What seat next? Apex? Triumph? Other?

[brittu]

Darn it, I had it all figured out and now I'm not sure. I've got two boys. One is a tall 10 month old who's 20+ lbs and 30 inches. The other is almost 3 and is a skinny 28lbs and somewhere around 38 inches. I recently bought two Wizards on closeout. I also have an Eddie Bauer with overhead shield which I now understand is really unsafe. And I've got one Evenflo Triumph. In my mini-van which gets the most use I've got the Wizard for the big boy and the Evenflo for the baby. I'd tried the second Wizard in there for the baby but the wings are in the way and I can't reach him from the front (or even see him for that matter). Which means I can't replace a lost binky or give him a bottle or whatever. So I put the Evenflo in there instead. I love the Evenflo and he seems more comfortable although it's hard to ratchet the tightening knobs in the rearfacing position.

So, in our second minivan I'm going to toss the overhead shield seat and put the second Wizard in for the forward facing big boy since I understand him to be most at risk since he's forward. Tonight I bought a top of the line Triumph with comfort foam at BRU that was marked down to $119 from $149. It thought all was swell until I went to leave and saw the Apex. Then I got to thinking that it might make more sense to get the Apex since I can still harness to 65lbs like the Wizard (as long as the big boy doesn't get too tall) and could continue using it as a booster for a lot longer.

What should I do? Keep the Evenflo and worry about boosters in 3 years or so when the big boy is too big for the Wizard? Go with the Apex so I can harness to 65lbs? Try a Generations since I'd get to keep the whole knob tightening thing which I like a lot better than the elbow-killing pull strap on the Wizard? Rethink and look at other options in a harness and booster style seat? Wait a few months until something new comes out?

I'm at a loss again...

Thanks!
Britt

[SusanMae]

>One is a tall 10 month old who's 20+ lbs and 30
>inches. The other is almost 3 and is a skinny 28lbs and
>somewhere around 38 inches.

Both of your boys are small enough to be rear facing still in the Wizards. More and more research is showing benefits to leaving children rear facing beyond the 1 year and 20 pound minimum. A great site for more information is www.cpsafety.com Look for the link Forward Facing too soon. They also have lots of pictures of big kids riding in rear facing seats.

The apex is a good seat as long as you have headrests. You can't use it if the tops of the ears are taller than the seat back.

If you want to keep your older son in the wizard in both cars a good option for your DS#2 is the Cosco Scenera/Touriva. The 5 point model of this seat can be bought at Wal-Mart for $40 and will rear face to 35 pounds.

Susan

[Momof3Labs]

Doesn't the Triumph have low top harness slots? Probably not the best choice money-wise for your tall 10 month old (for a new seat - obviously keep on using the one you already have). I think that you'd be much better off spending the money on an Apex for your older DS, but that means putting your younger DS in a Wizard in at least one car. Alternatively, you could buy an Apex and a Marathon (or Decathalon or Boulevard) and sell off the extra Wizard since it isn't sounding like quite the right seat for you.