Pittsburgh Nesties
Luckystar2
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Booster car seat questions
I've asked before, but it's been a while. A couple booster seat questions. How long do you expect to have your kid in a 5 point booster before switching to just seat belt and high back booster?
What seat do you have and do you like it?
We had to get a seat quick in the fall after car accident. I asked then and I think a few have graco nautilus. The store we went to didn't have it so we went with graco argos. And we hate it! However, looking at seats in stores lately, seems most seats have the same issues. 1. the strap tightening/loosening system isn't great. Spoiled by evenflo triumph for sure! But I seriously am not able to tighten our argos. 2. the crotch strap is too far inward so it's very hard to buckle. 3. The tabs that go into the buckle are awkward and it's just hard to get it buckled!
I have joint issues so ease of use with straps/buckles is a big deal. But I guess, realistically how long will we keep her in 5 point harness? Once in seat belt these issues are moot. DD just turned 5 and is right around 45lbs. But I just don't know when I'd be ready to switch to just seat belt.
Anybody have Britax 85? I just got an amazon email and they are on sale since the 90 just came out. There's an 85 for $195 which seems like a great deal. The 90 itself looks really nice and is on sale for $250. But not sure if the updates are worth the extra cost at this point.
I'd love to try out the 85 in store but nobody has it in stock! $195 seems like a great price for a britax but am wondering if its worth it at this point? Not sure how much longer she will be in 5 point. Should I just go with something cheaper??
Re: Booster car seat questions
good to know I'm not alone!! I agree it would be nice to just be told when to do it. The whole, as long as possible thing makes me feel guilty if I switch. We kept dd RF until 2.5 and I felt guilty switching...when most people I know did it as soon as possible at a year.
honestly I just don't think dd is mature enough for the seat belt so I wouldn't do it yet. She still throws fits at times and will try to unbuckle the 5 point harness. I can only imagine if she was just in a seat belt that she would be out of that in a heartbeat. But not sure how long we would feasibly keep her in 5 point. If it was up to dh we certainly would have switched by now.
I hate spending a ton more for a 5 point if we won't use it for very long. But I don't think we can do straight seat belt yet. And I really need a new seat now. She is right at the limit for the seat in my car.
As Amanda said no hard & fast rule. My 7 yr old is still in the Graco nautilius 5 pt as well as a Britax Regent that we have. I do like the nautilius for easy in & out + tightening but agree the "crotch fastener" is too far back. That being said she will sit in a booster in my sister's car on occasion. I think I will keep her in 5 pt through the summer and then move to the belt. My issue is less age than where does the belt come across her neck. I don't want it up in her face or right under so if it pulls it hits her in the neck. Caileigh is in the 50ish lbs 46-47 inch range if that helps.
How time flies! Caileigh (9), Keira (6) & Eamon (3)
DD is still in the Graco Nautilus, and she's 5 years old, 46.25 inches & 52-ish pounds. I plan on keeping her there as long as she fits.
DH has a Graco high backed booster in his truck, and while it's fine when she's awake and sitting still (and thankfully she rarely rides in DH's truck) - I think it's unsafe when she falls asleep and leans to the side. That basically means that she only has the lap belt holding her in - and in the event of an accident, I don't think it would keep her very safe.
I plan to keep Adam in the 5 pt until he hits the seat weight limit on it.
I switched Adam to FF at just over one and 20lbs because NOTHING would fit in my '02 Hyundai Accent RF and have me and or DH still be able to fit in the seat infront of it. Buying a new car fit a seat as "recommended" wasn't an option! I found the best seat I felt I could that fit in the car properly and had a low enough weight limit on FF. =/ As much as I kinda want a new car, I don't NEED one... and since we got rid of DH's car 2 yrs ago and got a Santa Fe my car is now pretty much just used for my commute and Very very rarely will I have to pick up the kids from DH's parents so it will be ok to have no one in the passanger seat to accomodate the infant seat for baby #2... If we can get through the first year/Infant seat guides I will put this baby FF early as well and we can keep the car til it rots!
The only question I have is with the new info about not keeping the latch hooked when the child AND seat hits the latch weight limit is- if and when I do Switch him to the lap belt, can I reattach the seat with the latch since it will only be holding the seat and the lapbelt will be holding him in it? Is that how it works? if he isn't with me I would be either buckling in an empty seat or driving around with it loose if it wasn't latched down right?
Married, September 23, 2006
Well I did find an 85 in store to try out and it is so much better than our graco! Ugh wish I would have had time last time to do the research!
the crotch strap is further out, the strap mechanism works much better than ours and the buckle works very easily.
I guess even though its more than I'd like to spend and would spend less on just a booster....we didn't have to pay for the graco one so overall price for 2 seats isn't bad!
i am not sure about this. I know there was a post about this awhile ago and I was so confused!
So if you are using the latch system just to hold the booster seat in place there isn't an issue. As the seat belt will hold your kid in place when they are riding.
The weight limit comes into play when you pair a 5-pt harness with the latch system, as it has a weight limit. So if you stay 5pt and your kid+carseat weigh more than 60lbs (I think that is the limit I may be off though) you need to install the carseat with the seat belt rather than using Latch. then use your 5pt harness as usual.
We are in need of another booster......we got a cheaper one currently using in my care when she was able to move over to a booster and it is just ok. I might just have to try this amazon deal out also. thanks for the insight. I was leaning towards a Graco and glad I didn't based on everyone elses reviews.
ok. so if kid and seat is 60 lbs buckle seat with belt and use 5pt.
If kid is bigger than 5pt or you choose to switch to belt reattach the latch to hold the seat and buckle in the kids with the belt.
Thanks!
Married, September 23, 2006
may i ask what store you found it at? my almost 3.5 year old is at the 40 pound weight limit for his car seat..... i need to move up to the next thing. i drive a honda sedan so i have to be careful in the size of things...
I'm actually not in the area but I found it at Buy Buy Baby. I can't remember if there are any in the Pittsburgh area now. You can search to see if your store has any in stock but it came up unavailable for mine. But I went and they still had a display model on clearance.
also try checking BRU site because they also will tell you if any stores have in stock. None were in my area though.
fyi here is the one on sale on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0038W0JJ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1369942573&sr=8-1&pi=SL75
I totally agree! I swear the comments about dd being RFed until 2.5 were annoying. But he'll even my pedi office gave me paperwork at 1 year about turning around the car seat. Of course this stuff is confusing. But I hate being treated like I'm the crazy one when I did the research.
so far dd really never rides with any other kids or notices what they ride in. Her BFF is a little younger and smaller and is still in a 5 point so that's really the only one she has seen much. And when we were in Hawaii we did the backless booster (which definitely so not ready for!) and she didn't seem to question going back to 5 point at home.
reading some stuff I'm feeling like keeping her in 5 point till 6 is a good idea based on physical stuff not to mention I don't think the maturity is there for her just yet.
There is 1 booster I want to check out that has a lap belt grip/positioner I'd like to check out though since that seems to be a better option than plain booster.
You're lucky! Of course, my H isn't super supportive of the extended RFing or harnessing, but that also goes back to the conflicting recommendations by so-called experts. I did RF both kids until they were 2+ and was planning on doing the harness as long as I could, but I couldn't keep fighting everyone on it. Our booster does position the belt and she has been very good about sitting properly and not messing with it. She's tall, so it looks ok. I just personally felt more comfortable with the harness for a while longer.