OT: A fairly inexpensive carseat that's easy to hook up

[_queenie_]

We've been riding in my DH's new Ridgeline quite a bit lately, and I think I'd like to get another carseat for my DD3.5 (keep in mind that she's big for her age) to put in there as I'm sick of switching the one in my MDX back and forth. We don't all ride in his truck enough that my DH wants to leave a carseat in there, so I'd like to get one that's pretty cheap and can easily be hooked up. I have a Britax Decathalon in my car, I love but it's a little pricey and smoetimes we have hard time with buckling it.

Any suggestions?

 

[MommyWithDreams]

We've been riding in my DH's new Ridgeline quite a bit lately, and I think I'd like to get another carseat for my DD3.5 (keep in mind that she's big for her age) to put in there as I'm sick of switching the one in my MDX back and forth. We don't all ride in his truck enough that my DH wants to leave a carseat in there, so I'd like to get one that's pretty cheap and can easily be hooked up. I have a Britax Decathalon in my car, I love but it's a little pricey and smoetimes we have hard time with buckling it.

Any suggestions?

What about an eddie baur? Those are pretty easy to hook up and are good quality.

 

[mom2zandjsquared]

This would probably be a great seat for you - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8112222

 

[tanyaandallie]

For a 3.5 year old, the Nautilus that pp linked is a great seat. It has 18 inch top harness slots so is actually taller and will keep him harnessed longer than the Britax seat you have. Britax seats top harness slots are 17ish inches tall. The seat converts to a high back booster and then to a low back booster. It's fairly new, just came out in Jan but is a great seat that will last a long time!

 

[all4fun]

What about an eddie baur? Those are pretty easy to hook up and are good quality.

Unfortunately, all the Dorel (Cosco/Eddie Bauer/Safety 1st) seats have pretty low slots, 16" or under, and only harness to 40lbs. The one exception is the Apex65 seat, which goes to 65lbs w/the harness, 17" top slots. This seat requires a tall vehicle seatback or flat adjustable headrest behind it. It's outgrown altogether once the tips of the ears go past the top of the vehicle seatback or headrest (instructions state "midpoint of childs head").

I would personally recommend the Nautilus over the Apex though. It has a reinforced shell and also makes a better booster seat later on.

hth!

 

[Minniemouse07]

I have a Nautilus in each car... dd (6.5yo) sits in the one in my car and ds (2yo) sits in the one in dh's.

Dd is on the top harness slot, but is out of the second one from the top just barely...and she's got a long torso. So you could have your 3.5yo harnessed in the Nautilus for quite some time.

Ds is just 34lbs and due to a car accident I had to replace two seats...and ds' other seat expires this month! So his one seat was replaced w/ a Nautilus forward facing (a first for ds) and he likes it a lot. He is getting a Regent in my car at the end of the month.

Dd really likes her Nautilus. At first she wasn't thrilled w/ the color, and I planned on giving ds her Nautilus and getting HER a Regent in pink...but after a week or so she told me she wants to keep her seat. She likes the big cup holder and the hidey holes on the inside of the armrests.

Be aware that the seat is hard to find... Walmarts right now and eventually Baby Depot this month and BRU next month...according to Graco.

 

[collcass]

Unfortunately, all the Dorel (Cosco/Eddie Bauer/Safety 1st) seats have pretty low slots, 16" or under, and only harness to 40lbs. The one exception is the Apex65 seat, which goes to 65lbs w/the harness, 17" top slots. This seat requires a tall vehicle seatback or flat adjustable headrest behind it. It's outgrown altogether once the tips of the ears go past the top of the vehicle seatback or headrest (instructions state "midpoint of childs head").

We have an Eddie bauer that goes to 100 lbs. It converts from baby to toddler to booster. Our 4 yr old just hit 26 lbs so he's still in the full seat. In fact, we just took it off the infant base!!

 

[Minniemouse07]

We have an Eddie bauer that goes to 100 lbs. It converts from baby to toddler to booster. Our 4 yr old just hit 26 lbs so he's still in the full seat. In fact, we just took it off the infant base!!

The previous poster's point is that the Dorel seats (including the 3 in 1 you have) tend to have lower harness slots... so children will outgrow the harness portion of the seat well before the recommended height and weight for a booster seat (40lbs AND 4yo). There are other seats on the market that are affordable yet have higher harness slots and allow children to be harnessed much longer than the Dorel seats do.

Oh and when talking about combination car seats... we generally say that a seat harnesses to XX weight and then is a booster to XX weight. It gives a much more accurate description of the seat. I can't tell you how many times I've heard parents talk about how their car seat "goes to 100lbs"... and then they keep their child in the harness well past the 40lb limit.

 

[all4fun]

We have an Eddie bauer that goes to 100 lbs. It converts from baby to toddler to booster. Our 4 yr old just hit 26 lbs so he's still in the full seat. In fact, we just took it off the infant base!!

This is an all too common misconception about the 3-in-1/all-in-1 type seats that are made by DOREL, so I am not trying to make you feel bad. They can be very confusing seats to use correctly. The harness only goes to 40lbs, PLUS the top useable slots are actually the 2nd from top position. The very top harness position (5th slot) is only there to raise the headrest up for booster mode. That slot is not reinforced and the harness can rip thru the shell in a crash. Check the back of the seat - the words "for booster use only" are embossed in the plastic next to the top slots.

The 4th slots are 15" tall and once the shoulders go past those then the seat is outgrown by height. Shoulders past the top slots in a car crash can cause too much forward head movement and also spinal compression. My ds (4yrs) outgrew his 3-in-1 just before he turned three when he was 27lbs. Your 4yr old is a peanut! He may very well still safely fit in the seat with the harness so you may have nothing to worry about but I just wanted to make sure you're aware of the little "quirks" this seat has.

Also, the base you mentioned - it only has to be removed once the child uses the seat as a booster. It doesn't have to be on for harness mode though (safe to remove the base when using in harness mode). This seat is only a booster from 40-100lbs. 4yrs AND 40lbs is the bare recommendation for putting a child in a belt positioning booster.

 

[_queenie_]

If this helps my DD is 42" and 39 lbs.

Thanks for the great suggestions, keep them coming!

 

[TinkerbellMama]

We've been riding in my DH's new Ridgeline quite a bit lately, and I think I'd like to get another carseat for my DD3.5 (keep in mind that she's big for her age) to put in there as I'm sick of switching the one in my MDX back and forth. We don't all ride in his truck enough that my DH wants to leave a carseat in there, so I'd like to get one that's pretty cheap and can easily be hooked up. I have a Britax Decathalon in my car, I love but it's a little pricey and smoetimes we have hard time with buckling it.

Any suggestions?

All the car seat techies I know go for the Scenera for extras/Gramma's car/etc. $40 at Wal-mart. That's what we have in MIL's car and we've also started using it for plane rides. Much lighter than any of the Britax seats!

 

[bumbershoot]

If this helps my DD is 42" and 39 lbs.

Thanks for the great suggestions, keep them coming!

All the car seat techies I know go for the Scenera for extras/Gramma's car/etc. $40 at Wal-mart. That's what we have in MIL's car and we've also started using it for plane rides. Much lighter than any of the Britax seats!

Since OP's DD is only a pound away from the end of the Scenera, the New Big Thing (that would be good for her) on the carseat boards is the Nautilus.

We were all set to get a Regent to replace the Roundabout and Scenera (DS is still under 40 lbs but he gained and kept TWO pounds in ONE week so we're running scared about a new carseat now, LOL) until I saw the info about the Nautilus! I'm waiting for the BRU version, though, since I don't like shopping at walmart. Hopefully he won't gain 3 more pounds before that happens. Figure we'll let him go to the end of the 65 lb harness weight and then see what we want to do (go to booster mode or see what they have in the high weight harness market at that point).

 

[TinkerbellMama]

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

DS is rapidly approaching 40#.

I had completely forgotten about that being the weight limit on the Scenera (I didn't read that about the OP's child, either).

I guess we will be buying a new car seat in the near future!

 

[PoohHappens]

I am looking for some suggestions as well. I watch an infant and he is going to outgrow his infant seat before we know it. He is a big kid. He is 4 months this weekend and he weighs 18lbs. He has the Key Fit, but not 30 so it only goes to 24 lbs. His mom will need to provide me a new seat in the next couple months. She would like to have one for me so we are no moving it back and forth every day. I have an older volvo sedan, no latch. I have my sons Britax Roundabout in immaculate condition, however according to the new 5 year standard it would be expired. So we are looking for some new seats. I have suggested the Marathon, The Fisher Price one I cannot remember the name of and now I am seeing this Graco one you all mentioned on here. I am concerned about a seat with a 40lb limit as he could very well weigh this at 2yrs and certainly not ready for a booster. We have a lighweight and had to search extensively for a booster for him as he is over 6 and just in the last couple months has only reached 40 lbs. We found the Compass that was rated from 30lbs and he has fit well in that. Our other choice would have been to purchase a new Britax since we only had the roundabout and he outgrew it height wise some time ago. THe Marathon and others were not availible when we bought his convertilble. So I would love any suggestions on the convertible seat for this "big" guy. Thanks so much. I am sure there are things I have not even considered.

 

[PoohHappens]

I just noticed I do not think this new Graco mentioned--nautilis is rear facing so that would make it out.

 

[collcass]

Oh and when talking about combination car seats... we generally say that a seat harnesses to XX weight and then is a booster to XX weight. It gives a much more accurate description of the seat. I can't tell you how many times I've heard parents talk about how their car seat "goes to 100lbs"... and then they keep their child in the harness well past the 40lb limit.

i am sorry that i did not use proper terminology. In fact, our Dorel carseat is an infant seat to 20 lbs, harnesses to 40 lbs and a booster to 100 lbs. My four yr old is 36 1/8 in and just hit 26 lbs so he is still harnessed and will be for quite some time.

My nine year old is in the booster version as is my six year old. Yes, in CT the law is SIX and SIXTY lbs so we are , by law, required to have our nine year old in a booster.

The 4th slots are 15" tall and once the shoulders go past those then the seat is outgrown by height. Shoulders past the top slots in a car crash can cause too much forward head movement and also spinal compression. My ds (4yrs) outgrew his 3-in-1 just before he turned three when he was 27lbs. Your 4yr old is a peanut! He may very well still safely fit in the seat with the harness so you may have nothing to worry about but I just wanted to make sure you're aware of the little "quirks" this seat has.

Thanks. :O) I had forgotten about the top slots and the seat works fine in our car. My youngest is tiny so I don't think we have anything to worry about with the seat. My DH participates in the SEAT program and pretty much double checks them every time he gets in my car (which drives me absolutely batty) so I am positive if there was an issue he would be all over my rear end about it!

 

[jessica52877]

My son out grew the 3 in 1 by height at 3 years old, still had plenty of pounds left but the harness slots are just so low. For a higher weight harness seat I like and have the nautilus (also have the apex, but not nearly as nice). We also have a regent, of course, much pricier, and I will say so far I do not like it better then the nautilus. There is alot to be desired on the regent.

If looking for under 40 lbs I would go with a recaro young sport, but quite pricey again. NONE of which I have mentioned rear face though.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I would go with the Graco Nautilus. I am going to buy 2 of them. I am just waiting for the Babies R Us pattern to come out. I love the fact that the 5pt harness goes to 65 pounds.

 

[WDWorBUST]

Any ideas on the pattern or patterns for Babies R Us??

 

[LisaNJ25]

Any ideas on the pattern or patterns for Babies R Us??

Yep.. the pattern for babies r us is called galaxy. It is grey also but much softer looking than 2 patterns for Walmart and Baby depot