Clueless re: boosters

[tmrbwilson1998]

Hi, all! Hopping over here from the diaper bag board in search of help. DD will turn one and way over the weight limit for her infant seat in July and will use DS's relatively new carseat. He will need a booster seat, and I have looked and looked until my eyes have rolled in the back of my head, lol!

I have looked at the Britax and Evenflo among many others. I found the Eddie Bauer booster (cannot remember the name) that can act as a child seat and booster, which sounds great to me since DS may not be tall enough by July.

Do you have suggestions for a safe ride for my little guy? We travel 4 -5 hrs every other weekend to see family and he often takes his nap on those travel days in the car where his poor little neck flops around (so it would be nice to get a booster with side padding, YKWIM?), and armrests would be a nice thing.

Any advice or name/model suggestions would be much appreciated!

:-)
Tina

[tjham]

How old is he? Height and weight? What seat is he in now and what slot is he using?

[tmrbwilson1998]

He turned 3 on Feb 7; will be a week under 3 1/2 at DD's b-day.

He was 38" and 34 lb in Feb.

He is in an evenflo - I think it is the Triumph -

http://tinyurl.com/psoc3

There are 2 slots and he is still in the lower slot.

Thanks so much!
Tina

[ppshah]

Since DS is only 3, I don't think he's ready for a booster. Keeping him in a 5 point harnessed seat for as long as possible is the safest. Most children are not developmentally ready for ready for a booster until 5-6 years. Since he's already 34 lbs you probably want a seat that harnesses past 40lbs- that does not give you many options:

Marathon/Decathalon/Boulevard
Britax Regent
Sunshine kids Radian
Cosco Apex

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

I agree... he needs to be harnessed longer.

the Apex can only be used if you have seats with tall seatbacks or tall adjustable headrests.

[tmrbwilson1998]

Thanks for your suggestions, ladies! I am glad that there are some seats out there that will meet our needs. I am beginning to do some research online regarding the seats you have suggested. Is there a seat or brand that is better quality or safer than others? I heard good things about Britax, but the others are new to me.

Thanks again!
Tina

[Splash]

Britax is top of the line, but there are lots of seats that will meet your needs. Do you have LATCH? The Radian is very narrow, harnesses to a max of 65 pounds (depending on height) and is comparable in quality to Britax but a bit cheaper. However it has some installation installs and many people have a bear of a time doing it with the seatbelt.
If you have a lot of room, you could go with the Britax Regent. That will harness him for years to come (a max of 80 pounds) and when your daughter outgrows the Triumph, he will likely be big enough for a booster and she can use it.
I would STAY AWAY from ANYTHING labeled Eddie Bauer.
If you just want to go to a 40 pound seat, you could try the Evenflo Traditions/Chase/Generations/Bolero, which will harness to 40 pounds and then be a fairly decent booster. Or the Safety 1St Prospect, same story. The Cosco Apex is a pretty nice seat IF you have tall seat backs or adjustable headrests on your vehicle. And it is definitely cheaper!

Another note- you keep talking about your daughter's first birthday. Were you planning to turn her forward facing at that time? Please don't. Children are infinitely safer rear facing and can remain rear facing often until they are 3 or 4 years old. The Triumph probably has THE shortest rear facing life span on the market (only 30 pounds, plus a really low seatback) but she should at least make it to two years old.

If your son is still happy and fits in his Triumph, why not buy a Marathon, Decathlon, and Boulevard (all Britax) for her? It will keep her RF much longer than the Triumph will allow, and when he outgrows the Triumph, he can go into it. If she can still RF in the Triumph at that point, great. If not, well, at least you got some extended RF time in.

[schums]

Is DD still under the weight limit on her infant seat? The first part of your post isn't super clear to me. If she is above 20 or 22 pounds (whichever is the max for your seat) or has less than 1" of shell above her head, she needs to be moved to a convertible seat now.

I agree with PP that a Britax would be a GREAT choice -- she could use it RF until she's too big/DS needs a new seat, and then you could switch seats so DS stays harnessed as long as possible.

HTH,
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[tmrbwilson1998]

Wow - thanks for the education. I am embarrassed to say that I was not aware there were carseats out there that would RF for so long. So the Britax seats can be RF or FF, and can be a carseat and a booster then? Do the harness straps simply pull out or snap out when it is time to change into a booster? Sorry for all the questions - I knew I came to right place!

As for DD, she is still fitting great into her infant seat with plenty of room to spare for the canopy. She and DS are on the same track as far as height/weight is concerned and he had to move to the Triumph and a Graco that we had right before his 1st birthday.

Thanks again!
Tina

[Joolsplus2]

Remember harness slots have to be 'at or above' the shoulders for forward facing kids, and 'at or below' for rearfacig kids, and infant's heads must not be closer than one inch to the top of the infant seat. None of the Britaxes go from harnessed to booster mode, but the Graco Ultra Cargo does, or Evenflo Generations or Cosco Apex, and those are all pretty good choices for a 3 yo. A Britax Marathon or Boulevard or Decathlon are *really comfy* for sleeping though, and would fit your ds for a couple more years before you hand it down to your dd.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Tondi G]

The britax seats are not booster seats but rather convertible seats that keep your kiddo in a 5 point harness till they reach 65lbs! Then you would have to buy a booster for your child... the Britax boosters are also very nice! We have Marathons and just moved our older son to a booster.... he is a VERY big almost 5 year old (60+lbs and 46inches). His younger bro is Rear facing in his brothers Marathons now!

Good Luck... I highly reccomend the Marathon.... we love ours!!!!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01 and Aidan 5/4/05

[tmrbwilson1998]

Wow, am I overwhelmed! I called our local baby boutique that carries Britax - the owner carries the Marathon b/c he prefers it over the Boulevard. I wonder if for the few bucks more it would be worth it to get the Boulevard? I do LOVE the pinks in the Marathon fabrics, but the head support looks great in the Boulevard for our traveling. Ugh!

Thanks so much for your help!
Tina

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

those wings are true side impact protection... the extra money is totally worth it.

Kat

[tmrbwilson1998]

Wow - now I think I need to just get both kiddos new Boulevards. We were living overseas where we had limited access to carseats and the Triumph looked great...I am so glad I came to you ladies.

Thanks, everyone :)
Tina