convertible seat for 10 month old

Hi all,
could use some suggestions on a seat for my niece. She is already 23 pounds at almost 10 months old. They need to get her out of her infant carrier. We're considering getting a seat for her. I'd like to get her a seat that will last them the longest. She needs to rear-face for a while obviously. Aside from the Safety 1st all in one, are there any seats that will last from rear facing until the switch to a booster?
We can't spend more than $150 on this for them.
I also want a decent amount of side impact support.
Keep in mind, she is a pretty big baby with big chunky legs!
thanks for any suggestions.
Jill

Don't look at the all in ones. They make lousy boosters, so they will not be the last seat you ever need. But, they will make decent rear facing and forward facing seats (if you must have one, they can be difficult to install rear facing sometimes). Dedicated booster seats are not that expensive, and the seats I will suggest should get your average child to about 5 or so.

Look at:
The evenflo triumph advance: rear facing to 35 pounds, forward faces to 50, nice 17 inch top slots.

Graco myride 65: will rear face to 40 pounds, forward face to 65. also about 17 inch top slots so will also last until about age 5. Since rear facing to the limits of the seat is safest, I might go this route, since she is 23 pounds at 10 months. But, hopefully she will slow on the weight gain a bit.

There are also less expensive options, that would require the purchase of a higher harnessing seat later down the line.

The safety first avenue: rf to 35 pounds, ff to 40, but should last height wise to about 5 if the weight limit isn't reached.

And the cosco scenera. Bare bones seat with no eps foam. But rear faces to 35 pounds with a nice tall shell, so usually will last an average kid to at least age 2, if not 3 rear facing. HTH.

Any other questions about the seats, just ask!

thanks for that. I think I would like to get a seat then that will at least allow them to harness her for the higher weight limits...so the My Ride sounds interesting. I think that would rule out the Safety 1st ones.
Is the My Ride good for bulkier kids? the 17" slots sound kind of low, but I'm used the high ones we have on our daughter's seats...she is 5 and has a Safeguard Child Seat and a Graco Nautilus.
Is the My Ride likely to be outgrown by height first? I have to ask my sister in law what percentile for height she is.
But heck, if she could get to age 5 in that seat, that's a pretty good deal.
thanks!

I just got a my ride so my 27 month old can stay rear facing longer. She is 27.5 lbs and 34 inches and has plenty of growing room rear facing. My just turned 4 year old (34 lbs, 39 inches) still fits in it rear facing with a little room to grow. My 5.5 year old (37.5 lbs, 43 inches) still fits forward facing with a little bit (a little less than an inch before her shoulders are at the top harness slot) of room to grow.

Here is my 4 year old in the my ride. The harness really needs to be in the next slot up for her, but just buckled it like it was for the pictures.

Truefits can be found for around $150 also. They rearface to 35# and forward face to 65#. They have a tall shell and tall top slots.

Is she short or long torsoed? The truefit is better for long torso. The myride is better for short torso.

Since you have a 5 year old, you could sit here in the seats and she how she fits even if she is to big. I did this when looking for a seat for our 3year old. I had our 7 year old try them. He fit some and not others, so it helped me to see how long they would last.

I own a My Ride 65 (MR) as well as an Evenflo Triumph Advance (EFTA). I love both seats. I however like the higher RF weight limit on the MR. It has a nice shell on it & my 3 year old has plenty of room to grow in it. I am thinking we will likely get to age 4 RF in the MR before outgrowing it.

He also fits exactly like Mom2fivegirls 4 year old does right now. I really do LOVE the MR. My son also loves it as it has cupholders & asks DH where his cupholders are when he rides with him. LOL!