hecticmind:

I like Graco, and Evenflo im very impressed by them. the one out of the Evenflo we like is the Triumph Advance. Triumph Advance™ Premier Convertible Car Seat

Increased! Rear Facing for infants 5 to 35 lbs.
Increased! Forward Facing for infants 20 to 50 lbs.
New! Infinite Slide Harness adjustment system
Memory foam within pad for extra comfort
Removable body and infant head support pillows
Multi-position ReclineRight™ base
Exclusive! TensionRight™ knob tightens harness easily from the side
New! Quick Connector LATCH
New! EPP, energy absorbing foam liner
Fold-down cup holder for simple access to drinks and folds out of the way when not in use
Removable, washable pads
2 buckle strap positions accommodate growing child
Meets or exceeds all applicable U.S.protection standards. and the Graco ones we like are The Versatile Convertible For Infants To Toddlers
When your baby grows too huge for his infant seat, but is too tiny to face forward, this “in between” car seat is just right. The American College of Pediatricians recommends your child ride rear-facing as long as comfortably possible – at least until 20 lbs AND one year of age. The ComfortSport™ Convertible Car Seat can be used rear-facing up to 30 lbs then turns forward-facing for use as a toddler seat up to 40 lbs. The 5-point harness helps keep your child secure, while a head support and plush, roomy seat keep him comfy. There’s even a cup/snack holder to keep drinks and snacks handy.

****Texasmama*****:

I have heard from a car seat that she likes the Graco Natilus. The Safe Voyage Deluxe is a excellent seat as well.

littleangelfire81:

You’ve really gotten some excellent recommendations, except for the Graco Nautilus. Its a fantastic seat, but forward facing only, so he’s nowhere near ready for that! I’ll throw in some seats and some other info that’s vital. One BIG business to keep in mind, don’t just look at the sticker fee of right now. You have to consider how long your child will fit in the seat in the fee. For example, the Cosco Scenera makes a fantastic spare seat at $45. But there’s several reasons this seat is cheap, and #1 at the top of that list is that most kids outgrow it forward facing by 2-3 years ancient. So you don’t get a lot of use out of it. Now, for $45, that’s not a huge deal. And it does last a long time rear facing b/c it goes to 35lbs rear facing. It doesn’t have any EPS foam, though, which helps absorb crash forces so the child’s body doesn’t. As for fit, if you have had an infant seat in there, you must have no distress fitting any rear facing convertible seat. Infant seats take up more room, b/c they have to be installed at a perfect 45 degree angle for newborns. Your baby is ancient enough to be alittle more upright (30-45degrees) so it will take up less room by being a modest more upright. But the Triumph Advance is a fantastic one for smaller cars b/c of its bowl affect that makes the shell take up a modest less room front to back, though it is a wide seat. I’ve got a tiny Town coupe and had no issues, though a 6′ tall person would not be able to comfortably sit in front of it, that’s just something you have to deal with in smaller vehicles. If you try and install the rear facing seat in the middle position, sometimes the back of it that sticks out will impeccably fit in between the 2 front seats, allowing them to be further back. Just remember: you can NOT use LATCH in the middle.

Remember these rules:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its simple to use, you’re more likely to use it correctly.
2)Children must stay rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!!!! Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child’s life!
–A forward-facing child below 2 years ancient is 5 times more
likely to be killed or sincerely injured in a crash than a rear-
facing child of the same age.
–A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years ancient,
before then, she is at fantastic risk for internal decapitation.
The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash
BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it
snaps and baby is gone.
–Current research suggests that children below the age of
two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be sincerely
injured when they are riding rear facing.
–In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that
the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-
23 months ancient was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing
child. (Car Protection Seats For Children: Rear Facing For
Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)

It works this way: when you get in an accident and run into something, the car stop suddently, but all and all in the car keeps moving in the direction the car was moving when it stopped, in most accidents, this is forward. So in an accident with a child in a forward facing seat, his head, the heaviest part of the body on babies and toddlers, flies forward very forcefully and easily snaps. If that same child is in a rear facing seat, his head tries to glide forward but is supported by the back of the rear facing seat, so there is no stress place on the child’s neck and spine.

Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx There isn’t a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, but, lots of cases where children have been killed and sincerely injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better.
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can’t sit upright for an full trip, they need the harness of a car seat subdue. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is vital to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight – 40″ tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I’d have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.

So…meaningful all that, here’s some about specific seats. Please don’t get a Graco Comfort Sport. Car seat techs call it the ‘crappysport’. LOL Its a crappy seat that won’t last your child very long b/c it has a really fleeting shell. The straps twist all the time, and if they’re twisted they won’t support your child in a wreck properly. They’re hard to install. There’s nothing excellent about these seats except perhaps they’re cheap sometimes. Ditto the Safety1st 3-in-1/Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in1 seats. These are all the same company – same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That’s what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too fleeting a shell to really go to 40lbs. And that’s another misleading business the box says – 5-100lbs. What the box fails to bring up (you don’t find out until reading the manual!) is that the harness only goes to 40lbs, NOT 100lbs! After 40lbs it must be used as a booster.And they do not make excellent boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they’re at least 8 years ancient. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you’ll ever need to buy.

The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different variances of luxury additions, with the Marathon being the cheapest base model) can be found for regular fee of $269, and on sale at Albee Baby online for $209-$219. The Marathon a wide open simple to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot simpler, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. I can get it into 4 different vehicles in below 2 minutes. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats (all car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture) lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years ancient, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years ancient. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years ancient.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a fantastic seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17″, harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has modest less plush padding. Wide open belt path, simple to install, though it doesn’t have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don’t have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It’s one of only 2 seats that does this (The Britax Boulevard is the other, I believE), and it has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits impeccably until its outgrown. No more tugging straps to tighten them either. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. As a major bonus, it can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode. Awesome for kids who subdue sleep in the car. I LOVE THIS SEAT! LOL My son, who is too huge for every other car seat at Walmart has the same amount of room in this as the Britax Marathon.

The Scope Tue Fit, also sold as The First Years Right Fit, is a fantastic scale, too. Here’s a thread discussion all about it: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=37221&highlight=truefit Has 16.5 inch top harness slots, half inch shorter than the Britax Marathon and Evenflo Triumph Advance. Rear faces to 35lbs, forward faces to 65lbs, has built-in lockoffs, and you never have to rethread the harness to change harness height. The headrest is removable to fit better in smaller cars. $179 for the one cover Walmart offers it in, check Babies R Us and other supplies for different covers at a modest more expensive fee.

The Fisher Fee Safe Voyage Deluxe Convertible seat is fantastic, it is made by Britax, without all the embellishments. It’s the same shell as a Marathon, but for less than half the fee. $130 at Albee Baby online with free shipping, or at their eBay name, babysurplus. Rear faces to 33lbs, forward to 55lbs. Simple to use, fits in most cars. A tiny word of warning about these seats: they are now officially not making them anymore, so the date of manufacture is getting older and older, with many being delivered that are 9+ months ancient already. Since car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, this could make a difference to you, especially since its possible your child could fit in the seat for the next 5-6 years. Some Baby Depots have this