Forward facing car seat

Nikki - posted on 05/18/2009

I have a 27 pound one year old! Needless to say he's been in a forward facing carseat for awhile, but I am keeping it rear facing until he is 33 pounds,,it's safer. I did re-search on-line and found the Fischer Price Safe Voyage from Albeebaby.com it is made my Britax so it's super safe but over half the price!

Veronica - posted on 05/15/2009

I bought the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 and I love it! My daughter actually enjoys being in the car now! It also reclines a little so it makes if/when she naps in the car a little more comfortable then sitting straight up. I highly recommend!!

Abbi - posted on 05/08/2009

We have Marathon's for both our girls. When Maddi was growing out of the carrier, I spent weeks researching every car seat out there! It came out on top in just about every category, plus as someone else said, it's rated up to at least 65 pounds (I've heard up to 80) which means it's the only car seat you will have to buy and it keeps them in a 5-point harness which most car seats don't do after 40lbs. Jeff did a lot of research on car seat safety for kids over 3 (usually when parents move to a booster because of weight limits) and found that most car seats are less safe than just using the seat belt because they introduce another range of motion that isn't present when a child is just buckled in with a seat belt. Very interesting research out on that. If the Roundabout has the same weight limits as the Marathon, then I don't think there's a big difference in the safety rating since they are manufactured by the same company with the same materials. Happy shopping!

Tiffany - posted on 04/15/2009

I use the Britax Marathon at the moment it is great for rear and forward facing. She loves her car seat and it has the best safety ratings I have seen. It also holds up to 65 lbs, so she can use it until she is at least 4 or even older. I think it is definitely worth the investment!

Melissa - posted on 04/15/2009

Quoting Michelle:

Quoting Melissa:

I was told by my pediatrician that Jordyn will be in her infant rear facing car seat until she is at least 18 months probably. She is little and at the pace she is growing right now she will finally hit 20 lbs around then. Right now she is 10 1/2 months and she weighs 15 lbs. When she was born she weighed 7lbs 15.7 oz. she is just growing at her own pace at around the 0 percentile.

My son is growing at his own pace too.... For the 1st four months he was in the 98th percentile, shooting up in weight and height, and now he's somewhere around the 5th percentile.... He's 11 months and he still wears the 6-9 month size pants!!! It doesn't help that ever since he learned to walk he's working off every ounce of food I can cram into him!! He suddenly eats like three times as much as he used to, but none of it sticks!!! lol, my mom says I did the same thing, and WIC tried to call social services on her because they thought she wasn't feeding me!! I'll cross my fingers someone doesn't decide the same thing about me!

We are right there with you both!  Scarlet was 75% for height and 10% for weight until she was about 9 months old and she slowed her growth amazingly.  The doc told us that genes kick in around 8 months and both her dad and I are not large people in any way, shape or form.  She's now about 27% for height and not on the chart really for weight.  She's 11 months and weights 16 lbs/28 inches long. 

In terms of car seats, she is really, really interested in seeing out now.  I've read that the convertible seats are fine for kids her weight as long as they are backwards so now that she is older and so much more interested, we're goign to bite the bullet and get them and just keep her backward until she is 6 or something. ;-)  Given her size...

Based on what I've read and the feedback from friends, we're looking at the Britax roundabout and marathon.  I can't figure out if the extra weight capacity of the marathon will really matter for my tiny munchkin in the long-run.  I can't seem to tell if there are any other differences so we'll probably go with the roundabout unless someone here has any suggestions.... ?

Michelle - posted on 04/14/2009

Quoting Melissa:

I was told by my pediatrician that Jordyn will be in her infant rear facing car seat until she is at least 18 months probably. She is little and at the pace she is growing right now she will finally hit 20 lbs around then. Right now she is 10 1/2 months and she weighs 15 lbs. When she was born she weighed 7lbs 15.7 oz. she is just growing at her own pace at around the 0 percentile.

My son is growing at his own pace too.... For the 1st four months he was in the 98th percentile, shooting up in weight and height, and now he's somewhere around the 5th percentile.... He's 11 months and he still wears the 6-9 month size pants!!! It doesn't help that ever since he learned to walk he's working off every ounce of food I can cram into him!! He suddenly eats like three times as much as he used to, but none of it sticks!!! lol, my mom says I did the same thing, and WIC tried to call social services on her because they thought she wasn't feeding me!! I'll cross my fingers someone doesn't decide the same thing about me!

Melissa - posted on 04/14/2009

I was told by my pediatrician that Jordyn will be in her infant rear facing car seat until she is at least 18 months probably. She is little and at the pace she is growing right now she will finally hit 20 lbs around then. Right now she is 10 1/2 months and she weighs 15 lbs. When she was born she weighed 7lbs 15.7 oz. she is just growing at her own pace at around the 0 percentile.

Michelle - posted on 04/13/2009

In Colorado, at least, it's actually 25lbs, not 20!! That means my little runt (not his fault, mom and dad are BOTH tiny lol) will probably be rear-facing till 2!! (jk)
My best advice would be to just look at the ones on display at the stores, and decide which will be easiest and safest for YOU and your family. And definitely call your local fire department. I get so anal about that, it's scary not knowing for sure if it's in right or not.

Amanda - posted on 04/13/2009

I also have the all in one carseat. Just an FYI though I just took a child passenger safely class and they said that you should leave babies rear facing as long as you possibly can even if they are 20lbs and a year. They say that it's just so much safer than having that baby face forward! I know it's a pain in the butt I wish I could turn my daughter around but after that I will leave her rear facing until I physically can't anymore.

Jessica - posted on 04/13/2009

get one thats in your price range for starters. make sure it fits in your car nicely and meets all the saftey standards etc. and once you have all that checked off, if your still left with a couple choices, pick which one you think looks better LMAO.

Crystal - posted on 04/11/2009

I bought the 3 in one convertible...It is fine for ALL ages! I did have a carrier when my daughter was really young but when she got to heavy and i knew she could kepp her head up i out her in the big car seat that faces backwards....then u can turn it around and its good until they need a regular booster seat! And i cant weait until i can turn it around!!

Renee - posted on 04/06/2009

Cindy-

I had to laugh when I read your comment...I too used to train people how to properly use carseats through the Child Welfare Department. I am also on our local fire department and teach all the firemen how to use/take out/immobilize kids in the car seats.

Cindy - posted on 04/06/2009

I agree. Go to the store and play with them. Practice taking baby in and out of the seats. Ask if you can take the seat out to your car to see if it fits (They'll probably send someone out with you). Check out www.nhtsa.gov to see "Ease of Use" ratings - this is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, they do all the crash tests etc for carseats. I'm a car seat tech and we were taught that the "best" carseat is one that fits in your car, fits your child and one that you can use properly every single time.
And Please Please Please leave your child REAR facing in the carseat until he reaches the rear facing weight limit. Children are *MUCH* safer in the rear facing position. Also check with your local fire station/hospital/public health nurse to see if there are car seat clinics in your area to see if your seat is properly installed. Sorry, I'll step down from my soap box now.

Renee - posted on 04/05/2009

I got 2 car seats that go from rear facing to forward facing that I like. Easy to adjust the straps, latch/unlatch, and move...One of them also goes to a booster seat. I suggest looking for something that is easy for you to use and something that you will get the most use out of. There are A LOT of different car seats out there. Play with the different car seats that are on display at the stores.