Question Need reccomendations for a convertible to booster seat

Hello,

My daughter is one year old. She is about to outgrow our infant seat ( about 22lbs, 30ish inches).

I would like to buy a convertible seat that will work long-term, so I do not have to buy another car seat if possible.

I drive a Hyundai Sonata so size is also a concern for me as even with the infant seat ( Graco 35) installed now, the passenger seat is lacking leg room for taller riders.

This is my first time buying a car seat like this - I really am not sure what to look for so any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

I would stick with a convertible seat that will allow your DD to RF as long as possible. Car seats that do all three (RF, FF, and booster) tend to do one of the three poorly, usually the booster phase. A seat with higher harness heights both RFing and FFing will get you a lot of bang for your buck and be usable for many years My 7yo still fits in many convertible seats FFing, and still fits in a few convertibles RFing by height or weight, but not both in any seat. Britax convertibles fit well in smaller cars RFing. Other good seats to take a look at would be Graco Size4Me70, and possibly a Radian with an angle adjuster. There are quite a few other great options as well, but the car seat brand name function in my brain is just not working at the moment. I am sure someone else will chime in with some other great recommendations as well.

Hi and welcome to car-seat.org!

Thtr4me is right, your best bet will be a convertible followed by a booster because those types of 3-in-1 seats do all 3 but none of them really well, generally.

What is your max budget? If you want that to include the eventual cost of a booster as well, please let us know!

One other point is that for a child your age, a 45 degree rear-facing angle is no longer necessary. Convertibles can generally be installed more upright than convertible seats, giving you more front to back room, and making things easier on the front seat passenger/driver.

HI,

Thank you for the input and feedback. I really appreciate it.
I think our max budget would be $200 but, ideally I would like to spend $150 - I am not sure this is even realistic. Maybe booster only isn't too expensive?

I was considering the Evenflo Symphony and had researched the graco nautilus for a while before I realized that RF wasn't an option in it.

Thank you again.

Unregistered said:

HI,

Thank you for the input and feedback. I really appreciate it.
I think our max budget would be $200 but, ideally I would like to spend $150 - I am not sure this is even realistic. Maybe booster only isn't too expensive?

I was considering the Evenflo Symphony and had researched the graco nautilus for a while before I realized that RF wasn't an option in it.

Thank you again.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry a bit about the booster at this point. You are correct in that you can buy a booster seat for cheap--easily under $50 if want. Your child will be riding in a harnessed car seat for a bare bones minimum of 3 more years, preferably 4-5 more years. We recommend kids stay in a harnessed seat till they are at least 5 to 6 years old and at least 40 lbs. And right now, your child needs to stay rear facing, till at least age 2, preferably till age 3 or 4. If you choose a nice, tall convertible seat w/high height and weight limits, you're child will likely be able to move straight to a high back booster seat from the convertible. Seats that are most likely to do that are the Britax convertibles, The First Years/Learning Curve True Fit, Evenflo Momentum, Sure Ride, and Triumph, Diono Radians, Graco My Ride and Size 4 Me...

As far as continuing to look at the supposed "3 in 1's", the Evenflo Symphony and Diono Radian (the one that has a booster option) are the only ones we'd ever recommend using as a booster, and fwiw, they won't last long as a booster and those are heavy seats. I don't think I'd want to use the Symphony every day as a booster fro my kiddo. Too heavy and difficult to move around into another car just for a booster. The Safety First/Cosco 3-in-1's (Alpha Omega, etc) make horrible, dangerous boosters. I'd rather see a 5 yr old in a well fitting backless booster that costs $12 than one of those.

Ah, almost forgot....convertible carseats install much more upright than infant bucket seats and take up less room front to back. Britax, True Fit, and the Evenflos aren't likely to interfere w/the front nearly as much. I've installed Evenflo convertibles (3 different ones), Britax, Graco, and Cosco convertibles in my mother in laws Sonata. Very easy car for installs and almost anything will work in it.

If you have more questions, please ask. We're here to help you. Welcome!

Unregistered said:

HI,

Thank you for the input and feedback. I really appreciate it.
I think our max budget would be $200 but, ideally I would like to spend $150 - I am not sure this is even realistic. Maybe booster only isn't too expensive?

I was considering the Evenflo Symphony and had researched the graco nautilus for a while before I realized that RF wasn't an option in it.

Thank you again.

Click to expand...

It's no problem, we're here to help!

Below I've link our most recent recommended seats:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=39944&highlight=recommended+seats

You can absolutely get a nice seat for under $150! I'd look at the Graco MyRide and the Evenflo Triumph 65. Both have 40lbs rear-facing weight limits and 65lbs forward-facing weight limits and fairly tall shells. You can see both at Babies R Us, but you'll find the best deals on them online. (Walmart and Albeebaby area often great prices.)

And, yes, dedicated boosters are relatively inexpensive. You can get a Graco Turbobooster, one that we recommend, for under $50 if you watch for a sale.

BTW, how exactly is your daughter outgrowing the Graco 35 at "22 lbs and 30ish inches" tall? If her head within one inch of the top? She can remain in that seat until either she reaches the weight limit, w/clothes & shoes on, OR until she has less than one inch from the top of her head to the top of the car seat. Her legs getting longer isn't a problem. It's fine if they touch the seat back. She will cross them or prop them up and be comfy and safe. No child has ever broken their legs *b/c* they were rearfacing and their legs touched the seat back (almost many kids break their legs forward facing). That should buy you some time to choose a seat.

Also, fwiw, I bought my dd a Radian (old school -- it was still sunshine kids back then!) when she was about a year old. She's now a super tall 6.5 y.o. kindergartener (49"), and is still happy as a little clam sitting in her old Radian. So if you get a solid convertible with a high size limit (which most of them have now regardless of price), your little one will be able to use it for a very long time.

How is she outgrowing her current seat? Height? How much room does she have above her head? Feet sticking out the end is just fine.

Our dd is almost 8m, 23# and 28". She is in an onboard35 which is similar in size to your seat. I leave it in the car most of the time and use it like a convertible.

There are some really great seats out there that last a long time. Some of my favorites;
Evenflo sureride $100
Safety1st guide65 $80
Graco myride $130
Evenflo triumph $130

Most of those will last an average size kid until booster stage.

Boosters are cheap. Many of the well liked boosters are under $100, many under $50.

Also if you plan on having more kids and dd is ff by then (in a few years) after baby outgrows the infant seat you can hand down the convertible you get now and get her a ff (combination - harness to booster) seat later.

By the way our neighbor guy fit and used his infant seat until he was 22 m. It worked great for them.

THANK YOU ALL!

I would say her head is about one inch of the top of the car seat.
I noticed that as well as her feet are off the edge so I thought she would need to move up to something new. Maybe we can hold out a bit longer...

All of your suggestions and information are so helpful and I will certainly be able to make a good choice from here. Whether I wait it out a bit longer or invest in a new car seat that should take us through the next few years.

Unregistered said:

THANK YOU ALL!

I would say her head is about one inch of the top of the car seat.
I noticed that as well as her feet are off the edge so I thought she would need to move up to something new. Maybe we can hold out a bit longer...

All of your suggestions and information are so helpful and I will certainly be able to make a good choice from here. Whether I wait it out a bit longer or invest in a new car seat that should take us through the next few years.

Click to expand...

Glad we could help!

Like we mentioned, feet aren't an issue. But there has to be a minimum of one inch from the top of her head to the top of the hard plastic seat shell. She sounds like she's long torsoed girl! If you place a hard ruler on top of her head, perpendicular to the seat back and then measure how far it is from there to the top, that will tell you for sure if she has room left to grow.