Need a new spare seat

[egoldber]

Right now Amy is RF in a MA in my van. She rides in DH's car very rarely, maybe once every 2-3 months. In his car she is using an RA that we had leftover from Sarah, but that RA is now expired or very close to it. So we need a new seat for his car.

Amy is a peanut. At her 15 month check up last month she was still not quite 20 pounds, although she is fairly average length.

With the upcoming sale, I am kind of tempted to get a new RA. We'd use it as our air travel seat and I know DH prefers something smaller for his car since she rides behind his seat and she'll be RF for a long time at her current rate!

The only thing stopping me is that the MA I have for her now in my car expires in December 2010. So I'll need a new seat at that point and I wonder if I'll be kicking myself then for not getting an MA.

ETA: We are done with kids, so there is no new sibling to consider passing a seat along to.

Thoughts? Suggestions I haven't considered?

[JBaxter]

What about Cosco Scenera ? They are rfing upt 35lbs , inexpensive ( $42) and now come in pink daisy They are really light seats and they seem to be recommended for travel quite often on this board.

[caleymama]

What about Cosco Scenera ? They are rfing upt 35lbs , inexpensive ( $42) and now come in pink daisy They are really light seats and they seem to be recommended for travel quite often on this board.

I was thinking that too. They are supposed to be great for travel and considering how infrequently Amy would ride in it, I think it might be a great solution. They when you do need a new seat in 2010 (MA or otherwise), you won't be kicking yourself since you only spent ~$50 on the Scenera. The fact that it RF to 35 lbs is great too.

There are *2* pink patterns now, one at Walmart and one at Kmart, in addition to the more sedate "regular" patterns. The Scenera is on sale this week for $40 at Kmart, too! There is at least one thread showing/comparing the patterns (and the new Kmart pink pattern) over at car-seat.org.

ETA: The Safety 1st Uptown is also a decent inexpensive seat. It's cushier than the Scenera (not that I've ever heard of a kid being uncomfortable in the Scenera), has EPP foam (the Scenera has no EPS or EPP foam), and RF to 35 lbs. I think it's around $100.

[egoldber]

I will suggest the Scenera to DH.

Is it easy to install? The last time I suggested a non-Britax seat he said he would prefer to just buy a seat he already knew how to install. Which is why I was kind of in the RA vs MA mindset.

[801kelle]

Right now Amy is RF in a MA in my van. She rides in DH's car very rarely, maybe once every 2-3 months. In his car she is using an RA that we had leftover from Sarah, but that RA is now expired or very close to it. So we need a new seat for his car.

Amy is a peanut. At her 15 month check up last month she was still not quite 20 pounds, although she is fairly average length.

With the upcoming sale, I am kind of tempted to get a new RA. We'd use it as our air travel seat and I know DH prefers something smaller for his car since she rides behind his seat and she'll be RF for a long time at her current rate!

The only thing stopping me is that the MA I have for her now in my car expires in December 2010. So I'll need a new seat at that point and I wonder if I'll be kicking myself then for not getting an MA.

ETA: We are done with kids, so there is no new sibling to consider passing a seat along to.

Thoughts? Suggestions I haven't considered?

I would suggest Marathon. I didn't buy roundabout because then I would have had to buy Marathon after my DD outgrew roundabout. MIght as well skip RA and just get MA .. higher weight and height limits.

Here are the limits comparing the RA and MA:

This info is directly from Britax website: www.britaxusa.com

Roundabout:

Rear Facing 5 lbs. - 35 lbs. up to 40'' seated shoulder height 10.5'' - 15''
Forward Facing 20 lbs. - 40 lbs. up to 40" seated shoulder height 12'' - 15''

Marathon:

Rear Facing 5 lbs. - 35 lbs. up to 49'' seated shoulder height 9.5'' - 16''
Forward Facing 20 lbs. - 65 lbs. up to 49" seated shoulder height12'' - 16''

[Momof3Labs]

I will suggest the Scenera to DH.

Is it easy to install? The last time I suggested a non-Britax seat he said he would prefer to just buy a seat he already knew how to install. Which is why I was kind of in the RA vs MA mindset.

I find the Scenera a royal pain to install with LATCH but pretty easy to install with a seat belt - no built-in lockoffs, but easy enough with locking retractable seat belts. Of course, there is no RF tether, so it's harder to fine-tune the recline like you can on a Britax.

[Aishe]

I absolutely love having a RA for travel. I know it's heavier than the Scenera, but the ease of installation totally makes up for that, in my opinion. My daughter too is a peanut (22 lbs at 24 months, although she's also on the short side at 32.5 inches) and she still has plenty of room to grow, even rearfacing. For us the RA is definitely worth having.

[niccig]

I have the Safety First Uptown for the babysitter and for travel. It has some quirks, but once you know those, it's easy peasy to install. I taught my babysitter how to do it and she gets it in tight. We've had it in a few different cars as it's our travel seat. They've been some past posts on installing this seat. I'll see if I can find one that I answered too.
Some people have seen the Uptown at Walmart on sale as it's being discontinued soon. A shame, it's really a great seat - higher slots than scenera, more padding and side impact foam.

Nicci

ETA here's a thread on the install
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin...y+first+uptown

[egoldber]

I picked up a pink Scenera today at Kmart. I will let DH play with it in his car and see what he thinks. For $40, I'm tempted to keep it around anyway just as a spare. My SIL has a 13 month old and is expecting again in late summer, so we may have occasion to ferry one or more of her kids around.

[tarahsolazy]

I will suggest the Scenera to DH.

Is it easy to install? The last time I suggested a non-Britax seat he said he would prefer to just buy a seat he already knew how to install. Which is why I was kind of in the RA vs MA mindset.

We have had the Scenera as a secondary seat for first Forrest, now it's Berit's seat in my car. She has an RA in DH's car. I think the Scenera is really easy to install. We have flown with it multiple times, it is SOOOO much lighter than a Britax. Very travel-friendly feature. I think the higher-priced "cheaper" seats, like the Gracos and the Evenflos, which are trying to be cushier, are harder to install. We had an Evenflo Triumph that was hard to install, AND had a harness adjuster that was mind-boggling. Scenera is really easy.