Donovan in the Fit, in his Scenera. Seems comfy, and he looks so cute and grown-up in the bigger seat. =PSo we finally decided to go with a
Britax Roundabout car seat. I'd wanted to go with a seat rated up to 65lb, but after looking at the various options (well, online anyway... couldn't find any stores nearby with
Recaro convertibles, or
the First Years True Fit) I just kept wondering how well any of these seats would fit rear-facing in our cars. I'd like to put the nicer seat in the Fit, as I want that to be our primary vehicle-- we're figuring Zach can drive it when he goes to work, I'll have it the days he rides with Cyrus, and we'll also use the Fit on weekends unless we need the extra space of the CR-V (the Scenera will go in the CR-V). Having a smaller car seat means we'll be more likely to keep D
rear facing for as long as possible without making the front passenger sit right up against the dashboard (hopefully). So he might outgrow the Roundabout sooner than the Marathon or True Fit, but for these next 2-3 years it should work well, and when he outgrows it we can find either another, bigger convertible seat or a high-backed booster (I'm assuming that by then there may also be more booster options that keep kids in a 5-point harness
past 40lbs), and since he'll be facing forwards by then size won't be as much of an issue. And, he may by then have a younger sibling to pass the Roundabout down to for another couple years' worth of use.
As an added bonus, I found the Roundabout on sale at
Amazon for $175 (and no sales tax, plus free shipping-- gotta love online shopping). Unfortunately we just have to wait the nearly 2 weeks for it to get delivered...
Hi! I followed you over from your post on Sew Liberated. We also got the Roundabout for our son (who's now 3). He outgrew it a little before 3, but we had gotten the Marathon for the other car, so he is well into that for some time.
ReplyDeleteAnd, with another baby on the way, it will be nice to have the Roundabout for the little guy while still having a secure seat for my growing preschooler. :)
BTW, we were pretty lax about a lot table manners until 2.5. There were still set rules (no throwing food, etc.), but my son was very wiggly (and still is). Trust your instincts.
Can I ask why you choose the Britax Roundabout over the Evenflo Triumph? I see the triumph is up to 50lbs. I believe both of these were top raters by Consumer Reports. Just wondering. I am expecting my first baby in June and investigating car seats myself right now.
ReplyDeletethecrabtree-- I never really considered the Evenflo Triumph that seriously for some reason, even though many people rated it highly. I did read one review that suggested it might not work as well for kids who are tall and skinny-- less comfortable and the harness wouldn't work as well-- and I'm pretty sure D is/will continue to be tall and skinny. Also, looking back at the dimensions the Triumph seat is 29.5" tall, taller than any of the other top seats I was looking at, and part of my worry was having a really tall seat that would have trouble fitting in our small car or would obstruct our view out the back window.
ReplyDeleteIn the end I went with Britax b/c I bought into their brand name and reputation for being one of the best. Also, I'm going to write an update about this within the next week or so but when I had the tech check the installation of our Cosco Scenera she convinced me to opt for the Marathon instead of the Roundabout b/c he should be able to sit RF even longer in it (the Marathon seat back is still only 27.5" tall and fits about perfectly in our car, so I'm thinking the Triumph would just not fit well RF in our little Honfa Fit).
All that said, we still have a Cosco Scenera in our 2nd car and I still plan to use that one relatively often and feel secure with it. The truth is that any of these seats are very safe IF installed and used properly ever time, and especially if you leave your child rear facing as long as possible. A kid in the cheapest most basic-model car seat will probably still be better protected rear facing than forward facing in the most high-tech car seat, since head-on crashes are still the most common and the most deadly.