# Best car seat for extended rear-facing?



## NewMama2007 (Mar 4, 2007)

Anyone?

All the specs & reviews for car seats that I can find only address rear-facing to 30 pounds or so and then recommend turning to forward facing...are they actually OK to be rear facing beyond that, or is there a specific car seat that's going to be better?

DD is 22 lbs now, and our pumpkin seat goes to 30 lbs, so we have a while to worry about it.

Thanks!


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## Gray's Mommy (Jul 8, 2005)

I am a huge Britax fan. I was converted after my 2nd child.


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## preemiemamarach (Sep 7, 2007)

:

We're about to move from DC to Colorado, and I will be getting a convertible seat before we leave, as I'm sure it'll be more comfy for DS (he'll be nearly 7 months, he's 16 lbs now). Any other suggestions, mamas?


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I like britax seats personally. My dd is 31lbs, 38in and about 3.5 and still happily rf in her boulevard. My second choice would probably be the radian- though it has a lot of install problems in some cars. Third choice would be the recaro seats though I'm turned off because they don't tether RF which is a safety feature I find important.

-Angela


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## katie9143 (Oct 3, 2006)

we bought a marathon when dd got a little tall for her graco snugride (b4 she reached the weight limit) and we really like it. its a tad large, but i have a pretty small car (olds alero) and it still fits fine. its very padded and dd seems quite comfortable in there even though she has never been a big fan of the car. when we bought it, my 7 yr old niece who was around 70 lbs sat in it and although she did look a tad big in it (i think it goes up to 65 lbs) she did actually fit and i think i could have even buckled her in if the harness had been set at the highest slots!! they are expensive, but i plan to use it on our second child too (in a few yrs) and then purchase a decathalon for dd til she grows out of the carseat/booster age. check out family safety for more threads on carseats and stuff.


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## moobiegirl (Sep 10, 2007)

We have the radian 65. Ds is 14 months and 20 pounds. He will stay rearfacing until he reaches 33 pounds. He is also in a graco safeseat in my car, but i think he really hates it. so I'm thinking about getting the recaro como. (i really wanted the recaro first, but I found the radian first) good luck


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Moving to family safety


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

There are pros and cons to every seat, you just have to evaluate what works for your family. I have many Britax seats, and one Recaro Signo that I've been very happy with. I love the Britax because they transfer from car to car so easily, last for quite a few years, DD1 will just be outgrowing her MA when it expires.







The Recaro I like a lot, but like Angela pointed out there is no RFing tether, it comes on a very high base. The Radian doesn't have a base so it it sits very low in the car, can have installation issues so I personally wouldn't get it unless you aren't going to be moving it around that much, but then again it will last longer then the 65lb Britaxs' because the slot heights are higher and it expires in 7 years vs. 6 for all the other seats.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Britax Boulevard or Marathon, rf to 33 lbs
Radian 65, rf to 33 lbs
Recaro Como or Signo, rf to 35 lbs
Evenflo Triumph Advance, rf to 35 lbs


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## Suzuki Momma (Oct 11, 2005)

I just purchased the Safety 1st Uptown for my son. It goes to 35lbs RF but only 40 FF. My kids are fairly small though and have only reached 40 lbs at 6 & 7 yrs old. It also has more harness slots than many in comparable price ranges.

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/04/46/81...17_215X215.jpg


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## DoomaYula (Aug 22, 2006)

If your child doesn't have a long torso, the Cosco Scenera goes rf to 35lbs, which is longer than any Britax. However you also have to look at your child's height and torso length -- my dd just outgrew it by height/torso length, and so we got her a Ma. My older boys are in Regents.


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

I have a Britax Marathon and a Boulevard and Radian 65. The Radian is taller than the Britaxes, but both rf to 33#. It's unusual for a child to outgrow those seats in height before weight. There are a few seats that rf to 35# (the new Britaxes will which is nice, and the Radian just got released for 35# as well), but except for the little blurb I added above, the shells aren't as tall as some kids need.


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## NewMama2007 (Mar 4, 2007)

So basically, once she is over 33-35 lbs, depending on the model, she goes forward facing?

I guess I was hoping to keep her rf a bit longer...at the rate she's going, I'm sure she'll hit 35 lbs by the time she's 18 months!

Thanks for the input, mamas!


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Yes, there are no seats in the US that rf past 35#.


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## crazydiamond (May 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NewMama2007* 
I guess I was hoping to keep her rf a bit longer...at the rate she's going, I'm sure she'll hit 35 lbs by the time she's 18 months!

Not necessarily! Babies' weight gain usually slows _waaaay_ down in the second year. My DD weighed 22 lbs at a year and now at 32 mos, she's barely 30 lbs. That's only 8 lbs in nearly 2 years!


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

My 2 yr. old weighed 18 lbs. at 4 mos. and is 31 lbs. now-- still big for his age (85th %ile last I checked) but also still rear-facing in his Radian 65. I'm hoping the next two pounds come slowly. A 35 lb. 18 mo. old is very rare, and 22 lbs. at 10 mos. is well within normal ranges so I don't think you need to worry!


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## NewMama2007 (Mar 4, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hottmama* 
My 2 yr. old weighed 18 lbs. at 4 mos. and is 31 lbs. now-- still big for his age (85th %ile last I checked) but also still rear-facing in his Radian 65. I'm hoping the next two pounds come slowly. A 35 lb. 18 mo. old is very rare, and 22 lbs. at 10 mos. is well within normal ranges so I don't think you need to worry!

Whew. I'm just scared to turn that carseat around any time soon!

Thanks for all your help, mamas!


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## riversong (Aug 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NewMama2007* 
Anyone?

DD is 22 lbs now, and our pumpkin seat goes to 30 lbs, so we have a while to worry about it.

Thanks!

You got a lot of good recommendations. I just wanted to say not to forget about height limits. I wasn't aware that my kids would outgrow their car seats in height before weight until my first baby was too tall for her infant bucket. I'm guessing your dd will probably outgrow her current car seat in height before she gets to 30 lbs. I could be wrong, but do check. Once her head is within an inch of the top of the shell (for a rear-facing child), she needs a bigger seat.


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## NewMama2007 (Mar 4, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riversong* 
You got a lot of good recommendations. I just wanted to say not to forget about height limits. I wasn't aware that my kids would outgrow their car seats in height before weight until my first baby was too tall for her infant bucket. I'm guessing your dd will probably outgrow her current car seat in height before she gets to 30 lbs. I could be wrong, but do check. Once her head is within an inch of the top of the shell (for a rear-facing child), she needs a bigger seat.

Will do. She's still pretty far down as of now, but I will look in the manual tomorrow morning.

Thank you!


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

They are planning to try to get the Radian approved to RF to 40 lbs. So hopefully soon there will be a seat that rfes past 35 lbs.


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