FTM Needs Convertible Car seat Recommendations Please!

tmk0325 · March 2016

Hi Ladies! I apologize if this has been asked already, I did try searching our board and didn't come across what I was looking for.

I could use some suggestions on convertible car seats! We are having twins, so we will need two of them and I am looking for something that would meet these requirements:
-Not too heavy to lift
-Good reviews/safety features
-Ability to be rear facing for up to two years (WI just passed a law that all children under 2 need to be in a rear facing car seat unless they weigh a certain weight)
-Will fit in a regular sized car (I own a Chevy Malibu)
-Preferably not over $200 and can be purchased at Target (where I'm registering)

I was originally going to go with a Graco Contender model, they have good reviews and a good price, however upon further review it does not look like they would be the best option for rear facing. Target has a plethora of options and as a FTM I have no idea what's worthwhile and whats not! Any brands to stay away from? Any that are better than others?

I do not need recommendations for infant car seats, I have that all situated.

Thanks in advance!

Curls919 · March 2016

We have the britax marathon and really like it. I don't carry it, it stays in the car so I have no idea how heavy it is. DS is 2 1/2 and far from the height limit for rear facing.

blond1230 · March 2016

I second the britax marathon. I'm on my third (two car accidents and insurance has replaced it twice). I just purchased the latest one and got it at kohls, because after shopping around it was cheapest there. $264 and got $50 in kohls cash so it really helped the price. I believe target will price match items FYI. I have the britax marathon click tight version which is more expensive than the regular marathon and I've gotta say it's a breeze to install especially if you ever move it to a different car, we also used on on an airplane. The regular marathon is wonderful too and if you're trying to stay closer to $200 this may be the route you'd want to go.

haboobjob · March 2016

I love my Britax Marathon G4. I purchased it on sale in December at Target for less than $200. I just checked and its on sale for $232 right now. We don't carry it so it wasn't a factor for me. So easy to install using the anchor points in our Kia Optima. We attended a police car seat safety event and they helped us install our car seat. They said the model was really good because it's a little taller and allows for rear facing longer.

tisunge602 · March 2016

The Britax Marathon is great, but it is HUGE. We have a Marathon for DH's truck and I have a Britax Boulevard in my car (a Honda Civic) as our primary seat. It's just as nice (IMO), a lot smaller, and about $50 cheaper. If you wait for it to go on sale you can get it for just over $200.

ETA: We did rear-face DS in the Boulevard until he was almost two, and he could still be rear-facing size wise but he is much happier in the car now that we've flipped him.

Lucie's List has an awesome breakdown of convertible carseats by price and features.
https://www.lucieslist.com/gear-guides/best-convertible-car-seat/

karaszoo1 · March 2016

Britax marathon here too love love love it and so does my 19 mo old.will be getting more for baby girl

PeachGal23 · March 2016

We have a britax boulevard clicktight in my car and a graco contender in my husbands. We love them both! The britax appears to have more cushion and fancy features, but the contender is just as safe. Both are used rear facing without any issues.

texasmama2014 · March 2016

Love my Graco contender! Still RF until she outgrows it which is no time soon, she's 20 months and I will RF as long as I can.
Car seats for the littles is a Facebook group that will help you figure out the best options.

smilormarie · March 2016

I would wait close to 1.5 years before purchasing the convertible so it lasts. Buying it now you will lose out on all those months until the kids are about 9-12 months and transition to the convertible car seat.

we really like our britax marathon but it is on the pricier side unless you find it in clearance or use coupons. Our very tall 2.5 yr old is still rear facing in it as it will take kids rear facing up to 40 lbs and he's just a tad over 31 or 32 lbs now. Luckily our SIL also did the marathon for both of her kids and when the 5.5 yr old just recently transitioned to a booster seat we got their hand me down which doesn't expire until right before our oldest turns 5. Perfect time for a high back booster anyway by then!

tmk0325 · March 2016

Thank you everyone for the suggestions so far!

@smilormarie they are actually going on my shower registry, so I'm hoping to avoid having to buy them. We have huge families and were told to put a lot on our lists!

Sekerambo · March 2016

Definitely go to bru or bbb to test the car seats in your specific car before deciding. We have been car shopping and are finding it very difficult to find a car that will fit two convertibles and still allow my husband to drive comfortably. The cars we have looked at are similar in size to a Malibu and my husband is only 6' tall.

ThisisNumber3 · March 2016

Why do you want a low weight for lifting? Typically a convertible just stays in the car. If you are looking for an easy instal or to move them from car to car I would highly recommend the new Britax ClickTight feature (on many of their models). It's redicukously simple to install with a seatbelt. No tightening.

runsoncoffee · March 2016

Has anyone used the Graco 4ever? My husband and I decided to register for this one...

tisunge602 · March 2016

@court5608 The idea of an all-in-one seat like the Graco 4ever seems nice, but lots of all-in-one seats don't end up being tall enough for kids once they transition to a booster, so you'll often end up needing to buy an actual booster down the road.

jamiesc58 · March 2016

@court5608 we have the Graco 4ever and absolutely love it. We didn't have it when our baby (now 11 months) was first born so we just used an infant car seat with a base. I wish I would have had the 4ever for the entire time. Yes, it was a little pricey for us but totally worth every penny. We will never have to buy another seat! Definitely getting another for this LO.

kiwico14 · March 2016

Check out the Facebook group Car Seats for the Littles. They have recommendations to fit your specific car as well as help for properly installing the seat. Be prepared--you will see a lot of discussion around 1) you should never front face a kid younger than 2, and 2) try to keep a kid rear facing as long past 2 as possible.

My my personal two cents--we got the Evenflo DLX or something like that and love it. The cheaper versions take up a ton of room, though.

runsoncoffee · March 2016

@jamiesc58 so will you be skipping the infant carrier for your new little one?!

PeachGal23 · March 2016

@tmk0325 just a suggestion: if you do receive convertible seats as gifts from your registry, you may want to return them for the store credit, and save that for when you are ready for the twins to move out of the infant seats. DD is tall, so she outgrew her seat just before her first birthday. In the time that your twins are in their infant seats, you may change your mind about what convertible seats you want, and new features/ technology may be out on the market.

jamiesc58 · March 2016

@court5608 we are still going to use the carrier that we have for outings where we can just clip it onto the stroller. We will probably got the 4ever at about 6 months or so when LO starts getting heavier. I found it easier to just pull the infant seat out and leave the baby in it especially if they are sleeping.

tmk0325 · March 2016

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions and I really appreciate it.

lmtrmama · March 2016

I know this is a few days behind, but if you can, try to go to the store and test a few. I have a highly rated graco seat that I have used for both girls. I literally cannot figure it out. I have had it for 4 years and it's touch and go. Some days it's fabulous and most days I'm cursing it under my breath. It's a pain to adjust and it's a pain to clip. Especially depending on your climate, sometimes the girls wear a coat early in the day and light clothes later and it's so difficult to loosen/tighten the straps. Just my two cents. Sometimes I feel like the safety rating is out the window because I can't adjust it properly.

Jenniferk08 · March 2016

I have a diono radian we will be using once baby outgrows the infant. I had bought it for my son after an accident but it won't last as long as I thought. I bought him a graco nautilus and keeping the diono safely in our house.

Ashlealauren · March 2016

This is a little late but we also had a Malibu and had a hard time finding car seats that fit so I thought I'd share what we went with. We went with this car seat from target:

https://m.target.com/p/eddie-bauer-deluxe-2-in-1-convertible-car-seat/-/A-15299881

Although I would not recommend this car seat because we had a heck of a time getting it installed because of the way the seat in our car angled. We had to stick padding under the front end of the car seat and I never felt that it was as secure. Anyway, this was about as big of a car seat as we could get in the back seat and still be able to sit comfortably in the front seat. So if you were to go to target it might be nice to use as a reference for size. We tried a couple other car seats and our knees were either in the dash in the front seat, or we just couldn't even get in.

Hopefully that made sense and was somewhat helpful.

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FTM Needs Convertible Car seat Recommendations Please!

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