Originally I was going to buy another Marathon, but then I was looking at the Britax Regent . Judah would move to the Regent and Cohen would go into the Marathon we have. It goes up to 80 pounds, but it is only forward facing.
(we obviously wouldn't get the girly cover!)
Judah is still rear facing at this point. Justin really wants him to turn forward, but I am not sure I am ready for that. Justin can't drive the van with both of the boys rear facing because he can't put the seat back far enough, so I do understand his frustration with that. I just know that it is safer rear facing. I also know that it is not UNsafe to turn him around...I just am having a really hard time doing it.
So today I was looking at the Radian80. It also goes up to 80 pounds and it can be a rear facing seat (up to either 33 or 35 pounds, I found 2 different numbers).
My only problems with the Regent are that he can't rear face in it, and it seems like such a "big boy" seat that I am unsure of the safety of it for him because he is at the low end of the weight range for it. But it must be fine since he is within the range, right?
So what should I do? Get another Marathon? It goes up to (I think) 65 pounds. Get the Regent? Or get the Radian?
I want to keep the boys in a 5 point harness for as long as possible, so I think we would get good use out of either seat that goes up to 80 pounds. I am not really concerned about price. Car seat safety is a big deal to me, so I am willing to pay the money to get a good seat. We can come up with the money someplace. We want more kids, so should I just get another Marathon for Cohen and then when the next kid comes get a Regent and move Judah up to that?
I REALLY can't make a decision. Help me please!
Judah is around 28 pounds now. If that helps anyone. :)
10 comments:
regent.
not radian.
i don't want to prolong the decision to turn him around by getting a seat that works both ways.
I can say I full understand Justin's point especially in the Jeep.
But I actually think if you use a Mighty Tite (google it or look at amazon, they are awesome) I can make the car seat way more secure than they could ever be forward facing.
I would rather have the kids face forward and totally be rock solid in the car, then worry about potential neck injuries. I know neck injuries are no minor issue, but if the car seat is not ROCK SOLID in the car, it wont matter.
When I put the kids carseats in with the Mighty Tite; you can rock the entire car by their seats.
Geez, we didn't have a carseat for dale when he was a baby. They weren't required and we were too poor to buy one. I used some flimsy plastic seat thing I bought second hand until he was too big for it, then I managed to scrape up the money to buy an actual carseat at a garage sale. I'm surprised my kids survived their childhood sometimes!
I had the same thing when William was getting big fast. Our baby car seat we don't feel is all that safe so I bought a car seat that was a convertible one from Costco that went 5-100 I think but William hated it and screamed when ever he was in it so I took it back and after looking online I bought another marathon because Hannah was not willing to give up her car seat for the baby.. :) I love how easy these car seats are... others just seem so complicated.
We turned all our kids around to forward facing when they were 20 pounds which was about 8 months old. I feel a little sorry for parents of young children these days (boy I sound old!) because I think you may have too much information! They make carseats better now and I would think they are all really safe. I would get the one that is the most comfortable and easiest to use. Once the child has good head control, I don't think rear facing is as important, especially since you are way past eight months for Judah:)
Well, I know how concerned you are with rear facing your car seat...and I think that if it's that big of a deal to you and you think Judah will be injured by being forward facing, then buy Cohen a convertible.
I'm not sold on Britax seats though. I think that a couple years ago they were the best seats out there, but recently some other makers have come out with some stellar seats. Honestly...they are all safe. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy them. The problem is user error, and some car seats are just a pain in the a** to adjust or install. And Britax seats have always been front runners because of the ease of installment and adjustement. Since this is the case, I recommend against a Radian. They can be really hard to install in some cars, and there is a learning curve to installation. They can also be tough to adjust. I think that there are other convertibles out there other than the marathon that make a good choice. I know you said money wasn't a factor because you simply wanted a safe seat, but as long as you know how to use it, whatever seat you buy is just as safe as another (comfort is another issue)...and who doesn't want to save a few bucks.
However if you're wanting to keep Judah in a 5 pt. harness till he's 6 or 7, the regent is really the only good option. And you won't have to buy a new seat till Cohen outgrows the Marathon at probably 4 yeas of age.
Another thought to is to go to baby r us or some where that has a lot of car seats to look at so you can really see them in person to make sure you like them. I think any are going to be safe. I would just make sure it one has the features in it that are important to you. You will never feel comfortable if its not what you really wanted. I would suggest figure out which one you want then shop around online, I found my marthon online for no shipping and it was a disconinued fabric so it was cheaper. I chose to go with it becaue I knew it would be easy for others to install (grandparents and aunt/uncle)
Hey there!
We have an Evenflo Triumph for Griffin and we love it. We are about to get another one to have for emergencies (like when we forget to transfer the seat from one car to the other, and we are stuck at home with no car seat, ah!). And we use a Mighty Tight too. I get all of my info on Consumer Reports.com You have to pay for a subscription but they test everything for safety and ease of use. Totally worth it. We switced G to forward facing a long time ago because his legs are super long and he has been doing much better in the car ever since. As long as you strap the seat in really tight and keep it in the middle seat, you're good. But I don't know what to do with 2 kids! But I remember rattling around on my dad's truck's bench seat with no car seat like we all did back then and we are all fine,right?
Now help me out: which stroller do you have? We should meet up and walk around town sometime! We are always walking to the library. :)
Katie, my stroller is a Phil and Ted's. I love it!
We should definitely get together and walk around downtown sometime.
I know I am a) a complete stranger and b) really late, but I am a CPST (certified child passenger safety technician) and let me give you my two cents' worth. PLEASE do not get a Mighty Tite. Those things are extremely dangerous. Rearfacing is 5 times safer than forward facing in any crash. Please visit www.car-seat.org--it is a great site with lots of car seat techs to answer any questions you might have.
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