Safety , Comfort, and Style, and Worth Every Penny!

As a family on a budget, my husband and I searched high and low for a safe, affordable carseat--then we took a "Carseat Safety Class" at the Livermore Police Station and found our choice, although it wasn't quite what we had in mind! The officer teaching the class highly recommended the Britax Roundabout for it's remarkable safety features and high resistance in crash tests. We were intrigued until she told us of the $200 price tag - way out of our budget( we were loooking to spend about half that much). By the end of the class, however, we knew we needed the very best for our son and we ended up buying a Roundabout, and we have yet to regret that decision (well maybe on an occasion or two- see the following...).
Now that our son is over one year and twenty pounds, we have him forward facing in his Roundabout, and this position has made our life much easier! The Roundabout is outfitted with grips, latches, and locks to fasten the seat and baby in as tightly as possible in order to avoid injury in an accident; however, all of these gadgets make it quite a task to properly fasten and tighten the seat in place in a rear-facing position. While switching the carseat from one car to another, we have had to remind ourselves more than once that the saftey outweighed the headache! (Besides, what other carseat can you buy with an animal print cover?):)
15 months later, the Roundabout still fits our son with ease, and he has enjoyed many naps with his head against the highly padded sides! Speaking of a quickly growing son, I must not forget to speak of the the benefits of the tri-positoned holes for the shoulder straps; most carseats only have two holes to adjust the shoulder straps as your child grows, but the Roundabout has three holes to easily adjust the shoulder straps to fit a six month old or a two year old!