Car seats stolen! Need help with replacements

[casey118]

Help! My car was stolen and recovered, but my car seats were not. I need to replace them and there are so many new seats in the last 2.5 years since I bought mine. I had 2 roundabouts. My boys are 11 months (very tall), and 3.3 years (very small). I will buy another Roundabout for my baby, but am not sure what to get my 3 yr old. He is FF, so I realized that I probably don't actually need another convertable, but he does need a 5 point harness.

So what are my best options? First thought after a RA was a Marathon. I've seen a Boulevard but am not sure how well he would do with the side-wings. My car also has side impact bags all the way down the length of the car, so I'm not sure how necessary they are. What about a Husky? Or what are my other options? I don't mind the cost of the Britax's, but am not going to venture into the $430 seat I saw raved about here!

Thanks ladies for your help. I need to replace the seats ASAP!

[o_mom]

I would probably get two Marathons in that situation, or a RA and a MA if cost is a huge issue. If you aren't planning any more kids, you will probably not get the full use out of a RA, which is why I suggest a MA for the baby. That way you don't have to move the older one out of the MA just to make room for the baby when he outgrows the RA. KWIM?

OTOH, if your 3.3yo is really small, you could consider a Recaro Young Sport, which harnesses to 40 lbs and then is a great booster. The only problem would be if he reached 40 lbs before you thought he was ready for a booster.

The Regent (was the Husky) is also an option, but make sure you see the seat in real life - it is very large and may not be comfortable for a 3 yo. In that case, I would get a MA for the baby, because your older one will definately still be using the Husky by the time the baby outgrows the RA in 2-3 years.

HTH!

[kellyotn]

I was also going to suggest two MA's. Your small older child will get a lot of use out of it, and your tall younger child may outgrow an RA before you need to boot the older out of his MA. Two MA's would negate the need to worry about that. ;-) And, they could match, which is just fun. ha ha.

edited to add, what a jerk to steal your seats! Watch craigslist and see if they come up there. I wouldn't be surprised. Hope they catch whomever it was.

[casey118]

Thanks for your thoughts! I hadn't even considered getting 2 MAs, but that seems so obvious.

I hope they catch the guy too. He broke into our garage and stole our car, along with a bunch of other stuff. He took our car seats, a coat, toys- random stuff that has little value. It makes me so mad because it is going to be really expensive for us to fix and replace everything, not to mention the impact on our insurance!

I thought of watching e-bay, but not Craigslist. Thanks for the idea.

[Radosti]

By the way, I just ordered a marathon in Racer color from Albee Baby for $219.99 with free shipping. If you don't care about the color, you can get two of them from Albee Baby for the price of two Roundabouts. I don't know how many they have left though.

[casey118]

Thanks for the heads up! What is the fabric like? It looks kind of strange on the site. It looks shiny or something?

Before I had a plush seat which was soft but seemed hot, and a cotton/poly cover. Is it like either of these?

Thanks.

[Radosti]

No idea, mine hasn't arrived yet, but we are still using the bundle me in the carseat in the winter and I am sure that he'll appreciate fabric that's not too hot in the summer.

[Radosti]

OK, I got the seat today. First of all, even though it says that it's a 2005 Marathon on the site, the seat I got today was made in January 2006, so that's a bonus. The fabric toward the middle of the seat is smooth... not sure how to describe it, but I think it's going to be comfy. The darker fabric toward the outside of the seat is very plush. I think DS will like it.

[casey118]

That sounds nice, thanks for the info! I decided on 2 marathons, but bought them in the Houndstooth pattern in a local store. My friend had lent me a carseat that was quite old and made me very nervous because I couldn't get a good installation, so I couldn't wait to have them shipped. Enjoy your seat!