2yr old and 5 month old...which car seat should I buy?

[dabbaah]

I'm trying to plan ahead for when 5-month old DD will be ready for a convertible car seat. 2-yr old DD has two Marathons (one in each vehicle). We love them and have had no problem with them at all. Do I buy 2 more Marathons? I can't believe how much they are now! I bought mine for $200 each 2 years ago and thought that was alot! Do you have any other suggestions? I wonder how much longer DD will get use out of the Marathon. She's tall and slim, 25lbs and 35 inches. I'll pay the money for the Marathons, but wondering if I should give the ones we have to 5-month old and buy something different for 2 year old. Has anything changed in the past 2 yrs, are there any seats that are better than the MA?

Thanks in advance,
Debbie

[j4m4d8]

Better than the MA? I guess it's a matter of opinion, LOL.

Britax has some variations on the MA now, if you want to check them out. They are the Decathlon and the Boulevard. Both are a little fancier and a little more expensive than the MA. You will also find that the Marathons cost quite a bit more than they did two years ago.

I'd be inclined to leave your older daughter in her Marathons. She still has at least a couple of years growing time in them, maybe three or four years depending on how she's proportioned. Where are her shoulders in relation to the harness slots now?

If money is an issue and you use one car the majority of the time, you could put both Marathons in the main car and get cheaper seats for them in the second car. The Cosco Scenera 5-point would be a good one for the baby. It may also work awhile for your older daughter. You could also get your older daughter a combination seat. The Evenflo Bolero/Generations has fairly high top slots and makes a good booster.

If your older daughter is forward facing already you could also look at the Recaro Young Sport which is a nice but expensive combination seat. It costs about the same as the Marathon, though. Overall I would just get new Marathons for the baby, but then sometimes it's nice to have something DIFFERENT.

[momtoB]

Britax is now marketing a seat through Fisher Price called the Safe Voyage which is basically a MA shell. It's a less expensive option if money is an issue. It doesn't have some of the nicer features of the Britax seats though, like lock-offs, and I don't think they can be tethered r/fing either. They have the same harness heights but only harness to 55lbs instead of 65. Just another option I thought I would throw out there.

The Scenera 5-pt's are GREAT inexpensive seats. The advantage over the Britax is that they rear-face to 35lbs as opposed to 33. I'm an advocate of extended rear-facing though! And of course the other advantage is PRICE since they're about $220 less expensive than the MA!

There are some deals out there for MA's - you just have to hunt for them, and possibly be willing to settle for a discontinued fabric choice.

hth!

Cheryl
ds-4/03 (r/fing in a Britax Blvd, now rides in f/fing Bolero combo in Grandma's car, since he just outgrew his Cosco Touriva/Scenera seat by height)