Ugh -Yet ANOTHER car seat purchase! DD 34mo 39"tall 34lbs

[cluelesswonder]

Hello and help!

I can't believe that I have to get another car seat already! I need help to figure out what is supposed to be purchased next. (It seems that all of us with tall skinny kids are in trouble! And no one answer was consistent on recommendations.)

My DD is 34 months old weighs roughly 34 lbs, and is roughly 39" tall - tall torso-(although I haven't measured her in 2 months and she may have grown). (We also have a baby boy on the way - DD outgrew her Snugride by month 3 so we are assuming that the RA will be ok for Boy until later.) Here's the problem:

In the minivan for daily and longterm trips, we use the Britax Marathon. No problem. My husband drives her to school 3 mornings a week and she has very much outgrown her Roundabout. What seat next?

1) She apparently is too young/small for a booster (yes?)
2) Is the Ride Safer Travel Vest a true option for this situation? Also, how will I get her back into the MA if she can sit like a "big girl" with the RSTV?
3) Suggestions have been made for the Graco Platinum Cargo - after looking at opinions on amazon, I think the seat will be too narrow in the shoulders. Even the MA is a little tight with her snow jacket right now.
4) Would a booster seat (Starriser? or other?) be an option for car #2?
5) What about a husky or wizard?
6) Other options?

Thanks for the help! We do need to get on the ball and get her a better fitting seat asap!

Karen
Elsa - 34 months
Baby Boy - due 6/20/05

[Joolsplus2]

The Evenflo Chase or Traditions or Generations is wider in the shoulders than the Cargo (which is pretty narrow ever since they added the EPS foam, really), so you might give one of those a shot. And it could take at least 6 mos to a year for her to hit 40 pounds. But there's really nothing wrong with going for another Marathon or a Husky, either...if you have a biggish baby girl, you are probably going to have a biggish baby boy, and you'll certainly get plenty of use out of those seats.
As for your Marathon, order the big kid foam, it has cutouts in the shoulders to make it wider by a couple inches
http://www.britaxusa.com/shopping.cfm?action=ShowProduct&pro_id=AE4DAFCE-ED10-431F-A2236DEC1120A30B&id=32F3CDEE-BAB3-4B8D-97423CDD74CA10FC&pcid=79CB3D98-766C-4293-B63C3E3D0D6C962E&pid=7C71C785-4FBA-422D-83DC419B3D5B8213&pro_opt_id=5041F4E9-2621-48AB-8C18AF72761F11E7&step=2

And if you absolutely can't take off the winter coat, then try to use something thin like something lined with fleece (like a Lands End squall)...anything too puffy can increase head excursion or ejection risk, so you want to minimize the fluff-factor between her body and the harness straps (taking it off is ideal, but if it's 40 below and windy, I certainly can't blame you for leaving it on!)

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