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Questions: carseats, accidents, boosters oh my!!
So dh was in a car accident Sunday (thankfully he is ok). I see on NTSB that they say minor accidents car seats don't need to be replaced if it meets the criteria. But his accident didn't (vehicle not drivable). So looks like we need a new seat.
1. Has anyone dealt with insurance and replacement? Dh said insurance said they'd take the seat and if the other party is deemed at fault (should be) we submit a receipt for new one and reimbursed. Just wondering anyone's experiences. Can we get whatever seat we want?
2. I'm clueless now about seats. dd is right under 40lbs. The seat we had (evenflo) only goes to 45lbs. So seems silly to get that again. I'm not sure I'm ready to go just to a booster for her (well, once she officially hits 40lbs). When did/will you switch to booster? We have a cosco scenera we can use till right at 40lbs. Or should we go with a 5 point harness one that switches to booster? I really know nothing about these seats. So any recs? I know there was the graco nautilus post and some complaining about the buckles and difficulty. Ease of straps/buckles is an issue for me, but I guess we would switch to booster at some point so it's not I guess the most critical.
Re: Questions: carseats, accidents, boosters oh my!!
We have a graco nautilus, and I complained about the buckles on the 5pt harness, but if EJ outgrew her Britax Marathon in my car I would get another. The price is right and it turns into a highback booster as well as a regular little booster. Plus it gets good ratings. We have gotten better with the buckle, but it was different from the Britax for sure. EJ is still under 40 lbs, and I believe her Britax is good until she is like 65. I suspect she will get too tall for it before she reaches that weight. I am not certain what my decision will be once she does out grow it. If I will get another nautilus or just a high back or standard booster. I think it depends on how big/old she is at that point and how long she would be able to use the 5-pt harness. I think for travel, I would be tempted to use just a booster. And I am considering that for when we go to Disney.
As for navigating the insurance stuff I can't help. But I am glad everyone is ok.
Sorry to hear about your DH's accident, April! Is he OK?
I have no real advice to offer since I've never dealt with insurance, but we have a Graco Nautilus and I'm happy with it. I know some people have issues with the buckle, but I don't find it any more difficult to use than any other seat.
I'm not sure on the car seat recs, since we're still in a convertible seat. For your travel, I know Amber used this for Brody when they went on their vacation this year : http://www.amazon.com/BubbleBum-Inflatable-Portable-Booster-Purple/dp/B003GQ0LQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351606683&sr=8-1&keywords=inflatable+booster+seat
She said it was nice to not have to worry about lugging around a big seat!
thanks Val, he is okay! Just sore. His shoulder was bothering him so we went to urgent care but said he was ok. He and another car were making left hand turn (2left turn lanes). A lady going down the road he was turning onto ran the red light, clipped the car next to dh and then hit dh ( dh was further in intersection than the other guy). Luckily dh wasn't any further in the intersection. She hit the driver wheel/ quarter panel area. If she would have hot closer to dh, it wouldn't have been good! Thankfully she didn't and at least dd wasn't with him. The guy the lady clipped had a kid in the car so thankfully she didn't hit him anymore than she did!
I would get a 3-in-1 booster.
We have an Evenflo one that we got as a hand-me-down and a Graco Nautilus. I like the Nautilus better and most of the time, Heather can do the Nautilus buckles herself now.
This week, I finally ordered the upgrade for Todd to a 3-in-1 in my car and bought the Graco Argos 70. It looks just like the Nautilus, but it goes up to a slightly higher weight and according to the website you can adjust the straps without taking the seat out of the car, like the Nautilus.
The seat just came last night and with all of the Sandy hubub, we haven't even taken it out of the box yet. I can let you know in a few days what we think.
I looked at the Britax Frontier. We really loved the Marathon and Roundabout that the kids used RFing, but I am happy enough with the Nautilus to not want to pay an extra $100. And we don't move the seats as much from car to car anymore, so ease of installation is much less of an issue.
Personally, I would take a backless booster for travel. Or look into renting a 5-point harness seat when you get there.
I can only answer the first question: DH was in an accident in April where our car was totaled. Progressive insurance replaced our car seat with no question. They allowed us to pick whatever that was equivalent to our original seat. I chose to reorder the Britax Boulevard 70. We simply gave them the receipt.
I'm glad no one got hurt in the accident. Have fun in Hawaii! Where will you be going? We only got to go to the Big Island but it was simply gorgeous :-)
FYI: When I order the original Britax Blvd from Amazon I got a free Britax car seat travel cart. They do this promo often.
we are going same time as in laws and BIL has been there a few times and has insisted on the Big Island. Glad to here you liked it!
Amy I'd be interested in the Argos review. I like the idea of adjustable straps without taking seat out
11-15-08
12-1-10
We also have the Graco Nautulis for Lanna and use it with the 5 pt harness. I get annoyed with buckling it and it's definitely not as nice as our Britax Marathon we moved her out of, but for the price it's fine, and I like that it'll break down to a regular booster when the time is right.
I'm glad your H is okay -- how scary!