My son is almost 11 months old and has just about outgrown his infant/rear facing car seat. I'm going to looking for the next size up. Does anybody have any suggestions for a new and affordable car seat?
we have the Graco Myride my son is 22 months 30 lbs and still doing very well rear facing. i love this seat and so does my son. some reviews said it was hard to install so i timed my self. 4 mins and 30 secs and that sucker doesn't jiggle at all. i am hoping my son will still be in by the time the second kid is right for it so i plan to get a another one. it is big but it is AWESOME
When my older son turned 1, he didn't need anything for his birthday. So when the grandparents asked what to get him, I answered a carseat! Each set of grandparents gave me however much they wanted to go towards a new carseat. I had enough to buy the Britax Regent that I wanted to get (I also used a 20% off coupon at Babies R Us). Britax is one of the safest seats there is, and I think is well worth the money. But since we couldn't afford it on our own, this was a great option that the grandparents were more than happy to help out with!
We put our daughter in the Britax Boulevard, which is a top of the line car seat. You can get this seat for a lot less than full price if you're willing to get a retired color. Here's a link that shows different prices for different colors. http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-boulevard-convertible-car...
Also, Britax has a twice annual sale with deep discounts. I believe they're usually during the last week of February and then again in September.
I agree with Justplainbecky. Keep him rear facing as long as possible!
As for car seats, I have the Evenlo Triumph and love it. It's easy to install (even if you don't have latch...just make sure to use the seat belt clip if you need to...it's in the instructions!) and easy to adjust. I'd highly recommend it.
Britax
Look on-line. You can find sales.
Also, I would not get the Roundabout- your little one will probably reach the height limit quickly, and you will have to buy another seat.
My daughter is in a Britax Boulevard, and I love it.
if he can wait until he is a year old, he can switch to a foreward facing seat. I get the $50 ones from Walmart. This way if it wears out before he is 4, you won't feel bad to get another one.
We bought an Evenflo Triumph with the recommendation of the carseat gal at the hospital. It has great crash ratings, high rear-facing and forward-facing weight limits and the straps are high enough for our tall girl. Just one that might be worth taking a look at. Good luck.
We love our Maxi Cosi Priori. Affordable for the quality and much more attractive than the Britax. I love the one-hand recline feature. It avoids the bobbing head problem if the child falls asleep. It is very easy to install. I bought mine through the Albee Baby website. As another response mentioned, you can get last year's colors for even less.
My son is 10.5 months and used to fight me every time I put him in his car seat. We just bought the Graco My Ride 65, and he loves it! No more battles to get him in the car, and the thing is solid and affordable. I'm really happy with it.
My son is nearly 8 months and is rapidly closing on his infant carrier's weight limitations. This morning I used a $25 off Babies r Us coupon and ordered the Britax Diplomat Convertible car seat. The coupon code expires tomorrow, and is only good for BrU Rewards members, but you can sign up online (it's free.) The code is 934034 and can be used on any car seat over $100.
The good thing about the next car seat that you buy is that you'll be able to use it for about another 3 years. My 3 year old has been in the same seat since he was 11 months, and will probably be able to stay in it until he is about 4 or 5. That car seat is the Evenflo Triumph Advance DXL. I would have gotten this one, but I know it's too big to fit rear-facing in my current car, so I went with the Britax Diplomat.
I recommend checking out the Babies R Us website and the Target one as well...you can compare reviews and look at the buying guide.
My son is in the Cosco Alpha Omega. I love this seat. It is roomy and reclines alot more than the Graco Nautilus. Which is what my daughter is sitting in. Both are well rated and convertible. Make sure whatever you buy it converts to a booster. Good carseats are typically around $100. Sometimes Babies R Us runs good coupons that you can stack to increase savings like a 15% of any carseat and a 20% off any baby item will get you almost a 40% discount. Good Luck!!
The Britax has good safety rating, but is pricey. We recently purchased the Evenflo Triumph which also has good safety ratings from Consumer Reports, but was much more affordable for us. My 11 month old seems much happier in this car seat than his infant seat.
We got the True Fit convertible car seat by Learning curve. It compares very well to the britax and is way more affordable. I think we paid 160 for it and that included shipping (from albeebaby.com). I know BuyBuy baby also carries it and if you have one of the 20% off coupons for bed bath and beyond they will use it.
It is very easy to install, big bonus for me!
Good luck
