New Here and a little overwhelmed!

My daughter is 5 1/2 months old and I am starting to look at some convertible carseats. She hasn't outgrown her infant seat as she is about about 14lbs but she is getting antsy in the seat.

So I am looking into getting a convertible seat that she can also use as a toddler. There is so much information on all these different seats that it is a bit overwhelming and I don't know where to start!

So what do you recommend?

First of all, do you have her car seat reclined (little foot extended)? If so, put to foot back in and she can sit up more. She will be happier.

Look for a car seat that fits you child, vehicle and that you find easy to use.

Also, when you get the seat, find a child passenger safety technician to check your install. Even the best seat, won't do its job when installed wrong.

Look for a seat that rear faces to 33 to 35 lbs, so you can rear face longer that one year.

What is your price range?

Little Foot? She is in a Peg Perego SIP infant seat.

Well I need something that is going to fit in both a 2007 Kia Rondo and a 2007 Ford F-150 crew cab (I drive the truck in the winter) It shouldnt much of an issue since both have plenty of room.

I have been looking at the Marathon, Boulevard and Radian but don't know how to chose between those?

A little foot is a stand that flips back and forth and changes the recline angle on the seat.

Out of the 3 you picked, it depends on what you need/want. Like you said your cars have a decent amount of space for a carseat.

The Radian is good for smaller cars so parents with multiples can fit 3 across. The Radian is slim. It has the highest slots of a convertible so that means you can keep your child in the harness until the max weight limit- the max on this one is high enough it should get your child to a decent booster age, meaning this and a booster will be the last seats you buy. It rear faces to 35lbs which is totally recommended these days with proven statistics from the AAP. The Radian can sometimes be a pain to install.

The Boulevard and the Marathon are pretty much the same thing. The Boulevard just has wings for side impact. All of Britax seats are side impact tested though. The Marathon/Boulevard will get your child to 65lbs in the harness but only rear face to 33lbs.

I would like to throw out 2 seats that you did not mention.

The First Years TrueFit is a really good buy! It can rear face to 35lbs (comfortably!) and then it will FF to 65lbs with the harness (which is one of the highest slotted car seats available. I put my 5 yr old DD in it the other day and she still fit properly. This means that it will make it to a decent booster age as well. It has a no-rethread harness meaning that when your child grows, you don't have to fix the harness totally. It adjusts easier with 2 knobs. It also has a snap on cover so washing it is a breeze! I TOTALLY RECOMMEND this seat to you!

Lastly is the Evenflo Triumph Advance. It is also a great convertible for RF your child longer. It RF to 35lbs BUT it only FF to 50 lbs :thumbsdown: or whenever the height max is reached (or your child grows out of the harness basically).

I say go with the TrueFit! You won't be dissapointed! :thumbsup:

Out of the 3 you picked.....I would go with the Radian if you aren't open to other options! Good luck and happy hunting for your new car seat

The Marathon and Blvd. can RF up to 35 lbs. now, too, if they're the U.S. versions and manufactured after Britax increased their rear facing weight limits earlier in 2008. I believe the OP may be in Canada, though, where the Canadian certified Britax convertibles have lower rear facing weight limits than their U.S. versions. The True Fit is also available in Canada and its Canadian version does have a rear facing limit of 35 lbs. :thumbsup:

One more thing about the difference between the Marathon and the Blvd - the Blvd has knobs on the side so you can adjust the height of the harness straps. With the Marathon you have to re-thread the harness, which usually isn't that big of a deal, but having the knobs is a nice feature if you ever have two different-sized children using the same seat.

And the "little foot" on the Peg infant seat doesn't flip anywhere. It's what comes up and down when you rotate the knob on the base that says "up/down" with the arrows. By rotating it down and moving the angle of the carseat you may make your daughter less ansty.

The Radian is very slim, but it's HUGE front to back. Shouldn't be an issue in the Dodge truck. I don't know about how it'd fit in a Kia Rondo, though. They don't seem to have a big back seat. But then I can get a rear facing Radian in my husband's Audi A4 and they definitely don't have a big back seat.

If you're in Canada I would run to the True Fit with the 35 pound limit. The Boulevard and Marathon only go to 30 pounds for you. Since your daughter is still very much under 22 pounds you would not need to use the headrest which would make it a lovely and tiny seat for her.

Wendy

I would recommend the truefit also it has great options on it, like no rethreading the harness, higher heigh limits, and you can take the headrest off for rearfacing smaller infants, not to mention the price is lower then the radian and britax so you will be saving a buck.

Thanks so much for the information and yes I am in Canada :thumbsdown:

I have looked at the TrueFit and have considered it but I have heard people talking about how the crotch strap cuts into their kids legs?? Anyone else have this problem?

Why the :thumbsdown: that you're in Canada?

We have so many great seats these days. :thumbsup:

You have lots of options, some with very manageable price points.

Maybe one of the mods can move this to the CDN/international forum?

I would post a new thread asking about that issue in the Canadian/International forum... I know there are moms there who LOVE their truefits.

The above replies have already tailored the advice for Canadian convertible seat options pretty well but I went ahead and moved this thread to the Canadian forum.

Well you got a lot of info thrown at you there and I hope you aren't more overwhelmed with the Canada/US confusion going on there for a bit.

I just wanted to make a few points in an effort to help out with the confusion:

- The suggestion to decrease the incline on your daughter's seat is a good one, but I just thought you should know that the seat does have to be at a 45 degree angle for newborns, as per the instructions. Once they are a little older and have good head control, some kids are happier a little more upright. I'm not a tech (yet) and I'm not 100% sure at what age you can start putting them more upright. I just wanted to say this in case someone else reads this thread and thinks they don't have to have their infant or convertible seat at 45 degrees for a wee little baby.

- If you spend a bit of time browsing this site you will see that most (all?) people here are big time advocates of keeping your children rear-facing as long as possible (i.e. well past the minimum of 1 year and 22 lbs). There is lots of info here and on other sites about why this is the case. My current favourite links are:
http://www.joelsjourney.org/
http://kyledavidmiller.org/pages/4209/Car_Seat_Safety:_Rear-facing_is_safest.htm

- Since rear-facing is best, ideally you want to purchase a seat with as high a rear-facing limit as possible. The best option for this in Canada right now is the First Years True Fit, with a rear-facing limit of 35 lbs. It also harnesses forward-facing to 65 lbs, and has good height for tall kids. The NEW Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 seats also rear-face to 35 lbs (these are just starting to show up in stores now; the older ones have lower limits), but this seat is not highly recommended because of the lower forward-facing harness limit and because it does not make a good booster seat. It is not considered good value for money.

- Other people have addressed the merits of the True Fit and the other seats you are looking at. Just note that the other seats have a rear-facing limit of 30 lbs in Canada.

As for your crotch buckle question, we have a True Fit and it hasn't been an issue for our 19 month old 28 lb boy yet. From what I've read here it seems like the people that might have been having issues (or rather were worried they would have issues when their young kids were older) had kids in cloth diapers and once the diapers are gone there is a whole lot more crotch room available. That is just my overall impression after reading posts about that issue over the last few months; there may still be people who aren't 100% happy with the crotch buckle. I don't expect it to be a problem.

We have a Marathon and a True Fit in 2 vehicles (Ford Focus hatchback and 2-seater Ford Ranger truck) and I'm going to be replacing the Marathon with another True Fit when DS hits 29 lbs so he can stay rear-facing in both vehicles. I like the Marathon, but the higher rear-facing limit and the fact that he looks like he has more room rear-facing in the True Fit makes it the winner.

Last thing, some of us Canadians are hoping that the newer version of the True Fit due out in the States mid-Feb will also come here shortly after. It will be more expensive, but it comes with an anti-rebound bar (like a T that rests against the back seat when rear-facing). The reason I want one of those is because the harness adjuster will be easier to access when the seat is rear-facing which is the most common complaint about the True Fit (but not a deal-breaker). I'll have to try one in my car before knowing if I'll really like it better than the current version, but I'm excited to have the option. Assuming it comes here.

That last bit was my long-winded way of saying that you might want to wait a bit before you buy anything because if you wait you might have another option.

Sorry this was so long.

From the sound of the original post, it doesn't seem like you will have a whole lot of time left before you'll need a convertible, especially if she's in a Peg, which is typically outgrown soonest out of all of the infant bucket seats.

I have to agree with the True Fit recomendation as well.I initially had concerns about the crotch strap as well, when I bought it for my then 33lb 24 month old son. However, once I put my 3 year old step-daughter, and then my 51/2 year old step-son in it, and saw that the crotch strap was not a problem for them, I realized that it was the bulk of my little one's diaper that was throwing me off. I really do not anticipate any problems with the crotch strap when he's out of diapers. (Hopefully soon!)

If not, I'd go for a Radian, as I have one of those and love it as well. Try it out in your vehicle if possible first and learn how to install it. SOme people find it to be difficult, although I have never personally had a problem installing it in at least ten differenct vehicles.

I have to say though, that I'd definitely go for the TF in your situation over the Radian and those are two of my favorite seats.

If you are comfortable posting whereabouts in Canada you are, we can also try to find a tech for you who is in your area to help you out in person.

Thanks for the info...as for the :thumbsdown: to Canada is because I am originally from Texas lol.

I guess I will look more into the TF. DD is long and skinny so I think she is going to outgrow the Peg in length pretty soon. Plus she is wanting to sit upright a little more and can get quite uncomfy in her Peg.

It's also a matter of convincing DH. He really liked to Blvd and the SIP it has. He is convinced now because of an experience we had with a different infant seat, that is more expensive the seat, the better it is. To explain what happened, we originally bought a Safety First travel set before DD was born. We got it at Costco and thought it was a good deal for $190. Well it wasn't such a good deal. We couldn't get the base tightened down enough and it moved quite a bit and the straps kept twisting on the seat. So we took it back and someone recommened the Peg so we got that.

I am also have trouble getting DD and the seat out of the truck as it is pretty high and the seat with her in it is pretty heavy.

I am wanting to keep her rfing as long as possible so the TF might be the way to go. My only other concern is that someone said it is quite bulky? And the back seat of my Rondo isn't huge and we plan on trying for another baby within the next year so it will have to fit multiple seats.

I am in Edmonton BTW

LOL, well God Bless Texas!

But really, if you had to come here, Alberta is about as close as you're gonna get to Texas... and Edmonton, short of Calgary, is about as red-neck as you'll find. So, welcome, and enjoy! Canada is great, and we have some really good car seats now. It's a win-win.

Trudy (snowbird25) is in Edmonton. She'll come around soon, and she can help you with installation. :thumbsup:

texcan07 said:

Thanks so much for the information and yes I am in Canada :thumbsdown:

I have looked at the TrueFit and have considered it but I have heard people talking about how the crotch strap cuts into their kids legs?? Anyone else have this problem?

Click to expand...

I have my big 18-month-old (36", about 30-31lbs) in a TF and he's got no problems with the crotch strap. It's a great seat, loads of legroom for older RFing kids.

texcan07 said:

It's also a matter of convincing DH. He really liked to Blvd and the SIP it has. He is convinced now because of an experience we had with a different infant seat, that is more expensive the seat, the better it is. To explain what happened, we originally bought a Safety First travel set before DD was born. We got it at Costco and thought it was a good deal for $190. Well it wasn't such a good deal. We couldn't get the base tightened down enough and it moved quite a bit and the straps kept twisting on the seat. So we took it back and someone recommened the Peg so we got that.

Click to expand...

You know, even just five years ago, this was essentially true. You could get carseats that were safe enough, but typically hard to use, for less, but if you wanted something easy to use, you had to pay more. Fortunately, that's really no longer the case. There are several less-expensive options that are often just as easy to use as the more expensive ones, and sometimes even easier. Manufacturers are listening to parents. :thumbsup:

As for bulk, the Radian is quite trim, and sits low on the vehicle seat, so it's easier to fit other carseats/people next to it, and easier to get kids in and out of in higher vehicles. I seem to recall the True Fit sits pretty low on the seat, too, though, so the main difference would be the width.

If you can wait a month or two more, you might want to check out the Radian XT when it arrives in Canada. It will RF to 35 lb and have SIP, which sounds important to your DH. It will work better in a 2 or 3-across situation than a TF, however you would want to be sure it fits front-to-back RF in your vehicle(s).

I have had the TF in two smaller vehicles and it fits well in both. Width wise it is larger than the Radian/Radian XT, so would not be as good for 3-across, but you should be able to get 2 in a back seat. The TF does fit much better front-to-back than the Radian for RF in smaller vehicles.

You can drop me a PM if you want to see the Radian or TF in person and maybe try them in your vehicle. I can also help you judge how close your DD is to growing out of her Peg.

Sooo, I took DH out today to look at the TF and he doesn't like it Go Figure!!! He has his heart set on the Blvd....so low and behold, we make a trip to E-children and buy it. It also has a manufacture date of Dec 2008 which is nice.

It seems like a really nice seat...except for only going to 30lbs rfing. DD seems really comfy in it.

I LOVE the cowmooflage pattern that Britax has out and I am guessing the Cowmoo cover for the Blvd CS won't fit the Blvd?

Also do you recommend RF tethering?