Has anyone put a child over 40lbs RF in XTSL?

[stephcali]

I'm hoping to receive my new XTSL this week and I'm really hoping to put my DD1 RF in it. She is definitely over 40lbs, and I know technically the XTSL goes to 45lbs. I'm just worried about actually getting her in there! She's not chubby just solid! She has already expressed to me that she would like to RF again, she climbed into DD2's RF Marathon and thought it was pretty fun (don't worry we didn't drive anywhere :)) I just don't know how I'm actually going to lift her in there. It's not too difficult in the Frontier since I don't have to lift her as far. Oh and I drive an Odyssey so it is actually quite a way up from the ground.

And I really don't know how long it will last since she hasn't slowed down in her weight gain ever, she's been over the charts in weight since she was about 6 months old. I really thought she would slow down once she started walking, but we ended up having to turn her FF when she was about 19 months old because she hit 33lbs (all we had at the time was a 33lb Marathon, and I was about to have a new baby and didn't want to have to try and install a brand new car seat feeling 10 months pregnant). So I'm hoping she won't hit 45lbs before her 3rd birthday in January, but we'll see (and cross all our fingers and toes!)

[disbugsmomma]

Do you think she'll be able to climb in on her own? My dd could climb into her FPSVD and her Como at that age, both rf. Might be worth a try anyway.

[ketchupqueen]

My kids all climb into their own seats and get their arms in their straps. Then all I have to do is buckle. :) My 5 1/2 year old even tries to do her own (and sometimes the other two) but doesn't have the coordination yet.

[emandbri]

Elizabeth has been climbing in her seats for quite some time. It takes a little longer at first but she got faster over time. Also the radian sits lower than the MA so it us much easier for a child to get into by themselves. Still working on getting her to do the straps.

[stephcali]

You know I hadn't thought of her climbing in herself :p I guess we'll have to try that to start with. She can actually buckle herself all the way into her Frontier and almost tighten the straps all the way so that is very helpful for me :) Is the Radian harder or easier to buckle?

[Blondie87]

She's almost exactly 45 lbs. She just climbed right in, and I buckled her up.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm154/CodiChapin/Car%20Seats/IMG_3137.jpg

[stephcali]

Thanks for the picture! That helps to see a child who is almost exactly the same size as my DD :) Hopefully it will work for us, I've always felt a little guilty for having to turn her FF so early, but she hit 35lbs before she was 2 so up until very recently we didn't even have any other options.

[tweetykl]

I'm am amazed by how much leg room she has. Gives me hope for my daugther who has orthotics. She seems so cramped in the marathon because of the orthotics that go up past her ankles.

[sunnymw]

Tweety, I'd venture to say the Britax convertibles (and maybe the Recaros) have the smallest amount of leg room of all convertibles :) so there IS hope---TONS of it!! :D

[Mommy2Marcus]

My son also climbs into his own seat. He can also climb into his FF seat in DH's car to. So it makes our lives much easier. DH & I both have problems with our backs, so this is deffinatly a life saver for us.