Looking for a convertible car seat that can rear face for 2 years.?
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at
9:46 pm
I’m researching car seats as my baby is outgrowing her infant seat. I would like her to rear-face for two years. She is not a car baby; she hates the car. So I’m looking for comfort as well as (of course) safety. can anyone recommend a seat that you’re satisfied with?
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Depending on your child’s stats (height/weight) most convertible seats should last her to at least 2 years. But some will last longer than others. If your child is higher on the weight charts than height, you might want to go for one with higher rear facing weight limits (40lbs or above). If your child is taller, then you’ll want to look for one with a taller shell.
Seats I recommend:
Sunshine Kids Radian 65/80/XT (SL).
SKR 65 – Rear Faces (RF) to 40 lbs, Forward Faces (FF) to 65 lbs
SKR 80 & XT – RF to 40 lbs, FF to 80 lbs
SKR 80 SL & XT SL – RF to 45 lbs, FF to 80 lbs
These seats have a tall shell, so they also accommodate tall children well. They have a steel-alloy frame and they can be tethered rear facing (an additional safety feature). The XT’s have head wings, which provides additional side impact protection. From $190 – $300
The Graco MyRide65 – This seat RF to 40 lbs and FF to 65 lbs. $150
The First Years True Fit or True Fit Premiere – RF to 35 lbs, FF to 65 lbs. Tall shell. The premiere also has an anti-rebound bar (similar in purpose to tethering) original – $170, premiere – $240
Britax Boulevard – RF to 35 lbs, FF to 65 lbs, Can be tethered rear facing. infinite harness adjustment(no slots to rethread) $310
Britax Marthon – RF to 35 lbs, FF to 65 lbs, can be tethered rear facing $280
I have a True Fit for my daughter. For rear facing, I definitely recommend the Premiere version. On the original, the harness adjuster is hard to get to because it is kind of buried against the vehicle seat. The anti-rebound bar fixes this problem in the Premiere, plus it provides the rebound protection which is awesom.
I would love a Radian, but it’s an iffy fit in my car. If you go for one of those, I recommend trying it out in your car first if you can, they have some install issues in some vehicles. We’re going to be getting a second seat soon and I think we’re going for a MyRide. I would prefer a seat that tethers rear facing (or has the anti-rebound), but seats with that option generally cost quite a bit more.
I would go to babies r us or somewhere similar and try her out in some seats. See what she likes and what she fits in well. They will also let you take the seats out and try them in your car.
Its more about the weight restrictions of the car seat than the age, so make sure you pay attention to that.
We’ve had this car seat for our last three children and we love it. I highly recommend it. Your child can use it from birth, all the way up to a booster seat at 100lbs.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3581811
The Graco myride goes up to 40 lbs rear-facing. However most go to 35 lbs rear facing and if your child isn’t very chubby you could use others until 2.
This is the one I got except it is extremely difficult to install I took it to enviromental safety they do it for free. It does seem comfy to her and she can use it way up to 80 lbs.
This isnt a picture of my daughter but she about the same age and uses the exact same car seat. Itr was a gift from my brother she started to use it after she didnt fit in her baby carseat anymore. I wish i would have bought her this Britax car seat long ago! it is such a pretty color and is easy to transform from baby car seat into forward facing car seat. I defnitely recomend the Britax brand.
http://www.viewpoints.com/Britax-Marathon-reviews
We have the Cosco Serena seats in BOTH of our car and truck. We took a child seat safety class and these were the seats they not only recommended but gave out to families in need. They are inexpensive and available in a variety of color patterns online and at walmart and target. I personally am not a huge fan of walmart, but I do love these seats.
I have a smaller car and I didn’t want a seat that would swallow up my entire back seat like some can and my husband reclines his seat in his truck so it needed to fit easily into the center of both vehicles with different needs. Nice compact, slim design. Easy to install and clean. Not a bunch of thrills but great safety ratings. We are very happy and most importantly, our little girl is safe and comfy.