Son Growing Out of Infant Car Seat.

WOW 8 months and just now outgrowing! Mine both outgrew the infant carrier by 5 months. I would buy a car seat that is designed to go up to 100 pounds they are more expensive but the cheap ones only go to usually 40 lbs. so its actually cheaper in the long run because it will be the last one you have to buy. I bought a Safety First for about 150$ and I love it.

You will need this seat 4 to 5 years so go ahead and spend the money on a good one. The height, not weight has been a problem with my son growing out of his seat.

I must second the Britax car seats. We have 3 and love them. We bought the roundabout first and it only goes to 40lbs so for my son we boght the decathalon and now have a rondabout for my daughter. I will keep my kids in a 5 point harness as long as I can. At the rate my daughter is growing she may still be in one at her senior prom.

Nicole, I personally wouldn't buy anything other than a Britax. My 3 1/2 y/o son and I were in a major car wreck when he was only 1 1/2 yrs. We were hit from behind by a speeding teenager and rolled 3 times/ended upside down. He was in a Britax Roundabout and the 5 point harness/car seat saved his life. Both of us walked away w/o injuries. I've talked to many moms and they all say the same thing. I think one of the Britax's (maybe the Marathon) allows longer use b/c of taller head support. Good luck!

Hi N. T~

The next move would be a booster, but as a eight-month old you actually need another bigger car seat (toddler) versus the new born kind..

SO basically, car seat, toddler car seat(if you didn't get one at the beggining to cover the age and size range) and then last is a booster up until 80 pounds or the childs feet touch the car floor in the back and seat belt fall correctly over the shoulder area.. when in doubt consult with your pediatrician. We have been very serious about our son's car seat saftey and since he was long and big some people would joke that he was still in a car seat, but we are educated on things and knew we were doing the correct thing.. my son is currently 7 turning 8 in sept and he will only move out of his booster once he reaches 80 pounds and/or tall enough..
DO WHATS BEST FOR YOUR CHILD, no matter what others tell you. But I can tell you at 8 months you need a bigger durable car seat which should last you until booster time.. I suggest looking at a brand I think is called GRACO! Everyone has a preference... GOOD LUCK SEARCHING but dont get a cheap one as you will may have to buy again prior to booster time. Cross-check brands.. I see everyone going for Britax and perhaps they are the best going at this time..do your own research!

Best,
MammaMe

I have twins and both of them are in the 95% on height. We bought the Britax Marathon and the babies love them. They are so much more comfortable than they were in their infant carriers. Most importantly, Britax has very high safety ratings. You can't go wrong!

When my son grew out of his at around 6-7 months we got an Alpha Omega and we love it! It faces forward and backward! It has the latch system as well. Good luck!

Graco Nautilis. On market for less than year but seems to be working out well. My 3 year old is 32 lbs and will be in the 5 point restraint till 65 lbs. Do your research. Very few carseats have 5 point restraint all the way up to 65+ lbs.

Britax hands down are the best seats on the market. I did a video for NHTSA on car seat selection and safety and that is what the NHTSA expert told me. It's worth the money!

Your son needs to face backwards until he is at least a year old AND 20 pounds. He has to be both before you can turn him around. A Britax Boulevard is a good choice. It goes up to 65 pounds and has true side impact protection. You could get it now and install it with him still facing backwards and then turn it around when he's a year and 20 pounds.

Hope this helps!
N.

Britax. We love our Boulevard.

We got the Britax BLVD.

And it was a debate between that and the Recaro Signo. Both are the absolute best in the business but Britax won out due to it's tenure in the industry. However you can't go wrong with either.

Yet again, I say Britax! I think you will have a hard time beating out Britax for Safety, comfort and ease of use. If you go with the Marathon(little cheaper than the Boulevard) he can use it rear facing to 30 or 35lbs (can't remember which) and forward facing to 65lbs. My son will outgrow the height limit before the weight. So your son can use it for the next 6 years which is the limit on time you are supposed to use any car seat. They cost around 260.00 (my husband always cringes at the price,lol), but you won't have to buy another car seat for 6 more years! They have them in store and online at both Target and Babies R Us. Also, there are lots of internet stores that sell them with free shipping. I like www.tinyride's website. Go to www.britax.com to get info and details all the whole Britax line. Good luck

Ps, In case you haven't heard, it is now being recommended that we keep our kiddos rear facing as long as the car seat allows. Recent studies have shown that even at 1 year and 20lbs. there is still a high risk for spine injury when kids are forward facing. No baby has been found to have leg injuries facing backwards(which would be bad,but preferable to paralasis or death). FYI. Google it. There is lots of good info. and explainations on the net.

I recommend that you get one that faces forward and backwards. Even though he is outgrowing his infant carseat, he still needs to face backwards.

Britax makes one of the best car seats there are. LOVED our Britax booster seat too.

Blessings,

____@____.com

We have a Britax as well...We got the Diplomat because my son is smaller and will probably be in the 7th grade when he could be weight wise out of the Marathon. I have heard, unless you have an SUV, the Marathon is rather big in a sedan. We moved ours up at around 8 months as well.

N.,

We used the Britax as well. I believe it is top rated for safety, but more expensive than others. We thought the price worth the safety.

However, I recommend the ROUNDABOUT model, not the largest Marathon that many get. Since we travel from time to time, on airplanes, and did not want to lug the absolutely humongous and heavy Marathon on a plane, the Roundabout was easier to handle. We have never regretted this decision. Once my daughter outgrew the Roundabout (which will happen sooner than the Marathon) we happily moved her to a booster, which she likes. It is very light and easy to move in and out of others cars for playdates, field trips at this very active preschooler age. By contrast, our friends with the Marathon make every possible change in plans to AVOID moving their carseats since they admit they are so heavy. Then they end up breaking down and buying a booster seat anyway, even though their kids have not outgrown the Marathon, just to avoid the hassle.

Save the extra expense of the Marathon and put it towards a booster instead. Go with the Roundabout.

Good luck!

I can't say enough good things about the Britax Marathon. My older son is now 4-1/2 and is still in it. A lot of his friends are in boosters, but I chose to keep him in it since the five point harness is much safer. We just put our younger son who is 14 months in his own Marathon.

One thing I am really glad I chose is the denim cover. It is not available at BRU or Target, but you can find it online. I got it at Right Start in Plano, but I think that store has closed. The denim cover (I think called New Blues) is the only one Britax makes that is 100% cotton. I have found it to be much cooler than the typical car seat cover for the Texas heat. My older son's seat is worn in comparison to the second denim one we had in my husbands car. It feels like your favorite pair of jeans!

Good Luck!

Britax has the best safety rating that I could find. I bought mine online, which is cheaper than Babies R Us. It provides superior side protection.

Its a bit pricey, but we really like the Britax Roundabout. Its a convertable, and it has been been comfortable and easy-to-use in both forward and rear-positions.

Hands down we love our Britax Marathon. Check the internet for the best prices. Our son has always been in the 90% for height and weight and I feel very comfortable with him in this car seat.

We have an Evenflo one for my 11 month old and LOVE it!! I can't remember what type exactly but i know we paid like $105 for it at Babies R Us. Very good car seat, easy to use, front and rear facing and comfortable. I highly recommend it!!

I love our Britax Boulevard, but I would check out http://www.carseatdata.org/ before you purchase a seat. The Boulevard and certain other car seats are BIG and don't always fit well (or at all) in all cars. That website lets you look up reviews of car seats by your car make and model to see which ones have installed well. Good luck!

We recently purchased the Britax Marathon and this is the seat my Dr. recommends. It's pricy but it lasts up to 60 lbs! Good luck!

When my twin boys grew out of their convertible (we used the Evenflo Triumph), we moved them into the Britax Regent. It will keep them in a five-point harness until they are 80 pounds. I just wanted to point out a couple of things...1) The Britax seats are good quality and my boys are comfortable in them, even when falling asleep in the car. We have never regretted the money we spent on them, and will do the same for our next set of twins when they outgrow the convertibles. 2) No matter what convertible you use to transition from backward to forward facing, definitely consider your future needs. So many parents are going to the booster seats by 2 and 3 years old and the current research is showing that this is too soon. So when doing your research, you might want to consider the seats that keep them harnessed for as long as possible. Hope you find what you need!!

My vote also goes to Britax!!!

We had the same problem our son was too tall for his infant car seat by 6 months and almost to the weight limit (had I known it wouldn't last that long..I'd never have spent that much mone on it). We ended up getting an Eddie Bauer one from Babies R Us that is convertible and holds something like 5-80lbs so it's good from beginning to end. I LOVE this one, it has adjustable headrest, armrests, cupholder, 5 point harness. Only down side to it is it's not the easiest to get the cover off and wash. It was $180 but they are always sending out coupons for gear like this. We also have a couple different convertible Graco ones but don't like them near as much.

my daughter loves her britax marathon. it is big (can safely hold a child up to 65 lbs) but not too big for my small suv (honda crv). she has always been in the upper percentiles on weight and height, so i wanted to get something super safe that would last a long time. some of my friends with smaller cars are more than pleased with their britax roundabouts. i have been interested in the britax models that have extra side impact protection and might get one of those when our son (due in november) outgrows our infant carrier. i agree to look online for better prices, i believe ours was $40-$60 less online than at babies r us and it was free shipping and everything.
good luck! you can't go wrong with a britax :) it's definitely worth the extra money.

Britax are the best. You can find a variety of seat covers at Lone Star Baby & Kids in Frisco, Dallas or NRH

I also have twins and we also have Britax, We have the Boulevards for them and they love their carseats! We travel by car quite a bit, 27 states so far and the girls are only 25 months!!!!

The is also Recaro. I have one convertible car seat and one booster, and we love them. I have two Britax, as well.

We got the smaller Britax - which I love for ease of use anc comfort. I really did my research and tested them at the store to make sure I wasn't gettting just because it's the cool thing to do, and I'm so glad that I did. Now that I've done a bit more reading, including some postings on this site, I've realized that maybe I should have gotten the bigger one so that my daughter can be in a 5-point harness longer w/o buying a 5-point booster then a regular booster! Apparently 5-point is best until around age 5. The smaller one is easier to travel with, but I think I should have spent the money on the bigger one so we can use it longer. (For travel, car rental companies rent seats - not great, but it's an option.)

We just moved our daughter to the bigger car seat and I would not buy anything but a Britax. I have a friend at work who bought a Eddie Bauer and she has told me that if she could take it back she would. We bought the Marathon, it goes to 65lbs and 49inches. I bought it off ebay brand new and got a really good price on it. Good luck hope this helped.