Car Seat Confusion!

Hello

My son is 8 months old and his weight is now around 18lbs. He is a tall fellow and legs are begining to stick out of the end of the rear facing baby seat he has.
So i think it is time i bought a new one. Any ideas which ones are good? I have seen Eddie Bauer seat in Sears which I like.
Any opinions on whether or not it is a good idea for a forward facing seat to have arm rests?

I want to buy a seat which will last some time and want to avoid buying a new seat every couple of years.

Thanks

I myself am a father of a larger than average baby. He just turned 5 months old and is about 19 lbs and his feet are also starting to stick out of his first car seat. I went out and purchased a 3 in 1 car seat that acts as a rear facing, forward facing and booster seat. I paid $149 for mine and will be installing it this weekend. I'm not sure about the arm rests. Mine does not have any.

I have 2 eddie bauers from sears. They are ok. If the baby pukes it's a PITA to remove the cover and wash it but other than that, the seat is fine.

You need a convertible car seat. You may want to check an unbiased report like Consumer Reports for safety stats.

If you live in Ontario you will still be required to keep your child rear facing.

From the MTO site:
When the child outgrows the maximum height and weight of his/her infant seat, you may require a convertible rear-facing seat until your child is ready to be facing forward. The law requires using a rear-facing car seat until:

* the baby is at least 9 kilograms (20 lb.)
* the baby can pull him/herself to a standing position
* the baby is one year old.

The law is a minimum requirement. It’s best to keep your child rear-facing until they are at least one year old or until they have reached either the maximum height or weight limits of the rear-facing seat.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, he is not 20lbs yet or 1 year old, but he is able to pull himself up already. So it looks like I satisfy that one. However I would rather play safe and just get the convertiable one and keep him rear facing for the mean time.

Originally Posted by SukSingh

Thanks for the suggestions guys, he is not 20lbs yet or 1 year old, but he is able to pull himself up already. So it looks like I satisfy that one. However I would rather play safe and just get the convertiable one and keep him rear facing for the mean time.

I believe you need to satisfy ALL 3 criteria. You may find your son has more leg room in a conertible car seat (rear-facing) versus the infant car seat (aka "the bucket"!)

Originally Posted by llbgal

I believe you need to satisfy ALL 3 criteria. You may find your son has more leg room in a conertible car seat (rear-facing) versus the infant car seat (aka "the bucket"!)

I'm not sure if you have to satisfy all 3. According to the MTO site (next line down from the 3 criteria)

"By law your child can ride facing forward when they are over 9 kg (20 lb.) or more."

MTO Site

But I'm curious to what other people interpretation is, as I'm in the same situation. My 6 month old is already over 20 pounds, and showing no signs of slowing the growth down.

Originally Posted by zorbo

I'm not sure if you have to satisfy all 3. According to the MTO site (next line down from the 3 criteria)

"By law your child can ride facing forward when they are over 9 kg (20 lb.) or more."

MTO Site

But I'm curious to what other people interpretation is, as I'm in the same situation. My 6 month old is already over 20 pounds, and showing no signs of slowing the growth down.

on the site you mentioned, if you look at the infant section and last paragraph and last sentence,

It’s best to keep your child rear-facing until they are at least one year old or until they have reached either the maximum height or weight limits of the rear-facing seat.

Originally Posted by ai_c

on the site you mentioned, if you look at the infant section and last paragraph and last sentence,

It’s best to keep your child rear-facing until they are at least one year old or until they have reached either the maximum height or weight limits of the rear-facing seat.

The main reason for keeping your child rear-facing is safety "they need to be turned backward until the child can hold his or her head up and the neck and spine are strong (usually at around 12 months)."

It may not technically be the law to turn them forward facing... however, I can tell you from experience that once a seat is forward facing it is way more upright as opposed to the approx. 45 degree angle you get with rear-facing. If your child has outgrown the weight restrictions of the "bucket" (infant carrier) the safest thing would be to move into a convertible car seat (which is rear facing and then later forward facing).

I would keep the child rear facing as long as possible for the reasons mentioned about the neck and spine being strong enough.

And I've always used Britax childseats. If child is still in infant-only childseat, it may be time to look at convertible childseats.

We have a britax roundabout and an Eddie Bauer convertible from Sears. The Britax was $299 and the Eddie Bauer was $199 but if I could do it again I would get another Britax in a heartbeat instead of the Eddie Bauer.

I don't know how they did it, but somehow the Britax straps never get twisted around or anything, while when I'm putting my daughter into the EB it seems like I'm constantly trying to straighten out the straps.

The Britax is also A LOT easier to clean than the EB. The cover is one peice and just slips off. Another thing that drives my husband crazy about the EB is that it has some metal parts that vibrate when the car is driving.

Britax is good, I was going to get a Britax Marathon so I could keep baby in 5 point restraint longer. But because I want to go on a plane with the car seat I ended up with the Sunshine Kids Radian. The Radian is 17" in width, which by chance is the average width of an airplane seat. The Britax is I believe around 18.5-19". So it would be a tight fit and encroaching on the seat next to you.

If I wasn't thinking of airplane travel with my little one, I'd probably get the Britax, just cuz of the funky colours. Cow print...mooooo...

Dearborn has $30 off on Radian car seat (reg. $269). Is this a good deal or can I get a better deal if I wait?

http://www.dearbornbaby.com/newproducts.html

Originally Posted by Jonavin

Dearborn has $30 off on Radian car seat (reg. $269). Is this a good deal or can I get a better deal if I wait?

http://www.dearbornbaby.com/newproducts.html

I just bought the Radian from CanadianTire for $199.99. I would recomend getting it there.

i got the Britax Marathon. Its pricey but worth it. Excellent reviews all around