recomendations for convertible car seats please

one of my DS's is getting too big for his infant car seat. even though he is about 20 pounds and the carseat should go to 30 pounds - he looks like he is uncomfortable in the width and he is getting very sweaty even though I have the A/C on. I think I would like to move him up to a convertible car seat - any suggestions?

 

we have cosco scenera's for DH's car. they're only $60 each and rank as one of the top seats on consumer reports for safety. in my car, which we drive most often, we have a pair of evenflo triumph advance LX seats. they're pricier but rank very high for safety and the tightening mechanism is so simple and easy to manage with one hand that i totally recommend the investment.

 

We got our boys these: GRACO. With twin discounts, coupons, sales-we ended up getting them for $122/each. It was a huge bargain! Our boys had Graco previously, but they seemed to be growing out of them, even though it said it was good for up to 40lbs. The straps on one of them just wasn't cutting it-and we were going on a long trip, so we wanted new car seats. What I like about these is that they are good up to 100lbs. So when looking-I would look for the higher weight limits. Good luck!

 

I used Britax Marathon and LOVED them. They are rear facing until 35 lbs and fits a child up to 65 lbs forward facing. My 5 yr old just stopped using his Marathon and moving to a booster, but can still fit into the Marathon. They are a little expensive, but IMO worth the extra money. I mean wow I have had one last 5yrs.

 

We have two different types. We originally got the Alpha Omega Elite by Safety 1st. They are ok, but take up A LOT space rear facing, so I think we will like them better once the kids are older. For my car, we had trouble getting seats to fit RF (we switched to convertibles for height reasons when the twins were 7 months). We ended up with the Graco Myride 65 and LOVE them. The kids are very comfortable in them, they are easy to install, have built in cup holders, and can be RF to 40 lbs.

IMO, the weight for RF is much more important than the total weight limit on the seat. I would hope that my child doesn't hit anywhere close to 100 lbs before they are 8 years old. You'd have to have a pretty roly poly kid to not hit the height requirement to get out of a booster but hit the weight limit for most boosters!

I plan on keeping my kids RF as long as possible and they don't complain at all in the gracos.

 

Like slugrad we LOVE the Graco MyRide 65's!! I bought them back in April at walmart.com for $129 each (and only $1.94 to ship them to our house). We also have a set of Britax Marathon seats in the minivan that I drive. I really like the Marathons, but don't love them like the Graco MyRides. Though I would recommend either to somebody looking for convertible seats, but the Gracos are definitely cheaper. I really didn't think I would like the Graco MyRides as much as I did, because we had the Graco Snugride carrier seats and I hated them with a passion!! But the MyRides are awesome IMO

 

We have the Evenflo Triumph Advance for both kids. They were easy to install, clean and adjust. Good luck with your search!

 

We have Sunshine Kids- Radian. They are pretty pricey about $230 each is what we paid, but they are made of steal and are narrow to fit three across in the back seat of our van and are super safe!. Our older girls love them - they have much more cushion than any other carseat that we have owned.

 

You might want to try some out in the store... you mentioned that your boy looked uncomfortable width-wise... just curious if the convertible's fit looser or or more comfortably for him...

they weight of 30 pounds is also a height limit and our twins lasted in our carriers until almost 20 months... the carriers and the DSNG were my saving grace! I faced them towards each other and loved being able to do quick errands w/o having to get out of carseats and into stroller etc.

anyway, one other comment... I think carseats in general are sweaty messes... so don't expect the kids to not get sweaty...

I have a set of Recaro's and love them and we also have a cheaper set of Evenflo Titan's that we got through a local program for really cheap. good luck figuring out what's right for family and car.

yes, I am planning on rear facing for a long time and with your twins being 20 pounds already I would try to get a carseat that will rearface to 40 or 45 pounds so that you have the flexibility to rf as long as you want.

 

I haven't yet delivered my twins but I have three kids and have been through a ton of car seats.

The Graco Natalius (sp) is a great seat but ONLY goes forward facing. So that's only an option if your child is over a year and 20lbs and you are ready to turn him forward facing. I have two (for my two oldest 3 & 4) and LOVE them. We have a mini van though and can't use them anymore because I needed seats that would fit three across the back seat. I had to buy the Sunshine Radians. I really like them as well. They are very heavy but great seats. They're pricey. But you can forward or rear face the seat. I have only used them forward facing with a seat belt but we get a super tight fit. The only problem I have is the buckle is harder to do/undo and my 3yr old can't unbuckle and buckle herself. Something she could do with the Graco. Not a big deal though. A few weeks before finding out we were having twins I had bought my 22mos old a new Graco My Ride 65. It's a great seat as well but really really bulky. It wasn't too bad forward facing but rear facing it takes up a lot of room. But it's a nice roomy seat so something you might be interested in. I really miss using my Natalius and My Ride but had to buy the Radians to make everyone fit since we can't afford a new van/SUV. I plan on using them though for the twins (in the middle captain seats) once they are ready for convertable seats.

 

Wow, maybell! You must have some shorties Mine are still nowhere near the weight limit for an infant carrier, but they outgrew them height wise when they were 7 months old! Our DSNG was barely used!!!

 

We have the Britax Boulevard convertible car seats and love them.