best car seat?

[mmaikisch]

Hello everyone =) We are taking a trip to disney in January, and my youngest dd will be transitioning from rear facing to foward facing very soon, (she will be 1 in september, but is still on the smaller side, so i can get away with rear facing for a bit longer, however will be forward facing before our trip). I'm looking for the safest and most comfortable forward facing car seat, but not sure where to begin, there are so many now..lol. We will be driving down, and it will take us about 17 hours (we drive straight through every year). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance =)

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

The safest way for a child to ride is in the rear facing position. The absolute minimum a child should be turned around is officially one year and at least twenty pounds.

Yet, that limit is not what most experts recommend for children. Most convertible car seats are designed for use in the rear facing position until 35 pounds. Children facing backwards are up to 5 Times safer than that same child in a forward facing car seat.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is currently discussing whether their official recommendation should change from the current absolute minimum of one year and twenty pounds to at least two years of age.

After that, all child car seats sold must meet Federal guidelines for safety. We currently have a Britax and an Evenflo. Both are easy to install in our cars and easy to use thanks to Latch attachments, readily adjusted straps, and comfortable seats. I hope that helps.

Our Britax Marathon is in our every day use car. Here is a link for a well priced Marathon. These seats are rear facing to 35 pounds and can be used to 65 pounds when forward facing. They are wonderful seats. They are easy to use and easy to clean.

http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-convertible-car-seat-sutton.html

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My DD rode in the car rear facing until her 4th B-day

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

DisneyMomma81, way to go on the rear facing car seat! My son was way too heavy to stay in rear facing until four, but my littlest one is so petite compared to her siblings that she just might do that as well.

Here is a wonderful and informative video for anyone who is intersted in seeing the differences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

 

[Ariel on Land]

Actually, if you can wait until later this month, Britax is planning on releasing the Marathon 70 which will rear face up to 40 pounds!!!! If I didn't have twins and would have to cough up over $500 I would SOOO be buying two new marathons so my boys could rear face for another 7 pounds. They're almost 3 and a half, still rear facing, but getting really close to that weight cut off. But whatever seat you do buy, please, do not turn that baby around yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[waltskids]

We still rear face our DD who is 14 months and only 19 lbs (technically can't face forward according to law). We will continue to rear face for as long as possible, well beyond the 1 year and 20 lb recommendation. We just came home from Florida and drove straight through from NJ (16 hours) and DD did great facing in the rear position. Just a thought...

 

[snubie]

The newer recommendations from AAP are that children should remain rear facing until 2 years old.

http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/30/4/12-a

 

[poegirl30]

We loved our Britax Boulevard, which we used from ages 1-4, (and still use it in one of our cars), but we have a Britax Frontier 85 that we use as our primary car seat. They are expensive, but I think it has been well worth the money.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Actually, if you can wait until later this month, Britax is planning on releasing the Marathon 70 which will rear face up to 40 pounds!!!! If I didn't have twins and would have to cough up over $500 I would SOOO be buying two new marathons so my boys could rear face for another 7 pounds. They're almost 3 and a half, still rear facing, but getting really close to that weight cut off. But whatever seat you do buy, please, do not turn that baby around yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

plus with the new line of Britax seats you can take off the cover to wash it w/o taking apart the seat! trust me, DD went through a car sick phase and this was my biggest pet peeve!

 

[mmaikisch]

op here =) Thanks for all the reccomendations, I will definetly keep her rear facing for as long as possible, I was just going with what my pediatrician had stated regarding facing her forward, however I would still love some car seat recommendations since she is in an infant seat currently (the one that attactches to the stroller) and I do need to get her into a larger car seat soon. I know most of the bigger convertable car seats can be either foward or rear facing, so any suggestions or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

[allie1078]

some great seats britax marathon or boulvard, evenflo triumph advance, graco my ride, radian. A great message board with lots of advice is www.car-seat.org. definetly re-face until at least age 2 if not longer.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

My DD rode in the car rear facing until her 4th B-day

You are my hero! I am hoping to go until ds hits the 35 lbs mark rear facing but we will see

 

[HLAuburn]

Not sure what your pediatrian told you about FF, but the fact of the matter is, we'd all be safer riding rear facing if it was possible!

That said, I've bought 3 convertible seats, all Britax. I'd highly recommend any of them. A Roundabout, Marathon, or Boulevard will allow you to keep her rear facing for awhile and, depending on how she grows, may take you all the way until she needs a booster. They are a little more expensive than some other seats, but as far as safety and ease of use, I think they're worth every penny.

 

[mom2minniemouse]

My recommendation would be the Graco My Ride 65! It can be used to RF to 40 pounds and FFing up to 65 pounds.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

The safest way for a child to ride is in the rear facing position. The absolute minimum a child should be turned around is officially one year and at least twenty pounds.

Yet, that limit is not what most experts recommend for children. Most convertible car seats are designed for use in the rear facing position until 35 pounds. Children facing backwards are up to 5 Times safer than that same child in a forward facing car seat.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is currently discussing whether their official recommendation should change from the current absolute minimum of one year and twenty pounds to at least two years of age.

After that, all child car seats sold must meet Federal guidelines for safety. We currently have a Britax and an Evenflo. Both are easy to install in our cars and easy to use thanks to Latch attachments, readily adjusted straps, and comfortable seats. I hope that helps.

Our Britax Marathon is in our every day use car. Here is a link for a well priced Marathon. These seats are rear facing to 35 pounds and can be used to 65 pounds when forward facing. They are wonderful seats. They are easy to use and easy to clean.

http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-convertible-car-seat-sutton.html

Took the words right out of my mouth, right down to the Marathon.

 

[ashleyasiegel]

Graco My Ride 65 is the seat that we use for my DD who is still rear facing at 2 years 2 months. She has about 9 lbs and one more harness strap but she has to forward face. So hopefully we will be able to get to stay rear facing until as least 3. We love this seat with the higher weight limit. DD likes because she is comfy and dual cupholders One for her drink and the other for a snack or a toy.

The seat is very affordable so that a plus in my book!

 

[aeschbaa]

I agree with the PPs about Britax. We have 4 Britax seats, a combination of Marathons and Roundabouts. You can often find decent sales on Britax if you look around online. They are on the pricier end of carseats but their safety ratings are phenomenal. A huge plus is that they are incredibly easy to install!

 

[Bren's Mom]

Britax seats DO tend to be easy to install...but they have the least amount of leg room of just about any seat out there.

OP, so glad you've decided to rear-face your dd longer than 1 year now...she will be SO much safer. And kudos to all of you who have rear-faced for an extended period of time. BRAVO!

As another pp said, I encourage you to post on car-seat.org with your dd's height, weight, name of her current seat, vehicle(s) you need convertible seats for, your max budget per seat (or total, and how many seats you need) and mention that you will be traveling via air in the near future. There are lots of great parents/caregivers/techs with lots of experience with all different types of seats. Others have mentioned the Graco MyRide, Evenflo Triumph Advance, First Years True Fit...there are several others as well which are excellent. All of the seats have pros and cons.

Good luck!

Coleen
CPST