5 year old twins, boosters, Nissan Cube 2010

Uzume2x

New member
I was on here a few years ago when finding convertible seats for my twins.
You all gave me great advice. Unfortunately, when at Babies R Us, I forgot it alland bought two Alpha Omega Elites. :(

They've been good seats for us, but terribly twisty and hard to adjust when it comes to the straps. I know that's resulted in the seats being less safe than they could be because I have rheumatoid arthritis and sometimes my hands just can't mess with the straps anymore.

My babies are now 5. They are 32 lbs/3ft 6 in? and 36 lbs 3ft 9 inches (I think). I know that Alpha Omegas are terrible boosters. I can use them as forward facing harnessed seats until my kids are 65 lbs. But I'm done with these $#@%! seats. Really and truly.

I have a chance to buy a friend's matching EvenFlo Big Kids for $10 each. BUT... they are not harnessed. I'd prefer harnessed boosters. Right now my son is mature enough that he could probably handle a seat-belted booster, but my daughter would be all over the car.

My daughter also sleeps a lot in the car, so any booster would have to provide some sort of head rest.

So.. any ideas for forward facing harnessed seats that can convert to high back and then ideally backless boosters? I have more of a Graco budget than say a Radian budget. We have a 2010 Nissan Cube. It would be nice if the seats were a little more narrow than the Alpha Omegas. Non-twisty straps are really high on the list of safety concerns for me.
 
ADS

1mommy

New member
Well the alpha omegas are normally outgrown by height first so there's a good chance your kids have already outgrown them. Are their shoulders below the top harness straps?

Anyways for recommendations there is the Harmony Defender (can be a pain to install). The Graco tranzitions (also have read it can be a pain to install). Evenflo SecureKid, umm if your kids are petite the Maestro might be a good bet, but it only harnesses to 50 pounds and the booster part is outgrown when the harness is too, but if you get the big kids and just save them for he future it could work out for you.
 

lgenne

New member
The new Graco Tranzitions would probably work well for you. At their size, you could also do an Evenflo Maestro. It only harnesses to 50 lbs and doesn't become a particularly tall high back booster, but it's very affordable, and your kids are likely to make it to an age where a cheap backless booster is all they need. There are perfectly good backless boosters available for under $20.
 

Uzume2x

New member
Thanks! I've checked out the Tranzitions. I might be able to go to Toys R Us in Feb and trade in my Alpha Omegas.

We had been looking at an Evenflo Chase but it only is harnessed until 40 lbs. My daughter has her heart set on it because it comes in a patten named Olivia, which is her name. I should not have shown that to her!

How are the straps on the Tranzitions?
 

AllieK

New member
We had been looking at an Evenflo Chase but it only is harnessed until 40 lbs. My daughter has her heart set on it because it comes in a patten named Olivia, which is her name. I should not have shown that to her!

I might be a mean mommy but I would just tell her whatever seat you decide on is also named Olivia! :)
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lgenne

New member
I think twistiness is somewhat subjective, somewhat kid/size/shape/behavior, somewhat quality of the seat itself. I would check out a Tranzitions and a Maestro in person if possible and see how you like them before you start looking at higher end seats.
 

Uzume2x

New member
Thanks! I live in the middle of nowhere -- nearest Toys R Us is 100 miles and that's not even a Babies R Us. So it's amazon or a weekend trip.

Another gripe I have about the tranzitions is that it's MRSP is $100, but it's a Toys R Us exclusive at $130. If I manage to trade in my two seats during the Great Trade In event, it will be much better, but still not awesome.

Of course, if I get into the Britaxs, etc, I'm talking about second mortgage. :)
 

lgenne

New member
Ack! I didn't know that about the Tranzitions!

In that case, I think I'd order a single Maestro from Amazon. See how you like it. If it'll work for you, order another and be done with it until your kids need backless boosters.
 

Uzume2x

New member
AND CRAP! I got their measurements from their well-child checkup and my son is .5 inches from out-growing his seat.

So this has gone from "it might be nice" to "holy crap, we need to go get car seats now."
This also means that he no longer fits the generic high-back booster with harness that he uses at his grandma's. It's a generic Cosco. I probably need to take the harness out of it and make it a belt-positioning booster when he visits. Does anyone know how the generic Cosco boosters perform as belt-positioning boosters? I know my Alpha Omegas are "do not use" when it comes to boostering.

Here's a link to the boosters my kids have in their grandma's car:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/26845780?...31672912&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78292143152&veh=sem


If I managed to come up with the budget for it, does anyone have an option on the Graco Argos 80 Elite vs. the Nautilius?
I've totally fallen in love with the Clek but there's NO WAY I can afford two of them..
 
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lgenne

New member
IIHS gives the Cosco high back a "check fit" rating, and has a minimum weight of 40 pounds for booster use.

If you're ready to booster him and budget is a concern, I'd get him a Graco Turbobooster, or maybe a Graco Affix. It's lightweight enough that moving it to Grandma's car every time shouldn't be a huge deal. (Unless you fly to grandma's? Still doable.) Then you just need one harnessed seat right now for your daughter, and one for her at grandma's. Two Maestros (or maybe even just one that you move back and forth, if it's a rare thing?) would have you covered for quite a while.
 
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Uzume

Guest
IIHS gives the Cosco high back a "check fit" rating, and has a minimum weight of 40 pounds for booster use.

If you're ready to booster him and budget is a concern, I'd get him a Graco Turbobooster, or maybe a Graco Affix. It's lightweight enough that moving it to Grandma's car every time shouldn't be a huge deal. (Unless you fly to grandma's? Still doable.) Then you just need one harnessed seat right now for your daughter, and one for her at grandma's. Two Maestros (or maybe even just one that you move back and forth, if it's a rare thing?) would have you covered for quite a while.

Good news! I have the Alpha Elite 65 ... I assumed the name difference was just a branding thing but it turns out that we have forward facing harness till 65 lbs and 52". Crisis averted for now.
Posted via Mobile Device
 

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
As mentioned above, make sure their shoulders are below the top harness slots. If they are, they have outgrown the seats, regardless of standing height limits.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

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