What seat to get next??

[wendmatt]

Dd is 4 on tuesday (can't believe it!) and is in a roundabout. Her ears are not at the top of the seat yet but I know it won't be long until she's too tall. She weighs 34lbs. DH wants to just get a booster but I've been reading so much research to him it's driving him nuts. I have a Toyota Echo and she is in the centre with a seatbelt not latch. I don't have side impact, so was wondering if a Monarch might be a good thing to get. If I get a regent it looks like I'd have to put her on the side, then there's no side protection. Is it much wider than the roundabout, I sit in the back with her next to the roundabout or another passenger does.
She's very mature about being buckled in.....that's another q, can you pull out the seatbelt and retract it so it's tight around your child if they are in a booster, is that recommended?
Also is it hard to install/move a regent as I can't afford 2 regents for mine and Dhs cars.
The worry never ends!
Thanks for any advice

[momtoB]

I was hoping that someone had posted whether a Regent fit in their Echo on the car seat database : http://www.carseatdata.org/compatibility_search.php?tun=dd but no one has. There are plenty of people who say the Marathon fit nicely though. The Regent is bigger than the MA of course - 21.5" wide and 28" tall. I bet it would fit outboard. That would be safer for a 4yr old than a bpb IMO. Could you get one Regent for the main car and a Parkway or Monarch for the 2nd car? Is she in one car more than the other?

The other option might be to go with a combo seat for both cars, or one as the 2nd seat instead of the PW or Monarch. You might get a couple of years out of an evenflo Generation if she's not long torso'd, since she's still 34lbs. The Generations/bolero seats have 17" top slots - about the same as the Marathon. This seat makes a nice bpb too.

Or get the CarGo which has tall top slots and has EPS foam as well. It supposedly doesn't make as nice of a bpb though...but once outgrown you could get a good dedicated booster if you want.

The Apex might be an option as well - it goes to 65lbs in the harness so it might last longer, again depending on how she grows. The top slots on this seat is also 17". The headrest isn't reinforced so the seat has to be fully supported by the vehicle seatback/headrest. It's outgrown by height once the tips of the childs ears are just past the top of the vehicle's seat.

At any rate, I think if you can keep her in a harnessed seat a while longer that would best. If her shoulders are still under the top harness slots of the RA then one of the combo seats I mentioned would still buy her some time in a harness w/out the expense of the Regent seat.

hth.

Cheryl
ds-4/03 in a Britax Blvd (main car), Bolero 2nd car

[kellyotn]

Since she's still pretty light and 4 and mature - I'd get a combo and a Regent. That way, you've got a few more lbs to harness and a seat that will become a booster, and a Regent that'll last for years.

The Evenflo Bolero is $80 at Sears/Kmart. Its a slightly less fancy version of the Generations ($110 at Target). It makes a nice booster. Does have an annoying harness adjuster, though. ;)

Or, the Apex would be great too. Then you wouldn't need to worry about how fast those 6 lbs come on.

If the Regent is totally out, how about two Apexes?

You can pull the belt out to keep them more confined. But, at a mere 34 lbs, its just so easy to keep her harnessed (ie, you have access to 40 lb combos, 65 lb combo, 65 lb convertibles, and Regent) that that is what I'd do one way or another. :)

[wendmatt]

Thanks so much for the advice. I've persuaded DH that we NEED a Regent! I'll get one for my car to start (DD's still OK in the RA for now) and see how it fits and look into a different smaller one for DHs car. I've been driving myself nuts researching them all, so get ready for more q's!

[Joolsplus2]

Some of us are too lazy to post that our Huskies fit perfectly in our Prius (old version of Regent, the old Prius was the same as the Echo, lol).

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx