Booter limit and disabled son HELP!

msmellissa

New member
My 9 year old son is only 4 pounds away from the weight limit on his current booster and I need to replace it asap. I did some research and thought that the Britax Parkway SG would do the trick as it goes up to 120 pounds. However, when I sent my dh to check out the specs he said that our son was almost at the height requirement now at 59 inches. He has muscular dystrophy and the head support offered by the seat is an absolute MUST in case of an accident. Now I'm stumped.

Any suggestions on what we could can do? I cannot leave him without a seat. Ugh.

Thank you!
 
ADS

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
A booster can be used until the child's ears are above the back of the seat at the highest height setting, or the shoulder belt positioner puts the belt below the child's shoulders.

The Britax Frontier is the tallest booster on the market. It fits most small adult women. It is expensive, but you may be able to get your insurance to pay for it if it is a medical need. If he is unable to use that booster (59" is very tall for a 9yo, but I'm sure you know that already!) you may need to look into special-needs seats.
 

canadiangie

New member
Hi,

What does your son weigh?

What seat is he currently in?

I'm sure we can help you, we just need a bit more info from you. :)

We also have a Special Needs car seat forum, so this thread may get moved there... (it will still be easy for you to find, it will show up as "moved" in this forum, and when you click on it it will take you to the SN forum).
 

msmellissa

New member
Hi there!

He's currently in a seat we purchased while living Germany three years ago. I actually don't know the model but the brand is Combi. My husband says the weight limit on it is 65 pounds. Ian currently weighs 58 pounds so he's quite close. I'm sure this topic will do better in the Special Needs forum, I didn't realize there was one! How wonderful!

His weight is a huge consideration because it fluctuates so much. He's suffered from failure to thrive and was down to 33 pounds last year but shot up to 58 pounds after having his feeding tube placed in March. He's also grown 5 inches! However, now that he has more strength and is walking more on his own he's losing a little weight.

I looked at the Frontier and it may work for us. I'm not worried about the cost. We're actually having to buy 2 new seats as we're having a new baby in April and moving them to our 2 year old's Alpha Omega and buying an Advocate for her. (I think. lol)
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
He is 59" and 58 pounds -- is that correct? I'm just trying to get facts straight to help with recommendations.

Can I add that an Alpha Omega will not fit a brand-new baby? When rear-facing, straps must be below the child's shoulders, and the AO's lowest straps are at 10.5". Most babies fit in that between 5-8 months -- almost none do at birth. And an Advocate may not be the best choice for a 2yo, as it is outgrown by height by most kids by age 4-5. I'm sorry if it seems as if I'm slamming your choices when you didn't ask.
 
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steph_s

New member
If you could get his total torso height (sitting on the ground and measure from the floor to his shoulders) that would greatly help!

As for the other seat choices... The AO is not a seat anyone on here would ever recommend! It has some of the lowest harness slots on the market and will not allow any child to rear face long enough. Ditto what the pp mentioned about no newborn really being able to fit in this seat. Kids should stay rear facing until 3.5-4 years of age or until they outgrow a convertible seat and the AO you have just won't get any child that long or even close. Plus add to that the super low weight limits on the harnesses when compared to other seats and it's just not a good seat.

As for the Advocate... again not a seat anyone on here would recommend! It's highly overpriced and there is no reason for spending the money when there are a lot of other seats that will do a better job and last longer.
 

msmellissa

New member
Re: Booster limit and disabled son HELP!

I would be interested in hearing suggestions for the other children as well. :) I have a Safe Seat from my dd that we're planning to use for the first few months of the new baby's life. We were planning to move the new bean to the AO but are also open to buying a new seat altogether. My 2 year old is still rf in her AO and I plan to keep her that way. I was looking into the Advocate for the side impact features as she tends to ride by the window.

So, we have a Safe Seat and an AO. Whatever I purchase next will be a convertible (well 2, one for each). What seat would you all recommend for the new baby and my toddler?

My toddler is a peanut at 2.5 y/o and 26 pounds. My infants tend to be on the small side. We have a Dodge Durango and a Chevy Tahoe.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your help!
 

steph_s

New member
You don't get that much harness room in the AO after the SS actually. You can't use the top slot height except for booster mode and it makes a horrible booster seat! Since you have a SS and it has such a high harness for an infant seat here is what I personally would do...

I would get a MyRide for your 2.5 year old and use your SS for the infant. When the infant is about to outgrow the SS then re-evaluate the seating situation then (just come back to this board and ask what next and list your kids ages and heights). New seats come out all the time so who knows what will come out then. Your new baby could very well be in the SS until 15m of age (at some point most parents just leave the seat in the vehicle and use it like a convertible because their child gets too heavy to carry in the seat before outgrowing it) which your 2.5 year old might be out of the myride rear facing by then and need a ff harnessing seat. The MyRide offers great SIP, a tall shell for ERF and it installs easy in most vehicles. It's also over $200 cheaper and will last longer than the Advocate! It is my top pick if you want SIP. My next pick would be the Radian xtsl, but it does have some install issues that the myride doesn't and depending on how little your 2.5 year old really is the head wings might not be low enough right now. Besides, they are only head wings not entire body wings like on the MyRide. The MyRide is deep the entire way through it so it looks like it's protecting the side of the child more. Weather it does or not who knows because they don't release that date. I just personally feel more comfortable with the Mr for little ones.

When you get your son's torso measurements let us know so we can recommend a booster seat option that would work better.
 

msmellissa

New member
:D LOL Okay, after measuring today I've determined that my hubby was off on Ian's height. He is actually 52" inches tall, 59 pounds and his torso is roughly (I say roughly b/c of his extreme lourdosis, an extreme curviture in his back that can subtract a few inches from his height making it tough to determine) 15 inches.

If we can keep him in a 5 point harness, obviously, we prefer it.

Hope this is more helpful!
 

Evolily

New member
He should fit in a 5 point harness if his torso is only 15 inches. The Britax Regent, Graco Nautilus, and Britax Frontier will be good mainstream options. The Graco Nautilus Elite has adjustable headwings, that might be something he'd benefit from. If you want to look at special needs seats (sometimes insurance will cover them) the Merritt Roosevelt is highly recommended.
 

skiersnowboarder3

Senior Community Member
He should fit in a 5 point harness if his torso is only 15 inches. The Britax Regent, Graco Nautilus, and Britax Frontier will be good mainstream options. The Graco Nautilus Elite has adjustable headwings, that might be something he'd benefit from. If you want to look at special needs seats (sometimes insurance will cover them) the Merritt Roosevelt is highly recommended.

The nautilus has a 65 lb weight limit though. I would go with the Frontier because you can use the harness for a while then switch to booster mode and have the tallest booster on the market.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
If spinal curvature is an issue, you may need to look into the Britax Traveler plus, the Merritt Roosevelt (both of which have the option for a harness with individually adjustable straps so you don't end up with a loose harness on one side) or a booster with a positioning harness (the harness is to help maintain seating position only, not crash restraint). The Merritt seat also has the best and the most options for other positioning aids.
 

msmellissa

New member
Thank you so much ladies. You've been such a huge help to us! I think we've decided on the Frontier as our next purchase. The info about the special needs carseats will be a HUGE help in the future. Fortunately, Ian still has a good level of control of his body and head under normal circumstances and doesn't yet need the additional support offered by those models. However, we know that he will in the future and will be discussing the matter with our insurance company when the time comes. I was actually pleasently surprised by the prices of the seats and feel better knowing they are something we can afford on our own should we not qualify through insurance or Medicaid.

I'm still waffling on my 2 year old's seat. lol I appreciate all of your responses. Thank you all so much!
 

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