carseats, boosters, i have no idea

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by ddancerd1, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    the girls are still in the carseats they've been in since they turned a year old. the girls are now 43in and 43lb (square kids haha), and the carseats are tiiiight, especially with coats on. when do we switch to boosters? or is there something that comes inbetween carseats and boosters?
     
  2. twinmom2dana

    twinmom2dana Well-Known Member

    Are the car seats you have them in the larger, convertible type that usually have a 60lb+ weight max? I'm trying to picture why they are not fitting.
     
  3. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Most kids are not ready for boosters until they are 5 or 6 unfortunately. They need to be able to stay in their seat without moving or moving the seat belt, and a lot of younger kids slump over when they sleep if they're not in a 5pt harness... all this basically makes the seatbelt useless and is very dangerous if you happen to have an accident.

    What car seat do you have? They might have outgrown it... although if you bought a forward facing seat, most of them last for a long time, but you might have to adjust the bottom buckle position some.

    Also, it's not recommended to use thick coats in car seats, they are full of air and can get squished in case of a crash, leaving enough room between the harness and the child for them to be ejected from the car. Layers and thin fleece coats are prefered.
     
    2 people like this.
  4. Trishandthegirls

    Trishandthegirls Well-Known Member

    Take a look at the Graco Nautilus. They're a car seat that converts to a high back booster and then a backless booster. Last seat you'll ever need. We bought these when our girls outgrew their convertible seats (in length... Mine are still only about 34 pounds). The car seat part has a 60pound limit so your girls will still fit. Then in a year or two when they're ready for boosters you can still use the same seat.
     
    2 people like this.
  5. jjzollman

    jjzollman Well-Known Member

    Ditto to everything Fran said.
     
  6. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    i honestly can't remember what the weight limit is... i will look at it next time i get in the car. it's a safety first alpha elite, a convertible carseat. i'm gonna need to look at the belts and see if they can be adjusted for my jolly green giant kids :)
     
  7. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    I think that one goes to 65lb, so you should be fine, unless their shoulders are over the highest harness slot... then they've outgrown it.
     
  8. sulik110202

    sulik110202 Well-Known Member

    My kids outgrew their original convertible carseat lengthwise awhile ago. Technically they fit the requirements of a booster, but I wasn't comfortable with it, so we invested in the Graco Nautilus car seats and love them.
     
  9. MarchI

    MarchI Well-Known Member

    After 4 and 40lbs, you can put them in boosters whenever you are comfortable doing it. You need to make sure they know to stay buckled and try not to have them fall asleep as PP stated. We waited until 5 because at 4, DS did not have the height, even with the belt positioning back, for the seat belt to fit correctly. One thing you may want to consider is taking off the coats in the car. It is not recommended that big puffy jackets be worn in car seats as they lead to loser belts. We usually have the twins wear sweatshirts/sweaters so they are warm enough in the car.
     
  10. NINI H

    NINI H Well-Known Member

    Just get a booster that has the option of a 5 point harness or a seat belt. That way you can use the 5 point harness now, but when they get too big you can switch to the seat belt. That's what we did for our guys. Unfortunately they still haven't hit 30 lbs consistently, but we had no other choice. They were too tall for their convertables.

    And what we do for winter coats. We have them clip in with the belts loosened and then tighten them up after they are settled.

    This is the kind of seat we bought although it was at least 6 months ago. http://www.target.com/p/Evenflo-Maestro-Booster-Seat-Akane/-/A-13466471 Ours are different colors too. It shows it with the harness, but there are belt positioning loops behind the head rest. The head rest moves up and down for the height of the child.
     
  11. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    My two are at the top of the height for their seat in my car. So before we trek down to Florida in a few weeks, I guess we're getting new seats. We already had to replace the seats in my husband's car with five point boosters. We got the Cosco Sceneras so I could keep them in the five point harness for a few more months before they went to belt positioning. They're 33 and 35 pounds, but 43 inches tall. But the harness part is only for up to 40 pounds so I don't know if that's going to work for your situation.
     
  12. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    thanks, all! we have dance today, so i will check how their shoulders sit in comparison to the highest harness slot. i don't know how comfortable i am putting them in just a booster. they don't really sleep in the car anymore, but still. we can't really afford to buy yet another carseat and THEN a booster... i will definitely start taking the coats off inthe car. like pp said, we loosen the belts, then tighten them once they're buckled in, but it's so tight i wonder if they can even breathe! i honestly didn't know that coats in carseats could be dangerous.
     
  13. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    You can get a graco nautilus ! Great seat that converts into a booster, so you won't need anything else... and they can stay in a 5pt harness for a long time.

    And yeah, I don't think many people know of the problem with coats... that's why we never buy the big winter coats, just use lighter Fall ones.
     
    1 person likes this.
  14. lharrison1

    lharrison1 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I have a highback boosters with the 5pt harness, and I even still have Sophia in this (at 7yrs old). She only weighs 44lbs though...
    We do have a regular backed booster that uses the seatbelt and it sucks when she falls asleep...there is nowhere for her head to rest. I dont like them at all. We only use this one in my husbands truck, so not often.
     
  15. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    ok, let me just first say that... WTH???? my kids fall asleep in the car maybe .01% of the time... what's with all your kids sleeping in the car? no fair! :)

    anyway, so i checked the girls' shoulders next to the highest harness point, and yeah, their shoulders are a couple inches higher. and the carseats are adjustable, and at the absolute highest point. sigh. what happened to the days when kids could just lay up in the back dash, or lay on the floor of the backseat? :ibiggrin: i'm just kidding, relax!
     
    4 people like this.
  16. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    I know, it's nuts when you think about what we were doing in cars as kids, lol!

    But yes, you really need to replace them, it's really not safe if their shoulders are above the harness slot. Seems a lot of seats that supposedly go to 65lb get outgrown in length way before that... I feel scammed!!!
     
  17. megkc03

    megkc03 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I would second or third the Nautilus' as well. All three of my kids have them. It's the last seat they will need!
     
  18. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    ok, the nautilus is just too expensive for us right now, to get 2... so i'm going to look into a highback booster with a 5pt harness! thanks, everyone!
     
  19. megkc03

    megkc03 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Too bad you weren't looking on black Friday! They were $99!!

    Look for sales at bru though...with coupon and twin discount, etc, we paid $220 for both. Something crazy like that.
     
  20. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    oooh, forgot about the twin discount, thanks!
     
  21. lharrison1

    lharrison1 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I got mine at Sam's club....check Costco!
     
  22. megkc03

    megkc03 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

  23. NINI H

    NINI H Well-Known Member

    I bought ours at Burlington Coat Factory and they had a twin discount also. Actually, I've bought all the twin's car seats there. I wish I had known about them when the older boys were young.
     
  24. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    You can get this!

    http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Juvenile-High-Booster-Viola/dp/B00313JA4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323303651&sr=8-1

    Or the nautilus is cheaper on amazon too

    http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Nautilus-Car-Seat-Matrix/dp/B0011URFRE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323303694&sr=8-1

    or this

    http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Maestro-Booster-Seat-Akane/dp/B004GXA6XS/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1323303694&sr=8-6
     
  25. MichelleL

    MichelleL Well-Known Member

    And...don't they have a trade-in sale from time to time?


    LOVE our Graco Nautlius'. :good: LOVE them. My girls are still harnessed most of the time (5 years, 3 months...45 and 48 pounds) and there is PLENTY of room to grow in this seat.
     
  26. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Even with the trade in, TRU is often more expensive than amazon to be honest!
     
  27. Heathermomof5

    Heathermomof5 Well-Known Member

    I remember my step dad cutting the seat belts out of the back seat of our car LOL!! And we used to lay in the back window! It is a wonder we all survived!!
     
  28. *Sully*

    *Sully* Well-Known Member

    I'm confused about this too. We have a set of the Evenflo Triumph Advance and the weight limit is 50 lbs (I think). But we outgrew by weight our second set and have been trying to figure out what to do to replace them. The problem I see with the 5 point high back booster is that if your kid is over 40 lbs you can't use the harness anymore. You move to the belt position mode at 40 lbs. My son is already over 40 and daughter nearing that as well. I don't see a point in paying the extra for a harness in a booster if we can't use it anyway. I have not found an affordable high back booster with a 5 point harness that we can use. So the only option I see to keep them in a 5 pt harness at this point is to purchase one of the more expensive convertible seats.
     
  29. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Yeah I didn't see that... I guess they're cheap for a reason :(
     
  30. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    ok,so i can't find the instructions to our carseats (figures), so i did some searching and it's supposed to hold up to 100 pounds as a booster, but from what i'm understanding, i have to remove the 5pt harness. really?

    does anyone else here have the safety 1st alpha omega elite???
     
  31. megkc03

    megkc03 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

  32. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Yes you'd have to remove the harness... Honestly I'd get another seat if you can.
     
  33. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    meaghan - thank you! i was looking for that and couln't find it!

    fran - we'd love to get new ones, but unfortunately we'll have to wait till januray :( but i agree, i'd rather have teh 5pt harness!
     
  34. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Well I highly suggest that you avoid driving then :( It's just not safe to use them over the weight limit... unless you switch to booster mode and stop as soon as they start to move...
     
  35. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    unfortunately, i can't avoid driving :) dh has already gone down to switch them to boosters (weight 40-100lb... girls are 43lb) ... maybe i should have posted that previously. i wasn't planning on keeping them tied up in a too-small-carseat :)
     
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