What car seat is next for 1 yr old DD?

[citymama]

We have one car. This is our car seat history:

DD1 - Graco Snug Ride from 0-1, Britax Marathon from 1-5 (and as long as we can keep her in it)
DD2 - re-uses our unexpired Graco Snugride from 0-1. Now what next? Another Marathon? We'd prefer to get a good seat she can use until it expires, or one that she can use for a few years that would be good to travel with as well (on planes).

So, what's been happening in convertible car seat land since we bought our Marathon in 2007? ;) I'd love any recommendations! We have a Saturn sedan with one FFing Marathon and will need to have a RFing convertible and hopefully passenger seat as well if possible. We use a GoGo Kidz travelmate for air travel which we do a few times a year.

Thanks!

PS Do we have to move DD out of the Graco infant car seat at 1, or can we keep her in it till she hits the height/weight limits? She's abut 18 lbs and 28 inches, so not yet at the 22 lb/29 inch limit, but close.

[KrisM]

If she still fits in the infant seat, you can use it. DS2 outgrew his at 20 months and I kept him in it until then because it got me through the winter and preschool drop-off with more convenience. I mostly left it in the car, but loved it when I needed to just carry him in.

How old/big is DD1? Would it make more sense to buy her a new seat and hand the Marathon down? Since she's already FFing, you don't need another seat that RFs, right? So, unless that MA is close to expiring or will expire before you want to turn DD2 FFing, I'd do that. In that case, look at the Britax Frontier and Graco Nautilus. Both are FF only seats and harness for a good long time and then become boosters. My DD is in a Frontier and loves it. She'll be 5 in June and has no signs of outgrowing it harnessed.

As for convertibles, many now go to 40lbs RFing, which is nice to keep them RFing longer, especially bigger kids. The new Britax seats take up less space front-back than the old ones. And there are others that I'll have to let others talk about since it's been 3 years since I bought a convertible :).

[MoJo]

I'm in almost the exact same situation. I had already needed to turn DD#1 FF in her Marathon, so when DD#2 outgrew her Snugride 22, I bought a new Britax Frontier for #1 and handed down the MA to #2 (turning it back to RF, of course). Both girls are very happy with their seats.

[lmwbasye]

I'm in almost the exact same situation. I had already needed to turn DD#1 FF in her Marathon, so when DD#2 outgrew her Snugride 22, I bought a new Britax Frontier for #1 and handed down the MA to #2 (turning it back to RF, of course). Both girls are very happy with their seats.

Yep...this is what we did too and it has worked out great.

[arivecchi]

Agree with the PP, get a Frontier for your older DD and pass down the convertible.

When does the Marathon expire?

[AnnieW625]

If you bought the Marathon in 2007 it most likely won't expire until 2013 so you should have another good 18 mos. to 2 yrs. of life left in it. I would just use that for DD2. For DD1 you could get something like a Britax Frontier, Graco Nautilus or Evenflo Maestro. By the time that your DD2 is ready for the bigger harnessed booster your DD1 should be ready for a high back non belted booster or a low back depending on her height at the time.

[citymama]

Agree with the PP, get a Frontier for your older DD and pass down the convertible.

When does the Marathon expire?

The Marathon is dated 2006. I think we bought it Dec 2006 and started to use it in Feb 07. So it expires in 2012 I guess. I'm inclined to let DD1 use it until it expires and then switch her to a Frontier/Nautilus. In that case, I need to figure out what to get for DD2.

Or I could do as some of you are suggesting and hand down the Marathon but then I'll need to buy DD2 something else in a year anyway, when she will still be RFing.

[Beth24]

If you want to by the new seat for DD2 I would suggest the new Roundabout, which would be great in your car and you could travel with it as well. Amazon has it for $159 right now.

[AnnieW625]

The Marathon is dated 2006. I think we bought it Dec 2006 and started to use it in Feb 07. So it expires in 2012 I guess. I'm inclined to let DD1 use it until it expires and then switch her to a Frontier/Nautilus. In that case, I need to figure out what to get for DD2.

Or I could do as some of you are suggesting and hand down the Marathon but then I'll need to buy DD2 something else in a year anyway, when she will still be RFing.

For your DD2 I would look at the Boulevard, but the newer Marathons are mini Boulevards (but I am biased to the Boulevard because DD1 hated her Marathon soo much). The True Fit Premier might also be a seat to look at, as well as the Evenflo Triumph Advance, or Graco My Ride 65, but honestly I would take her to a baby store and try her in a few seats and see which one she likes the best. All of those seats should work for her until she is at least 5, but probably closer to 6.

I would do that too and if it turns out that she is able to use it until she is almost 7 in December 2012 then you could always skip the whole Frontier/Nautilus seat and get her a high back Parkway or Recarro Vivo (or whatever that seat is called now) because it's way less money and she might be ready for a belted booster by then anyway.

[arivecchi]

The Marathon is dated 2006. I think we bought it Dec 2006 and started to use it in Feb 07. So it expires in 2012 I guess. I'm inclined to let DD1 use it until it expires and then switch her to a Frontier/Nautilus. In that case, I need to figure out what to get for DD2.

Or I could do as some of you are suggesting and hand down the Marathon but then I'll need to buy DD2 something else in a year anyway, when she will still be RFing.
I would buy a Frontier for DD1. Let DD2 use the Marathon till 2012 (how old will she be then?). At that point, move DD2 to the Frontier and get a HBB for DD1.

[jjordan]

How much growing room does dd1 have in the marathon? (How much space between her shoulders and the top harness slot?) Is she 5 years old now? How much does she weigh?

[citymama]

How much growing room does dd1 have in the marathon? (How much space between her shoulders and the top harness slot?) Is she 5 years old now? How much does she weigh?

Good questions. She just turned 5. She's 45 inches tall and 42 lbs.

[citymama]

If you want to by the new seat for DD2 I would suggest the new Roundabout, which would be great in your car and you could travel with it as well. Amazon has it for $159 right now.


For your DD2 I would look at the Boulevard, but the newer Marathons are mini Boulevards (but I am biased to the Boulevard because DD1 hated her Marathon soo much). The True Fit Premier might also be a seat to look at, as well as the Evenflo Triumph Advance, or Graco My Ride 65, but honestly I would take her to a baby store and try her in a few seats and see which one she likes the best. All of those seats should work for her until she is at least 5, but probably closer to 6.



Ok, so if we're talking about a new seat for DD2, then it sounds like my options are:

1) Roundabout (pros: great for travel, inexpensive, good all around seat; cons: gets outgrown sooner so we'll need a new seat once she's 3 or so - right?)
2) Another Marathon (pros: we love ours!, sounds like there are improvements; cons: not an option for travel) I notice on amazon.com there are some 70s and some 65s - is that the weight limit?
3) Boulevard (why is this better than a MA or RA?)
4) TrueFit Premier
5) Evenflo Triumph Advance
6) Graco MyRide 65
(I don't know a thing about these last 3, except that the last 2 are half the price or less of the Britax and the TrueFit pricing is all over the map!)

Good suggestion to try these in store although I will confess the odds of that happening soon are fairly slim!

ETA: I guess I'm inclined to going with another Marathon just because we know it (boring!) - and maybe buying a compact and inexpensive convertible for travel - is there such a thing?

[KrisM]

How much room over her head in the infant seat? Her height as a number doesn't matter as much as having at least 1 inch of shell over her head. When that is reached, it's outgrown by height.

If she still has room in the infant seat, and knowing your DD1 is over 5 and over 40lbs, I would buy a nice booster for DD1 and start booster training her. Then, pass down the Marathon to DD2 when the infant seat is outgrown. Or if you want her harnessed, get the Frontier. A lot of kids are not going to want to be in a 'baby' seat once they hit kindergarten. Some won't notice or care, of course, but others will.

But, if you're set on buying another convertible, I'd do a Roundabout or Marathon. I don't think she'll outgrow the Roundabout at age 3. It goes to 55 lbs and is only 1" shorter in seated height than the Marathon. You may be thinking about the older 40lbs Roundabout.

[Tanya]

Well, as someone that has kids spaced 3.5-4 years apart, I did not hand down their convertibles.

My oldest two used the same infant seat, but my last two (twins) had to have new infant seats since the old one expired.

My oldest two each had their own Marathons. My oldest used hers until it expired, then I bought a Nautilus to get her another year and now she uses the Nautilus in dh's car or a high back booster in my van.
My second is still in her Marathon (she's 4.5) and will be until it expires. SHe can also use the Nautilus in dh's car.

My twins will eventually get their own convertibles once they outgrow their infant seats. Then they will stay in them until they expire.

My older kids RF until about 2.5 years. My oldest didn't start using a booster until she was about 7 years old. My second may be longer than that because she's running a bit smaller than my oldest did.

I originally planned on just getting more Marathons for my twins since I have multiple covers which are nice for spills/accidents, but now that they've redone the Britax seats and my covers probably won't work, I'll decide later. Maybe Boulevards or Marathons.


So, in my experience, I'd let your oldest continue to use the Marathon until it expires. GEt your youngest her own convertible seat. Then, when the Marathon expires, if you aren't ready for a booster (I wasn't), then get a FF seat like a Frontier or Nautilus and that can be passed down to your second if you want to later. I have no experience with a Frontier, but the Nautilus is not a good sleeping seat. My kids like to ride in it, but they aren't car sleepers anymore. When we had to travel overnight (got stuck in a snow storm), my oldest's head kept flopping over when she fell asleep. THat was the only time it was a problem for us though.

[jjordan]

Ok, so if we're talking about a new seat for DD2, then it sounds like my options are:

1) Roundabout (pros: great for travel, inexpensive, good all around seat; cons: gets outgrown sooner so we'll need a new seat once she's 3 or so - right?)
2) Another Marathon (pros: we love ours!, sounds like there are improvements; cons: not an option for travel) I notice on amazon.com there are some 70s and some 65s - is that the weight limit?
3) Boulevard (why is this better than a MA or RA?)
4) TrueFit Premier
5) Evenflo Triumph Advance
6) Graco MyRide 65
(I don't know a thing about these last 3, except that the last 2 are half the price or less of the Britax and the TrueFit pricing is all over the map!)

Good suggestion to try these in store although I will confess the odds of that happening soon are fairly slim!

ETA: I guess I'm inclined to going with another Marathon just because we know it (boring!) - and maybe buying a compact and inexpensive convertible for travel - is there such a thing?

The new roundabouts (roundabout55) are the same size as the new marathons and boulevards, although they are a big lighter, so in that sense perhaps better for travel. But it will probably last to age 3-4 rearfacing and age 5 or so forward facing.

The new marathon (marathon70) has a few "upgrades" compared to the roundabout55 - small head "wings" and a no-rethread harness. The new bouelvard (bouelvard70) has larger head "wings" than the marathon70 - that's basically the only difference there (other than price).

The TFP's main difference between all the other seats you listed is that it has a RF weight limit of 35# (the others are 40#).

The EFT65 and MyRide are probably not as "nice" as the others, but they do have fans, and are good seats for the money.

Babycatalog.com has good prices on Britax right now (limited cover selection), so head over there fast if you think you're going that route. I'd definitely stick with a new Britax seat (ending in -55 or -70) rather than an older one (ending in -50 or -65), because the older ones haven't been manufactured for nearly a year and you're down to a 5 year lifespan. The new ones also have some nice safety-related upgrades compared to the old. (Of course the old ones still pass the federal tests, so as far as we *know* they are equally safe.)

[AnnieW625]

For the OP, I think JJordan answered most of your questions for you. I think it could've just been a fluke but DD1 loved her Evenflo seat 1000x more than the Marathon. She'd fight me on the Marathon anytime I tried to put her in it for 18 months. Once she was in it she was also somewhat ansy in it unless she was really tired. She never fought me in the Evenflo and always seemed so relaxed. Even though the seat width on the Marathon and the Evenflo Triumph 5 we have (seat prior to the Triumph Advance) are about the same I really think that the overall depth of the seat and the width is actually wider than the Marathon, which could've been part of her problem. Also the harness knobs on the EFTA take some time to get used to but I loved that everything was contained because DD1 (being the budding engineer she is) was always trying to loosen her straps on the seat and it used to freak me out. The only thing that I didn't care for with the Evenflo was that the fabric definitely wasn't as easy to remove as Britax, but I believe that they have fixed that with the newer seats. The compact travel seat would most likely be a Cosco Scenera, or a Safety First Avenue (a more padded Scenera), although a Roundabout 55 is still pretty light.



I originally planned on just getting more Marathons for my twins since I have multiple covers which are nice for spills/accidents, but now that they've redone the Britax seats and my covers probably won't work, I'll decide later. Maybe Boulevards or Marathons.


You can get Marathon Classic or a Roundabout 50 Classic at Target so you can still use your old covers.

[citymama]

The new roundabouts (roundabout55) are the same size as the new marathons and boulevards, although they are a big lighter, so in that sense perhaps better for travel. But it will probably last to age 3-4 rearfacing and age 5 or so forward facing.

The new marathon (marathon70) has a few "upgrades" compared to the roundabout55 - small head "wings" and a no-rethread harness. The new bouelvard (bouelvard70) has larger head "wings" than the marathon70 - that's basically the only difference there (other than price).

The TFP's main difference between all the other seats you listed is that it has a RF weight limit of 35# (the others are 40#).

The EFT65 and MyRide are probably not as "nice" as the others, but they do have fans, and are good seats for the money.

Babycatalog.com has good prices on Britax right now (limited cover selection), so head over there fast if you think you're going that route. I'd definitely stick with a new Britax seat (ending in -55 or -70) rather than an older one (ending in -50 or -65), because the older ones haven't been manufactured for nearly a year and you're down to a 5 year lifespan. The new ones also have some nice safety-related upgrades compared to the old. (Of course the old ones still pass the federal tests, so as far as we *know* they are equally safe.)

Can I just say: thank you and:bowdown: !!!

This, and everything else posted on this thread, is great advice and really helps me sort through options. Really great point about making sure I get a 2011 car seat rather than older stock, as I would want to make sure it was good for the next 5 years. DD2 is fairly small, so far, and I suspect could get 4 years out of a Roundabout-55 (what are the height limits, FF?).

We bought both our car seats from Baby Catalog and were very happy with them, so maybe we'll go that route again.

Tanya, really really good point about car sleeping. They're both car sleepers, and I know that when DD1 rides in the Nautilus in grandma's car she rarely falls asleep or flops forward. Better to have her in the MA till as long as she safely fits. I am pretty sure the shoulder straps aren't at the highest setting yet, and I'll check tomorrow but I think she has much more than an inch space at the top.

[citymama]

How much growing room does dd1 have in the marathon? (How much space between her shoulders and the top harness slot?) Is she 5 years old now? How much does she weigh?

Updating my reply here - DD1 has about .75-1 inch between her shoulders and the top harness slot. She's 5 and weighs 42 lb. She has about 2 inches bw her head and the top of the seat. Is she ready for something else, or will she be before the MA expires? It's got another year or more before it expires.

[AnnieW625]

Updating my reply here - DD1 has about .75-1 inch between her shoulders and the top harness slot. She's 5 and weighs 42 lb. She has about 2 inches bw her head and the top of the seat. Is she ready for something else, or will she be before the MA expires? It's got another year or more before it expires.

I think she is still okay in the seat because I think the top height for the seat is 49", and it doesn't sound like the straps have gone up and over her shoulders, but a lot changes based on torso height, how the straps fit, etc. so not many people probably can get their child to the full 49" that the seat is rated for. I would PM Jools a photo of your DD and have her evaluate the situation.

[Joolsplus2]

Here was my peanut of a DD in her MA at that age... she fit in it for another good year, even though her shoulders were almost at the top slots in that picture... http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/ffalbum/sarah.aspx

[jjordan]

Updating my reply here - DD1 has about .75-1 inch between her shoulders and the top harness slot. She's 5 and weighs 42 lb. She has about 2 inches bw her head and the top of the seat. Is she ready for something else, or will she be before the MA expires? It's got another year or more before it expires.

I agree with the others, you probably have another year or so that she'll fit in the MA. She'll likely outgrow it by height long before weight - once her shoulders creep up above the top harness slot, she's too tall. But torso growth typically happens at about 1"/year at that age.