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View Full Version : I posted this on Baby Bargains, and nobody responded, so I'm trying here...



suzska
03-13-2003, 09:18 PM
Need help--booster combo or another convertible carseat?

>Well, for various reasons I've put off buying a carseat for
>my parents' car and have just been taking the one (Century
>1000STE) out of my car when we need to travel with the
>grandparents. We have one of the last FPSE II's that were
>available in our area late 2001, and that's in DH's car
>since his is LATCH compatible. My car and my dad's car
>aren't.
>
>Anyway, the reason for my post....My dad is getting a new
>minivan this week, a 2003 Mazda MPV. So I figure since this

>van is LATCH compatible, maybe I'll break down and get a 3rd
>seat to keep at their house. My son will be 2 next week.
>We don't have a doctor's appt. until the end of the month so
>I don't know his actual height and weight, but I'm guessing
>he's right around 36" tall and under 30 pounds. He's always
>in the 50-75% range for height and 25-50% range for weight.
>
>My question is should I get another convertible seat, or can
>I go ahead and get some kind of booster combo seat that will
>work now as well as later? I'll admit to not reading the
>boards in months, so I'm not up on the latest
>carseat/booster models. I have the Toddler Bargains Book,
>but there are so many models, I need pointed in the right
>direction. :-) I'm not looking to spend a ton of money,
>but I'd be willing to spend a little more on a booster combo
>that will be used for many years to come.
>
>Thanks so much for any help you can provide!

Mom_2_Alyssa
03-16-2003, 01:48 PM
You could get a booster combo, but be aware that most of the booster combo seats that are on the market now are okay using with the five point harness, but have difficult to use (and even unsafe) shoulder belt guides. Also, many of these seats require that the child be at least 30 lbs.

We were in the same position a couple of years ago. My then two year old daughter needed a new car seat. We went ahead and bought a booster combo seat for her hoping that we could use it until she no longer needed to be in a booster seat. When she grew out of the five point harness last month, we tried to use it as a booster seat, but the shoulder belt clip was a total pain to use. We had to unclip the seat belt from her seat, adjust the belt and then re-clip it each time she used it, and it was not easy to re-clip it without the seat belt slacking a little. It only took a week of this before we went out and bought her a new Graco Turbo Booster.

If I had to do it over again, I probably would have still purchased the booster combo seat because she was able to stay in a five point harness for a longer period of time than with a regular convertable seat. But, there was no money saved as we had to purchase a booster only seat anyway.

HTH