This is all so confusing! Please help....

[melclark]

I have a 27mo that weighs 35lbs and is 35" tall. We are strating to investigate buuying a new carseat because we now have an infant who will transition into my sons car seat in a couple months. At my sons size, we thought about just buying a booster, but after reading all the reviews and posts I am in a quandry. If we buy a combo seat then he will have to stop using the 5 point harness in another 5lbs, which may not be long. At 2 1/2, it doesn't seem he will be mature or safe enough in a regular booster. We really don't want to spend the money on a car seat that has a higher weight limit right now, but that may be our only option. We were also considering buying a car seat for my husbands car for occasional use, but certainly don't want to spend $200 for a limited use seat. Could we possibly get a way with a booster in this case? Thanks for your help...I had no idea that tis would be such an issue or we would have spent the money up front for a Britax with a higher weight limit.

Any opinions?

Melissa

[Joolsplus2]

I know you don't *want* to spend the money, but when you figure if you get a Marathon or Husky now, you'll be able to use it for a full six years (considering you can hand it down to the baby later), it's really the simplest and actually quite cheap long run option.

How often does your son ride in dad's car? Daily? Only on weekends? The marathon really is SO easy to move from car to car, that you could possibly put off a second seat (a booster) till he is a little older and hopefully a little better able to handle it.

There are some less expensive higher weight options on the horizon, the Cosco Apex goes to 65 pounds and the Combi Acadia goes to 55 pounds, but they won't be out for a couple months, and no one has any idea if they will be good quality or the pits. Then there's the Ride Safer Travel Vest which I think your son is big enough to use, and it also makes an awesomely light travel "seat" if you ever fly somewhere and need to bring a seat for use at your destination.

He's too young for the minimum age on the Turbo booster...no other booster has age limits, but really three is just SUCH a bare minimum...harnessing till age 4 or 5 is really so much safer (harnessing is so much safer for ALL of us, actually, I'd kill for a 5 point harness for myself...they are WAY more protective in deadly side impact and rollover crashes, where bodies tend to fall right out of 3-point seatbelts)

Good luck, I'm sorry there aren't more options out there right now :(
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx