Need help finding new seat

[jbc2003]

I haven't posted in a long time, and I know this subject has probably been gone over ad nauseum, but I need help finding a new car seat for my DS. We have a Britax Roundabout right now. DS is 2 1/2, 39 inches and 33 lbs. I know we have another inch in height before he outgrows the Roundabout. Looking for a car/booster seat with a harness, not a belt positioning booster. I have a Volvo SUV, so I have some room. When I got the Roundabout I had a smaller car, otherwise I would have gotten one of their bigger seats. I don't really want to spend $250, but I'm open to any suggestions. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Scatterbunny]

First of all, he may or may not have one inch left in the Roundabout. Height limits are not set in stone like weight limits are. What matters is that the child's shoulders are below the top slots and the tips of the ears are below the top of the seat shell. If those two criteria are met, the child is fine in the seat, heightwise. Kids who carry more height in the legs rather than the torso will fit seats longer than the stated height limit. Kids who are all torso tend to outgrow seats earlier than the stated height limit. So check where his shoulders are in relation to the top slots on the RA (which can be difficult to tell due to the padding and cover, so be sure you're looking at the slots in the seat shell, not the cover) and report back. :) Knowing his torso height will help recommending a good seat for him, since different seats have different top slot heights.

Will you want him harnessed past 40 pounds? At his current weight he could go either way--hit 40 pounds at 3.5-4 or not hit 40 pounds until 4.5-5. My dd was 38 inches and 33-35 pounds at exactly 2.5 years old and hit 40 pounds at about 3 years 8/9 months. Do you think he will be mature enough to use a booster at 40 pounds?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help narrow down the choices. :)

[kellyotn]

Do you have a younger child too? A Britax MA (or similar) will likely last until your DS is 5-6 and then the younger could use it for awhile to "use it up". ;) The Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe is made by Britax w/o a few bells and whistles (its basically a MA-clone). Its around $180. MA's can often be found on sale for around $200-220 for certain covers. Amazon recently had a sale on a few covers.

I recently bought my 3.5 year old another MA, just because many other options wouldn't work in our secondary vehicle. It seemed weird to buy a kid so old a convertible, but I like that its something my DH is already used to and that she's happy in. If it lasts her another 2-3 years, I'm thrilled.

The Sunshine Kids Radian harnesses to 65. Its a very high quality seat, comparable to Britax. Its got some FF w/ seat belt install problems in some cars, though. But, its a bit taller than the Britaxes and sits low, which is nice. Its also very narrow.

The Cosco Apex 65 harnesses to 65 (or until outgrown by height), then becomes a booster. Its a lot flimsier feeling than a Britax though, but still a nice seat.

A Britax Regent would last your child for a VERY long time. You'd likely get to use it for its full six year lifespan.

There are a couple good combo booster options, but they max out at 40 for the harness. (My DD has been in a huge growth spurt, so we couldn't get enough harnessing out of them when we chose the 2nd MA).

It'd be a gamble that your DS would stay under 40 until he was mature enough to go to booster mode. The Graco Cargo and the Evenflo Bolero/Generations are the two most popular ones. The Evenflo does make a nicer booster in the end, but while harnessed has a knob adjustment system that people either love or hate.

And, as PP said, make sure your son really is outgrowing the RA by the harness and the shell rules. The stated height limits can be wildly off for some kids in some seats.

And, he might just hold tight in his torso growth for awhile. My DD was just a hair below the 2nd to top slot in her MA forever. I checked it all the time, figuring it'd be time to move the straps up "any day now". Any day now took a year! Her growth was all leg from 2-3 years old.

HTH you get started!

[jbc2003]

Thanks for all the great info. DS is pretty long in the torso. His ears are almost at the top of the seat. He's very tall and slim. I'd like to keep him harnessed as long as possible. Wasn't sure if they made seats that harness over 40 lbs. I'm going to check into all the seats you guys mentions. Thanks again.

[mommyto4]

The Britax Husky/Regent would last you a very long time. It harnesses to 80 lbs. or about 53 inches tall. It is a hugh seat but we love ours. It is very easy to use (like most Britax seats) and is nicely padded. My kids love them too. I heard that they were on sale somewhere online for $199.99. I think that it would be worth the money to keep your little guy harnessed as long as possible. I hope this helps.
-Melinda-mom to Sarah, Kaylee, Jayci, & Davis
---------grammy to Trevor, & Katie

[Thatchermom]

Only the blue bouquet is left at babyuniverse for the $199 price. They cancelled my cougar order yesterday. I haven't found anything under $229 (BabyAge)for a Regent.

[mommyto4]

That's too bad. It was a great deal but $229 is still good. This is a great seat in my opinion.

[madelinesmom]

LUV LUV LUV LUV my two regents. We have one in both cars. Can't be beat...


Jane
Madeline's Mom
1/20/03