I sold "that" thing of a car seat, what next? LOL

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sarahsweetpea31802

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #1

Hello!

So about a month or two ago I had bought a Graco Cozycline and I thought that seat would be a dream. Not! I didnt feel the love for it so I sold it on CL. I got 75.00 for it, not bad right?

So now we have Evans MA in Daddy's car and I am not un-installing it anymore and moving it back into the primary vehicle. Its got a very solid nice install and its going to stay that way.

So tonight DH said with the money I have from the previous sale, we going to buy Evan a new seat! Woo-hoo...

Evan is 25.5 months old and rides FF. Were thinking of getting him the Nautilus. What is everyone opinion on this seat? Pros and cons please. And any other suggestions very welcome. We dont want to spend mega-poo bucks but we want a comfy seat for the little man!

Thanks again!!

 

firemomof3

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #2

What type of vehicle will the new seat be installed in? What is your budget? What is Evan's height & weight?
At 2y/o I would personally choose to rear face him. There are several really nice seat that rear face to 40-45lbs.

 

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sarahsweetpea31802

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #3

I have a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan and Evan is 31-32 pounds, not sure of his height but he is a pretty tall little man. I will try and find a picture of him and post on here. My budget is under 200.00 for sure!

 

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sarahsweetpea31802

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #4

So heres a picture of him from Halloween to try and give you an idea of how tall he is, not the best picture but its something.

 

firemomof3

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #5

I would look at the Safety First Complete Air and Radian 65. Both rear face to 40lbs. and just about within your budget. I'm not sure how the Radian would do installing in your minivan? Does your van have long belt stalks?
Another thing to consider is ordering rear tether anchors for your minivan so that you can tether a forward facing car seat

 

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Maedze

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #6

I wouldn't put a barely two year old child forward facing.

Because your budget is under 200, I would purchase a Graco My Ride and keep him rear facing.

 

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sarahsweetpea31802

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #7

The safety first one is too expensive for us. And we dont have FF tether anchors in thiat van so we need to find out about getting them installed.

Any "bad" things we should know about the GN?

 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

• Nov 11, 2009

• #8

I absolutely would not put a barely-two-year-old forward facing without a top tether. Please keep the child rear-facing at least until you have a tether anchor installed.

 

firemomof3

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #9

Well, like Maedze said, a barely 2y/o is much safer rear facing. The MyRide is well within your budget, super comfy and rear faces to 40lbs.
There is nothing wrong with the GN, most of us really like it. But we do not recommend it for a child Evan's age/weight. He is just so much safer rf.
We can get you the part number for the TA for your minivan :thumbsup:

 

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sarahsweetpea31802

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #10

Id love the part # for the tethers please.

 

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Maedze

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #11

sarahsweetpea31802 said:

The safety first one is too expensive for us. And we dont have FF tether anchors in thiat van so we need to find out about getting them installed.

Any "bad" things we should know about the GN?

Click to expand...

The Graco My Ride 65 is 150...well within your budget.

The Graco Nautilus is a nice seat, but the 'bad' thing is that it's not ideal for your child. At your child's age, he's best served rear facing.

Under no circumstances should he ride forward facing in any vehicle at all, even 'just this once' if there are no top tether anchors.

 

Jennifer mom to my 7

Well-known member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #12

HOw does he fit in his marathon? and is it a 33 or 35 pound rear facing seat? I did have to flip my dd at 25 months in her decathlon because she hit the 33 pound limit on it, but I would have loved to keep her rf. She would have had a bit more height left, but she is also tall, and has been (over 90th % +) and she is longer in the torso. My 2.75 year old is still rear facing because I feel it is safer. I bet he is about the same size as your guy, 37 inches or so, and about 30-31 pounds. Your guy might actually look shorter, my dd was 36.5 inches at 25 months.

 

firemomof3

New member

• Nov 11, 2009

• #13

sarahsweetpea31802 said:

Id love the part # for the tethers please.

Click to expand...

Here you go
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=98445

 

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armywife12

New member

• Nov 12, 2009

• #14

I agree with the pps, I would not forward face him yet. He is still well within the limits to rear face in many convertible seats. For under $200, I'd look into the Graco MyRide. My 26 month old is riding in it rear facing and we love it. He is 35lbs and 38 inches with a torso of 14 inches and still has at least 2 inches of growing room to go in the seat. He'll make it close to 3 yrs old rear facing in that seat. I highly recommend you take a look at it. My son does ride forward facing in a Frontier right now in my vehicle only and he actually prefers the MyRide...lol. He falls asleep so much easier in it as well. He is only forward facing in my vehicle until Monday because we didn't have to rear facing seats he could sit in for both vehicles. He hit 35lbs before I anticipated and hit the limit on his True Fit. Once hubby deploys, Caleb's MyRide will be returned back to my vehicle.

If you are not going to rear face, the Nautilus would make a great seat and seems to fit smaller tots really well but the lack of tether would really worry me. I'm not comfortable using a forward facing seat that can't be tethered. That alone would make me rethink the rear facing thing.

 

NannyMom

Well-known member

• Nov 12, 2009

• #15

Hi, I see everyone is telling you he should be rearfacing, but I want to make sure you know why

A young child's bones are not fully ossified yet. The bones in the neck are in 3 pieces instead of 1. This allows everything to stretch further as the head flies forward in a crash. All the stretching can lead to spinal cord damage. The bones are stronger between 4 and 6 years old.

When Rear facing, the head and neck are cradled by the seat. The head is not thrown forward, and the neck is snot stretched so much.

 

lynsgirl

New member

• Nov 12, 2009

• #16

While I agree it's great to keep kids RFing as long as possible, and I'd love to see a 2yo RFing, if the OP chooses to keep him FF, there are some options that could make it safer than it currently is. I think we should offer those up, along with our recommendations of ERFing.

The first thing I'd recommend, if you must FF with no tether, is a seat like the Radian (any of them). Low profile, has very low head excursion numbers when tested w/no tether.

If the Radian won't work, I'd go for a seat that has FF lockoffs. When installed with a shoulder belt and using a FF lockoff, that combination acts in a tether-like-manner. The True Fit is a seat that has FF lockoffs. The Britax convertibles have FF lockoffs (with the exception of the RA50, I believe).

If you can, *I* would rear-face. If that's not an option to you, then either the Radian or a seat with lockoffs. HTH!

 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

• Nov 12, 2009

• #17

The only reason *I* wouldn't buy a Nautilus for my kiddo at that age/size, is because I'd be very worried about his head flopping forward when he naps. That's a very common problem with that seat, and I wouldn't want my kid's head dangling out of the head wings and totally unprotected in a side crash. Too bad the SS2/Cozycline didn't work, it has both awesome side impact protection and a built in lockoff. The True Fit does, too, but it's a little lower and easier for kids to climb into. It won't become a booster later, but you already know the ins and outs of buying and selling seats, so it won't be a problem for you to pick a nice booster seat in 3+ years when the True Fit is outgrown