Help!!-question about a second carseat.

[klinney]

Hi-
I have a couple of questions. My son is 9months old and weighs 23 pounds, I'm not sure how tall he is b/c we go to the ped on Thursday (I'm guessing he's around 29-31 inches). Anyway, we have a Britax RA in my car and love it. I am thinking about getting a second carseat for my husband's car but am not sure if its even possible.

1. Can you put a baby in the front seat rear facing if you turn off the passenger side airbag? My husband has a truck and the back seats are just those little fold down seats so not for carseats. His truck does have the ability to turn the airbag on/off.

2. If you can, which carseat would you recommend as a second? I would rather not get another RA due to cost and the fact that he won't be in that car very much anyway. I would love one that he won't grow out of in a couple months since he is a pretty big baby and one that is relatively lightweight so that we have one that can go on airplane trips. Also, we plan to have another baby soon so a carseat that will last and can be used with the next.

Thanks so much for any suggestions.

[Joolsplus2]

Yes, if you turn off the airbag, you are fine putting a carseat in the front passenger seat.
Any convertible besides the Century STE is a fine choice, and will last you for at least 2-3 years (convertible seats are bigger, and children slow down their growth considerably after those first 6 months, so not to worry, money you spend now will last you a long time)
A lot of folks have asked this same question lately, so just scroll down through the posts and you should get a good idea of what everyone's favorite second seat is :) (Graco ComfortSport, Cosco Touriva or Regal Ride, Evenflo Triumph are all fine choices, whichever fits your car, child, and budget best and your dh can use properly every time and has a 5-pt harness).
Oh, one thing to consider about a child in a truck is that you want to keep him rearfacing as long as possible (that's true for ALL children, but in a truck, his head is more likely to come in contact with the hard dashboard in a truck cabin). Keeping him rearfacing as long as possible is a good way to prevent head and neck injuries.

Hope that helps,

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[klinney]

Thank you so much for your help! I found a Britax MA at babyage.com for $200 after the 10% discount. I know that the Evenflo and Cosco are cheaper by about $100 which sounds great to our budget. I know the convertible seats go up to 40 pounds except for the MA. At that point do you put them in a booster with no worries or is it still better for them to be in a harness carseat? If so is it much better for me to bite the bullet and get the MA so that he can be harnessed for longer and then move him to a booster or is that silly and once he hits 40 pounds he can go to a booster safely?
Thanks again and I appologize for bombarding you with questions.

[Joolsplus2]

Oh, no problem, ask all you want!
Generally kids can move to boosters at age 4 and 40 pound, but the longer you can keep them harnessed, the safer they are (my almost 7 and 5 year olds are happy in their Husky and Marathon, though for short trips with friends or daddy, they do ride in boosters just fine). As long as they are mature enough to sit properly in a booster, it is quite a safe choice for a child aged 4-12.
You would be able to use the Marathon for a full 6 years (that is when they expire, after 6 years), so while it is a spendy choice, it is a rather high-quality seat that should hold up nicely, plus since you have a RA already, you are familiar with how it works and installs...no learning curve as you'd have for a new seat :)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[klinney]

Again, thank you so much for your help! I had another thought/question. What do you think of the seats that go from a 5 point harness seat into a booster? I would think those might be good as a second carseat with a lot of possibilities for growing into them?
Thanks.