Air travel with car seat: check it or rent it?

[niccig]

Your son has outgrown the Blvd now, and when is your trip? Soon or in a couple of months - he could be even bigger by then. The manuals are pretty clear about not using a seat that a child has outgrown as it won't work as intended.

The way I see it, you're going to get him a travel seat anyways, unless you're going to lug the Regent with you on every trip - and it's really really really heavy. Having an extra restraint that can be used as a spare or for car pool situations is handy too.

Jools says the ridersafe vest is safer than a booster and your DS isn't even 3 yet, so a booster really isn't a safe option at all. I would go with the vest.

[Hokiebear]

ok, so I'm thinking about the vest - but can't figure out what size to get. They have 2 sizes:

Small: 35-60 lbs, 38-52 inches
Large: 50-80lbs, 45-57 inches

Are these like carseats so if my child is within the height range but not the weight range I should move up? Or do they have to meet both requirements? My son is now about 43in, 42ish lbs, by the time we go he could easily be 45 inches but probably not 50 lbs. Right now he would fit in the small but if he grows a little he will be in the height range of the large. And I'd rather buy this once if at all possible. (I'd rather get the large instead of the small now and the large in a few months)

(I'm planning on contacting the company but thought somebody might know here)
Thanks

[hez]

My son is just 50 pounds and 45 1/2 or so inches, so we got a large with the same thought (buy it once & be done). If he were any skinnier, we'd have an issue getting the vest to fit snugly around his middle. We cinch it up *almost* as tight as it can go.

With that said, I might opt for the small in your case.

[Hokiebear]

Ok, that cinches it - I just went and measured DS again (I hadn't done it in a while and was guessing) and he is 43lbs and 41.5 inches, so (sigh) I guess we're going to get it in the small and just buy it again later in the large....
Thanks everyone.

[o_mom]

You may not have to buy it again. If the small lasts him for two years, you would probably be OK using a booster when travelling at that point (5 years old).

I would practice with the vest before you go to see how it works. It just takes some practice to make sure it is on and positioned correctly. Make sure that he sits all the way back against the seat when you are threading everything through so the lapbelt is down low. Good luck and post back with any questions!

[Hokiebear]

Thanks. We're ordering the vest tomorrow so I'll have a few weeks to play with it before we fly.
Thank you to everyone who helped with this!