advice on convertible car seats

[paula]

My DS has outgrown his infant car seat (lengthwise), but at 5 months must remain rear facing for quite a while. I drive an older Corolla, and his Graco SnugRide just barely fit in the back seat. I haven't had time to look closely at the convertible seats in our local BRU, but the all seem BIG. Am I correct in that a convertible seat installed to face the rear still reclines somewhat? Is the angle adjustible? Does anyone have a recommedation for a safe, but small convertible seat? (Placing the seat in the middle is not an option because DD is also in a car seat...) My fear/long term concern is that he will outgrow the length component of any convertible seat before he reaches his first birthday. He was 90% for height at 4 months. Then what?

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

[Hoodone]

I can't really help as my carseat, the Britax Marathon, is pretty large. But I recommend you go over to the Baby Bargains message board (www.windsorpeak.com and surf to bulletin boards). There is a board there where a baby car seat specialist regularly posts.

[MrsReber]

Paula, I went out and bought the Cosco seats for my son when he outgrew his infant seat. My car is rather small (a 4 door Acura Integra) and it fits in there. I also have 2 car seats (DD is 2) in my car and the back seat is really small. You can adjust the angle. A convertible seat will fit differently than an infant carrier seat. My son and daughter were both in infant car seats/carriers and the handle was always pressed right against the seat. The bigger seats are bigger, but are shaped differently. I really love the Cosco seat that I bought because it's the last one I will ever have to buy- it's a rear facing infant seat, a forward facing infant seat and it can be used as a booster seat later on. It was around $150 at Babies R Us, but well worth the investment. You can try them out in your car before you buy if you shop there.

My son is also on the tall side. I think it was Bosunswife who posted that she had to put her daughter forward facing before her first birthday. She is also tall and the doctor thought the risk of injury to her legs if she were sitting rear facing in an accident was greater than the risk of her facing forward before age 1. You may want to speak to your pediatrician about that.

[RunnerKim]

Paula - I also have a small car. 4-door Mercury Tracer and the Graco SnugRide was a tight fit for us too. Had to put it in with the handle already in the all the way down position and have the passenger seat as far forward as it goes.

We received the car seat we're using now as gift so didn't do any shopping ourselves. It's a Century. I can get specific model name/number if you want. It fits fine. It's rear facing still and there's a rolled-up towel under it to get it to be the right angle. It's kind of a pain right now because the seatbelt goes across where her feet go so I have to slide her under that. Our model also has the bar that raises over her head. A bit tricky putting her in at first - she didn't like the seatbelt rubbing on either side of her head but after a couple of days, had no problems with that. I'm not sure what the purpose of the bar is???

Kim

[donleyk]

Hmmm... First thought I had when I saw convertible car seat was the leather/cloth/vinyl debate. Obviously a non parent checking in here!

[paula]

I saw that this issue has once again arisen on the new mom's thread and thought I would update you on our choice. In short, we chose the Triumph V from EvenFlo. I had looked closely at the Britax Roundabout, which numberous people have recommended and which was Consumer Reports (CR) top choice. However, a closer look at the actual rating was very informative. CR preferred the Britax for "ease of use" not safety issues. The Triumph seat received three "excellents" in the CR safety categories, whereas the Roundabout received one "excellent" and two "very goods." Moreover, the Triumph was $120 at BRU, whereas the Roundabout was ~$230. Other reasons for our selection include: it is a comfy, foam covered seat; it has three height positions for the harness, the harness height is adjusted from the front, the belts are readily tightened from a knob on the front, and it has numerous recline positions- again adjusted from the front. We were initially excited to read about the Memory Harness, but it took a little while to get used to. I think we just had to work through some stiffness and it is fine now. (This allows you to loosen the belts to remove/insert child, while "remembering" the original setting so that you can readily return to the tighter state.) Also, it is rear facing to 30lbs.

For more information: http://www.evenflo.com/pr/co/prco_triumph.phtml

Our only reservation about this seat is that is soooo big. However, the size is in width, not length, and both were installed easily in our Corolla (with rolls of foam instead of Kim's towels to level the seat). But, it likely won't fit in a coach airline seat... We haven't decided how to handle our once-a-year airline trip at Christmas.

Another note: I can't imagine trying to put a newborn in this seat. The buckles are all quite big, and although fine for my 18lb, 7 month son, would overwhelm most newborns.

Paula