Ok, so once DD hits 33 lbs and I have to turn her around-how long do I really have?

[HIU8]

DD's MA RF to 33 lbs. She is there (ok, 32 naked and 33 with clothes, shoes, coat etc...). She is 28 months. I'm trying to decide whether to just turn her FF or get another seat that can RF longer (and I know I need to make this decision NOW). Should I turn her FF while I'm deciding or can I keep her RF for another couple of weeks (can't imagine she will gain a lb in 2-3 weeks). FWIW, she likes RF a lot. Even DS who is 40 lbs and 4.5 yrs old would rather RF.

[jjordan]

Any idea what you could get for dd's marathon if you sold it on Craigslist? If you could sell it for $100 (no idea if this is realistic or not, just a "for instance") and if you could find a Radian 65 for $150-ish, then I'd probably go for it. Otherwise... it's a really tough call. My dd was hovering around 30 at about that age (in seats with a 33# RF limit), but she held out until her little brother was ready to move out of his infant seat. So I put her in his convertibles with the 35# limit and got her to almost 3.5 RF. Now that she is FF, she is back in her original seats and baby brother is in the newer convertibles so he can get to 35# RF.

Anyway, probably more than you wanted to know, but I guess my point is that if you can justify getting a new seat because you'll need it down the road, then that could factor in.

Good luck with your decision!

[HIU8]

Here is the thing. DS is also in a MA, but FF. He will be outgrowing it soon (he is in a massive growth spurt as we speak. He has roughly 1/2 inch before he is at the top slots (maybe a little less). I have no idea if this growth spurt will be all legs like the last one was. His MA also RF to 33 lbs. One MA exp in 2012 and one in 2011 (I can't remember which child has which exp date on their seat right now). DS will be 5 in November. he will either be getting a frontier or a HBB (most likely a frontier). DD I could get a radian. I have never sold a carseat on craigslist. It never crossed my mind b/c I would never buy a carseat off of there. Do people actually purchase carseats off craigslist?

[jjordan]

People definitely buy seats off Craigslist (although, like you, I never would). I'm just not sure how much they pay for them.

I sold my Snugride a couple years ago. It was about 2 years old and I sold it with the extra base. I *think* I asked for (and got) about $50?

If you're selling two seats, then that would open up your budget a bit and make it easier to justify buying a Radian for dd (assuming you weren't factoring the sale of a seat into the purchase of ds's next seat).

[arivecchi]

Just want to chime in that diapers.com has the existing Radians (up to 40 pounds for sale). Babycatalog has 20% off everything (including the new 45# Radians) and hipmonkey has the new Radians and you can use coupons 15OFF and 10OFF.

[HIU8]

We have 3 MA total (2 in my car and 1 in DH's car). The one in DH's car exp in 2010 (so it has another year on it). The goal is to put the safeguard GO in DH's car once DS outgrows the seat (so either DS or DD could ride with DH-this may be a once a week occurance on the weekends). I could go ahead and sell DD's and the one in DH's car and get a radian for DD. I still need to find $$ for DS for something eventually--gotta love this economy!!