Car Seat Recommendation

I got the Safety 1st Intera. I got it from walmart.com. I love it. It is for newborn all the way to booster seat. It holds 5-100 pounds. It is a great seat. My son is comfortable in it. He likes it better than his infant seat. In my eyes it is the only car seat you need.

For safety...go with any brand that has the Britax Seal. They're expensive, but worth the cost. You can tell a difference by usability and comfort. The peace of mind is worth the cost as well. Start saving up. :) You may be looking at spending around $400 for 2 of them.

I'd find the ones you want...and go to all stores that have them instock. Even Sears has them, and you may find you could save 20-40 bucks if you go to Sears, vs. a store like BabiesRUs.

You will want a seat that of course will keep your twins rear facing until past thier first b-day. Most seats on the market rear face to 33lbs, and a few rear face to 35lbs. ITs best to keep them rear facing as long as possible, and the AAP is even toying with the idea of upping thier suggestion of rear facing to a year, to rear facing 2 years. Test after test has shown the huge difference in accidents between children who were forward facing before age 2 and those who were rear facing longer.

The type of seat your are looking for is a convertible, meaning it will rear face AND forward face. I wouldn't bother with the 3-in-1 seats, that are a rear, front, and then booster. These usually do not make good booster seats because the frame of the seat holds the seatbelt away from the childs hips, and the seatbelt needs to be tight against the hips. For this reason I always recommend parents buy a dedicated booster seat when the time comes.

I would recommend any of the Britax seats because they are convertibles. There are a few higher weight harness seats on the market but they are currently only forward facing models.

The Britax Marathon is what we own. This seat rear faces to 33lbs, adn forward faces to 65lbs with a five point harness. Heavy straps and thier HUGS system make so the straps never twist. EAsy in and easy out. THe top slots on this are 17 inches, so your child could easily ride in this seat until he is 5 or 6. My oldest is almost 5 and he still easily fits into his Marathon, and he's very tall.

The Britax Boulevard is also a spectacular seat. THe only difference in the Marathon and the Boulevard is the Boulevard has true impact side protection, meaning it has those larger 'wings' that stand out by babys head to protect thier head from flying about in a side impact. Another way that Britax has one - upped the american market carseat.

www.albeebaby.com has Britax seats for $209 and free shipping, this is your best bet. STellar customer service, fast and free shipping. Most stores carry these seats, the Marathon and the Boulevard, for $270-$290, so getting this deal at albeebaby.com is excellent. And since your buying two you'll need to save some money!

You can buy any convertible seat, they are all tested and meet at least minimum safety standards. As long as it has a five point harness, its installed into your vehicle correctly, and your use it right every time, your child will be safe. The main reason I recommend the Britax Marathon or Boulevard is because they forward face harness to 65lbs, and its well known (or should be by now) that the longer a child is harnessed the better, that car seat belts are just not made for children, and children shouldn't use them. Britax has made great strides in keeping up with the demand for higher harnessing seats. While thier price tag is a little of a sticker shock, its better to just buy it now instead of getting two years down the road and facing your child outgrowing a different seat and needing a higher harness seat anyway.

Another thing to consider when buying a carseat is the top harness slot. Most seats are 16 inches, but quite a few of the popular ones (Graco) have a top harness height of only 14 inches...most kids outgrow this before they are 3! The Britax Marathona nd Boulevard have 17 inch top slots. Just antoher thing to think about if you go with another seat, measure that top slot and don't buy anything under 16 inches or your child will outgrow it in height long before weight and much too long before being to safely ride in a belted booster.

If you have anyquestions feel free to send me a message. I'd be glad to help in any way possible.

Hi J.!
I have twin boys myself, but they are now 3. You are in the not so easy stage when they are completely dependant on you, but trust me, it does get easier. I speak from experience.
Regarding the car seats, a good place to go is Baby Depot in Appleton. I actually got our car seats on babycenter.com
Also, if you just do a yahoo search on the internet for car seats, you will get tons of websites so you can really do some comparing, cost wise, safety wise, etc... That is what I did and am very happy with the car seats we got. I hope this helps! Best of luck to you! Enjoy those boys while they are young because they grow up WAY too fast!
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Hands down the Britex, I own two and love them. Just a little side note, the Marathon is a tall seat and does not fit in all cars rear facing. I purchased the Marathon first thinking why have to buy another one later, and when I installe it into my wagon neither myself or my husband could move the driver seat, If this is a problem look at the roundabout.

HI J. -

We have Britax car seats - expensive, but worth every penny! Our boys seems comfortable riding in the car, and they have a terrific rating for safety.

I hope that helps - good luck with your decision!
D.

I guess I will go against the grain a little bit... I use the Graco SnugRide carseat with my baby. It is a very safe seat according to many rigorous tests. It was one of the only ones that passed a higher standard of tests (higher speeds, etc - I saw a special on the Today show). It is very affordable if you are not looking to make a very big purchase with the Britax. I think mine was only $70 or $80. I'm sure the Britax is also great, but I also recommend the SnugRide.

Britax Marathon !
Your twins will fit in these 5pt. harnessed carseats until they are 65lbs. Prolonging the need to use a booster seat. My kindergartener fits in a Britax Marathon and it's way way safer than a booster seat.5pt harness is alot safer than a booster with a seatbelt. Now these seats are spendy but so worth it. Try epions.com and you will see the awesome reviews. I like that this seat is so simple to install, the straps don't twist, it's comfortable, has European crash ratings and safety standards which are higher than the USA. You can find deals on some websites or find these seats at Target or Babies R Us. I'm kinda crazy but I'm really picky and my daughter has owned over 10 carseats and I've hated all of them until I found the Britax products. My daughter's also broken two carseats a Evenflo and a Cosco brand. Britax is the BEST!

Check out these video's they're very educational and a little emotional but it might help you. There are 3 videos here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G59s3PjcntQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04

I would look into a carseat that goes upwards of 65 lbs. I just ordered 2 Sunshine Kids Radian 65's. They are going to be delivered today or tomorrow. I ordered them from Target for easy return. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find one in a store anywhere to test out first but I read a lot of reviews from people and they were all very happy with the seat (except for one person whose complaint was only about the seat cover).

The seat goes to 65 lbs with a 5 point harness which allows you to keep your sons in a harness for much longer than a regular seat. They run about $200 each but you don't have to replace them until you get a booster.

When we had our first son we bought an Evenflo Triumph (I think is what it is). We didn't know at the time that our little guy was going to end up with a very long torso. He has to squeeze into the straps on that carseat now at 3 years old. He is 36 lbs and 38 inches tall and the seat is supposed to go to 40 inches. Because he isn't ready for a booster seat (he doesn't meet the height or weight minimums) we had to shell out the money for these seats now. If we had just done that in the first place we would have saved the $125 or so that we spent on his other seats. However, if you are looking for something that only goes to 40lbs and 40 inches I think the evenflo triumph is a great seat with a lot of room for the kids.

I'm a Britax fan myself too. It's spendy but I think the ratings speak for itself. It's worth it in my opinion. I have the Marathon which I had since my DD was about 6-8 months old and like the PP states it's good up to 65lbs. My 2.5 year old is 30lbs. and I got her the Britax Regent which is good from 22-80lbs. her younger sister is going into the Marathon. If you're on a budget there was a suggestion I got for a Graco seat which is just like a Britax but cheaper. Maybe someone can help me out with the name. In regards to the Snugride that's for infant seats and the tests were inaccurate and consumer reports pulled the rating system for all seats until they can get accurate results. The seats were tested at too high of speed. epinions.com or babiesrus.com will have great ratings on these seats and you can check out the Graco ones too.

Britax exceeds all American safety standards and has consistantly outperformed other brands in all areas. The Britax Marathon is about $120 at Target. Check out Consumer Reports on carseats for all the detailed info- they just put out a new comprehensive study on all carseat brands. Graco Snugride infant carriers was the only brand that "passed" all the tests for infant seats, and Britax was rated #1 for the next size class. Good luck!

Hands down the Britax. I purchased one for my daughter in 2002 and we still use it today.

The safest and best value are the Britax. They hold a child up to 60 pounds. We bought my son his at 7 months and he is still using it at 3 1/2.

Hi J.,

I won't go in to all the details on the Britax, because everyone else has done very well. I wouldn't put my children in anything else. They are the best seats out there and you will not need to purchase new seats every year or so. Our next baby is due in May and we will be purchasing another Britax.

I know you have heard this many times but I have to agree about Britax - I have 2 roundabouts but I'd buy the Marathon or similar that works for infant all the way to 65 pounds. Highest safety rating, very comfortable, and lots of great extras (washable covers, velcro to keep straps off of the seat for easy in and out, reclining feature, forward or rear facing, etc.) They are more expensive but when you consider you are buying the only carseat you'll ever need it more than justifies it.

Britax, Britax, Britax!! Its so worth the money. We bought the Evenflo recommended by Consumer Reports and I returned it after 2 days because it is so hard to use. Good luck!