recommend your convertible car seat

itsmyangel

I know Eli is only almost 4 months old...but he's getting to be a BIG kid.  (13 lbs at 2 month appt).  His carrier is getting pretty heavy for me so we were thinking about getting a convertible for my car while still allowing him to use the carrier seat in DHs car so we don't have to by 2 at the same time.  Don't have a large budget...but want it to be a good and safe seat. 

Also at what age did you start putting them in the seat part of your strollers and not the carrier....thats what I would have to do if I get a convertible

Carrie25

We have a Britax Marathon in my DH's car and an Evenflo Triumph advance in my car.  Hands down I like the Britax sooooo much better.  The straps stay and are nicer.  You can find them on sale on Albeebaby.com.  They have really good deals!  

Also, I think I started putting DS in the big part of the stroller around 4 months.  He still looked so little, but he liked looking around. 

fallbride110406

We put ours in the actual stroller seat around 6 months.  Once they had excellent head/neck control and could sit pretty good.

We have Britax Advocate 70's and love them.  We got them for just under $300 with a 20% off coupon at Buy, Buy Baby.  I know people like Sunshine Kids Radians but we just couldn't get over how small they look.

xtencornfield

We started putting Ethan in his stroller w/out a seat by 4 months. He had awesome head control long before then. We had to move him to a convertible seat by 5 months because he outgrew it for height.

We have two convertibles, an Evenflo Momentum 65 and a Safety 1st Complete Air 65. We like both of them and both are good for taller kids. The Evenflo was a bit easier to install (they have these awesome latches if your car has a LATCH system--so easy).

ladychicago

We got a Britax Boulevard (based on the Baby Bargains ratings and size considerations for our SUV, which is on the smaller side).   I am really happy with it so far!   We got a GREAT deal on Albeebaby.com. 

As for the stroller - she went into the actual seat of her stroller at about 4.5 to 5 months.   I waited until she could be in it without slumping too much.   But we also have a stroller that reclines all the way back, so that helped.   Without the recline, I might have waited until closer to 6 months.   

Courted

We also have the Brotax Marathon and I love it!  We have a cheaper one in DH's car and decided this weekend we need to buy a second Britax.

smeyer

My LOs were in a 'regular' stroller around 8 wks with no issues.  I hated our DSNG and loved being able to take them for walks in the BOB.

We just got our convertible seats from albeebaby.com.  We opted for Britax Boulevards.  They're pricey seats (Britax in general) yet worth every penny from a safety and ease of use perspective.  We got them for nearly 50% off so I'm not complaining.   

GypsyEsq

We have a Britax Marathon and a Graco MyRide 65.  I prefer the Graco.  Britax is the "name" but all seats are safe and some are frankly safer when you get to the forward facing use.  We like the Graco b/c it fits DD best.

We also had her in her stroller around four weeks - it had a full recline so there was really no issue.

charmcitygirl

We moved Jacob from his infant seat to a convertible right around 7 months.  He was getting crazy heavy, but I used the SnG a lot at that time.  We have a Britax Marathon and LOVE it!

LIAngel

We have a 1st years True Fit. 

dusk42

We have the First Years True Fit, which is fairly compact (the seat is deep) and goes to 65 lbs and is comfortable for her.  We also have a Scenera as a backup seat, but that only goes to 40 lbs.  Both seats go to 35 lbs RFing, so she'll be at least 3 before she outgrows them RFing by weight (based on her growth chart).  She has a lot of room to grow heightwise in both, and Baby Bargains rates both highly.

 

I would pick the seat that fits the best RFing in your car because you'll have it RFing for a long time.  You can usually try them out at BRU, etc. All of the seats are crash-tested, and from my understanding of the statistics, the safety differences between seats is not as great as the difference between forward-facing and rear-facing (I think they are four time safer RFing).  

 

https://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9316

https://fcs.tamu.edu/safety/passenger_safety/certified-tech/rear-facing2.pdf 

dusk42

Also check the manual and call the manufacturer to see what angle the seat can be installed at once they can hold up their own head - for some seats, you can adjust the recline from 45 degrees (necessary for little babies who can't support their heads in order to keep their airways open) to 35 degrees, and that made a big difference in how it fit in our car.