I have always had the big girl.
At 12 months old, Charlotte was in 2T. At 5 years old, she is among the tallest in class and the most solid at gymnastics. DH is convinced its because she drinks milk like it’s the last glass on earth, but I think genetically she is just predisposed to be the big girl.
Because of that, we have been through 4 car seats in 5 years. She has grown fast, her legs have gotten long quickly, and it seems every car seat we bought along the way was in a “stage”. It was for her stage in her life of that year.
To be honest, I’m sick of buying them yearly.
Now recently I had a chance to install the Evenflo Symphony65. The 65 stands for 65 pounds worth of weight that can be on the harness. That should get Charlotte till at least about 7, right? Which means I can keep her strapped in and away from a booster for a long while. I personally am in NO rush to change. I know there are a lot of parents that cant wait for booster. I am not one of them.
I want to keep her as secure as possible for as long as possible. With her growing so fast, this was something that scared me before.
The Evenflo Symphony Convertible Car Seat itself is good for children 5 to 100 pounds. It can be rear facing, forward facing or a booster. Finally, no more “stage” car seats.
Where was this 4 seats ago?
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While there are other car seats on the market and some that do extremely well, let’s be honest that price points can be very high in some of the models that accommodate children as they grow. Not everyone can afford a polka dotted Gucci car seat with gold lining, but we all want something safe, reliable, and comfortable for our child.
The Evenflo Symphony65 arrived full assembled. As you can see, like most car seats, it takes up a seat area.
We have had this in the car seat in the car for well over a month, actually maybe about 2 months now, and so far, I have found very little to complain about. Well, nothing to be honest.
You can see in the pictures that it was “fully tested” (ie dirtied up by the child really well).
The best way to show you how easy this seat was to latch, is to show you. In fact, its so simple, a 5 year old can do it!
Check it out:
The new latches, the pull tab area, Charlotte can do it herself. And its pretty convenient when I am putting in the groceries for her to hop in, latch up, and then I can check it, and we can be on our way.
Here is something that is a major change from our other Evenflo to this one. The latches that hook into the seats. They are SO easy. I mean, mega mega easy. They hold the seat down really well. I think def a feature all carseats should have.
There is one on both sides and it hooks under the seat onto the metal latch system to stabilize the seat. This might be the first carseat we have owned we could not wiggle back and forth because of this system.
Also, I know many carseats have different loosing ways for the belts, but the kind where you press down in the front and tighten by the strap are my favorite. Our last one had this round yellow knob on the site and it was pretty hard to fuss with.
Here are the specs from the company:
- Features exclusive SureLatch™ technology – Just Click, Click, Push for super-fast, super-snug installation in a fraction of the time
- Improved seat has increased 65 pound harness weight rating to keep children harnessed longer
- Streamlined design enhances vehicle fit
- Easy-to-adjust Infinite Slide™ Harness Adjustment System for secure harness fit
- One-hand adjustable headrest offers moms convenience and ease of use
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Recommended Use:
The Evenflo Symphony™ 65 car seat accommodates children ranging from 5-100 pounds
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Retail Price:
Evenflo Symphony Convertible Car Seat with SureLATCH
retails for $199.99.
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Product Availability:
The Evenflo Symphony™ 65 car seat is available at Babies ‘R Us, Target and Burlington
You can also check it out on Amazon here Evenflo Symphony 65 with Surelatch All In One Seat.
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As with all products, I encourage you to do research to see if this seat is right for you, your child, and your car, as well as pull the safety ratings on the seat. I couldn’t find them before I published, but if I do, ill be happy to come back and update. You can do more research on the Evenflo website.
GIVEAWAY
We have one carseat to give away to a lucky MomDot winner. Just tell me WHY you need/want this car seat. This will not be a random drawing as I want to give it to someone that really needs it.
You may enter on behalf of someone.
While twitter entries wont count because its not random, Ill be your BFF for life if you tweet it out. I want other moms who may really need a car seat, to have a chance. Thank you for your consideration.
I will pick and notify a winner sometime around Friday, Feb 5th.
US only
*car seat was received for testing….if the pictures didn’t give that away.
When I saw this car seat, I thought of my sister-in-law. Her little girl is 2 and a half now and has outgrown her current car seat. I’ve put her in her car seat myself and it’s just sad trying to strap her in to this seat. They have been really trying to save money to buy a new one, but my brother’s job situation has been really tough this last year. There was one month that he only brought home $300. And that was after working 8 hr days all month. For the whole year he brought home $15,000. He’s a hard worker and doesn’t like accepting handouts. He never once was without a job, but good-paying jobs were tough to find. Now my sister-in-law is pregnant again and is really concerned that she keeps this baby. She is on bedrest with a subchorionic hematoma. (Her last two pregnancies ended in miscarriages). I have considered buying her a car seat myself but I really can’t afford it either as we just had a baby ourselves. I hate giving sob stories and if my sister-in-law knew I was doing this, she would feel bad. But if anybody deserves a free car seat, it’s her. You can see her blog to know that I’m not making this sad story up. http://turnerstreasures1.blogspot.com/
Even if we don’t win, if you are the type that prays, can you please pray that Ashley’s baby will be OK? Only the Lord can help her make it through. Thanks.
Not sure if this is closed or not since there is no update so I will give it a shot.
We are looking for a good car seat for my baby girl. She is currently six months old. She seems like she is going to be like your daughter, grows out of everything way to fast!! She is almost 100% in height and weight. I am constantly getting asked why she is WALKING and I am like “dude…she is six months old!”
Anyways….my husband is currently in school full time and working full time. I am staying home with both of our kids and we barely scrape money together to pay bills much less buy another car seat. Sometimes it is tempting to go find a job and throw the kids in day care but I KNOW that no amount of money is worth being able to raise my own kids so we are doing it. Only the good Lord gets us through each day. Thanks for reading and good luck picking someone!!!!!!
Oh well, I just realized I was too late for this.
One of my biggest fears is getting in a car accident when I have the twins in the car with me. I have a Jeep Liberty and it has been a struggle for my DH to drive it when the infant seats are in the back. The boys will be one on the 17th and they are outgrowing the infant carrier. I am hoping that the convertible seat would free up just a little more room in the back. I have been shopping for a convertible and am quickly realizing that buying two new seats will break my bank, especially when DH has been jobless for a year. This is such an important purchase though and I do not want to skimp on a cheaper model. It would be so great to win this Eveflo because then I would be able to purchase the 2nd seat and know that I am not skimping on my children’s safety.
Thanks for the chance to win.
http://twitter.com/blp3/status/8712215615
you rock
Seems like a trend here – my son just turned 9 months old and is 25lbs. He has been consistently 95 – 100th percentile. We have one car seat for him that we were able to get used from my sister-in-law (so were sure that it was safe). We really need one for my husband’s car to help me out with daycare. The problem is that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis that was diagnosed while pregnant. It is virtually impossible for me to get the latch on and off much less to move and then install the seat in another car. My husband is awesome, but can not always do everything for me. My husband works for himself and has not had much work. I am now back to work, thankgoodness, AND just got a promotion, but of course I was out on leave for forever and have tons of doctor bills. Thanks for doing this giveaway!
I love you. That’s all. Plus I think it’s awesome you’re giving this away to someone who could really use it.
OK – get real time…my 5 mo old is on track to be the “big kid” – at his 4 month appointment he was already 16 and a half pounds, and I’ve already started having to retire his 6-9 month clothes. Thought I’d at least make it to his 6 month checkup. Needless to say, the boy is going to outgrow his infant carrier LONG before we can afford a car seat. As you said, the ones worth having safety-wise are WAY out of our price point. I work part-time so that we don’t have to put the kids in daycare. Hubby has a job at a retail store that gives him good hours but pays crap. We netted under $30K last year in the BOSTON area (yeah, I cried when I did our taxes), and our tax return money has to go toward vehicle repairs and catching up on our bills. Sob story aside, we’re broke enough that an opportunity to get a really good carseat isn’t one I’d pass up. I just hope you choose the winner before he breaks my arm in the carrier
Well Ro will have to be in a car seat until she is about 8 because of the height and weight requirement. The one she has now is a convertible one (and was expensive) but it’s pretty much trashed. It’s 3 years old. Ro will make the height requirement well before she meets the weight requirement.
And with my husband’s OT having been cut and no raise in over year due to the economy, we just can’t afford to buy her another quality seat. I think this will be perfect for her because it looks like it will fit her height comfortable without her feeling so cramped up.