Carseats...

JustJanie

So... I'll finally say it.  I wish we'd gotten a convertible car seat and skipped the infant bucket all together.

So we're shopping for one... and we're thinking about this one:

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2928027

(Hopefully it won't be this color!!!)

What do you know/think about it?  What are the advantages of some of the more expensive options, especially in Britax?

Thanks!!!!!!!

MeanMommyLady

I don't know how long your child is in the torso, but if she isn't really long in the torso (or REALLY tall for her age) the Britax might not be the best option for you at this point.  Because shoulder straps must sit at or BELOW the shoulders of a child when rear facing and Britax has a higher lowest strap position than some other seats it is important that you check on that before you make a final decision.

I have a First Years True Fit (one of the only convertibles that is actually highly rated for newborn/small infant use because the lowest strap position is actually low enough to be used properly/safely with them) we love our True Fit, but I do use an infant bucket first (and I really like our bucket seat).

JustJanie

Thanks for that advice.  My DD is tall and has a long torso, even for her height.  One reason I want to move up is because the straps in her current seat don't see to be comfortable.  I wonder if they'd let DD "try it" at the store?

I'll check into the First Years seat.  Thanks.  :-)

jkalmommy2b

First off, it's important to remember that all carseats pass the same safety tests.  There's no crash test data like there is for cars--it's more of a pass fail kind of thing.  So no matter what, they are all considered safe on the road.

Secondly, I wouldn't buy any carseat without trying it out on your child and in your car.  Different seats fit different cars by large margins.  We went to BRU and tried out seats in our car.  The Britax Marathon fit our car the best.  The Graco MyRide 65 was sat ridiculously high and the Evenflo Symphony was just too wide.  Trying it out in our car was a free service.  That said, we didn't buy the Marathon at BRU b/c their prices were too steep (we did buy something else that day).  If you search online you can find good deals on carseats.  

We chose the Marathon b/c it goes up to 65 lbs and seemed super comfy and we found it for $179 online instead of BRU $300 for the same seat.  I really can't argue with the quality of the seat.  DD loves it, and everything just works well, which I couldn't say for the straps on her old Graco bucket seat.  I also like that you can use the rear tether when it's rear-facing which only a couple of seats allow you to do, so that adds another level of stability in a crash.

Here's the website we ordered ours from, but I know other places have them too for good sales.   

https://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-convertible-car-seat-sutton.html 

goodheartedmommy

The roundabout is almost always a waste of money. It's outgrown way too early, RF and FF. I'd skip the britax and get a sunshine kids radian. They'll RF almost any child until 4 or later, and will last FF until a child is ready for a booster (in most cases).

Lucky_N_Love

I learned a lot about choosing our car seat from car-seat.org so definitly check it out. We are going to go with the True Fit Premier and I am planning on ordering it from diapers.com because I heard they have a great return policy so if it doesn't fit for some reason or I don't like it I can send it back.

IMO this was the best seat stat wise. A good combo of fitting for a long time height/weight wise.

Angela814

I wouldn't buy the Roundabout unless you have a really small car or a really small baby. We had one. It is a nice seat, but DD had outgrown it at just over 2 years. She outgrew it rear facing by 15-16 months.

A good convertible seat that will allow you to rear face longer is the Sunshine Kids Radian. It also has a high harness height for forward facing.

We have a Britax Marathon right now and have been happy with it if you want to go with Britax. I've heard complaints that it doesn't rear face as long (because the shell height is shorter). We have a First Years True Fit that's currently living in my sister's car. It has a higher shell height and weight limit if you are interested in rear facing longer. I've also seen a new larger version of the Britax Roundabout, but I don't know anything about it. It looked similar in size to the Marathon.

jescgrl

We just switched to the Convertable this past week. I liked the bucket while his neck was REALLY woobley... Once he got strength up we switched to it. This is the one we have for both our boys

https://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Alpha-Convertible-Nitron/dp/B001FB5BFC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1274879663&sr=8-1 

just different colors.

goodheartedmommy

The alpha omega is not really a great seat--it makes a DEADLY booster (proper belt fit is impossible), and the top slots are low, the bottom slots are high. I'm pretty comfortable saying that I doubt a 2 month old, especially a twin who is most likely still small, fits in an alpha omega at all. You probably  have at least 3-4 months before they fit properly. If you can return it, I would. It's not going to meet your needs for as long as other seats that cost the same amount of money.

Zoe'sMama

We're looking at the Sunshine Kids based on the size of the seat- they're narrower and fit better in our cars. The Britax seem huge to me.

I know it's secondary to kid-fit / safety, but if you're worried about car-fit at all check out carseatdata.org.