Went shopping for Parkways tonight & now I'm totally confused....

So we went to look at the 'upity' baby store in town tonight to see what types of Parkways they had.
DH wants to buy the seats locally to avoid shipping charges and/or have a better return policy shoud something be wrong with the seat, but I do NOT want to support this store. They give out HORRIBLE mis-information! (Tonight the salesman told my daughter to "put your coat on when you try out seats because that is how you'll be sitting in the seat in the car!") ....Um NO!!!... DD just looked at me like this Even SHE knew it was wrong! Also, he kept trying to talk us out of buying her a booster at all. "She's over 8 years old and she's plenty tall enough"....Ugh!

Anyways.....they had tons of different Parkways (...including Tiffany and Cowmoo!) I LOVED the Cowmoo!!!! But DH did NOT like the Parkway!
Id still 'cut off' my DD mid-thigh, and she still didn't look comfortable, (although DS did.) What DH did like was the Monarch, and surprisingly, it did fit my leggy daughter better!

But...I can't stand it. We took it our to our van and both kids tried to buckle themselves. DD (9 yrs) had a hard time, and DS (6 yrs) absolutely could not do it himself. I really wish that they would have at least made the arm rests higher, but they're so darned LOW, that it's hard to 'finagle' the belts under them. Once buckled, though, it looked SUPER comfy!
I WANT to like it, and because it fits DD better, we will probably end up going with one for her ( although not from that store!) but I wonder if we should still get my son a Parkway ( because he could buckle that with no problem.)

He's lanky just like her, though, and I have a feeling that in a couple of years we'll wish we would have bought the 'deeper' seated Monarch for him as well.

Sigh...OR do we just keep looking? Why is this so hard?

On a brighter note - I got to see all kinds of cool seats!
They had the Jane Indy, a Safeguard AND a Safeguard Go, plus tons of MA's, BV's and DC's and PW's in just about every pattern you can imagine! ( And they were sold out of Regents, but are due to get some in late Jan.!)
DH really liked the Safeguard Go. He wants me to consider getting that instead of a Regent for my 4 yr old.
Um....okay I considered it....No!

I totally know how you feel about the Monarch. I haven't even seen it in person yet but I love the styling of it, all except for the low armrests. Hayley, at 5.5, still can't buckle herself in the PW! There's no way I could switch to a seat that's even harder to buckle.

But your oldest is more mature and may understand the trade-offs better: a seat that is more comfy and fits her better is worth a little trouble buckling.

And in a few years when dd doesn't need the Monarch anymore, ds could then "upgrade" from his PW because he'll be more mature and could handle the buckling?

Just my ramblings.

I WANT a Cowmoo PW.

If your dd fits the Monarch and she likes it, go for it. It's difficult to find a booster that fits leggy kids.

Also... I'm not stalking you, I swear it, but your story sounds eerily familiar so I have to ask - was it by any chance the Lullabye Shop?? Man, I HATE HATE HATE that place. High pressure, lie through their teeth sales practices, abysmal customer service, and truly awful, sometimes dangerous car seat advice. The worst part is, they were all certified techs at one time! Although... if they have the Safeguard and the Indy I just might have to make a trip. The nice thing about hating the store is I don't feel the least bit guilty about wasting their time checking out seats I have no intention of buying

nisi said:

Also... I'm not stalking you, I swear it, but your story sounds eerily familiar so I have to ask - was it by any chance the Lullabye Shop?? Man, I HATE HATE HATE that place. High pressure, lie through their teeth sales practices, abysmal customer service, and truly awful, sometimes dangerous car seat advice. The worst part is, they were all certified techs at one time! Although... if they have the Safeguard and the Indy I just might have to make a trip. The nice thing about hating the store is I don't feel the least bit guilty about wasting their time checking out seats I have no intention of buying

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Why yes it was! - Glad to know I'm not the only person who can't stand that place! But, they do have a monopoly on Britax around here ( although Target finally started carrying the MA!)

Now i just have to figure out...do I but a Regent from them if they get them in stock??? The guy tonight said that he would give us 10% off if we bought 3 seats from them...but I'm sure the next person will tell me otherwise...

This might not work for you, but have you tried the Compass B510. I have one and love it. I gather it's a bit shorter than the PW, but it's a pretty big seat and might give her more leg support if she fits it in height-wise. The armrests flip up, making it super easy to buckle the seat.

Just me but I wouldn't know what to do if I had a kid that would actually buckle themself in. Ds is in a husky right now and shows no ambition to buckle or unbuckle himself, I have to do it every single time. And before that he was in an evenflo big kid booster for a little bit and again absolutely no interest in buckling himself in, he's sees that as my job. I was amazed I had a little girl the same age as him ride with me in his seat and she was buckling and unbuckling herself, which is kinda scary driving down the road but I guess it makes it easier on the parent.

pablomichi said:

Monarch [...] fit my leggy daughter better

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Oh, that's interesting! I wish a place closer than 3-4+ hours from me carried either one, but no one does so far as all my recent phone calls reveal: Leila is so leggy & I wish I could test her out in the Monarch 1st, but I know she likes the Parkway & my parents' can use it properly Now if only I could find a really good online deal on the pretty pink "Tiffany" pattern in time for her birthday

papooses said:

Oh, that's interesting! I wish a place closer than 3-4+ hours from me carried either one, but no one does so far as all my recent phone calls reveal: Leila is so leggy & I wish I could test her out in the Monarch 1st, but I know she likes the Parkway & my parents' can use it properly

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Target.com will be getting the Monarch soon, according to their website. Unfortunately, their free shipping program seemed to have ended with the Christmas rush But keep an eye out, they might implement it after January Inventory time or a special, then you can try it out and return it locally guilt free

Morganthe said:

Target.com will be getting the Monarch soon, according to their website. Unfortunately, their free shipping program seemed to have ended with the Christmas rush But keep an eye out, they might implement it after January Inventory time or a special, then you can try it out and return it locally guilt free

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Try this link for current Target coupon codes!
http://www.savings-center.com/store/Target

Cool, thanks you 2

Well, now I'm even more confused.... Is the store just outright lying to me that they are getting Regents in soon?
I read on another thread in the carseat forum that NO one will be getting any until March.....

Wineaux said:

Try this link for current Target coupon codes!
http://www.savings-center.com/store/Target

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whoah... dude, thanks for that!

southpawboston said:

whoah... dude, thanks for that!

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That should be self updating too!

I warned you, I am the deal king!

pablomichi said:

Is the store just outright lying to me that they are getting Regents in soon?

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That'd be my guess. Pretty much par for the course there. Though I have to admit, they're usually among the first to get new Britaxes on the shelves. They may be getting them back in soonER than some places, but if you want it asap you're better off calling them every couple days. don't expect them to call you -- I'm still waiting for the call to let me know the BV is in stock LOL!

Awwww...rats!
(Well, I DID get a 'rain-check' in writing for 10% of any seat purchased from them....) Of course they'll probably tell me it's expired or something if/when they get the Regents in.

pablomichi said:

Awwww...rats!
(Well, I DID get a 'rain-check' in writing for 10% of any seat purchased from them....) Of course they'll probably tell me it's expired or something if/when they get the Regents in.

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If there is not an expiration date on the rain check then they cannot legally deny you using it when the new Regent's come in.

mominabigtruck said:

Just me but I wouldn't know what to do if I had a kid that would actually buckle themself in. Ds is in a husky right now and shows no ambition to buckle or unbuckle himself, I have to do it every single time. And before that he was in an evenflo big kid booster for a little bit and again absolutely no interest in buckling himself in, he's sees that as my job. I was amazed I had a little girl the same age as him ride with me in his seat and she was buckling and unbuckling herself, which is kinda scary driving down the road but I guess it makes it easier on the parent.

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Hayley has been buckling and unbuckling herself in harnessed seats since age 3.5 and has never once unbuckled while on the road. She has been scared silly by enough crash test videos to know better. She's a very hyper kid and you would think, with as little impulse control as she's got, that she WOULD unbuckle on the road, but nope.