Carseat Help - Tucson,AZ

We use and love the Britax Marathon for my almost 4 and almost 6 year old kids. Highly recommend.

Since it is now recommended that children ride rear-facing until about 2 years old, a convertible carseat is definitely the way to go. I just picked up a Britax Roundabout 50 Convertible carseat at Babies R Us for my daughter and got a great deal. Britax carseats are known for safety ratings and durability and this one accomodates children rear-facing up to 35 lbs. and forward-facing up to 50. They're usually really expensive, but this one was on sale and Babies R Us is doing a trade-in deal. You bring in an old carseat, highchair, crib, playyard or bassinet and they'll give you a 20% off coupon to use that day to buy a new one. You can even trade highchair for carseat, etc. You might want to trade-in that Alpha and Omega seat you have if you don't like it. My daughter is not quite 5 months old, but will hit 20 lbs. in a few months and I wanted to take advantage of the deal while it lasted. Happy shopping!

I have two Britax Marathons for my one & two year olds. Love them! They are expensive, about $280, but worth every penny. We are very frugal people, but car seats are one of the items that we will not skimp on. I've used a really nice police officer who installs my carseats, if you live in Phoenix, her precinct is on 56th Street & Paradise Ln (south of Bell)....Officer Hawk. I purchased both my carseats from Babies R Us, look for their coupons that are 20% off. Good Luck!

I just purchased a new seat for my daughter. I went with the My Ride 65 by Graco. I love it. I bought it for three reasons.
1. It rear faces up to 40lb's which children after 1 year can be forward faced however, studies show that we really should wait longer as their neck muscles etc are still not fully developed.
2. There are many adorable prints and it has two cup holders which are very easily accessable
3. It's rated well for the side impact studies.
One great thing is I did the Toys R Us Trade in event. We had a 10 year old car seat we could not use and we got 20% off of the seat and thus it only cost us about $140 :)

C.

My little guy just turned 1. We have a "big boy" car seat for our other vehicle (Britax Marathon which we also love), but he is still in his infant seat in my vehicle. It goes to 22 lbs. I just ordered the Britax Regent last night (It was $100 off at Target.com, free shipping, and I get a 10% discount from the professional organization I'm in). It cost me $176- tax and shipping included. It is a forward facing only seat from 22lbs-80 lbs with a 5 point harness. It is the only seat I've found that uses the harness until 80 pounds. All others convert to a belt-positioning booster at 40 lbs. I did quite a bit of research and finally decided on this one based on price, range of use, and of course ratings. My husband used to be a car seat installer for his department and the 5-point harness is much safer than a regular belt. Of course, facing backwards is by far the safest with the harness, but he's almost too long for that now. My second choice would have been the Evenflo Symphony.

I have a 7.5 month old who is about to outgrow hers as well (height only- she's barely 16 lbs!) so I have been doing a lot of research. We also have an Alpha Omega Elite but its huge and bulky in my Kia hatchback! I like the Radian 65. Its MUCH narrower than other convertibles, goes rear facing until 35 lbs and is steel constructed so very well built and sturdy. It also folds for traveling and you can purchase a carrying case for it. I've also read that it can fit three across in the back seat of almost any car (if you plan on more kids and don't want to get an SUV or minivan). Its around $200 and so far I've only seen it online (ie not in stores). Amazon also has it right now with free shipping. Hope this helps, good luck!!

Here's a great site for getting car seat info: http://www.car-seat.org/
Lots of CPST's (certified technicians, the ones that work at the fire dept's and whatnot) that are happy to answer any questions!

At almost 1 yr, I would absolutely recommend keeping her rearfacing for awhile yet. If your budget will allow it, I highly recommend the Sunshine Kids Radian carseat. (We have 2 of these for our 2 yr old, and LOVE them) The new ones RF to 40 lbs, and FF to 65/80 lbs (depending on the model, although they are usually outgrown by height before 65 lbs anyway). THe Radian 65 usually runs about $219, the Radian XT (w/ side impact protection) is about $289. (Less if you can find a sale of course).
If those are too much, the TrueFit is a good seat too for about $150-170. RF's to 35 lbs, and ff to 65 lbs, w/ a nice tall shell.
Either of these seats will likely get your kid to booster age; many cheaper seats will be outgrown at 2 or 3 and so you'll need another harnessing seat in a year or two. (Including all Britax models, only the smallest kids will last to 4 even in most Britax convertibles. Roundabout, even less so because of the smaller shell).
The AOE is a decent, safe convertible seat, but a HORRIBLE booster, very rarely fits kids as a booster...so if you wanted to keep using that as a RF'ing seat for awhile while you save up for / research other carseats, she'd be ok.

I have the Graco Nautilus and LOVE it. My recommendation to you is to take your daughter to Babies R Us or wherever you plan to buy your carseat and try them out right there in the store. Put her in them, buckle her up, adjust the straps, get her in and out, etc. dD anything you would be doing in the car. Get help from a sales clerk. You will find one that works best for you. While I love our seat it is very heavy, We don't move it if at all possible. Good luck. Oh and read peoples comments about the seats online.