When my son was 6 months old, it became obvious that his infant carseat was not going to last until he was a year old.  I began searching for a convertible carseat.  The Alpha Omega Elite from Costco seemed to be a super bargain.  We brought one home and then tried to install it.  It was way to big for us to use rear facing in our cars.  I started searching for a seat that would work in our Outback and allow me to ride shotgun without my knees crammed into the dash.

I started reading more and more about carseats and why children should remain rear facing as long as possible; it’s safer!  I found the perfect post on the  car-seat.org forum.  The Maxi-Cosi Priori was the perfect carseat for us and Target had them in stock, but it was more money than we had originally intended to spend on a carseat.  When we got to Target I pulled all the covers off the carseats to expose their shell and foam.  Carseats all have to pass the same tests, but they are not all created equal.  It was an eye opener.  I pointed out, “We wouldn’t have a problem spending $200 on a laptop that was going to last us 2-4 years.  Isn’t his safety worth at least that much?”

When we got the seat home it was amazing.  It came with push button LATCH clips which made installation a breeze.  It had a base that flipped so that no pool noodles or rolled up towels were needed to reach the correct incline.  To top it off, my son smiled when we strapped him in.

Over the last year and a half, I’ve watched him grow to fill more and more of the seat.  The top of his head is getting close to being within the limit of 1 inch from the top.   I know we’ll have to turn him around soon, or get a bigger car with a bigger carseat.  I feel lucky that I found the car-seat.org forums and have been able to keep my son rear facing as long as we have.  Even thought I’m not currently in the market for a carseat, I’ve put the carseatblog on my regular reading list.  I hope that others will find the information at car-safety.org as helpful and informative as I have.