Baby is too tall for a seat !

[Owens_Mommy]

I'm having a real dilemna trying to pick a car seat for my ds. At his 4 month check up DS was 26 1/2 in and 19 lbs, now at 5 months he is 20 lbs. Not only is he long but he has a very long torso, so he sits high up. There is no seat on the market, that I can reasonably see fitting him RF until he's one. There isn't a seat I can figure will fit him in a few months at all, in either direction. In the store I actually sat and harnessed him into a few. In the roundabout there was about an inch between the top of his head and the top of the shell. It's absurd to think that these seats are supposed to accomodate him for the next four years or so. There are only two seats I can see having any longevity, the Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 or the Marathon. Even in these I imagine his head and neck will be without protection long before the age of 4 or 5. I read some scary things about the marathon, RF during crash testing it tips back further than the US recommendations and that it got poor safety ratings in consumer reports. I feel like this quest for a seat has consumed my life! I feel like there are no good options for me. Does anyone know if this is a true problem with the marathon RF? Does anyone know of a safe seat that will fit him? I would appreciate any advice.

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

it's simply not an issue.

consumer reports is not very reliable and there is a reason that parents repeatedly hate the seats that consumer reports picked and loves the Britax ones.

At that height, your son should have more room than that above his head in the roundabout.

He's not abnormally tall or anything, but I'd still go with the Marathon, which will obviously last him the longest... and plan on getting a Regent after he outgrows that, since he is a big guy and I assume he's not going to be your only child.

[catfeet]

I agree with Kat. Get a Britax. Consumer reports does not reveal their testing specs, and frequently, price seems to come into their equation, though it shouldn't. Also, if you look at the previous year's carseat tests, there were NONE of these issues with the exact same seat. So, somthing isn't kosher there.

Something else to think about is that babies do slow their growth down around 6 months or so, and do have growth spurts. My ds2 was approximately the same length, 26 inches, at that age, and we had to buy him a bigger seat. But, his growth slowed, and at nearly 2, he's not quite 20lbs and still RF. He's a long little thing, though, and though we got a seat that had one of the highest backs at the time, he's steadily growing towards being too tall for the seat far before he's too heavy. At the point that this happens, we'll be putting him into a larger Britax...harnessed is safer.

HTH,
Ann

[SusanMae]

Go for a Britax.

The Marathon was their fav one year and then the next it was at the bottom of the list...no changes made to the seat by Britax.

CR is not trustworthy for car seat information.

Susan

[Radosti]

We're in the same boat. My son is 4 months and a week and he's already over 19 lbs. He was 26 inches at the 4 months appt. We chose the Marathon. I bought it at Albee Baby (online) for $219 and free shipping. Can't be picky with the cover choices though. The one I got is a simple cover and it's fine. Was manufactured in Jan of this year (I ordered it in february). He likes it a whole lot more than the Peg Perego infant seat I had him in.

[Radosti]

Here you go:
http://www.specialtybaby.com/br20macocars9.html

[smilequeen]

Well, to add into the mix, I really love my Britax Boulevard. It will last just as long as the Marathon, but the SIP wings are great for so many reasons (safety and comfort).

[Scatterbunny]

There are only
>two seats I can see having any longevity, the Eddie Bauer 3 in
>1 or the Marathon.

First of all, run far, FAR FAR FAR away from the 3-in-1 seats if your son is tall, ESPECIALLY if he carries his height in his torso. The Cosco/Safety 1st/Eddie Bauer convertibles and the Graco ComfortSport are the absolute worst seats overall for long-torsoed kids. The Evenflo seats aren't really any better, they probably allow for a little longer forward-facing than the Cosco/Safety 1st/Eddie Bauer/Graco convertibles, but don't last as long rear-facing, and rear-facing as long as possible (to the convertible's limits) is safest.

My daughter didn't reach 26ish inches until about 6 months, if I remember correctly, and didn't hit 21 pounds until 9-10 months. She is in the 100th percentile for height and the 95th for weight now at almost 5. She outgrew the 3-in-1 seats by height at 2.5 years old and only 33 pounds. She was too tall for the ComfortSport at her 2nd birthday.

They really are horrible seats for tall/long-torsoed kids. They will probably work well rear-facing, they have a high rear-facing weight limit, but they have such short top harness slots (because the very top headrest position CANNOT be used with the harness, it is only to raise the headrest higher in booster mode) that kids outgrow them by height way too soon.

>Even in these I imagine his head and neck
>will be without protection long before the age of 4 or 5.

And that's fine. If he isn't ready for a booster at that point (lots of kids aren't), go with a Britax Regent (harnesses to 80 pounds and has 20ish inch top slots--6 inches higher than the 3-in-1s, 3 inches higher than the Marathon) then, or whatever else is on the market at that time--I'm sure there will be lots of cool higher weight limit seats on the market in 4 years. :)

>I
>read some scary things about the marathon, RF during crash
>testing it tips back further than the US recommendations and
>that it got poor safety ratings in consumer reports.

The problem Consumer Reports found was that the Marathon rotated a few degrees to far downwards, toward the front vehicle seats, ONLY when installed with LATCH, and only with the heaviest rear-facing test dummy.

There is a simple solution for this: brace the top of the Marathon's seat shell against a front vehicle seat. Britax allows this, and actually recommends it. In Sweden, where kids routinely rear-face to 55 pounds, seats are also braced.

In addition to bracing the top of the seat shell, you can discontinue using LATCH (if you were using it in the first place) and use the seatbelt installation when your baby nears the upper rear-facing weight limit of 33 pounds (though I doubt this would be necessary if the seat was braced; you can do both if you want, though).

Consumer Reports really is not a good source of carseat information. They rated the Evenflo Titan #1, which is a horrible seat to use properly and usually outgrown at 2-3 years old. They don't reveal their testing methodology. They test the same seats in different years and get different results. They factor price of the seat into their rating, which I think is wrong. They give no consideration to extra features (EPS--bike helmet--foam, extra padding, taller top slots, higher harnessed weight limit, higher rear-facing weight limit, taller seat shell, non-twisty harness straps, smooth harness adjuster) that you get with a pricier seat.

http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html#Q30

>I feel
>like this quest for a seat has consumed my life! I feel like
>there are no good options for me. Does anyone know if this is
>a true problem with the marathon RF? Does anyone know of a
>safe seat that will fit him? I would appreciate any advice.

I totally feel your pain, I really do. When my big, tall dd outgrew the 3-in-1 at 2.5 years old I felt exactly like this. I had no idea what to do. I could not fathom putting her into a belt positioning booster at that point, she was just 33 pounds, 38 inches and definitely not mature enough at 2.5 to use a booster safely at all times.

Thanks to some of the wonderful ladies here and at other carseat boards I learned about Britax, and KICKED MYSELF for not doing research and getting a Marathon in the first place. It would have saved us so much money and headache in the long run, because at almost 5 and basically off the charts, she would still fit.

Alternatively, you could go with a budget seat ($40) Cosco Scenera (one of only three Dorel-made seats I recommend) if your ds has enough torso growing room, use it mainly rear-facing to 35 pounds or when he gets too tall, then go with a forward-facing only seat with a high harnessed weight limit, like a Britax Regent.

The biggest thing to realize is, with a tall, big child, if you go with ANY 40 pound weight limit convertible you will need to then buy another harnessed seat with taller top slots and a taller seat shell later. This is because all the 40 pound weight limit convertibles have too-short top slots and too-short seat shells to accommodate very tall/long-torsoed kids.

[KrisM]

In the roundabout there was
>about an inch between the top of his head and the top of the
>shell.

However, the roundabout isn't outgrown until the tops of his EARS are above the headrest, so there is a lot of growing room there.

As others have said growth will slow and their legs will start to catch up. If you look at the CDC growth chart, you can see they level off a bit. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1clinical/cj41l017.pdf