Car Seats - Santee,CA

Watch this video and you will want to keep her rear-facing as long as possible!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo

C.~

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Go with BRITAX! I love it. It tilts, is relatively easy to wash, is comfortable for my daughter, and has the highest safety rating of all the car seats out there. It is a bit spendy, but is worth it and the kids can use them until they are 6 or 7 years old (no need to buy a booster seat later on). We are also VERY active and I have a Honda Accord so I don't have to reach way down and break my back all the time because it is fairly tall. Another plus = I can see her up there in my rear view mirror to play car games.

My girl grew out of her infant seat that early too :) We bought the Evenflow Triumph. We have the Advance and just bought the Premier for our 2nd car. It seems very comfy, was ranked high by Consumer Reports, and was under $200. The Premier has this quick connect latch system that is easy to attach to the latch hooks in the car. We always have to move her carseat around when we carpool with her baby "friend." If you are just looking to buy one carseat for two cars, definately get the Premier. The quick connect is much easier than the other one. Many of my friends have several of the Britax models. They like them as well. The Marathon and the Evenflo Triumph were basically the number 1/2 carseats on Consumer Reports. The Britax runs higher in price though. Good luck in making your decision.

Check this site
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

At the very bottom you will see every US available carseat. I personally am a Britax fan! And- with a kid that is out growing her rear facing seat at just 9 months, I will give you a sluth of reasons that you should be too. My DS has ALWAYS been at to 8-% or higher. (Above 97% since 18 months.) At 2, he had out grown his first convertible that was good to 40 lbs and 40 inches. When looking into regular forward facing seats, we found that almost ALL the seats only use the 5point harness to 40 lbs. then you are supposed to use the belt positioning hooks for the regular seat belt. At TWO, I was not ready to put DS in a seatbelt! We chose the Britax Regent, because it uses 5pts to 80 lbs. When we have this baby in November, we will buy a Britax Boulevard- a convertible that is good rear facing to 33lbs,and forward 20 to 65 lbs.

All of the Britax seats are a bit pricey, but my hubby and I feel better about the $$ investment in our kids saftey than choosing a less expensive seat that is more cheaply made. There are a large number of people that love the "Cosco Alpha-Omega Elite" because they are 5- 100 lbs. I do NOT like them, because at 40 lbs, it still drops to belt positioning seat belt.

Use the site to do some basic research, then go to the store and look at the seats. You won't know what is the best seat for you, your kid, and your car until you look at them.

Hope that helps! ~J.

Hi. I just went through this. Our son is just about 20 lbs and over 29 in. We finally bought a Recaro Signo convertible seat. It is not as well known a product but the manager at Berstroms highly recommends it. They are the first manufacturer to add an extra dohickey (don't know the correct term) for the metal that holds the strap that keeps your child strapped to the seat. Nobody else does that. They are slightly cheaper than a Britax. They also recommend the SunshineKids Radian80 seat, also cheaper than Britax, and is the seat used by the Jon and Kate plus 8 show. I didn't go with that because it wouldn't fit right in my car. You always have to take into account what kind of car you have and what will fit properly. Britax is the one that everybody knows about but that's because Recaro and SunshineKids aren't as popular. RCR and SSKs have better manufacturing and build. I recomment going to Bergstroms and talking to one of the managers there. ALso, I was more impressed by the SIP (side impact protection) pads on the Recaro - looked like it had more heft than the Britax. Oh, and don't forget to go to the CHP and have them check your carseat for proper installation. oh yeah, the Recaro stays a five point harness until your child is 70 lbs.

Britax! Britax! Britax! There are pricey, but WELL worth the money.

The best carseat is the one used right. Whatever you put her in, make sure it is still rear facing. It is recommened to leave a child rear facing for as long as possible. Mine were both 2 years old when I turned them around.

Personally, we use Britax, we have the Marathon, Roundabout and Regent. I love how easy they are to use and install. There are many good websites out there if you google them that will tell you pros/cons of each carseat on the market. But again, I think it is hard to say one is better than the other. If it fits your child, fits your car and is installed right - then it is the best seat.
M.