My 11m old was just diagnosed...

with a rare seizure disorder called Infantile spasms at 10m and I am looking for a new carseat for her as we are bordering to big for her infant carrier! I talked to the carseat tech at the hospital and she has made a couple of suggestions but I would like some other input as well! To be honest the cost is the last thing on my list of worries! I would like something that will allow me to keep her RF as long as possible as well as something that has plenty of cushion as her comfort is #1 and we have had a couple of clusters during travels! Seeing as we live in Hawaii I would also like something that is Airplane approved! We do travel back to the mainland often!! I am in the process of getting her in the EFM program (we are military) and once that is approved I am going to try and go through Echo as well so any advice and information is welcome please!! currently she is 18.13lbs. as of a week ago!

Any of the recommended convertible car seats in the regular car seat forums should work. Infantile spasms won't directly affect her transportation at this point (and hopefully never will!). I wish you luck with all of that! They can be difficult to get under control but there are a lot of kids who get through it with no lasting effects.

The only thing I would be concerned about is being able to see her while you are driving. I don't think the spasms themselves can cause any difficulty with breathing, but if she starts having other types of seizures, she might.

I'd get a soft mirror that can be tethered to the headrest or back tether, and preferably a seat that can also be tethered (to prevent her from rebounding into the mirror) or a seat with a rebound bar. So that would be the sunshine kids radian (any model), the britax convertibles (boulevard or marathon would be my choice) or the first years true fit premier. All are great seats and ones I'd feel comfortable using with a tethered mirror.

If you aren't concerned about a mirror (or you can find one soft enough that you don't feel would be a hazard if she rebounds in an accident) then that makes the list quite a bit longer. I'd recommend the evenflo triumph advance, the graco my ride, and the recaro convertibles as well.

Also, check out on the information on extended rear-facing. The current recommendation is to rear-face to the limits of a convertible seat, which for most kids is at least 2 years old (though many can rear-face to 3, 4, or 5 in a lot of the newer seats that have higher height and weight limits).

I hope your DD gets through this quickly and easily! It's tough. My DD has undiagnosed convulsions in addition to a seizure disorder. Unfortunately, they can't tell us what they are are why she has them...or even really how to treat them. We keep her on some pretty heavy drugs.

Shaunum gave you a great list.

I just want to point out that the trufit premier does not tether rearfacing. However, it has a rebound bar that acts like a tether. It will help prevent the seat from rotating in to the backseat and into any mirror.

I believe the mirrors I've seen that I would be okay with were Eddie Bauer, so probably from Target? I would not get a mirror containing ANY hard parts. You want a flexible mirror part and a frame made of fabric with no hard parts whatsoever. Imagine it being thrown at your baby's head with several hundred pounds of force; if you wouldn't be okay with that happening, keep looking for a different one. I've seen them, I know there are ones out there that are completely soft and flexible, not hard.

Also, we're getting info that the Sunshine Kids Radian XT will soon rear-face to 45 lbs. I believe there's a thread about it in the "Carseat Chat" forum. You might check that out, as that would make it the highest rear-facing limit in the US at this point, and it has a nice tall shell as well. The drawback to that is that it does not rear-face well in airplanes (none of the Radians really fit rear-facing in an airplane.) So you might look at other seats as well or possibly a cheaper one for travel.

Sorry, late to the conversation (just saw this thread). I wanted to chime in that my DD has epilepsy. The mirrors that were already mentioned (Eddie Bauer from Target) are nice and soft and secure well to the vehicle headrest. I have this one myself.

Rear-facing definitely IS safest but I do understand the need to see her, so a soft, well-attached mirror would be worth considering.

I agree with the seats already recommended. There are lots of great options on the market. Try a few out and see what works best for you and your vehicle, and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.