5 m. old has outgrown Peg Perego...what should we buy next? What is your favorite car seat?

[lunabeans]

Help!

DD has just about outgrown her car seat and because I have a DD I just can't seam to find the time to research car seats like I did before she was here :-)

So I am hoping to get some input from you ladies as to what your favorite car seat is?

Thank you!!

[momtoB]

Hi,
How big is she now? Weight limits on car seats are set in stone but there's a little wiggle room on height limits. If your dd's head is still more than an inch from the top of the seat shell then you can keep her there until she reaches that point or until she reaches the weight limit on the car seat, whichever comes first. Her feet touching the vehicle seat back poses absolutely no safety risk.

As for convertible seats, we have a Cosco Scenera for travel and also Grandma uses it in her car (she babysits for us and drives him somewhere just about every day she has him). We have a Cosco Alpha Omega 3-in-1 in our car which ds has just about outgrown height-wise as his shoulders are almost even with the highest slots for harnessing. All the Cosco/Safety 1st/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 seats have fairly low top slots (remember the highest Notch is only for belt-positioning booster use and cannot be used for harnessing). Many kids outgrow these seats well before their old & big enough for a bpb (4yrs & 40lbs minimum). So generally I would recommend staying away from the 3-in-1 seats. The Cosco Touriva/Scenera (5-pt version, not the OHS one) is OK because it only costs approx $50. It won't be the last seat you'll ever buy but since it's so inexpensive you won't be wasting your money the way you do with the other Cosco seats.

What am I doing now that my 32-mos old is outgrowing his A/O seat? I'm getting a Britax Blvd seat! My recommendation is looking at the higher weight limit seats that Britax makes (Marathon, Decathlon, Blvd) if you can afford the upfront cost it will actually save you money in the long run. I wish that is what I had done!

hth!

[Joolsplus2]

Yup, a 'big Britax' is your best bet.. the Marathon/Decathlon/Boulevard (www.britaxusa.com has the specs on it) will last the longest, and be one of the easiest to install... and it only costs a little more than that tiny Peg, but most kids fit in it till 5-6. It looks big, but should fit in your car about the same, front-to-back as the Peg does, and no pesky handle to put down everytime. The Roundabout is also nice (a not-so-bad choice if you are planning a second baby soon or have a really small car, but will only last till age 3-4, then you'll still want a seat with taller harness slots, so expect to buy another seat down the road before you even consider a booster seat that has to last till age 10 or so).
The Scenera really IS a terrific budget choice...it's low on padding but babies don't seem to mind, and it's simple to use and very safe and will last 3-4 years. There are a few other choices, but my point of view is 'ease of use' and these are the ones that get the top votes for that based on my hundreds of installs and fiddling with various seats. (not that other seats are bad, in fact they are quite nice, but trust me, you don't want to spend a wad of money and have your kiddo get too big for a convertible at age 2...or, if you do, that's cool... I have owned 40+ seats, so I'm never going to talk you out of buying one, rofl!)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[swarshaw]

I just moved my 5 mo from her Peg Perego. I am using a Radian by Sunshine Kids and so far am very pleased. It is rear facing to 33 lbs and forward facing to 65 lbs, so hopefully the last car seat to buy. I paid $199 at BuyBuy Baby. I picked this one over a Britax only because it is much narrower and I can still fit two adults or two more seats in my back seat. There aren't many reviews for this seat yet but I was impressed by the test results and construction. Just thought I would throw it out there as another option!
Good Luck!

[Joolsplus2]

Oooh cool! Stick around and keep telling us how that seat is working for you...I've heard mixed reviews on various aspects of it, and am really glad it is working for you! (I am *seriously* considering getting one for my Ford Escape which has an ultra-narrow middle seat). Have you had any trouble tethering it rearfacing? (I'm so pleased it has that feature!)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx