Tall infant

M

momof4

Guest
Tall infant

It seems that the Britax is a favorite for tall infants, but the Marathon just seems too big I have to fit another child ( in car seat ) beside it in my minvan. We looked at the Roundabout and it seems like an option but for the money I need to really think it through. It doesn't have the flap to feed the seat belt through on the front, when he uses it ff will it be dificult to tighten the belt? I have a 7 mo 17lb,29in baby and the older child is going to have to squeeze by the seat to get out so this also has to be considered because we have awhile left to need it rf. We've looked at all the seats and it seems like he's going to get too tall for all of them quickly so I don't know if we should spend all that money knowing we'll probably need another a yr from now. My van is a Transport with 2 seat in the rear ( for my 2 other children ) and 3 seats in the center row where my infant and 4 yro sit. Any advice would be appreciated, if we didn't go with the Roundabout what would be the next suggestion for the baby?
 
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C

CPSDarren

Guest
A few ideas-

In addition to the Britax Marathon, which has the tallest height limits of any convertible for front and rear facing, there are a few other models to consider. The Evenflo Victory/Vanguard/Titan, Cosco Alpha Omega, Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 and Graco ComfortSport are all taller than average for convertible seats when used rear-facing. For front facing use, the height of the top slots does vary and depends on how your baby is proportioned. Also see:

www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

I hope those suggestions help a bit!

Darren
 
U

UlrikeDG

Guest
A little bit more info about the seats Darren listed...

<strong>Britax Marathon</strong>: rear facing to 33 lb, front facing to 65 lb with the 5-point harness. This seat is the tallest of the seats listed. It has EPS foam, built in locking clips, totally twist-free straps, and a tether that can be used rear facing (the other seats only use the tether front facing).

<strong>Evenflo Victory/Vanguard/Titan</strong>: rear facing to 30 lb, front facing to 40 lb with the 5-point harness. The top harness slots are fairly low (exactly how low is up for debate and seems to depend on the day of the week and who's looking! LOL). This means the seat could be outgrown by age 2-3! (This is the least expensive seat listed, and you could simply buy a combo/booster seat at that time, but it is still worth noting.) Several people have also had a problem with the harness length. The problem (as I understand it) is that the harness has two lengths -- one for infants and one for toddlers. The infant one is short enough that sometimes it's just plain too tight, while the toddler one is long enough that it's impossible to get tight enough on some babies who've outgrown the infant setting. A couple of techs and at least one parent have posted about this problem. I don't know if it will be a problem with all babies or only ones with certain growth patterns, but if it is a problem for *your* child, and you don't realize it until you've owned the seat for a while, you could have trouble returning it or exchanging it. (Evenflo has a reputation for excellent customer service, and I'm sure they'd replace the seat, but what would you do in the mean time?)

<strong>Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1</strong>: rear facing to 30 lb, front facing to 40 lb with the 5-point harness, can be used as a booster to 80 lb. This seat also has lower top harness slots, which means that your child could outgrow the harness before he/she is ready to use the seat as a booster. Go into the purchase knowing that you may have to buy another seat in 2-3 years (i.e., this is *not* the only seat you'll ever need!).

<strong>Graco ComfortSport</strong>: rear facing to 30 lb, front facing to 40 lb with the 5-point harness. The only complaint I've really seen about this seat is that in *some* vehicles, the harness adjuster gets wedged up against the vehicle seat when the carseat is installed rear facing. As long as that is not the case in your vehicle, it is a very nice seat.

*Personally*, I'd go with the Marathon or the ComfortSport. The harness length issue with the Titan/Victory/Vanguard is pretty significant, IMO, and until that issue is resolved I'll continue to be wary of the trio. I really don't think that the AlphaOmega/3-in-1 is worth the price tag, considering the number of complaints I've seen of 2.5 year olds outgrowing the harness. I'd rather spend less on the ComfortSport and then get a good harnessed-booster (aka combo seat) in 3-5 years when that one is outgrown. The Marathon offers some nice comfort and convenience features which aren't available on the other seats listed, and surprisingly, it does fit well next to other seats (not every other seat, but no seat fits great next to *every* other seat).
 

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