Forward Facing Carseats ??

Aidens__mommy

Would you rather have one that reclines or has a cup holder and snack tray? My mom wants to get DS a carseat for his 1st Birthday on Sunday. She asked which one we would like better. I have no clue what would be best. Which one would you pick?

ccm1203

Usually they are only suppose to recline when they are rear facing.  Forward facing sits up pretty straight.  So I would go with the cup holder. 

goodhartedmommy

Have you heard of or done any research on extended rear facing? It is much safer to keep a child RF until the upper limits of a seat, usually 30, 33, or 35 lbs? This is also what the AAP recommends. Do 30 minutes of research and it will probably have you change your mind on FF at 1 year. I would just get a convertible seat.

capemom

I would NEVER forward-face a one year old, unless they weighed more than 35 pounds (the highest limit on a rear-facing US seat) or were too tall to rear face. ?

A convertible seat will last you until 30-35 pounds rear-facing and then 40-80 pounds forward-facing. ?You will be able to use a convertible seat for many years.

I agree with GHM that taking a few minutes to learn about extended rear-facing may change your mind. ?I had no idea that the AAP issued this recommendation almost 6 years ago until I started looking into seats for my son. ?

The people on car-safety.org are really helpful in helping you find a seat that fits your budget, child and car. ?You do not need to register with them to post a question on their forums. ??

Good luck and happy birthday to your little guy!?

Aidens__mommy

Thanks! I will look that up! I think the one we have was part of a travel system and has a 22 pound limit but I could be wrong. But if it is 22 pound limit, they do have carseats that have a higher limit that can be ff and rf right? ok, I'm off to go look . . .

goodhartedmommy

Yes, there are some that are RF and FF. I recommend one that has a higher weight limit than 40 lbs. Some good seats are the evenflo triumph advance (on sale at Target right now for $119, usually around $139, and RF to 35, FF to 50), the first years true-fit (On sale all over the internet right now for around $150, RF to 35, FF to 65, great, great seat) britax marathon (Love this seat--on sale at albeebaby.com for $179 right now, and RF to 35 lb, FF to 65), sunshine kids radian (RF to 35, FF to 65, about $180-200)

It's best to go ahead and get a higher weight seat that will last them until around 6 when they're ready for a booster seat. They're a bit more expensive but are a better deal over all. 

If you decide that you don't want to RF longer, I recommend the graco nautilus. 

Aidens__mommy

Ohh! The evenflo triumph advance was the one my mom was looking at. That's the one she told me reclined? Maybe because it can be RF too? Thanks for all the help! I will look into the other seats you mentioned!