seat for 3.5 yo and latch in Impala

[DrSally]

Couple questions for a friend. She has a 3.5 yo and a 6 month old in an 04 Chevy Impala. Her 6 month old has almost outgrown her infant seat, but she doesn't want to buy another 2 britaxes for DC#2. I suggested taking the second britax from DH's truck and using it in her car for the baby, and then buying 2 cheaper seats for DH's truck.

She was also thinking of using the 2 Britaxes for baby (one in each car) and buying cheaper "booster-like" seats for the toddler (ones with a back, she said). He's only 35 lbs, so I didn't know if that would work. Does anyone know a cheaper 5 pt. harness seat for a 3.5 yo, 35 lb. toddler? I would try to stear her away from boosters at this point, right? I hope this isn't too confusing.

The other thing is that I was telling her I can only use latch to 40lbs on my Oddy, and she hadn't heard about that, so she wanted to know what her latch limits were. I said it was prob in her car manual, but that I would ask you guys as well...

TIA for any input!

[o_mom]

Yes, he is too young for a booster. The Graco Nautilus would be a great choice - harness to 65 lbs and same height or taller than a Marathon, then becomes a great booster.

LATCH limit on Chevy is 48 lbs.

[DrSally]

Thank you! I'm not familiar with many convertibles other than my Britaxes and Scenara (for travel). I will give her your recommendation. Thanks also for the latch limit!

[lizajane]

my extra seat is an apex that goes to 65lbs and then becomes a booster. it has worked great for us. starts at 22lbs. we have been able to accomodate all of our friends who ride in our car, from our smallish 4 year old friend (bought seat when he was 3) and our very tall 5 year old friend (who, like DS1, outgrew regular seats at 3). it is light weight and 100 bucks. my best friend got one as her extra seat, too and liked it so much she got a second one for her DS1's seat in daddy's car.

[DrSally]

my extra seat is an apex that goes to 65lbs and then becomes a booster. it has worked great for us. starts at 22lbs. we have been able to accomodate all of our friends who ride in our car, from our smallish 4 year old friend (bought seat when he was 3) and our very tall 5 year old friend (who, like DS1, outgrew regular seats at 3). it is light weight and 100 bucks. my best friend got one as her extra seat, too and liked it so much she got a second one for her DS1's seat in daddy's car.

Thanks! I will let her know about the Apex as another option too. Good thing to keep in mind for when our 2nd one comes too. We really don't use the Britax in DH's car that much, so I may end up putting them both in my car and getting the cheaper seats for DH's car as well.

[o_mom]

Thanks! I will let her know about the Apex as another option too. Good thing to keep in mind for when our 2nd one comes too. We really don't use the Britax in DH's car that much, so I may end up putting them both in my car and getting the cheaper seats for DH's car as well.

One thing to keep in mind with the Apex is that it requires that there is a vehicle seatback or headrest behind the child's head. In older cars without headrests or very short seatbacks this can be a problem. Also, even if it works fine in the main car, it is easy for people to forget this rule when switching to another car (carpool, grandma, etc.). The Nautilus doesn't have this rule, so it is harder to misuse. The Apex is about $130 full price and the Nautilus is $150.

[DrSally]

One thing to keep in mind with the Apex is that it requires that there is a vehicle seatback or headrest behind the child's head. In older cars without headrests or very short seatbacks this can be a problem. Also, even if it works fine in the main car, it is easy for people to forget this rule when switching to another car (carpool, grandma, etc.). The Nautilus doesn't have this rule, so it is harder to misuse. The Apex is about $130 full price and the Nautilus is $150.

That's good to know! She has a sedan, so I'm not even sure how far up the seatback goes.

[DrSally]

Ok, friend decided to get 2 GN, but is asking me about any installation issues. I remember there being a thread recently about trying it out in your car in case your seatbelt is too short for booster mode (or something like that), but cannot find that thread! Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Do you think they would have one to try out at BRU? TIA!