Help choosing combo/booster for almost 3 DD

[2KMOMMA]

Been reading a lot of posts, but still confused. I want to get my 2 3/4 yr. old DD out of her convertible seat, as I want to put my 9 mo. old DD into it. I thought I should get her a combo seat, as it seems she should still be in a harness. I don't think I understand what the difference is between something like the Graco Cargo seats and the Britax Marathon. Should I expect to be buying her a combo or seat with a harnesss to use for a couple years and then another booster after that? Thanks!

K.L.

[Joolsplus2]

You can get a combo (Graco Ultra/Platinum Cargo or Evenflo Chase/Vision are the best choices, with tall top harness slots and front harness adjusters) and either use it as a booster after 40 pounds OR hand it down to baby to be used harnessed later. If you get a Marathon, it won't become a booster, but it's got a higher harness weight limit and will allow you to harness your kids up to age 6. It's really up to you: how high is your budget and how long do you want to keep your kiddos harnessed?
You'll still need a plain booster later...kids need to be in a booster till at least age 8-12 and 4'9", when the adult seatbelt fits properly, but you can use a $15 backless model, so it doesn't have to be another big investment.
I don't know if that helps any...it's best if you can go down to a store that carries all these seats to see if you really love the Marathon or Cargo or Chase and which one fits best in your car and fits your child, but any of them would be a good choice for you, I'm sure.
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[2KMOMMA]

Thank you for your advice, Julie. I think I read from earlier posts that you have or had one of yours in a Marathon, and we actually went to Babies r Us yesterday to see all the brands. I swore I wouldn't ever shell out the money for a Britax, but we came home with a Marathon.:) It seemed such a quality seat and I liked the idea of a harness for as long as possible. My husband figured we would get our money's worth, since it will be well used probably by both girls in some combination for around 5 years. He is sorry we didn't get a MA instead of our convertible seat in the first place, but I wasn't aware of it then, only knew about the RA. We almost went with the Cargo Plat. and I'm sure it would have been just fine. Now we just have to get it installed. Going to try it with LATCH this time, we heard that's easier and safer.
K.L.

[Joolsplus2]

Oh, that's funny! I swore I would never buy a Britax, either, but boy do I love 'em! (I bought many other seats that I was happy, but not thrilled with, and spent way more than if I had just coughed up the money for the Britax in the first place, lol :) )

I hope you enjoy your Marathon and get all 6 years of use out of it (Stay away from the "shopping" section of britaxusa.com...some of those covers are TOO cute...but $$$$$$$ lol!)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[2KMOMMA]

In case others looking for seats are reading these, we've had the Marathon we bought installed for about 2 weeks now. Can I just say, what a great seat...we LOVE it. We installed it using latch front facing for our almost 3 yr. old. It was so easy...the latches just click on, and then easy to tighten. ( Just make sure you have the latch marked driver's side on the side of the car seat closest the driver; we switched them, I think, but it wasn't that hard). That thing does not budge! We even had to take it out and reinstall it on the other side of our van, and my husband had it done this time in about 5 min. I love the great padding and harness coverings at the shoulders and crotch. I am wanting to ditch our old Bravo convertible our 10 mo. is in and get another Marathon. I think it's worth the money for the following reason: If you're needing to move into a convertible seat, get a Marathon...you can use it rear facing after the infant seat, and then forward facing for a long time (til 65 lbs.)! You might not need another seat! (Instead of getting a convertible seat, and then a combo/booster seat).
K.L.