 lb. mark you do not want to me removing him out of the car seat. As far as moving him to another seat, The new state law is 8 years or 80 lbs before they can be taken out of a car seat. That was changed in January. We tend to go by weight over the age. I can not tell you what you should do...But research the seats. Go to consumer reports online if you need to. If it was me I would try to get one that isnt going to swollow him whole. And right now he still needs to be rear facing so you need to make sure that it can rear facing. If you have any other question please feel free to contact me.

thanks,
Kim

We bought a Britax Decathalon from www.albeebaby.com - no shipping fee, and no tax! We even bought it 90.00 less then in the store on top of the shipping/tax savings. It converts from rear to forward and is very snug. Our particular model has a removable infant pillow and snug support system.

Good Luck!

My kids are older now though I would sudgest looking at the weight capisity first and also it's was easier for me to get one that is able to face backwards and forward as they get older. If he is able to face foward now then look for one with good padding and deffinateally a 5 point harness if you are worried about him later trying to unbuckle "trust me he will" then look for the seat that releases between the legs towards the end of the seat. If there belt is fitted secureally it's almost impossiable to get out of. There are many good brand but as a sudjestion go online at say toys -r-us believe they have a customer rating I used graco and for for their booster eddie baugher. There are many good ones out there but also register your seat with the company for the reason if there is a recall they will emmideatally contact you so that will make things even safer for your little one!

We used the Graco convertible car seat. The only problem with some convertibles is that is you have a mid size car they don't fit as well in the back seat rear facing and you end up having to pull the seat way up and then it makes it very uncomfortable for other passengers. So unless you don't have a space issue, you will want to check the seat out before you buy and make sure it will fit in your vehicle properly. Also, most firestations could help you properly fit your car seat and make sure that it is the safest possible. you can buy the most expensive, highest rated seat, but if it is installed improperly then you might as well just lay them on the seat or the floorboard like they used to do with our parents.

you need to get him a regular car seat. here is a link for one: http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Bauer-2006-Deluxe-Convertible...

this is the kind you need to get... but you also need to make sure to sit this faceing backward until he is about a year old. 4 months old is way to young to possition him sitting forward. once he is 35-40 pounds you could upgrade to a booster but make sure you get the one that is min35 pounds. most are 40 minimum when you get the booster. Also you need to keep the back on the booster until they are about 42 inches tall or more. anyhow the link i sent you above is what he needs to be in for now and will hold him until about 40 or more pounds. hope it helps

Hi. Just remember no matter how big your baby is he canNOT face forward until he is one year old. The longer he is backwards the better. If he is not at the weight and height limit for his infant seat he is safest in that. If he is then look into the convertable seats that can be rear facing. It is harder to put these in correctly for rear facing, BE SURE TO READ THE OWNERS MANUEL!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will tell you how to put the seat in. While the seat is rear facing it should be at a 45 degree angel (most seats have the ball with the red and green thing, it should be in the green for rear facing). To get the seat at this angle you can use a TIGHTLY rolled towel or a pool noodle cut to fit under the seat. Again, the owner's manuel will help you. Dont be one of the 80% that do it wrong!

Good luck!

Hello A.,

My son is now 17 years old and to tell you the truth, I didn't have many options when it came to carseats. One thing my husband and I do when we aren't sure about a product is to get the cusumer guide. It gives you what is what in safety ratings and what will suit your needs. It has been beneficial for us. If you are going to dish out the money it is best to get the safer product since it is protecting your baby. Good Luck Shopping.

We have the Eddie Bauer Deluxe Convertible Car seat for our 18 month old daughter. It sells @ Target for $120 or online. It sits rear and forward facing, the seat comes apart so you can wash it and is easy to put back together. It says it fits 19-52 in tall and the weight goes up to 80 lbs. We bought this after a lot of looking for our daughter, she came home from the hospital in it and is now forward facing. We have gone to Florida three times with this car seat (driving) and she was comfortable the entire trip (minus having to sit for so long LOL) Eddie Bauer has been good to this family, we have four boys ahead of our daughter and all of them have had and the twins still have their seat and they are in great condition. Our oldest who is 11 had a Booster seat from Eddie Bauer line and our 7 yr old is still sitting in it (law in NC won't let him just buckle, too skinny). If you go online you can see what it looks like, and some of the reviews say it is hard to install but we had no problem. Basically you need to look for a rear facing and forward facing car seat so your son can grow and you won't have to keep buying car seats. Good luck!

You need to get what I believe is a convertible carseat that is from birth to 30 or 40lbs. Just make sure what you get can be installed in the rear facing position as he is not old enough to be forward facing.

Like a previous poster, we have the Evenflo Triumph Convertible car seat and love it! It was rated #2 behind the Britax and was a little more affordable (~$120). My son was like yours - gained weight quickly and was always off the charts for weight. But I will tell you - IT SLOWS DOWN!! :) Although this car seat only goes to 40lbs, your son will use it for a long time. My son is now 30lbs but has been that for 6-9 months. Trust me, he won't keep gaining at that rate for years and years!! ;) Good luck!

We have the Britax Roundabout and have been very happy with it. We got that over the Marathon because a) it's cheaper and b) it fits better in an airplane seat than the Marathon. We also figured by the time our second baby needs that seat we can move our son to a booster/convertible seat and put the baby in the Roundabout.

Some of my friends who got Britax carseats were worried that the fabric was too hot, but we haven't had any problems with it.

Good luck!

My doctor was the one who actually advised me to switch to a convertible carseat for my son because he was over 26 inches. So I would consult your doctor on what to switch him to.

A suggestion for a convertible carseat, The Eddie Bauer Convertible carseat from Target. Its $120 and I love mine. Its easy to wash and really easy to move to other cars. Good Luck

We have always used the "infantcarseat/carrier" deal for the first few months, then gotten another one when it is outgrown. My daughter also outgrew hers by four months! We got a carseat made by Safety First that goes from 5-100lbs as her next one. It is two carseats that are connected and when she is too big for the baby portion, you take it off and just use the booster. She likes not having to lay down as in the other carseat, and the view she has now as well. As far as I know, the law in NC is that you have to be in some form of child restraint until you are either 8 years old or 80lbs. Yes, there are MANY families that don't keep their kids in car seats that long, but the car seats I have now, once broken down to just the booster seat portion aren't "dorky" to the kids. My 7.5 year old sits in his and likes it because when he doesn't, the seat belt is too high on his neck. Seatbelts were designed for adults, so that's to be expected. I think the best answer is what you can afford. The one I'm talking about was I want to say about $160, but the investment is worth it as far as I'm concerned because its the last one I'll ever buy my daughter. If you want to get one that only goes up to 40lbs, you will just have to eventually buy another one down the road. Plus, if your son is growing like a weed like my daughter and people commonly mistake him for someone 2 or 3 times his age, he'll grow out of that car seat either height or weight wise by the time he's a 12-18 months. I don't know about you, but 3 car seats in that short amount of time sounds like a big waste of money!

Hi A.,

My sons are like your's -- very tall, very quickly. I have been through a number of car seats. Some because they got too tall, some because their shoulders got too broad. They are now 5 and 3 1/2 and I had to buy new car seats this past summer. They kept sitting sideways in their seats because their shoulders didn't fit in. I thought about getting just the flat bottom part, but we travel a lot so they need to be able to sleep comfortably in them. I ended up with an Eddie Bauer high back, convertible seat. It reclines to 3 positions, has a 5-point harness as well as the seat belt adjusters up high on the seat and arm rests that go up so you can get them out of the way. There are other seats that look the same, but they don't have the shoulder room.

They both outgrew the infant carrier within a few months. Then, I had a seat that they quickly outgrew the back-height. I loved my Britax, but they outgrew the shoulder space. Then, I had a Graco convertible, nice high back, but they out grew the shoulder space. Now, we have an Eddie Bauer (I got it at Babies R Us, but Toys R Us has the same one). The lady at the store said she has people that either love it or hate it. I told her that it had more shoulder room than the others I had tried (and I tried a lot!), she said that a lot of people were looking for high backs with shoulder space, so she was glad to know. She said that also made sense as to why some people hate it. If the child doesn't need the space yet, they may move around if there isn't a pad to support them. If you only want to buy one, I'd try this one.

Good luck, hope it helps!!