Okay, carseats are something I'm least knowledgeable in. Right now, I have a Graco Snugride 35 that was a part of our travel system (rear-facing).
When LO turns a year old (or reaches the weight/height max of her current carseat), what am I supposed to be looking for next?
Thanks, everyone!
pear / 1837 posts
You'll want a convertible carseat that can go rear-facing till 2 years old, and then forward facing after that.
We have two different ones: in our mini-SUV, we have the Recaro ProRide- it's really well-reviewed, and expensive-but-not-the-most-expensive. I like it because it's really easy to adjust, but it's HUGE. Like, kind-of-obscures-my-vision huge. (And by "huge" I mean tall, not wide). In our smaller car, we specifically looked for a carseat that was supposed to be good for smaller cars, and got the First Years True Fit. It's definitely smaller than the Recaro, but it was a pain in the butt to install.
kiwi / 729 posts
We had a Chicco Keyfit 30, but even though LO wasn't 30 lbs yet (not even close - he was 18.5 lbs at 9 months), we decided to start researching because it was getting a little squished in the carseat. The guy we talked to at a baby store said that most babies will outgrow the carseat's height max first before the weight. So we switched LO to a convertible at 9.5 months and it's been great.
Convertible car seats allow you to have the baby both rear facing and then switch to forward facing when they are old enough. You can start putting the baby in the convertible when they are pretty young. My SIL switched her baby at 4 months!
We have a Britax Boulevard 70 CS (Click Safe). I didn't research all the different brands but know from reputation that Britax is good. I mainly looked on Amazon.com for reviews and the best deal.
Good luck with your search!
pear / 1837 posts
One thing I'd really recommend is keeping an eye on various baby-gear-deal websites (whether through something like baby cheapskate, or by subscribing to albee/zulily/eversave or whatever). Especially if you start looking a few months before you really need the seat, you can score really good deals.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
I also have a Britax. It can go rear or front but we turned her around at 1 year. She really wanted to face forward by then.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I'd suggest going to the store and trying out some seats. You have to consider if your car has latch and where the tether points are. You also have to consider the location of the seat in front and how much overhang (if any) you have with the car on the actual seat.
apricot / 489 posts
I'm so glad you asked this question, it's something I've been wondering about as well. And because I tend to be neurotic, I always look at sales and wonder what I should pick up in advance.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
Another Britax lover here (we got the Marathon).Definitely keep an eye on Baby Cheapskate ... She is great about posting carseat deals.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
We got the Britax Advocate 70cs and transitioned M at 7 months or so. We probably could have kept her in her SIP 30/30 for a bit longer (since she just hit the 30 inch mark), but we wanted her to be more comfy. 
http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Advocate-Convertible-Previous-Version/dp/B003OUWIP8
We have this. In Anna. It's really pretty IRL and the material is soft and wonderful
grapefruit / 4681 posts
We switched to the Britax Marathon a few months ago.
DS completely outgrew his Graco Snugride (ours only went up to 22 lbs) at about 7 months. He hated getting into his infant seat at the end, and LOVED the Britax once we switched!
coconut / 8299 posts
We had the Graco Snugride 35 for our infant carseat and then bought the Britax Marathon. My LO loves sitting in it and never complains. I think the incline is comfortable for him (not too upright and not leaning back too much). I plan on getting another Britax Marathon for #2 too.
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