Convertable Carseat

We have the Graco MyRide 65, rearfacing for my 9 1/2 month old. He seems very comfortable in it, it was easy to install, well priced and should last us for quite a few years, probably until he's ready for a booster.

He will outgrow his infant seat when there is less than one inch of hard shell above his head, or he goes over the weight limit. Until then, he is just fine in it. If its the Keyfit 30, he likely has plenty of room to grow. Legs hanging over the seat is no problem, so don't worry about that.

There are so many amazing convertible car seats on the market now. What you want to look for is a high harnessing weight seat, so your child can get the maximum use out of it. Avoid the 3-in-1 seats like the Alpha Omega or Safety 1st /Eddie Bauer 3-in-1. They are ok rear facing, but have short shells and are typically outgrown in height around age 3, long before a child is physically or mentally ready to use it as a booster seat. The booster portion of htose seats is also terrible, they have consistently failed booster seat crash tests because they position the lap portion of the belt up on the abdomen, and it needs to be down on the hips. Also, they claim to be the last seat you will ever need ,and thats not true. They will expire long before your child is ready to sit in the adult belt.

ANYWAY, look for a convertible that will rear face until at least 35lbs, and forward faces to at least 50lbs. Look for a tall shell and a high top harness slot, and a deep seat to provide leg room for an older rear facing child.

Evenflo Triumph Advance ($130) will rear face to 35lbs, forward face to 50lbs. It has infinite adjust harness, so no rethreading the harness, you just turn the knob to adjust. Most kids can use this seat with the harness until age 5/6.

First Years TrueFit ($150-$180) will rear face to 35lbs, forward face to 65lbs. Most kids can use this seat until age 6/7 with the harness because of its high harness weight and its super tall shell. The TrueFit premier has an anti rebound bar.

Sunshine Kids Radian ($200) will rear face to 40lbs, forward face to 65lbs (the XTSL will rear face to 45lbs, forward face to 80lbs). This is a greats seat, made of steel, and narrow so it can fit into smaller back seats easier. Can also be tehtered while rear facing (reduces rebound)

Graco MyRide 65 ($150) will rear face to 40lbs, forward face to 65lbs. Fits most kids in the harness to age 6. This is a great seat for extended rear facing, its its price is perfect! It has great side impact protection too.

Britax Marathon/Boulevard ($270) will rear face to 35lbs, forward face to 65lbs. Fits most kids to age 6 in the harness. Easy to install and move between vehicles, can be tethered rear facing (this reduces rebound)

Evenflo Symphony ($150) will rear face to 35lbs, forward to 50lbs, then booster. Seems like an ok seat and seemsl ike it makes an ok booster too. I don't know much about it though, its a fairly new seat.

Any of these seats will allow your child to remain rear facing as long as possible. My top picks are the Graco MyRide or the Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE. These will last a long time (at least age 5/6 in the harness) and allow your cihld to rear face as long as possible too, and the price can't be beat.

AAP recommends children remain rear facing until at least age 2 and 30lbs, or until the rear facing weight limits of hte convertible car seat. Please google EXTENDED REAR FACING and JOELS JOURNEY for more information.

A car seat is outgrown rear facing when there is less than one inch of hard shell above the childs head or the child goes over the rear facing weight limit. The harness must be at or below te shoulders for rear facing.

A car seat is outgrown forward facing when one of three things happens; the ears become level with the seat back, the foward facing weight limit is reached, or the shoulders go over the top harness slot. When forward facing, the harness should be at or above the shoulders.

the Harness should be snug as a hug, and the chest clip should be level with the armpits. The harness should also lay flat, no twists. And no bulky clothing, buntings, winter jackets, etc in the car seat.

To research car seats, go to www.carseat.org. I would avoid consumer reports... a few years ago it was revealed they won't tell anyone their crash test circumstances, and they had to retract their findings that same year because they installed and did the crash tests wrong.
www.safekids.org and find a CPST (certified passenger safety technician) to help you install the seat and show you how to use it properly every time.

Good luck, I love the Marathon Britax

I got an Evenflo Triumph Advance which was only about half the price of a Britax, and has similar features like the harnesses that adjust easily from loose to tight, or up and down as they grow. I think it's just as good. It is very user friendly and got really great ratings. My son seems very comfortable in it. It goes up to 50 pounds forward facing, and 35 pounds rear facing. http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Triumph-Advance-Convertible... I've also heard great things about First Year's True Fit but haven't used one myself. I would not personally get any of the Costco, Dorel or Eddie Bauer lines, they have a ton of recalls.

I used a few websites for research : http://cpsafety.com/articles/ConvertibleShop.aspx ; http://www.car-seat.org/ and consumer reports.com. You can get a trial membership for free to look stuff up. I also went the consumer products saftey commission recall website and just kinda looked at how many recalls one brand had versus another. I don't know if there were any with no recalls, but some had double or triple the amount of others. All carseats are considered "safe" so you won't find ratings systems for safety, just ease of use, comfort, etc. But being easy to use is important, you won't use it correctly if the instructions are poorly written or it is difficult to install, etc.

Consider leaving him rear-facing as long as possible. The guidlelines used to say you could turn them forward facing at a year, but now the American Academy of Pediatrics says 2 yrs (or whatever your seat is safe for). It really is safer. Being rear-facing is probably more important than the seat as far as safety goes. Yes, they might look cramped at 20 months, but even if you had an accident, leg injuries are better than spinal injuries. Good luck!

We have the Alpha Omega carseat and LOVE it! We started using it when our son was 7 months and we kept him rear facing until he was 15 months. Its about $180 and can be used rear facing to 40 lbs, forward with a harness to 50 lbs and then is a booster to 100 lbs. We will never need to get him another seat. We've already decided that if/when we have another baby, we are going to skip the infant carrier and go straight to the Alpha Omega seat.

We just bought the Evenflow Symphony 65. You can use it RF to 30 pounds, FF to 65 and as a booster until 100. I think this one has the best versatility for the price, and it seems very solid and safe with side impact protection and stuff. Another reason that we bought it was the size. My husband has a 2004 Jetta, and not many seats will fit there. This one does, without seeming flimsy or lacking features (like side protection).

We have an Alpha Omega that is a convertable so it can be front or rear facing or a booster seat later. We got it more than 3 years ago and it is still working well. I think Graco may make a good one (myride?) but it didn't fit in our smaller car. We looked at a Britax seat in the store but it also was too big for our car.

Since your son is on the bigger side like ours you may want to keep an eye on the upper height and weight limits for the seat (many stop and 40 lbs and 40 inches tall). My son is just turning 4 and is 43 inches and 47 lbs. We have him in a carseat still since it is safer and I don't have to worry about him wiggling out of it (he knows better but you never know what a kid will try).

You might also want to check some of the older posts on this topic since it is a popular subject.

i have a britax boulevard and a britax roundabout. i like them both. the boulevard is bigger and i feel he is protected more in that one. the boulevard is good also- easier to use.

We have the Britax Boulevard for our daughter (now 12 months). She is extraordinarily tall for her age (off the growth chart) and we switched to the convertible seat when she was 5 1/2 months (when she got too heavy for me to comfortably carry the infant carrier). The Britax is really easy to use - you can adjust the harness with one hand to adjust for clothes/coats/etc. and it's easy to install rear and forward facing (now that we've done both!). It's also really, really safe. We were involved in a serious 4-car accident, where all involved cars were totaled, and the seat most-likely saved our daughter's life. It kept her so safe and comfy that she almost immediately calmed herself while everything else was in chaos. The EMTs kept her in the seat in the ambulance and she smiled and played the whole way. The fire department even okayed the seat for continued use. (Most seats need to be replaced after a major crash.) It should fit her until 49 inches & 65 pounds. Britax seats are worth every expensive penny. :)

I recommend the Evenflo - we have them in both cars. I don't have the stats as far as weight and height and ours doesn't convert into a booster seat, but the reason I love it is for the dials on the side to tighten and loosen the straps. This makes it so easy to adjust especially in the fall and spring when you switch back and forth between a light coat and the bulky winter coats. I honestly haven't tried any other styles, but I know my mom's older seat is very hard to adjust.

good luck.

I had my car seat installations checked last year, and I was told that the next seat I should buy I might want to consider the Graco Nautilus. Apparently it is only forward facing, but then it later becomes a booster seat, and then a backless booster seat (effectively making it the last car seat you'll ever need to buy). The woman who recommended it also said it is a very safe seat. That's what I plan on buying. Just so you know, I don't work for Graco or anything--that's just what I was told to buy when I had my car seats checked.