Mom of 14 Mo'old Seeking Advice on Forward Facing Car Seats

i love my marathon by britax and you can continue to keep her rear facing if you'd like
here is a great website
http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=bcus...

J.

My son is 22 mo. old & we use the Britax Roundabout too. However, he is still facing backwards (it is actually safest for toddlers to face backwards for as long as possible...research shows that toddlers facing forwards are at greater risk for sustaining neck & spinal cord injuries in side impact collisions). I'm very happy w/ the Roundabout.

Hi M.,

I used the Britax Roundabout for all three of my kids. It's one of the easiest to install in a variety of vehicles and it's got a great tether and LATCH system. It always gets great safety reviews. We actually have the Roundabout and the Marathon (the Marathon is big and goes to about 60lbs, the Roundabout goes to 45lbs). They are a tad pricey, but they are super durable, the straps do not twist (which happens on many others), and the kids are always pretty comfy in them as they are quite roomy. I hope this helps!

J.

Same recommendation as other posters ... Britax! Bought it for my 1 year old ...I don't remember if I have the Boulevard or Marathon, but I love it. I even bought a 2nd one for my 2-1/2 year old and the booster seat for my 6 year old. They're more expensive, but worth every penny. No more twisted straps and they are really comfy (so says my 2-1/2 year old).

fisher price safe voyage deluxe..........its made by britax....a wonderful seat.

Hi M.,
I am offering yet another vote for Britax. In all of our research we saw how safe it was AND easy to install.
B.

http://www.carsafety4kids.com/rearfacing.html

M.,

You'll want a seat with high harness slots and high weight limits to allow your child max use of the seat. Also please keep your little girl rearfacing as long as you can.

Have a look at the link above..it is really recommended now to keep your little one rear facing...my daughter stayed rearfacing until age 3 1/2 in her Britax Marathon (I turned her when she was 33 pounds), my son who is 2 (26 pounds) is still rearfacing in his Marathon...

As far as seats....the Britax Marathon, Boulevard, Decathalon are wonderful, (the Marathon probably most popular but all are great), most online retailers have them for about 230 shipped, email for good online retailers. My 5 year old will be able to use her Marathon until probably her 6th birthday when she will be too tall for it- most of the Britax seats should last your child until around age 5 so good value! The Marathon has quite a few girlie patterns too. The Roundabout is also a good seat, but it only goes to 40 pounds and has lower harness heights so it is outgrown earlier...but it's smaller for travel (although I travel with my Marathons just fine) and if you plan on more kids you can pass along to the next child.

Both the Britax and Sunshine Kids seats can also be tethered rearfacing...which adds to the safety factor...seats in the forward facing position are always top tethered, but rearfacing only the two mentioned above which is a nice bonus.

Other highly recommended seats are the Sunshine Kids Radian 65 (this is the seat the kids on Jon&Kate plus 8 are now sitting in) or Radian 80. The only issue with the Radian, some cars have experienced installation issues.

The new Triumph Advance by Evenflo is also rated well (goes to 50 pounds).

The Fisher Price Safe Voyage is made by Britax, is cheaper but doesn't have some of the features that make the Britax seats so wonderful, and it stopped production last year so replacement parts will be difficult and the seat you buy now will already have lost 1 year of use (they expire after 6 years).

Stay away from the Alpha Omega Elite...it has very short harness slots and will be outgrown before your child is ready for it's booster use. Same with the Graco ComfortSport, low slots outgrown too early.

You should plan on your little one being in a 5 pt harness until about age 5 to provide the most protection (moving into a booster too early is very unsafe although very common!)

Email with any specific questions....my carseat board connections have given me lots of info!

B.

I love my Britax Boulevard!!
http://www.britaxusa.com/products/product_detail.aspx?ID=1
And you should really condiser leaving her rear facing for as long as your convertible car seat allows...30lbs. I think on most. It is the absolute safest for baby. And don't worry about her legs. She will figure out what is comfortable for her (like indian style for example).
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx
Happy car seat shopping!!

My 17 month old is still rear facing in her Britax Roundabout. It goes to 40lbs. I LOVE the seat, its soooo comfy looking. My next fav. would be the Boulevard, it and the Marathon, and Decathalon harness to 65lbs. Like others said Britax is more exp but worth the money. If you dont want to spend the money but want the higher harnessing weight seats, the Graco Nautilus is at Walmart for about $150 and there are others like the Radian 65 or 80 I believe.

We have a Eddie bauer cosco 3 in 1 seat, and a booster version that has a back. Both go up to 100 lbs. I have liked the seats very much. I have no experience with the pp's comment on it being too short. My son is 4 1/2 now, somewhere around 40" and still fits into the harness. He may be at the top position, so I guess I will check that.
My son was in the 3 in 1 until we had our daughter.
I had read somewhere that the Recaro's got good reviews. Target has them on their website, and I think* Costco sells them.
Albeebaby.com has good prices, and free shipping over $100.

LOVE our Britax Marathon! High ratings from Consumer Reports, too!

Another vote for the Britax.