3 yr old outgrowing marathon, alternatives to Regent for DH's car? [Archive]

jjadair

12-21-2006, 09:31 PM

Our 3.5 yr old is long in the torso, and the MA straps are below his shoulders. He is about 39" and 39 lbs. His ears are not quite at the level of the top of the carseat. He has a Regent for my car, but we are hoping to find a less expensive carseat for DH's car. We'd like to keep him in a 5 pt harness as long as possible. DH drives a Honda Accord LX. Recommendations?

Also, we need a seat for our 7 month old DS to go into the nanny's car. Currently he uses the RA in her car, as he is in the Britax Companion still in my car(for a little longer). When he outgrows the Companion, we will move the RA to our car and want to find a less expensive seat for her car. She rarely drives them. Ease of installation is key.

I will also post in BB since that might be more appropriate.
TIA!
Jennifer

momtoB

12-23-2006, 09:37 AM

If he's outgrowing the MA then unfortunately the Regent might be your only option. Only the Radians have a higher top harness slot than the MA's and other higher weight limit seats and that is only18" so it wouldn't give him much growing room for the money you'd be spending.

Your other option would be the RideSafer vest by http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/ but parents think it's weird -kids think its cool. It's about $99

Ideally, he should be harnessed in both cars as long as possible.

What is the expiration on the MA? Could you pass that down to your 7mos old once you get a replacement for your ds#1? Or you could get her a Cosco Scenera for $40-50, which is pretty easy to use, and has a 35lb r/fing weight limit. If your ds#2 follows in your #1's footsteps growth pattern, then he will prbly outgrow this seat between 2-3yrs old by height though so that is something to keep in mind.

If you don't want to worry about replacing a Scenera, then you might just go with the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe, which is basically a Marathon w/out the r/fing top tether or HUGS. It harnesses to 55lbs instead of the Britax's 65lbs. Britax makes this seat for FP.

Hth!