Convertible Car Seats

[Courtney Apgar]

Help! My 3 month old has just topped 17 pounds, so the infant seat we currently have him in is clearly not going to cut it too much longer. I'm looking for a really great, usable convertible seat. I have a car with a large interior, so no worries about the size, but it needs to be easy to get in and out of quickly, as my son currently hates riding in a car seat, but tolerates it if I can get the car moving quicky once he's in or get him out quickly once we're home...

[Amy]

Cara HATED her infant carrier from day one and we switched to a convertible car seat when she was around four months. We bought the Alpha Omega Elite Convertible by Cosco [which goes up to 100lbs] and car rides w/her instantly became more bearable.

[diane]

I just switched my son to the Recaro Signo convertible seat from the Chicco keyfit infant seat. He is nine months old and over twenty pounds and I just couldn't carry the infant seat anymore. The Signo is huge but seems to fit nicely in my car (I drive a '03 Honda CRV.) It is very plush and my son appears comfortable in it and has no problem falling asleep on long drives. I still have it rear facing and it is a challenge to get him in and out of it, but I think that would be true of any seat. I like how it easily buckles and unbuckles, but he could not figure out how to do it. He hates being strapped in, but settles down quickly once buckled. The seat is good up until 70 lbs or age eight, so it should last quite a while for us until he is old enough to go without one or just a booster. Maybe you could try out some seats in the store and see how easy or not it is to get your little one in and out of different models? Good luck!

[Eli]

The Britax seats are a great choice. The Marathon is what we have and it is rated for 33 pounds rear facing and 65 pounds forward facing. It was an easy install using the LATCH system but you can use a seatbelt instead. It also offers a rear facing tether for extra safety. The stores usually let you try out the seats for what is a good fit for your child and vehicle. There are websites you can go to for recommendations and advice by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians. Try www.car-seat.org. Good Luck !

[sparkyd]

Definitely check out the forum that Eli linked to (car-seat.org), it is an AMAZING resource for all things car seat. You can search for information on any seat you are interested in, or ask any questions you may have. I'm in Canada and we have different seats here so I'm not going to recommend anything specific, but I will offer the following points:

1 - It is much, much, much safer to keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible (ideally until they are at least 2 years old), so get a convertible seat that has as high a rear-facing weight limit as possible (highest I've seen is 35 lbs).
2 - Get a seat that will allow your child to stay harnessed when forward-facing up to at least 65 pounds.
3 - Don't get a 3-in-1 "only seat you'll ever need" car seat, because it will not be the only seat you'll ever need. Most kids outgrow the harness (which on these seats only goes to 40 lbs) by height before they even hit 40 lbs, which means you'll need a new seat (and besides, you really want them harnessed way longer than that - until they are about 5 years old, minimum). Plus, they make crappy booster seats.

We have a Britax Marathon (great seat, nothing bad to say about it except I wish it rear-faced longer) and a First Years True Fit. We just got the True Fit so I can't offer much of a review. Only bad thing about it so far is the adjuster in the front is hard to reach when installed rear-facing. We just don't loosen it!

Good luck!

[Milena]

Britax Marathon. We have had it since Eva was about 9 months. She is going on 28 months now, and I don't have a single complaint about it. Very comfortable for her and easy to get her in and out of. It has velcro to hold the straps to the sides which makes it a breeze to get her in without too much fuss. She falls asleep on it better than on her other car seat (in Daddy's car) which is a graco reclining, fancy, but huge and bulky car seat.

Britax isn't cheap, but it isn't the most expensive either. I think it was money well spent.

[IGNYC]

The Maxi-Cosi Priori is phenomenal. I had a Graco ComfortSport first and that was a huge waste of money. I couldn't ever get the straps to tighten evenly on that one. The Priori was easy to install and super comfy - my daughter falls asleep instantly the minute we recline the seat.

[Stephanie]

Hey stranger ;) A lot of my friends have the britax and if you can afford it, it's really really nice. If you want a cheaper alternative, we had the graco comfort sport and liked it ($100). i just got the Graco Nautilus since he outgrew the convertible and it's awesome. It's a convertible booster, but i think the baby has to be 1 for that one ... you can keep it in mind for the near future though since you have a big guy too =). See ya!

[stanleytylor]

As said by Stephanie the Britax car seats are really good and comfortable. They are a bit costly than other brands of baby car seats available. The Britax Marathon seats comes with seat straps that will not twist and keeps the children safely. These are padded with extra cushions which gives comfort to the kids while traveling.

[Laura]

We just got the Britax Diplomat--so far so good. Still using it rear-facing & it's no more difficult that the graco snug-ride we had. It is on the small end of the convertibles, I think. We have a subaru. Good luck.

[Maureen]

I have 2 Eddie Bauer car seats and my son loves both.. After he outgrew his infant carrier we were going to get him the famed Britax car seat.. However we didn't have 300 bucks to spend and we found the the Eddie Bauer seat was not only just as safe as the Britax, but with a 150 dollar price tag, something we could afford as well.. It's a 3-in 1- seat that can be used as a booster once he reaches a certain weight.. I told my husband if for some reason he didn't like the seat, we were going to HAVE to spend the money and get the Britax.. But the first time we put him in it, he loved it.. Once we got a second car I thought again about buying the Britax but decided to go with another Eddie Bauer... However from all the reviews I read when first searching for car seats, it did say that the Eddie Bauers were very hard to install rear facing.. When we bought ours my son was already 12 months so we didn't have that issue.. Since your kid is only 3 months, I would probably opt for the Britax..

[Shannon]

I had big babies too and went for the Britax Marathon. I have nothing negative to say about it. It is a great and simple carseat, there is velcro to hold the straps so it is very easy to get baby in and out and no tangled straps to deal with. It also holds up to 65 pounds rather than only 40 which means your baby can be secure in a five point harness for much longer. It is a bit more expensive than some others but totally worth it!

[Tiffany]

My 2 favorite seats are the Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat and the Britax Boulevard CS car seat.