Graco Nautilus as of Oct 8/08

[WildernessWitch]

Yesterday I emailed the Graco Canada people because I am in need of another car seat for my son ...

This is what I wrote:

When will the Graco Nautilus be available in Canada? I have the Graco SafeSeat infant car seat for my son, who is almost 14 months old and still fitting in it beautifully, but we are starting to consider our options for his next stage. I'd love to be able to get him the Nautilus.

And this is the response I got this morning (Oct 8, 2008 @ 8:47am):

probably at the end of the year or early the next. Can't say with 100% certainty. I know that there are 4 patterns schedule for the 2009 line.

Which means if it doesn't come out within the next couple of months I probably won't be getting a Nautilus for my son. :thumbsdown:

We are looking to buy him a seat that will last him a long time, not something we are going to be replacing in a couple months or a year. Is there anything else out there that is just as good as the Nautilus for around the same price and has the same longevity? We have Graco Platinum Car-Go seats for our older two children (one is still in the 5pt harnass, the other uses it as a booster) and we've been happy with that seat, but I really like the concept behind the Nautilus.

:confused:

[MomToEliEm]

I sure hope that the nautilus arrives soon in Canada as I know a lot of people are anxious to get their hands on it.

With your son being on 14 months old, are you really wanting to forward face him so early? That is a really young age to face forward. Newer recommendations state to rearface to the limits of the seat, preferably to at least 2 years and 30 pounds. These are pretty new recommendations so a lot of parents and doctors aren't aware of them. If you haven't heard about the information, check out this you-tube video which highlights some of the reasons to rearface in a carseat for as long as possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

And also a great link explaining the reasons to rearface in a carseat past 1 year and 20 pounds:
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

If you are sure you still want to forward face, the nautilus would be a good choice since it will last you a while (provided it gets to Canada before your child outgrows the safeseat). If you do what to keep him rearfacing, maybe look at the Evenflo Triumph Advance or the Sunshine kids Radian. I am not very familiar with the seat choices in Canada so hopefully someone from there can provide you some seat suggestions.

[featherhead]

Another great seat to try if you are willing to continue rear-facing is the First Years True Fit. It rear-faces to 35 lbs and then forward-faces to 65 lbs. It has nice tall top slots so it should last your child a long time.

[Maedze]

That works out ok for you, because he shouldn't be forward facing for another year or so anyway :thumbsup:

[snowbird25ca]

This is pretty much along the same time line as what TC was given at the ABC kids show. The word from the Graco rep there was that it's expected in warehouses by the end of November, and reaching stores by end of December or early January in some cases.

I'm actually glad to see that they're giving the same story. Sounds like it's on track to be released on time. :)

[Shanora]

*sigh* How do I convince DH that *I* need a new seat when the Nautilus comes out....lol. I already have a SS1 for baby, and a Marathon for Ds#2....I wont need the Nautilus for atleast a year or 2 (depending on how this baby grows...lol)

[WildernessWitch]

Like I said, he's still fitting in the Graco SS ... lots of height left and he's only about 24lbs, and I'm hoping to get another couple months (at least) out of it. I didn't realise the reccomendation to rf was to two years old now, the law here is 12 months, and I thought the new reccomendation was 18 months, which I can probably get to in the SS (going by the way my older two grew at this age).

I do understand the benefits of rf'ing longer ... or harnassing longer. My five year old daughter is still in a 5pt harnass in the Graco Platinum Car-Go. My son, who is almost 7, won't be getting out of a booster seat when he's 8 just because he turns 8 ... we'll be making sure he fits in the seat properly and the seatbelt fits him right before he's out of a booster.

Thanks for the suggestions.