I'm looking to buy a convertible car seat that will convert to a booster seat in the end. What one do you have that you love? What do you like about it. And don't like. Thanks moms. I prefer to only by one more car seat vs having to buy a booster later.
I have the Graco Nautilus and it is fine. The Britax Frontier is much higher priced but a great seat! My sister and friend have the Britax. I would say get the Britax. The quality and convenience can't be beat. I had done research on both and if I had to do it over again I would get the Britax Frontier.
Most all in one carseats are not recommended for safety reasons. It mostly depends on your child's weight and height right now. We were involved in a fatality accident once, so I'm very into researching and safety! We have a britax marathon convertible that goes to 65lbs forward facing, and a britax frontier booster that keeps them harnessed to 85 lbs, then belt-positioning booster to 100lbs, but both have minimum weight and height restrictions as well. Our big 6 year old still fits in the marathon, so you can get at least 5 years use out of it if your child is 1, before needing a booster. Safety first usually means two seats, just get a convertible with high weight and height limits or the frontier if they're big enough! Worth the prices for safety and proven reputation, easy to install. You can look at all the seats' specs on the britax website, and there are good deals usually at babies r us (and you can try the seats), albeebaby.com, or new in box on eBay. HTH!
I second the Britax recommendation. We have 2 and absolutely love them! They're a little pricey, but you can use a 20% off coupon at babies r us, or wait for a trade-in sale. Also, you can buy one on craigslist because it has a tether that breaks if the car seat is in any type of crash. This way, if the tether is broken, the carseat is not safe to use - if it's intact, its ok. hth!
depends on how old your child is. Its now recommended you rear face until at least the age of 2 so I would suggest a graco my ride 65 and then purchase a booster later on. If your child will be forward facing I like the graco nautilus harnesses to 65lbs or 52 in then converts to a booster seat
I agree with Rachael K.!!!
If you need a rear-facing seat, the Graco MyRide 65 is great! My 12-month old has been in it for five months now and looks so cozy. Children can rear face in this seat until 35 pounds (I think...) and then stay in the 5-point harness forward facing until 65 pounds. It doesn't convert to a booster, but by the time your child is that B., it'll be nice to get a new "B. kid" booster. You can get them for around $20. I've noticed that when you take the back off so called convertible boosters most of them have little things that stick up on the back. Not comfortable! Spend the extra $20 in several years! BTW, this seat is large enough that my 6 year old could sit in it if she wanted.
I like that this seat is B. and comfortable. It sits up high so baby can see out the window. The two built in cup holders work for holding toys or sippy cups.
If you're ready for a forward-facing seat now, we like the Graco Nautilus. Rather than move my 3 1/2 year old to a booster with a seat belt when he turned 3 (as I did with my older daughter) I bought him the Nautilus. I feel that he is so much safer! He likes the built-in cup holder and the little cubbies to store his stuff in. He is comfortable and safe...can't beat that! This is a convertible seat, but I'll probably just buy him a booster in a few years when he's ready for it.
I like that this seat is heavy duty and steel reinforced. I also like that the head rest is adjustable up and down. I can move it up as he grows so that he is always comfortable.
My only problems with Graco seats: you have to unthread the straps to remove the seat covers and the cup holders don't have removeable inserts. It'd be nice to pop out the insert and wash it in the house rather than taking a wet rag out to the car and trying to get crumbs and junk out of the bottom of the cup holder. For me, the comfort and convenience of the seats outweighs the problems. My boys are comfortable and safe and that's enough to make me happy (and not too cranky when I have to unlatch the seats, bring them in the house, undo the straps, and take everything apart for cleaning.)
I had a Graco that had the booster option and to tell you the truth I would just go with a convertable and worry about the booster later. We ended up buying a Britax Marathon when our son was 3, because we wanted him to be harnessed longer. I REALLY wanted a Britax from the beginning, but was talked out of it becuase of how much it cost. Well it is worth every penny and than some! It goes rear facing to 35lbs and forward to 65lbs. The best part... our son can see out the windows in the car, well thats his favorite part. It is easy to install and easy to use and tighted everytime you get your baby in and out, plus they are one of the safest seats on the market!
Great suggestions from other mamas! We've done tons of research on carseats for our kids over the years . . .
We used the Britax Marathon with our son, but warning - if you have a tall child, or even average height, he won't be in it until 65 lbs! Britax are great seats, though pricey.
We have the Graco Nautilus for our 5.5 year old, he is still harnassed, which is important to us. But the Graco Nautilus is NOT a rear-facing seat,. I bet our son will fit in the harnass for at least another year, and it does convert to a high-back or low-back booster. As someone else mentioned, I wouldn't worry too much about the booster part. Boosters alone are SO cheap. Instead, think about how long you want your child in the 5-pt. harnass (the gov't is recommending it be longer than 4 years, though laws have not been changed). You can get a seat that has the 65 lb. harnass, but because of height, your kid will outgrow it long before.
Our 3-year old daughter is very tall, and just outgrew her regular convertible seat, we bought the Evenflo Syphony 65 for her, which harnasses until 65 lbs. and has an AWESEOME system for raising and lowering the shoulder harnass, you don't have to take the seat out and rethread. My 45 pound 5 year old also fits in this one (though not for long-this seat is not grow as "tall" as the Nautilus), and when baby #3 comes next spring, we'll be able to use it rear-facing as well. The latch system on this model is SUPER easy. The cup holder is cheap and lame, but oh, well. This seat has a 7 or 8 year suggested life instead of the usual 5.
Yes, alot of these seats are pricey, but totally worth it!
We have the Graco Nautilus and absolutely LOVE it! It's easy to install, our daughter loves it too and says it is very comfortable. The price is reasonable (vs. a Britax). Good luck!
My faborite is the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 carseat. One of my favorite things is the 5 point harness goes up to 65 lbs. & it has the highest belt level that I have been able to find. After the harness it converts to a belt positioning high back booster, then you can remove the back (no back booster) when your child is older.
You can find it at Wal-mart & Target (I'm not sure where else). It is about $150 & is truely worth every penny!
I found this carseat, after much searching, when my youngest (who is tall in the torso) out grew his carseat's highest belt slot, but was still too young to be in a booster seat.
God bless!
We have an Evenflo Symphony and LOVE IT!!! It has the quickest latch system available, but is sturdy as can be. We travel constantly (we have put over 15,000 on our van alone this year), and he can always get comfy and fall asleep in it. I recommend it to everyone! :)
