Car Seat Recommendations - Irving,TX

I used to be a manager at a baby store,(babystyle), I have a 14 month old and started doing research a while back for her second car seat. Honestly in my experience and a lot of my friends the Britax roundabout or marathon are the two best out there. Extremly easy to use, very comfortable and got a great safety rating by consumer reports. The only difference between the two are the weight limits. I believe one is 40 pounds and the other is 60. I have been extremly happy with the Britax and would never buy any other carseat.

Hi J.,
Eddie Bauer is a good car seat. You want to look for the five point harness. I think it is a better buckle. Good luck looking. Congratulations on the new addition.
D.

Britax all the way! We have two and they are easy to install, remove and change cars. They are rated great by consumer reports and are worth every penny!

I'm another believer in the Britax Boulevard, and we bought ours at Babies R Us. Also, wanted to recommend checking out NHTSA rating site (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CSSRating/Index.cfm). Basically, they rate all seats on ease of use. They basically say the safest seats are the easiest to use because they ensure the child will be secured properly on every ride. This site will help you with this, and your future carseat purchases. I just used it for our booster seat purchase...and I'm glad I did. :-)

We have Britax Wizards (I think they're called Boulevards now) and love them! Check out www.carseatdata.org to check car compatibility because that's number one -- getting the best fit!

Britex is the best. See for yourself- when you are out shopping, pull back the fabric and look at what will protect your boy's head and neck if you were ever to get into an accident. Britex has helmet foam not only in the back but on the sides as well. I've had mine for three years and love it.They are super easy to wash too!
We had a rear end impact so bad that we had to go to the hospital, My son was also in the car. He had no signs, and wasn't hurt at all. The doctor told me it was the five point harness and the helmet foam that saved him!
I bought one more after that, one to go in my car and one to go in my husband's.
I believe you can buy the covers and replace them when they wear out!

Sorry to be a buttinsky, but your little one shouldn't go forward facing until he is 20 pounds AND at least one year old. The muscles and bones aren't as developed. And actually it is recommended to keep them rear facing for as long as the car seat allows it (which usually means buying a seat that will go from rear to forward facing) and some go up to 30 or 35 pounds, but you have to look closely to find the height limit. Below is an exert from the American Academy of Pediatrics 2007 car seat guide.

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Rear-facing seats

All infants should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. That means that if your baby reaches 20 pounds before her first birthday, she should remain rear-facing at least until she turns 1 year old. It is best for children to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer.

There are 2 types of rear-facing seats: infant-only seats and convertible seats. Convertible seats can be used rear-facing for infants, and then turned forward-facing once your child is old enough and big enough to do so safely.

K.
Mom of four with kids who stayed rear facing until they were about 20 months.

We love our Britax!!!

I don't know for sure which seat is best, but this site has never let me down. http://www.consumersearch.com/

We just bought the Recaro Young Sport for our one year old. We love it. It is really comfy for him. The good thing it has over the Britax is it converts to the booster seat as well. This means you don't have to buy another car seat. They carry it at USA Baby and it is $250. I price shopped on line and they were all $250. Good luck.

we had the eddie bauer with both our kids and were very happy with it. The cushions didn't lose their color during multiple washings, either. I'd just check with your pedi. and make sure your son can turn around- I think the rule is 20 lbs. AND 1 year, not an either/or thing.

Britax Marathon - without a doubt. My sister-in-law got the roundabout because it's smaller - but her daughter has almost grown out of it because of her height - and she's 3. The marathon is what I have and wouldn't do anything differently. For me it's easy to transfer it to other vehicles - it's worth it for my son's safety.

We also have the Britax Marathon and absolutely love it. This has one of the highest safety rating. Good luck in your search.

For convertible car seats...
We had a Graco but it didn't work properly, so we returned it and got an Evenflo Triumph 5 and have been VERY happy with it. Consumer Reports rated it very highly and I feel very confident using it with my 18-mo-old son. It is easy to use and comfy for him.

we are really pleased with our britax marathon, especially with how it rates in safety. however, it is huge, heavy and bulky (aka, hard to switch from one car to another and take on an airplane) and if i had it to do all over again, i would get a britax roundabout (goes up to 40 lbs). i'm thinking that when my daugheter is over 40 lbs, she will be 4 or 5 and a safe booster seat will be just fine (we will most definitely do our research here!). i think britax is the way to go for sure! good luck!

I have the Britax Boulevard. Most of my friends have either the Boulevard or Marathon. We are very happy with them. My son is still rear facing in his (at 18 months and 25lbs) He's totally happy in it. Check out http://www.albeebaby.com/ for some good deals on these.

Britax Marathon! Great car seat and if you have a newer car it should have the latch system which makes it really easy to install correctly.

The Britax marathon is what we're planning on getting. It's rear and forward facing, and is rated for kids up to 65 lbs, so it should last awhile. They are more expensive, but if you don't have to buy another seat at 40 lbs, it seems worth it to me.

And a note about car seat safety checks - you can have your car seat installation checked at most of the police stations, as well as hospitals, etc. I recommend it to make sure the seat is correctly installed.

I personally think the best front facing seat I have owned for my 2 kids is the Britax Marathon. They are a little more pricy though. I have ordered both of mine from tinyride.com. Their selection is bigger, they come from Britax with all the warranties, the price is the same, and they don't charge tax or shipping.

K.

Hi J.,

I'm a child passenger safety instructor and a mother of a 13 month old baby boy. The rule for forward facing is he must be both 20 lbs and at least 1 year old. The longer you leave him rear-facing the safer he is. We have my son in the Britax Boulevard. It is very comfortable and has additinal safety features.

We have the Britax Marathon, and the larger version Britax,which we waited four months on back order for. We love, love both of them. Worth the money and the wait.

Britax Boulevard we love britax!!

J.,
Safety tests have proven that Britax carseats are the absolute best. I have 3 of them and would not buy anything else. They are pricey but I never worry about safety. I have the marathon. I highly recommend this carseat.

M.

Hi J.,

I have two of the Eddie Bauer car seats and I would highly recommend that you get one. They are a bit pricy, but your child can use it until he is 100 lbs. I scotchguarded mine to prevent stains and they still look brand new nearly 3 years later.

We have a Britax also, and it has been great.

Keep in mind that they should be rear facing until they are BOTH 1 year AND 20 pounds. Before a year their little necks are still not strong enough to withstand a crash forward facing, no matter what their weight is!!

eddie bauer is what we have always used for my son they are very safe most importantly but they are also very comfortable for the child.they are very cushy and the straps dont cut into their skin the way other carseats do. i hope this helps!

We have the Britax Wizard and love it. Side Impact protection! :) Britax seats are pricey, but really good ones.

BUT - I want to plead with you not to turn him around yet. Please please please research this. There is NO reason to turn him yet. Our wizard held my son backwards until he was 20 months old. He never knew any different, so it was never a big deal for him. When I took him in at 17 months to turn him around, the installer asked me if I would consider leaving him in longer, so I waited another 3 months.

Your sweet son will be SO MUCH SAFER while riding backwards!! It is SO worth it to WAIT!! :) :)

britax marathon... you wont need a booster cause they hold a child up to 65 lbs. rear and forward facing... it's wonderful. pricey but wonderful!

Britax Marathon...hands down!! It's a GREAT rear and front facing carseat. Pricey, but sooooooooo worth it. BTW...you did what we did...our youngest was born the day before our oldest turned one. Good luck with the carseat!!

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppcarseats

many great discussions on car seats and safety here ... may I ask why you do not like him rear facing it is the SAFEST way to go for as long as possible. I hope you do rethink your decision.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

just some additional information

If you have a large enough vehicle, I have found the Britax Marathon to be a great seat. We have two of these in each of our two vehicles for our now 3 and 1 year old. They are sturdy, safe, and easy to manage. They can be a bit bulky but they also elevate your child a bit so they can see things outside your car window.

I had a Britax Boulevard which I liked and felt was very safe. My 16 mo. old son and I were rear-ended a couple of months ago (he was fine, the seat worked great) and the peditrician recommended I get a new seat. I was going to get the same one, but after doing some research, decided to go with a RECARO YOUNG SPORT seat. I LOVE this car seat. It's very safe and has side impact protection like the Boulevard but is easier to install and easier to get in the car (and very plush and comfortable). It also coverts to a boster seat when your child is older (for up to 80#). This company just started making car seats about 1 1/2 years ago so they're harder to find in retailers but you can order online and get free shipping. We got ours from tinyride.com.

I have to agree with the Britax Marathon. I have one too and I love it. It is rated one of the best in Consumer Reports.

I Really like the Convertible car seats that start at 5lbs all the way to 100 lbs.
I use the Alpha Omega Which I really Love.

We highly recommend Britax... Our babies are large boys that reach 20 lbs at about 5 months. We used the britax facing rear then turned it forward at just over a year. We have a wizard adn a boulevard. They are awesome! Worth every penny!

Hi! My daughter is now 5, but still at 30 lbs and in a front-facing carseat. When our playgroup was looking for good seats, there were 11 high-power career women, now stay at home moms, channeling all their energy into the search (it was a little comical). Anyway, the group-wide vote was for the Britax seat. Some went with the roundabout, but most of us bought the marathon, which will face front or back and will hold a child up to 60 lbs. Good luck!

Britax is a great brand but when I asked about carseats where we get ours installed(at Childrens Medical Center)- the nurse told us that the most important feature is to have the seat installed correctly. She said that studies here in Dallas showed that over 90% of carseats are not intalled correctly. SHe also said that the Britax is hard to fit in some cars because of the size. We have a gracco and are happy with it! I plan to head back to Childrens (need an apt) once he is a year and I can't stand him facing backwards anymore. The longer (even past the year) that you can have your child face backwards, it is more safe.
H.

We just ordered our Britax Boulevard. After researching, it seems to have the best protection with extra side impact support. Despite some reviews that complain the kids can't see out the window as well - I opted for the safety. It's worth sacrificing some of the view to have them in the safer seat. We also decided to spend the money, since she will be in it up to 65 lbs. She will be rear-facing as long as possible.
It is recommended children remain rear-facing as long as you can, due to their neck development. We have less space with it rear-facing, but I would much rather my little one be safe and sound. It doesn't seem to bother them one bit.

J.,
Britax!!!!Your baby can be a in a 5 point harness till 100 lbs. in these car seats and all the leading research indicates boosters are not adequate and toddlers should not be restrained by a booster / car shoulder strap combo. Check out the research.
I have my daughter in a Britax Marathon (goes to 65 lbs). since she was 1 and she just turned 3. She will be able to use it at least for another year with a 5 point harness (height is where she will grow out of it)...and then will move to the next Britax 5 point harness (goes to 100 lbs). I believe there is one another car seat make (Sunshine?) that makes a 5 point harness for toddlers that goes up to 100 lbs. So, you make the investment ($350.00) and they can be in the car seat till they are 7 - 8 years old. K.