Friday, January 26, 2007

New Car Seat?

I think Isobel needs a new car seat. She is still in her infant carrier seat. At her last doctor’s appointment she weighed 20lbs and that was a month ago. I think she is 22lbs now. Have you guys switched Avery and Cole to a new car seat? Are they still rear-facing? I read that it’s best to leave them rear-faced until they are 20lbs and one year. BUT – with the older car seats can they also be positioned rear-facing? She looks so uncomfortable in her car seat right now, and I’m pretty sure she’s exceeded the weight limit by a pound or two. Any advice on car seats?


  1. Although I'm sure that there are several good carseats out there, I've heard that Britax- hands down- are the best quality/comfort/durability. We switched over last month when Cole was in the same situation...just over 20lbs and his head was hitting the top of the infant seat. He is SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE now and...he can see out the window which makes the car rides a lot more enjoyable for both of us.

    Apparently, the Marathon (Britax) is the big hype...but the Roundabout (the model just below the Marathon) only differs in weight capacity. They do have better fabric choices though for the Marathon. My sister said that her daughter- who just turned 5- still fits into the Roundabout's weight/heigt limit. I guess that means that you don't need something much bigger unless you have a child that is exceptionally large.

    And I'm pretty sure it is 20 lbs AND 1 year to face forward. Cole faces backwards in his new carseat. It works just fine.

    It's an exciting transition. It's so much easier to strap him into his bigger seat. And it's really nice to be able to leave it in the car. Let us know what you go with. (I really like the zebra print. :) )

    Oh, make sure you look for a "convertable" car seat. That means that it can be both rear facing (until she turns a year) and forward facing.

  2. I'm with Kelli. The Britax carseats are the best. My sister did a TON of research and scowered all possible carseats for her girls. I didn't do much research before buying Avery's. Plus they are an English brand so you shouldn't have any trouble buying one over there. They are a little more expensive than other convertible carseats, but worth the money in my opinion.

    Avery is only 17.5 pounds, but I just thought that she would like the Britax. You can actually use the Roundabout from the time babies are newborns. It's for 0-40 pounds. But, the infant carrier is just easier to transfer and mobile from car to car until you turn the Britax around. We still put her in the infant carseat when taking Devin's car. We got the Roundabout too. The Marathon can hold more weight, but by that time you can transfer them to a booster type one.

    Once they grow out of the Roundabout, there is a booster seat that they can use up to eight years old. It depends upons which state you live in. I think California law states that kids need to be in a booster seat until 60 pounds AND 8 years old or maybe 7. has a lot of useful information, but it's best to keep them rear facing until 20 lbs AND one year. It's actually safest to keep them rearfacing for as long as you can. Carseat lady actually recommends 22 lbs and one year. Ave faces backwards in her seat as well.

    Definitely an exciting transition. I don't think Avery was excited as me to see herself in it, but it's fun. And she can see out the windows and it seems to sit up more so the sun doesn't shine in her face as much as the infant one.

    Let us know!

  3. You girls are great. Thanks for the info. I think it's safe to say we will definitely be buying a britax. I was so overwhelmed looking for a new carseat. So many options! Thanks for the tips.

    I just checked the britax websites (different one for the uk and us) and the models are actually different.Maybe different safety regulations? Hm. I'm going to call their customer service and ask which one is comparable to the marathon and roundabout. Thanks, again. Will let you know which one we go with.


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