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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
penguinem
member
Finally 20 lbs! Recommend your front facing car seat...
penguinem
member
Usually I lurk... I'm online shy... but I am so overwhelmed with figuring out which car seat to buy.
We are looking to spend about $75, and I would consider an infant to toddler or just a front facing seat that goes through booster size.
What did you buy?
TIA!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Finally 20 lbs! Recommend your front facing car seat...
Because it's asked a lot? I don't lurk much....
This would be pretty lame Made-Up-Drama, wouldn't it?
I am actually just asking this boring of a question and wondering which car seat people have... sorry!
We have this one, and really like it. DS is still RF, but it can go all the way to 100 lbs.
We traded in our bassinet and watched for a sale so we didn't pay all that much for it.
I'd buy a convertible seat that can keep him rear-facing for a while longer.
We have the Evenflo Triumph 65 which can be rear facing up to 40 lbs and forward facing to 65. It was about $130, but there are plenty of seats out there with similar specs, including the Cosco Scenera which is on sale at Target this week for $35
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Yeah... I wouldn't mind keeping her rear-facing, but I just know she would love to turn around. I was looking at the Scenera.... thanks for the sale tip!!!
She actually is in the infant seat... she is so tiny and short, and I probably will rear face her for a while longer, even though I am anxious to turn her around in hopes that it will improve car driving. We have an infant seat that goes to 25 lbs and she -just- hit twenty lbs this week... I have obviously been putting this off way too long.... I was hoping to get a seat that went from 20- booster because I thought that would be more practical, but I am finding that the front facing seats don't even start at 20 lbs, most are 22 or more. SO, you and pp are right to remind me that I should not rush to face my small 18 month old forward.
Thanks everyone for the tips and responses!
OP, since you asked about forward-facing car seats, I will answer your question with this--I have 2 toddler seats. One is a convertible seat and the other is a forward-facing only seat. My 3 year old uses the forward-facing only and we love it. It's the Britax Regent, and it will hold him up to 100 pounds. Even though he is forward facing now, we intend to skip the booster seat and leave him in a 5-point harness as long as he needs to be in one.
My 13 month old uses the Britax Marathon. He is still rear-facing, but is 32 pounds and nearing the weight limit for the seat.
The reason this post is being called MUD, though, is that the majority of women on this board would prefer to leave their children rear-facing for much longer than 18 months and 20 pounds. If I may ask, why do you want to turn your daughter now? If she's never faced forward, it's not like she knows what she's missing. She's infinitely safer continuing to face rear, and you have plenty of weight left to go in any convertible car seat you would buy. It's obviously your decision and I will give you no grief for it, but please understand, it is MUCH safer for your daughter to remain rear-facing at this point in her life.
I would rear face for as long as you can. The idea that you should turn them around just so they can look forward seems silly to me. Have you seen the crash test videos? They speak for themselves. I was at the pediatrician's for my daughter's 15 month appointment on Friday and she said you should keep them rear facing until at least 2 years old, it's the new recommendation.
In the end it's your child.
Thank you for saying that in a rationale way. I have read recommendations for remaining rear facing until age 2 in parenting articles, etc, but never been involved in or read posts here discussing this issue. I wanted to turn her because she is frustrated backwards and I think that she would be more content facing forwards. However, I would never want to do something unsafe, and will be sure to research the issue further. This is part of the reason I chose to post, even though I don't usually, because I was unsure what to purchase/do/look for and knew that the women here may have some insight.
We have our 18 month appointment tomorrow and I will discuss this with the pedi as well.
In any case, I need to buy a new car seat, and I didn't even know where to start. SO, thanks to everyone for the advice and safety tips!
Target does have the one on sale for $35 this week... I went online and read the reviews for it and it seems pretty decent. I want to get my Mom and Dad this one for when they keep DD overnight and want to take her for a ride into town.
DH and I have the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite - I think I payed $175 or so for it... we love it and DD seems really comfortable in it.
What you have to remember is that you need to do what's right for you, your LO, and your family. It is much safer to have them RF. Do your research and make an informed decision.
PS - don't be online shy! Get on here and ask questions! As long as you're not posting porn, MUD, or doing "research" for your degree, people are willing to help and answer your questions.
GL!
FYI, OP, a lot of pediatricians are not "up" on the car seat issue. I adore my pedi and when I discussed extended rear-facing with her, she said, "Well, if you have a vehicle that accomodates it--I mean, some people have to turn their kids around because their legs are scrunched."
I don't want to promote fear or propaganda, but here's a video for you that I just linked on my Facebook. It includes statistics.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8
In the end, of course it's your child and your decision to make. My 13 month old is also antsy in his car seat until the car gets moving, but unfortunately for him, his "input" is irrelevant to me in this regard.
And you're welcome. I'll be the first person to jump someone's stuff if they're just flat out being ignorant and putting their child in harm's way, but hey, I'm also the first person to admit I turned my oldest son around at 20 pounds and 1 year because I "could." I didn't know the statistics on extended rear-facing and would have benefited from someone giving me that information. Now that I know, DS2 will stay rear-facing until he hits 35 pounds.......and then I'll be pimping DH for a new extended rear-facing car seat so I can keep him rear-facing longer. I'll have a pissed off DH, that's for sure, but it's worth it to me.
We got our AOE at Costco for approx. $70 and I also vote for continued RF as long as possible.
I agree w/pp that she may be more comfortable in a new, bigger seat. But as far as the fits... I don't know that they're related to being RF. IMO they just get irritated at being strapped in, period.
That's a great deal! Wish we could have done something like that. Unfortunately, we live in a pretty rural area in Colorado, so we don't have many options. I still have to drive an hour to get to a Target (oh, the horror!)... wish we had a Costco! Anyways, we had to order the carseat online at BRU.
What is the height limit? How big is that car seat?
We have the Britax Boulevard.
We purchased it through Diapers.com based on reviews of the Britax and the price point we were looking for, this was our best bet.
They usually have online discounts if its your first time shopping there too
And I am going to start the week off with a bang and say (with rare exception that I can't even think of now) that I do not ascribe to the "do what's best form your family." Know what's best for your family? A child who survived an accident or escaped major injury. So, if you put your child FF, I WILL judge and I will NOT be quiet about it. If you know the facts and you still choose to put your child at risk, I have no reason to not judge. Would you decide you don't need bike helmets or a smoke/CO detector? Would you leave your LO alone in the tub? No? So why in the world would you FF once you know the risks? I just don't get it.
We have a MyRide 65 too - it is smaller front to back than some of the others. It was one of the only ones that would work in the back of my car because the backseat is so small. I tried all the Britax and a True Fit.
Definitely do your research about rear facing. The safety issue revolves around when their spines fuse together so that they won't be internally decapitated in an accident. My DS fights whenever I put him the the carseat simply because he doesn't like having to sit still! Your LO might also like a convertible carseat better since they can typically see better out the windows in a convertible versus an infant bucket.
Be careful about the 3 in 1 seats too - I've heard that they aren't always great boosters since they don't position the seat belt well. You might be better off finding a good convertible and then getting a booster in a couple years instead.
Not sure if you can recommend other sites on here, but the car-seat dot org forums provided me tons of information on different car seats, best practices and there are lots of pictures of seats and installations on there.
OP, I know you think your LO will like being FF better, but I bet the PPs are right and she's tired of being in the reclined position. It really is best to RF until minimum 2 years and best, at the seat's weight or height limit.
This is the newest recommendation by AAP. My ds is 26 months and has still about 10 pounds and 1 inch on his car seat, so he will be RF until about 3. He's happy as a clam. The idea that they need to see forward is kind of silly since they've never been forward in the car- they don't know any better.
I completely agree with KK's 2nd paragraph.
DD is still RFing in the Safety 1st Air. Like your LO, DD only hit 20lbs. around 18m (she's 23lbs now). I get that you're excited that she "can" FF, I'm excited for my LO to be big enough to FF too. However, I'm setting that as a milestone for age 3 or 4, not 1 or even 2. She is a really small kid and probably will stay that way, and the best way I can protect her is to RF as long as possible.
The high weight limits on the Air are not really an issue because I doubt she'll ever hit the weight limit. She'll hit the height limit first, I'm sure. She's still got a solid 7-8 in. to grow, and about 17lbs.
You'll never regret RFing longer, but unfortunately you COULD be put in a position to really regret FF if something awful were to happen. Just a thought.
My daughter had her 1 yr check up last month. We had her in an infant seat until about 10 mos. She was getting too long for it, so we then got a convertible seat, which she has been in, rear facing. When we took DD to ped, she was 19 lbs, 13 oz, and 30". Ped said we could go ahead and flip her to FF! I knew it was supposed to be AT LEAST 20 lbs! But I checked her seat and hers says not to flip until at least 22 lbs., so we are waiting. I will research before changing the direction to see when I will do it.
BTW, I have the Cosco Scenera. It was only $35 and seems to be good. My only complaint is that because my rear seats have an angle, the seat sits almost completely upright, so when DD falls asleep, her heads falls completely forward.
THIS!
No kidding. I'd prefer broken legs over a broken neck any day, anyway.
I agree. I hate when people get in a fricking tizzy about women wanting to switch their LO to FF. To each their own. Let it be!
OP, I like the Evenflo Symphony. It can be used for ERF.