Finally took DD's measurements - still torn about MA or Radian or ?

So dd, who will be 4 at the end of May, is now 38 lbs, 40 ", and has a 15" torso (sitting down to her shoulders).

We are trying the MA again today at target - when i had tried her in it last week it looked like she had 2" left to go. I'm leaning toward MA b/c then it can be passed to little bro and a third child.

with these measurements, is there another seat i should consider? radian perhaps? this will be for captain's seat in a 2005 odyssey.

The radian does have higher slots. It does have some install issues. I havn't heard about an Odyssey yet. I have heard it installs well in the CRV with belt because of reclining seats or something like that. Maybe someone else knows. (We will be getting a radian in couple of months for flying so I guess we will know then)

How long do you think you want to harness her?

FFing Radian in a 2006 Odyssey with LATCH was the easiest installation I've done of nearly any seat. Probably 30 seconds. Lean the seat back a touch, LATCH it in, put the seat back up, tether. Boom. I was able to shake the car.

HTH

Wendy

wendytthomas said:

FFing Radian in a 2006 Odyssey with LATCH was the easiest installation I've done of nearly any seat. Probably 30 seconds. Lean the seat back a touch, LATCH it in, put the seat back up, tether. Boom. I was able to shake the car.

HTH

Wendy

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, with Honda's low anchor limits of 40 pounds, this will only work for 2 pounds.

Captain's chairs should be a pretty easy install because you can recline. Someone on here should be able to tell you if the seatbelt install is as easy as the latch install.

We have a Marathon and love it, but the only reason I'd buy one when your daughter is her age is if you had another child to pass it down to (such as her little brother and a third child). If she absolutely needs a new seat now, then you could get it for her until she outgrows it, pass it down to a younger sibling, and then get another seat.

Recaro is coming out with a new seat that harnesses to 70lbs and 57" (maybe 59" - can't remember exactly). This should last your daughter alot longer. It won't be out until May so you could wait and see if you like that.

Of course you could get a Radian now or a Regent (I saw that www.babylove.com has that beautiful Blue Bouquet in stock ). I personally would choose a Regent over the Radian. Alot of folks on this board love the Radian, but we tried one out for awhile and just didn't like it. Partly because we couldn't get a good install in the three cars that we tried it in, and partly because it didn't fit Nolan well: the bottom strap seemed higher on this lap than the other seats and the shoulder straps just seemed awkward. I think it is a great seat but still needs some "tweaking"... (I'm bracing myself for the backlash I'm going to get here for saying all of this... )

There are other options: the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex 65 for $100-$130 and the Safeguard Childseat for $429. Those are obviously on opposite ends of the high-weight-harness seat spectrum.

Gets confusing, doesn't it? You may have already been aware of all the other options, but wanted to add them just in case...

Hey Carrie, how are you? How's the baby? J sounds like she's just the same size as AJ so feel free to click on the link in my sig and look at the Britax and Radian folders to see how he fits. There's not much current in there (except the Boulevard ones), but it might help. He does have about 3" left in the Radian and only 2" in the MA. The Radian works better for smaller babies too. THIRD child?! Anytime soon?

Hey Jennifer! We're well, ds is doing great - we're trialing corn now Supposed to ask the GI about DGE at our appt on 3/5. How are you guys doing with everything?

We'd like dd harnessed for the next two years or so - after that in a BPB. My opinion on that could change as time goes on. For some reason (perhaps no real justifiable one) i'd like dd in a 5 pt carseat vs 5 pt booster for now.

One of the reasons i'm not a fan of the regent is that we will have to sometimes use these seats in dh's car (99 oldsmobile intrigue) and i'm concerned about the size.

As for other options - are there two different apexes? a 5 pt booster and also a 5 pt carseat that go to higher wts? Not interested in spending more than around $200 or so.

So - radian vs marathon. do any IRL stores carry the radian? dd really likes the marathon that we tried out.

The Radian is usually carried in specialty baby stores. We have a privately owned store here that has it. No, there's just one Apex, it's a harnessed booster. The Radian has worked well for us, AJ didn't seem to like the MA we borrowed over the summer, it sat a lot higher than he was used to.

We're o.k. Ilana just moved to Axid (med #4!) and has had some weight issues so we go in for a weight check today. I'm going to sneak Evan on the scale too as we're close to our 3mos trial ending w/ no formula. I want to make sure he's gaining too. Ilana has fluid in her ears so that and the reflux are making some nursing problems. I've been pumping and feeding her via syringe when she'll take it after nursing. I'm thinking there will be no biological child #4.

ETA: Update. Ilana gained 5ozs this week so it at 9#9oz, woohoo! Evan still isn't where he was at his 2yr check, but hasn't lost so we'll just wait till the DR gets back from maternity leave.

I haven't read the other posts, so sorry if I repeat information. I have an 04 ody and have a radian installed in a captain's chair with seatbelt. It is a difficult install, but I have it rock solid. I recline the seat back a bit, twist the female buckle stalk 3 times - pull on the seatbelt with all my weight. Then put the seat back upright. If it still isn't tight enough I bring the seat bottom up one notch to tighten the whole thing up. It takes me about 15 minutes to install and it is a pain - but we love the seat. It is worth it.

I just got DD (4.5 yo, 41" 33lbs, 14.5-15" torso) a Marathon. Installed she is just a little under the second to top slots. She'll prob. get 2 more years out of it. There on sale till FEB 17th at babycatalog.com for $209.00. Doing the CS shuffle= 9.5 yo DD is now in the Regent, little DD in new MA that will pasted down once we FINALLY concieve.