I am starting to look at getting a different car seat for DS. He is only 16 pounds but is getting long for his carrier. Can you tell me how to find out the safest one or where I can find the safety ratings? What would you recommend? Thanks
A good place to start is car-seat.org. You can search for your car make and model to see what works best. Some of the main things to consider are: how it fits your child, how it fits in your specific car, how long you want to rear face, how much you want to spend-- that kind of thing. If you cross post this in the Nurseries and Baby Gear forum here on the Bump with that info, someone on there should probably be able to give you a pretty good idea of what might be good for you. There's some very knowledgeable car seat people on there. Keep in mind, all car seats have to pass the same basic safety standards
so there really is no "safest" seat although some definitely have more
features that may make it even more effective beyond the basic safety
standards.
That being said, you're so lucky that you were able to use your infant seat for this long! My giant kid had to go into a convertible at 5 months. I bought a Britax Marathon that was a terrible fit for him and now we have a Clek Foonf, which I love. I can keep him rear facing to 50 pounds and 43 inches-- the highest numbers on the market for rear facing. The way my son is growing, I wanted every pound and inch I could get!
Re: Car Seat
One of the other girls probably knows a website with reviews. I've just been looking at the reviews on the retailer's website.
We are going with this one. We can't afford a $100+ one and this one has a great review from someone who was actually in an accident.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-Convertible-Car-Seat-Renaissance/16932760
Married: 1/2008 ~ DD#1: 3/2012
TTC #2: Started 4/2014 BFP 7/30/15 MC 8/3/15 BFP 9/4/2015 EDD 5/16/2016
A good place to start is car-seat.org. You can search for your car make and model to see what works best. Some of the main things to consider are: how it fits your child, how it fits in your specific car, how long you want to rear face, how much you want to spend-- that kind of thing. If you cross post this in the Nurseries and Baby Gear forum here on the Bump with that info, someone on there should probably be able to give you a pretty good idea of what might be good for you. There's some very knowledgeable car seat people on there. Keep in mind, all car seats have to pass the same basic safety standards so there really is no "safest" seat although some definitely have more features that may make it even more effective beyond the basic safety standards.
That being said, you're so lucky that you were able to use your infant seat for this long! My giant kid had to go into a convertible at 5 months. I bought a Britax Marathon that was a terrible fit for him and now we have a Clek Foonf, which I love. I can keep him rear facing to 50 pounds and 43 inches-- the highest numbers on the market for rear facing. The way my son is growing, I wanted every pound and inch I could get!