Car seat opinions needed............

[Cumberland]

I think I am ready to move from the infant carrier to a convertible car seat. Any suggestions? I went to the NTSB car ratings page and read the reviews. Of course I would like the $250 Britax Marathon that fits up to 65lbs but it seems so pricey.

[BonBon]

SueAnne, (did I spell it right?)

Gavin's been in his Britax Marathon for over a month now 8O , we absolutely LOVE this car seat. It is so user-friendly, and he just seems so safe in it. Not to mention it is the plushest looking thing out there. Gav seems pretty comfortable in it. I really feel good about his safety in this car seat. We ordered ours on babyuniverse.com - it was on sale for $225 and had free shipping. Well worth the extra $$$, IMO.

I know all car seats meet the federal safety standards, but I think these go above and beyond what is required.

HTH

[Flynn]

We have a Britax Marathon as well and it works great! The cheaper ones are much much harder to install (we tried them ALL) in and out of a car AND there not as safe. My parents have the same one in their car.

To us, it was a no-brainer.

The Britax was out of our price range too. We have the Cosco Alpha Omega in both cars and have been very happy with it. I haven't installed a Britax so I don't have a point of comparison but we've had no problems with the Cosco. The ones we have are 3 and 1 years old and model styles can change....

The Britax was also way out of our price range, and we also have the Cosco Alpha Omega. Its rated very well and not a problem at all to get into the car. The one we have is good from 5 lbs to 100, also a three seats in one deal. It can be rear-facing or front-facing, it reclines, has a cup holder and looks very comfortable. I figured this was much more cost effective compared to buying a booster seat in a year or so. We all really like it and haven't had any problems with it at all.

[Flynn]

The Cosco Alpha Omega had decent ratings on the highway site and also Consumer reports but got terrible reviews in "Baby Bargains" the updated version.

We origionally bought that one for my parents' car and had a TERRIBLE time installing it in both a new Explorer and also a Subaru Forester. It always moved about 4 to 5 inches from the right to the left or more....a major safety issue. My husband spent almost an hour trying to instal it properly with frustrating results. The seat is only supposed to move an inch on either side.

I have many friends with that car seat and it seems to work for them but we had an AWFUL time with it so off it went back to the store. The funny thing was the sales person wasn't surprised. He had gotten 4 back that very same week for similar issues!!!

That's just our experience!

[Cumberland]

Can they really move that much with the LATCH system? I thought if you used LATCH, they dont move period, at least that is how our infant seat works.

We were not able to use the Costco Alpha Omega in the middle seat (too much wiggle) of our Vovlo but can use it in any back seat of our Mitsubishi. Since we don't move our car seats once they are in, a little extra installation work is OK. Cost just would not allow us to get 2 Britax seats.
If you want help with the car seat or just want to make sure it's installed correctly, call your local fire department. They will likely have a staff member trained in car seat safety checks who will assess your car seat or refer you to a local organization that will.

[Flynn]

Not all latch systems are the same nor are they appropriate for all cars...live and learn.

I think we had issues with the C. Omega due to the specific cars we were trying to install it in (see previous post). Like I said before, plenty of people we know use it and it seems fine. We didn't have that experience and it was a major hassle, so if I can help someone with these posts avoid being extremely frustrated -- good!

Anyway, we now have another Britax Marathon -- I can put it in any car in about two minutes and everyone is happy!

[Phoebe]

We opted for the Graco Cargo Convertible/Booster Seat. I think it was $99 at Babies R Us. We have really liked it and it was easy to install. It got good reviews online. My mom has the Cosco Alpha Omega and she likes it. I don't, but it is safe.

Jennifer

[Amiens]

Because I know Brigham will not be able to go foward facing after his appt on Thursday- we have to get a convertible seat.

I am looking at getting a Britax Roundabout or a Marathon, which ever will fit best in our car. I have had too many friends say negative things about the Cosco seat, and only one has liked it.

Brigham is so tiny that Matt and I decided to get the seat with the highest safety standards- that being the Britax. We have some money saved up for it, and we get coupons from Toys R Us/Babies R Us through using our Visa card with them, and our insurance company gives us $50 reimbursement on a new carseat, so the actual cost to us will be about the same as getting something else.

Crystal

[SueC]

I didn't know insurance companies reimbursed for new carseats--I'll have to look into that! Our hulkster baby will probably be in a convertible carseat soon (I think he's probably pushing 18 pounds at only 3.5 months of age), so I'm really following this thread for carseat ideas.

[migirl]

Our hulkster baby will probably be in a convertible carseat soon (I think he's probably pushing 18 pounds at only 3.5 months of age)

The way you wrote this has given me a mental image of an oversized green, angry baby and it's making me laugh out loud!

FYI, I came across this today - four Britax car seat models are being recalled for a problem with the child restraints - http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040809/clm037_1.html

[Amiens]

Sue,

We have USAA, and had received a card when Emma was born about getting, it's either $25 or $50 reimbursement on a car seat. Well we lost the receipt for Emma's infant seat. When it came time to move her to a FF car seat, I called USAA and asked if they still had the program, and said sure- mailed us a form. We mailed it back with the receipt, and 6-8 weeks later we had a check in our hands.

Crystal