Which is the best car seat for my 6 month old baby?

Question

My son is almost 6 months old but he is 19lbs(8.8kg) and 69cm(27inches) tall!! We have a Graco deluxe travel system which has been great but now the straps are really difficult to get around him. Time for a new seat. Of course I want to buy the safest for my son and I would like one that I can use as he grows (booster?) I am looking for suggestions of what to buy or what to avoid buying.

Also, given that he is only 6 months, should it still be rear-facing? Or because he is so big is front facing ok?

Confused Mom

Answer 1

I wondered about this also...I think those graco seats are smaller than normal rear facing seats...my daughter is 6 months as well...and her feet hang off the bottom.

Answer 2

Check out www.consumerreports.org.  Great website for all baby products.  They test and rate them on their quality, safety, and price.

Answer 3

Definitely rear facing for the first year...

we switched my son into his convertable seat around 7 months, and I did a lot of research beforehand.

If you can afford it, Brittax is wonderful... a bit out of our price range though. We were happy with our Graco infant carrier, but I didn't like the convertables as much. We ended up with Evenflo Triumph Advance, and have been very happy with it! http://www.evenflo.com/Homepage/ProductL... and it's pretty gender neutral. Good luck. I'd try going on sites like Babiesrus.com and reading the parent reviews on different seats. I found that to be quite helpful.  

Answer 4

If he is only 6 months he will still need to be rear facing. Children must be rear facing until they turn 1 year. A good car seat would be a Britax. They are a bit pricey but very reputable to be the safest.  

Answer 5

until he is a year old he HAS to be in a rear facing car seat. even though he is big he doesnt have the neck muscles to keep is spinal cord safe in an accident.

so, there are lots of seats that you can buy that can be both rear facing and front facing. i had to get one for my son cause he was a chunky monkey too and outgrew his infant seat at about 6 months also.

heres some examples of what you need

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.g...

Answer 6

I have a 7 months old daughter who is also very big and very tall...I was worried about her being squished in a rear facing chair which didnt look very safe or good for her to be in...When i went to Halfords i spoke to them about the different carseats, the Maxi Cosi ones were the most popular in their and by my research to me seemed to be the safest too...

As for age the Maxi Cosi forward facing one starts at 9 months (20lbs) i told the sales assitant in halfords my daughters age and they said alot of people buy the seats before 9 months who have bigger children the only things is they refused to fit mine because my daughter wasnt the right age....

I brought it and she used it from 6 months...she sleeps better in the car and enjoys car rides more as its more comfortable for her, the straps adjust on it so you can make sure your baby fits...she also enjoys seeing out of the windows and watching me drive...Personally i think it is safe enough if your baby can hold their own head up and are quite stable in sitting....

Hope this helps x

Answer 7

he cannot be front facing until he meets both standards of 1 year old age and 26pds(i think might be 22pds). But look for a "convertable" carseat. This he can use rear facing now and then changes to front facing and then to booster seat. The standard "best" seats are the Britax. try going to a babies r us, they usually have a car seat specialist on hand to tell you about the different features and so on...

I also had this problem with my son, he outgrew the regular graco at 5 months, we bought the Graco safe-seat rear facing seat that he used until 1 years old, now we have the Eddie Bauer seat and the Britax marathon