Our baby is 8months old and weighs 22lbs and is 29 inches long. We have a new Eddie Bauer car seat that faces forward. It says 22Lbs to? and 33in to ? Does that mean he has to be 22lbs and at least 33 inches or is he heavy enough at 22lbs? TIA Brooke

By Trina~moderator on Monday, January 1, 2007 - 06:59 pm:

A quickie, as we just got home and need to eat dinner...

Your 8 mos. old is too young to be forward facing. The bare minimum requirements for turning a baby forward facing are 12 mos. and 20 lbs.. Longer is even better. Safety experts and the AAP now recommend babies stay rear facing until they reach the rear facing limits of their convertible car seat. Most now go up to at least 30 lbs. when rear facing. Rear facing better protects the head, neck and spine.

More info:
Child Passenger Safety and Car Seat Resources

Do you still have the receipt for your forward facing Eddie Bauer car seat? I would exchange it for a convertible car seat and keep your DS rear facing until at least 12 mos. Whatever you get, be sure it has a 5 pt. harness and front harness adjuster. Since your DS is a good size for his age, I recommend a convertible that harnesses past 40 lbs. (We recommend kids stay in a harnessed car seat until at least 4 yrs. and 40 lbs.) Britax car seats are awesome but not within everyone's budget. Fisher Price has a new convertible car seat out that harnesses up to 55 lbs. It is basically a watered down Britax Marathon.


Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe

To find a CPS Tech in your area:
SeatCheck.org

Need to eat dinner. I'll check back later.

By Brooke327 on Monday, January 1, 2007 - 07:20 pm:

Wow Trina, thank you so much for all of the info.

I received the eddie Bauer for a shower gift I don't have a receipt. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do there? I definetly want Calen to be safe. And yes he is a big boy LOL.You will have to check out the pics I am having dawn post for me. TIA

By Kate on Monday, January 1, 2007 - 08:40 pm:

Fisher Price is back in the car seat business again??? And copying Britax again? Awesome! Any idea why they left and why they returned?

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 07:29 am:

Brooke, what car seat is Calen in now? My guess is that he's in an infant carrier. If so, please check the weight limit. If he has reached or exceeded the height and weight limits you need to get him into a rear facing convertible car seat asap. No receipt for the Eddie Bauer? Hmm, you could hold onto it and use it as a spare for when Calen is older and forward facing.

Kate, YES Fisher Price is making car seats again! I have no idea of all the whys, but am glad.

By Kate on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 08:41 am:

Hmmm...it says it's manufactured by Britax....so it sounds like FP isn't making seats again after all, but are in a partnership with Britax to sell them under their name. I wonder if the Safe Embrace was really a Britax all along, too?? Or maybe all the comparisons made between them made the two companies decide to officially have FP sell a cheaper version to boost sales for both companies. Interesting...I wish I had some more babies so I could play with cool carseats again!!

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 10:18 am:

You may be on to something, Kate. BTW, I don't have any babies any longer but still get to play with cool car seats. In fact, I got money for Christmas and bought myself a Fisher Price Safe Voyage. Just opened the box this morning to check it out. Am I a car seat nerd, or what?! LOL!

By Brooke327 on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 12:53 pm:

Trina, thank you so much. I just checked Calen's seat and it says use only up to 22lbs and 29 in. That is what he is. So now the next question is what seat would you recommend? I will be buying one today or tommorow. Do you like the Fisher price safe voyage seat? Or should we just buy a Britax? The seat he is in now is a Graco Snug ride.

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 02:05 pm:

You're very welcome. The Britax Marathon is an awesome car seat. It happens to be my favorite, but it's about $250 (sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the cover). It's definitely worth it for the quality, safety and convenience features, but unfortunately not within everyone's budget. If you're OK with the price, go for it. You won't be disappointed. However, I must say that I just bought the red and black Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe pictured above for $150 and think it's a very close second to the Marathon. Although it harnesses up to 55 lbs., (as opposed to 65) and doesn't have the upscale Britax LATCH hooks, built in lock offs or belly pad, it's very similar and worth checking out.

By Annie2 on Friday, January 5, 2007 - 10:16 pm:

Trina, you bought another car seat for your kids?