Another car seat question

Mrsmommy12 · August 2013

So I know kthers have already posted recently but our prediciment is a little tough. LO is 15 months and very small but tall. She weighs maybe 20lbs. We have a 05 Nissan Altima and want a convertible seat that we can have rear facing as long as possible. Problem is that my husband is 6'3" and keeps his seat really far back so cuts some of the backseat. Also, we need it to be pretty inexpensive. Any suggestions?

ilanat · August 2013

Maybe try to look for a Btittax on sale, or last year's model and (like previous poster suggested) put it on the passenger side. We love our Brittax Marathon. It is a convertible car seat and one thing I love about it is that it has a great safety record and is supposed to last for several years through many stages of toddler's development, so I see it as a great value.

princesscto · August 2013

ilanat said:

Maybe try to look for a Btittax on sale, or last year's model and (like previous poster suggested) put it on the passenger side. We love our Brittax Marathon. It is a convertible car seat and one thing I love about it is that it has a great safety record and is supposed to last for several years through many stages of toddler's development, so I see it as a great value.

We love our Britax Marathon as well, It is worth every penny in my opinion.

JENandJEH · August 2013

The suggestions of a Britax may not last your child very long rear facing since you said she's tall. Their shells are shorter than other seats even though they SAY they'll last children a long time. If you're wanting to rear-face past age 2, I would skip the Britax.

Check out the Facebook group Car Seats for the Littles...they will be able to help. For starters, I would look at the Graco Size4Me/MySize/Headwise. They are all the same seat, just sold under different names at different stores. They have one of the highest rear-facing height limits on the market and install pretty compactly (front-to-back). It would most likely be a seat that could take you from rear facing to forward facing and last until it's time to buy a dedicated booster (most kids aren't ready for a booster until closer to 6). Good luck!

limetango · August 2013

They aren't cheap, but we went with a Diono Radian R120 because we will never need another seat again. It RF til 45 lbs or 44 inches, front faces with 5 point harness to 80 lbs, then converts to a booster up to 120 lbs. We only have one child so we have her seat installed RF in the middle back seat of our 2007 Hyundai Tuscon. My husband drives with his seat all the way back and we have not had any problems. I have heard many people say their children were able to RF in the seat well past the age of 3, some even 4 and 5. The only reason we spent the money on it was the fact that it would last her forever.

We also have a Graco MyRide 65 in my husbands Honda Accord as a back up seat. That one is also in the back middle seat and does not interfere with the front seats at all.

preggersin2011 · August 2013

Maybe its your car? When LO was behind the passenger rear facing, the front seat was all the way back and there was enough room for the seat in my jetta. maybe move the seat to the other side of the car?

LittleApple · August 2013

Can you put it behind the passenger seat? Her kiddo is pretty small so Britax might work for her. They work for my small kids too and I love Britax.

I agree with PP about the Graco Headwise seat. Check it out!

Mrsmommy12 · August 2013

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am waiting for Facebook to accept my join request right now, I had no idea it existed. I so appreciate your help, this is my an issue I want to go into lightly.

tarajayne · August 2013

I have a similar issue, pontiac vibe and want the seats to be able to rear face until 2. My husband is 6'2 and he drives the car and has to pick up the kids from day care (I have 2 so moving to other side is not an option). We don't have a large amount of money to spend either.

jmschmidt23 · September 2013

I would like to say that I also am a big Britax fan. I have a Britax Boulevard for my daughter. I choose it as her convertible car seat. bc of their leading safety standards and features. Such as Side Impact Protection with deep side walls, and 2 point Versa Tether to minimize forward movement in a crash. Plus they have many different seats to fit everyone's budget. I have had many Britax car seats (I have 3 kiddos) and have always been happy with my purchases and feel that my kids are safe in case something happens. I am a member of the Britax Safety Squad but the opinions expressed here are my own.

ebp913 · September 2013

Do not do a Britax seat if you want to rear face for a long time. Britax has great marketing and has convinced everyone that their seats are safer than others. That simply isn't true. There is nothing wrong with a Britax seat at all and they are great for certain kids but they don't rear face very long for taller kids and that's why they are not often recommended by car seat techs for kids over 30th percentile.

The Graco suggestions here are good, as is the Diono Radian.

Can you not put the convertible seat in the middle so that both the driver and passenger can recline? The Radian is GREAT for that purpose because it's narrow so it often fits between the front seats.

Linzeeb · September 2013

I've been happy with my Eddie Bauer car seat. It rear faces to 40 lbs and front faces to 65. Fits well in all of our vehicles (F250, Outlander, and Mustang) I purchased it at Target for under $100.

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