First baby- need convertable seat advice

[10mikeemikee]

I am so confused regarding the car seat options. I have a 5 month old in a Snugride but want to go ahead & get her next convertable seat. She is in the 50/50 percantile and will probably be a small kid (my husband and I are both small).Price is not an issue but I don't want to waste money. Safety & comfort are most important-the Snugride is safe but not comfortable and we do alot of driving. I have a 04' Camry w/ SIA and we will be getting a Sienna. I saw that Consumer reports rated the Titan best for crash results but everyone here seems to prefer Britax. I accidently left my BabyBargains book at BRU so I cant refer to it for advice.

Any advice on what to buy would be greatly appreciated.

[o_mom]

First of all, cross the Titan off the list. It is very difficult to install and just an all around hard to use seat. It won't protect your baby very well if you can't install it properly. That seat was going to be discontinued until CR rated it. Also, their crash testing is not standard and gives very odd results.

The most often recommend seats here are one of the large Britax seats (Marathon, Decathlon, Boulevard - $220-300), the Fisher Prices Safe Voyage Deluxe ($170-180, made by Britax) or the Cosco Scenera ($40-50). The Britax and Fisher Price seats will with all probability get you to a safe booster age (4-6 years old) where most other seats will not. This is because most 40 lb seats will only last you a year or two before your child is too tall for it. They also will be outgrown rear-facing earlier.

The Cosco Scenera might last, but you will still have a good chance of needing another harnessed seat before a booster. If the Scenara doesn't last, you will only have spent $40-50 rather than $80-$150, so it won't seem so hard to spend another $100-250 on a seat to get to booster age.

The only reason to look as some of the smaller seats would be if you had a very, very tiny car. The fact that you have a SnugRide in it means that you most likely can fit a Marathon. It may also make sense if you are planning another child within 2 years, so that the seat can be handed down. In that case, the Britax Roundabout is a much loved seat and there is a Fisher Price Safe Voyage (not deluxe, look at the weight limit if you are not sure) clone of it.

The Graco ComfortSport, Evenflo Triumph and Cosco/Safety 1st/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 all have very low top harness slots or very low backs, which means the seat is outgrown too soon, sometime very young even with a small child. My own DS1 was only 15% for height at his 2 year checkup and outgrew the ComfortSport on height at 24 mos. The 3-in-1 seats also are very easy to misuse, putting your child in danger.

Hope this helps, please feel free to ask any questions!

[Papooses]

The best carseat fits the child, fits the vehicle & will be used correctly everytime. I'm sorry if I missed it, but can you share your vehicle year/make/model?

Britax is the most expensive, but also the most comfortable & has the most features: Marathon is the base for the design of the Decathalon (with added crotch strap depths + infant padding) & the Boulevard (with one handed knob adjuster for harness height + True Side Impact Protection that also serve as sleeping comfort + infant padding) & all have the very tall harness slots -- they install in most vehicles very well.

Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe: also based on the Marathon, but less expensive without the RF tetherability or lock-offs.

Sunshine Kids Radian: tallest top harness slots with low bottom slots, narrowest seat on the market, folds for travel & is well padded -- difficulty or even impossibility installing in certain vehicles.

Cosco Scenera: the least expensive, but also the least padded & has no EPS foam, but it does have a high RF weight limit with taller seat frame/shell + both tall top & short bottom harness slots -- installs in most vehicles well.

Cosco Intera: the ONLY 3-in-1 carseat that I recommend because it's similar to the Scenera in it's base shape & harness & weight limit, but can later become a spare booster & has added padding for comfort.

I don't really suggest the Evenflo or Graco convertibles if you're able to use one of the above successfully....

For me it would be down to deciding between either a Britax now & dedicated booster later or an Intera with a higher weighted harness seat later.

[10mikeemikee]

Thanks so much for your help. I am going to get the Blvd. They are on sale at BabyCatalog for $269 w/ free shipping and it sounds like the safest seat. I do trauma anesthesia so I see what happens in a car crash and want my DD protected. It is too bad there is not more standardization of seats so all little ones are safe. I am sure there are many people out there that can't afford $200+ for a car seat & unfortunately they are most likely to be driving an older car without the new safety features that give good crash protection. Again, thanks so much for your help.

[crystal vowell]

you might want to check great begginings the blvd is on sale $245.99