Need advice for car seat for new baby

Okay I posted a bit about this before, but now we're really discussing this a lot and my husband's parents might potentially buy us a seat, so it's come up again. We currently have my daughter rf in a Marathon. She is 26 months old, and I can't remember her stats but her stats from a month ago are in my siggy. She's tall, but I think most of her height is in her legs, not her torso. We have a new baby coming in March. DD was 7#3oz at birth and 21.5" tall, so pretty tall and slim even then. This next baby will be our last. We're hoping to minimize car seat purchases while of course keeping both kids safe as long as possible. Money isn't really an object when it comes to their safety, but it's nice to save money and not have as many seats in the landfill.

So, we got a car seat from my SIL, an Evenflo Portabout. It expires next December. Our plan currently is to keep DD rf in the Marathon until then, then buy her a convertible booster of some sort (Nautilus or Frontier if that one is available in Canada) and move baby from the Evenflo to the Marathon. DD would be 3 1/2 and probably just about outgrowing the Marathon rf anyway, so I'd be comfortable turning her at that point. I think DH's parents would buy us a Nautilus or Frontier instead of a seat for the baby if we asked.

However, it seems the Evenflo infant seats aren't very well liked here. I've played with it a bit and don't love it. I could probably handle it for the 8 months or so, but if DH's parents will buy us a new seat I wonder if we should just go ahead and get some sort of convertible that will fit a newborn well? Since some have higher rf limits, it could even mean being able to keep DD rf longer too. We don't need a bucket. We are in a warm climate and baby always goes from carrier to seat and back to carrier, we don't carry the seat around.

What kind of seats go past 30 pounds here and fit newborns well? A friend has a Radian and I don't like it much to be honest. I prefer the deepness and roominess of the Marathon and it just seems more comfy and safe to me for some reason. Probably unfounded but there it is. We also often use other people's cars or catch rides with friends, and so I'd prefer a seat that's easier to install. We love our Marathon but there's no way a newborn would fit in one. I'd love to be able to keep one of the seats in the middle in our car, but without a Radian that's probably not going to happen. I also am not a huge fan of the Comfort Air, though I haven't seen it in person so I may not be giving it a fair chance.

Also, if we got a new convertible, what sort of scenario would we be looking at as far as car seats in the future? Could DD stay ff in the Marathon until we can go right to a hbb or would we be looking at buying a convertible booster in the future anyway? The Marathon won't expire until she's almost 7 (they have a 6 year expiry right?) so I think it would be a matter of whether she would last height/weight-wise.

And wow, I'm long-winded when I'm pregnant. I hope someone made it this far and can help me out. I'm a bit lost when it comes to the boosters and ages and requirements for those so it's hard for me to look into the future and try and figure out what would be the most cost-effective solution while remaining safe!

If you're not interested in the Radian, I'd get the True Fit, as it fits newborns well & then when DD1 hits the RFing weight limit on the Marathon, I'd switch them to get the extra 5lbs of RFing for DD1.

Thanks, do you think that's a better option than using the Evenflo for now and getting a Nautilus/Frontier instead? Does the True Fit have a rf tether? I really love that about the Marathon.

I was just reading the True Fit Premiere might be available here next Spring. Even if it came slightly after the baby, we do have the Evenflo as back up. I'd likely wait until after the baby was born if we decided to go with a True Fit anyway, because if it's a girl I really like the Monet cover. Don't think I could get away with putting a boy in that one though. Would the TF Premiere be a good option for a newborn still and would DD be able to last in one or the other until she moves on to a hbb or would we end up having to get a convertible booster anyway?

catchthewind said:

Thanks, do you think that's a better option than using the Evenflo for now and getting a Nautilus/Frontier instead? Does the True Fit have a rf tether? I really love that about the Marathon.

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No, it doesn't have a rf tether, but it's a very nice seat:thumbsup: I, personally, plan to RF my child as long as possible, so that's why I'd opt for a seat that could do that, rather than a combo seat. It's definitely acceptable to forward face a 3.5 year old, though, so if you think the Nauti or Frontier is a better fit for your family, go for it:thumbsup: I was just telling you what I would do in your place

catchthewind said:

I was just reading the True Fit Premiere might be available here next Spring. Even if it came slightly after the baby, we do have the Evenflo as back up. I'd likely wait until after the baby was born if we decided to go with a True Fit anyway, because if it's a girl I really like the Monet cover. Don't think I could get away with putting a boy in that one though. Would the TF Premiere be a good option for a newborn still and would DD be able to last in one or the other until she moves on to a hbb or would we end up having to get a convertible booster anyway?

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I think it's definitely possible to go from a TF to a HBB, but it really depends on your child's torso height, weight, age & maturity when the TF is outgrown. It's hard to know for certain, but I'm sure it's possible for some children.

If you go with the evenflo bucket for the baby and get a frontier bought for you by your ILs you'll still end up needing to get another seat for the baby somewhere down the line because the marathon will expire before they're done being harnessed (talk about run on sentence, shesh! lol)

3plus2isme said:

If you go with the evenflo bucket for the baby and get a frontier bought for you by your ILs you'll still end up needing to get another seat for the baby somewhere down the line because the marathon will expire before they're done being harnessed (talk about run on sentence, shesh! lol)

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Oh yeah that's a really good point. The seat expires Feb 2014 so baby would only be 4. Though I think we figured we could probably buy a regular booster for DD at that point and switch baby to the Nautilus.

amyd said:

I think it's definitely possible to go from a TF to a HBB, but it really depends on your child's torso height, weight, age & maturity when the TF is outgrown. It's hard to know for certain, but I'm sure it's possible for some children.

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You mean you're not psychic? Why did I come here then! Just kidding, of course. I guess that's all I wanted to know, was whether it was possible or very rare. The convertible boosters are pretty new aren't they? So I assume at some point most kids did go straight from a convertible rf/ff seat to a hbb? Do most kids outgrow the Marathon or TF first? And height usually before weight, right?

amyd said:

No, it doesn't have a rf tether, but it's a very nice seat:thumbsup: I, personally, plan to RF my child as long as possible, so that's why I'd opt for a seat that could do that, rather than a combo seat. It's definitely acceptable to forward face a 3.5 year old, though, so if you think the Nauti or Frontier is a better fit for your family, go for it:thumbsup: I was just telling you what I would do in your place

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Thank you, I really appreciate the responses. I'm personally all for getting the seat that will rf longer. DH is a bit more iffy, but when I pointed out that 5 pounds could be an extra year according to the growth charts, he's more on board. I think he thought 5 pounds only meant a difference of a few months. My goal for rf has gone up (used to be 2, now it's at least 4), but I'd be okay with 3.5 if we didn't need a new seat for any other reason. But it seems to me if the True Fit fits newborns well and can rf later it sounds like a good option. I'll have to go play with one. In the case we go that route though, I think we'd definitely wait until after baby was born and use the Evenflo for a few weeks until a good sale came up anyway. Sounds silly, but I would likely get a different seat depending on gender. I love the cranberry TF Premiere though and would get that for either gender. What does the anti-rebound bar on the TF Premiere do? Is that supposed to take the place of a rf tether?

Nope, sorry, not psychic

Yes, children definitely used to go directly to HBB from convertibles & honestly most still do (usually at 40lbs or less sometimes & often way too young:thumbsdown.

Yes, the anti-rebound bar is to take the place of a rear-facing tether & it prevents over-rotation, in my understanding.

I do love my TF for my older daughter (3 1/2), but I tried using it when my son was 2 months old with the extra padding for newborns and I HATED the fit with the padding - the straps just did not sit properly on his shoulders. :twocents:

It's really hard to know how big your babe will be until he/she arrives. My DD is a peanut (not even 30 lbs at 3 yrs 8 months), my 5 month old is probably about 18 lbs already and he's 27inches tall (his 5 month stats were identical to my daughters one year stats...).

I'd probably use the bucket you have for the first little while and decide on a new seat when baby is a couple of months old.

catchthewind said:

Would the TF Premiere be a good option for a newborn still and would DD be able to last in one or the other until she moves on to a hbb or would we end up having to get a convertible booster anyway?

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Usually and probably. My DS1 outgrew the TF FF at about age 6 and 55ish lbs, so that gives you an idea.

amyd said:

Yes, the anti-rebound bar is to take the place of a rear-facing tether & it prevents over-rotation, in my understanding.

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Just wanted to clarify this part. In a crash with a frontal aspect, a rear facing seat will tip "back" towards the front of the vehicle. This is called downward rotation. Next it will go back "up" and towards the back of the vehicle, oftentimes until it hits the vehicle seatback (the back of the seat the child restraint is installed on). This is called rebounding.

Rear facing tethers and anti-rebound bars both reduce rebounding, not to be confused with downward rotation. :thumbsup:

April said:

Usually and probably. My DS1 outgrew the TF FF at about age 6 and 55ish lbs, so that gives you an idea.



Just wanted to clarify this part. In a crash with a frontal aspect, a rear facing seat will tip "back" towards the front of the vehicle. This is called downward rotation. Next it will go back "up" and towards the back of the vehicle, oftentimes until it hits the vehicle seatback (the back of the seat the child restraint is installed on). This is called rebounding.

Rear facing tethers and anti-rebound bars both reduce rebounding, not to be confused with downward rotation. :thumbsup:

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Yes, sorry for the confusion. Rebound is what I was thinking in my head, but it didn't come out right. Thanks for clarifying, April:thumbsup:

My daughter has outgrown her MA (she has a long torso) but has a bit of room left to go in the TF in Grandma's car. I really like the TF because it's a really easy install-much easier than the MA.

We just bought a Frontier to keep my daughter harnessed-even though she meets the legal requirements for a booster (she's 42 lb and 42 inches) she's only 2-1/2 so that wasn't gonna happen! Since we lucked into a really recent DOM, that seat will last us almost until our second one (due in Feb) is 9. But, it was a major PITA to install and would not be a good seat if you are always moving it between different vehicles.

We plan to borrow a bucket for the newborn, and then put her in our MA when she's big enough. If it wasn't for wanting the convenience of the bucket, we would just put her straight in Grandma's TF.

Long story short, you really can't go wrong with a TF. That's what I'd choose in your situation.

Thank you all, and thank you for clarifying about the rebound bar. I think I'll see if DH's parents don't mind waiting until after the baby (they have extra cash right now, but they would probably give it to us to put in savings until then), and get either a TF or a TF Premiere if they're out here by then. That way we can make sure we like the fit too. I really like the sound of the rebound bar and from reading on this site it sounds like the TF is a bit hard to adjust rf anyway? I assume the TF Premiere has the same rf limits as the TF? It'd be nice to have the option to keep DD rf longer. :thumbsup:

I'd still like to get the bucket checked out by a tech since it's older and used, even though I trust my SIL completely, but as long as it looks good I think we'll wait on sales and get a TF (or premiere) after baby. I'll have to go play with one too and make sure we like it, since I don't like some others that a lot seem to really like (like the Radian), but it looks similar to the Marathon. Thank you all! It'll be nice to have something concrete to tell his parents, since they keep asking us about it.