Moving/Airplane/new seat advice?

Our family will be moving to Alaska (from Oklahoma) at the end of July, so I'm trying to figure out what we are going to do about carseats and the travel up there.

At the time that we will be traveling up there we will have a 5.75 y/o, a 3 y/o, and a two month old. We currently have two Marathons for the older ones. Baby on the way will probably get a snugride (probably a snugride 35 b/c I like the new infant insert). We took a plane trip about 2 years ago and brought both MAs on the airplane with us. It just about sent my DH over the edge to transport them through the airport and install then on the plane, so I know there is NO WAY we will be able to juggle 3 carseats and three kids.

So here is what I am thinking ...
1. We get rid of my older sons MA (he only has about an inch or growth left in it anyways and I don't trust the airline or the moving company to handle it)

2. We buy my older son a booster that we can pack in our luggage and let him sit in the airplane seat by himself. Then buy him a Frontier or a Nautilus when we get to Alaska and use the booster for short trips and booster training in DH's vehicle.

3. Take the carseats for the younger two on the plane.

Does this sound ok? Am I missing something? Are there other options that I am not thinking of? If this is a good plan, what boosters would you suggest we buy? Thanks!

That's likely what I would do

Boosters that fit young booster riders well, that come apart for easy packing in luggage, include the Graco Turbobooster, and the Britax Parkway SG. I'd include the Clek Oobr as well, but that's a pretty spendy seat for a secondary seat

I think that sounds like a good plan. The only thing I would check is the availability of the Frontier in Alaska (I think it's harder to find some things up there, although that could depend on where you will be). Or if you 5yo is over 40lb and does well in the booster it could be a good time to make that transition full time.

Another option is to buy a Ride Safer Travel Vest for him to use. It's a wearable five point harness. That's what we did when we moved from NC to WA. Piper sat on the plane's seat and then rode in her RSTV until her Nautilus arrived. To get her other seats out here I installed them in our car and the car shipping company brought them out. Because they were installed I wasn't concerned about them being shipped, dropped, or damaged. If the car fell off the truck and was in a collision we'd know about it.

Wendy

aeormsby said:

I think that sounds like a good plan. The only thing I would check is the availability of the Frontier in Alaska (I think it's harder to find some things up there, although that could depend on where you will be). Or if you 5yo is over 40lb and does well in the booster it could be a good time to make that transition full time.

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We will be in Anchorage. It looks like they have a Babies R Us, so hopefully we won't have problem getting a Frontier. I've tried to read some of the discussion about harnessing vs. boostering (once the child is older) and I just can't decide how I feel about it. He is over 40lbs and very good in the car, but I just don't know if I am comfortable with him in a booster full time. Of course some of my reluctance might come from the fact that I have had pressure from DH and MIL (mostly from DH after his mother talked to him ) to turn him around earlier and to get him in a booster earlier. So me being annoyed with MIL makes me want to keep him harnessed until the last possible minute. LOL!

wendytthomas said:

Another option is to buy a Ride Safer Travel Vest for him to use. It's a wearable five point harness. That's what we did when we moved from NC to WA. Piper sat on the plane's seat and then rode in her RSTV until her Nautilus arrived. To get her other seats out here I installed them in our car and the car shipping company brought them out. Because they were installed I wasn't concerned about them being shipped, dropped, or damaged. If the car fell off the truck and was in a collision we'd know about it.

Wendy

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I thought about this, but then we decided to just sell both cars. So we won't be shipping any up there.

What will you be doing for cars up there?

We moved from Washington to Texas in 2008. We decided to only move the car we were driving and not spend the $1K it would take to ship our second car (A 1999 Saturn SW2) to Texas. Less than 3 months later, we turned around and spent $5K on a new car (that is only 2 years newer and has been TONS more problems). I wish we'd brought both cars.

Also keep in mind that a car will be more expensive up there to buy. I dont know your situation if your military or not. I was active duty until last month and moved all over the place and just came from Hawaii to Texas and shipped my car and all my household goods. Anyways, I would trust the moving company w car seats, every one of them I ever had to deal w was very careful to wrap everything properly. Or you could do it yourself when they are at your house and they brought all the materials. You might wanna check into that because I know diapers.com or what not will not ship up there so you could get a good deal on a Frontier through them and then ship it with your household stuff. I was mad once when I got this awesome deal and went to checkout and was told they wont ship there, but you can always have a family member mail you.

I would do that except carry the seat portion of a booster in your carry on bags. If your luggage gets lost you'll still want/need the booster right away.

vonfirmath said:

What will you be doing for cars up there?

We moved from Washington to Texas in 2008. We decided to only move the car we were driving and not spend the $1K it would take to ship our second car (A 1999 Saturn SW2) to Texas. Less than 3 months later, we turned around and spent $5K on a new car (that is only 2 years newer and has been TONS more problems). I wish we'd brought both cars.

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We will be buying two cars when we get up there. Neither of our vehicles is is really suited for Alaska. DH wants to go camping/fishing/hunting and his vehicle would not be good for any type of off road stuff. The family vehicle we have now has over 110K miles on it and doesn't have 4WD, so we want to replace that too.

ProudMommysince09 said:

Also keep in mind that a car will be more expensive up there to buy. I dont know your situation if your military or not. I was active duty until last month and moved all over the place and just came from Hawaii to Texas and shipped my car and all my household goods. Anyways, I would trust the moving company w car seats, every one of them I ever had to deal w was very careful to wrap everything properly. Or you could do it yourself when they are at your house and they brought all the materials. You might wanna check into that because I know diapers.com or what not will not ship up there so you could get a good deal on a Frontier through them and then ship it with your household stuff. I was mad once when I got this awesome deal and went to checkout and was told they wont ship there, but you can always have a family member mail you.

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How would you wrap have it wrapped up to be sure that it is safe? Blankets or that wrapping paper and then in a box?

Another problem I am having is DH wanting to check the seats on the plane (not use them in the seats). Can someone give me some good reasons why that is different from when the seat was shipped to us in a cardboard box? He argues that it would get the same type of handling. He also argues that if the seat can't handle being dropped or bumped, then how are we supossed to trust it in a crash.

He's actually entirely incorrect about that

Shipped products tend to be handled very carefully. Manufacturers would be pretty displeased if half their merchandise or more was being returned by their stores because it's been smashed in transit. Think of the breakable stuff you see in a store and imagine how it got there....workers handing boxes to each other carefully and stacking them to optimize protection.

Cardboard boxes also, due to their design and their substance, actually absorb a lot of energy in the case of an accidental dropping. A seat wrapped in a garbage bag does not.

On the other hand, baggage handlers are accustomed to throwing, dropping, kicking and chucking their bags. Car seats are routinely tossed from the carts 10 feet below to the tarmac.

Furthermore, ask him to think about what he's saying. Car seats are meant to work ONCE. Just one impact. To complain that they're no good if they can't survive being abused in a fall is like saying that your car is no good if it's going to get destroyed by JUST ONE accident with a semi-truck. That's what they're meant to do...just once

People regularly arrive at their destination to find their child restraints smashed, broken or lost. Do you want to be the parent put in the position of using a child restraint that may not protect your child if you are in a crash on the way home?

Furthermore, a two month old in particular is not safe on an airplane without a child restraint. The three year old could use a CARES harness, but you'd still be risking the integrity of your child restraint in the cargo hold.

The SAFEST and most sensible thing to do is to use the child restraints on the plane for your two little ones.