snugseat pilot and columbia 2400 spirit pics/advice

So I have an 8 year old, 53" 63# ds with hypotonia. He is currently in a britax husky that expires in July. He fatigues easily which leads him to slump and lay on the harness. He can sit correctly in a booster, but he is a car sleeper, and if he uses his energy to sit, then he doesn't have energy for other things, and when he is fatigues his behavior is more challenging. He is currently in some intense therapy which is really wearing him out out too.

I like things about both seats. I like that the pilot is a monteray and if things improve, I can remove the positional harness and use it as a regular booster. It is hard to buckle right now and it is hard for me to help him. I worry about how long it will last him.

The spirit is huge! But is has a 1.5 inch viscoelastic seat pad which is really nice. It has lateral supports that are removable.Low profile so easier to get in and out. Harness is easy. It will last to college, lol. Seriously, 23" harness, 66' max height and 130 pounds! It only as two crotch positions. He is on the outer with not a lot of room to grow. He still has one more to go on the husky.
There a bunch of photos on my facebook page and my phone. Here are some. Thanks

http://s1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc445/vamom/

I am by no means an expert, but I will say this. My (normal-toned) charges have a few Montereys between them, and I consider it a magical sleeping seat. When the kids are OUT, they are still perfectly supported, and perfectly in position. I have no clue if they inherently have tone that helps support them when they're sleeping, which might be missing in your son, but I have been absolutely thrilled with the sleeping support that the kids get in it. (Kids are ages 5-10, ranging from 50-100lbs and 46-55 inches.)

OTOH, if this is a situation where if you go with the Pilot, you'll end up with the Columbia anyways, I would probably just start there and save yourself the multiple purchases. A Monterey is (comparatively) inexpensive enough that you can get it down the road if you want to traditionally booster him.

I have no SN experience but just wanted to give that input. Hopefully our SN techs will be around to advise you shortly.

(ETA: I can't access your pictures, they must be friends-only.)

I kept meaning to go back to this on facebook for you. I don't think I like the harness adjusters on the spirit. I do like the fit of the pilot with the positioning harness. Is that enough support for him?

I wonder about the level of support. When I tried it I locked the belt too, then read here that toyota says no. It cradles him well, but not sure what happens when he starts to slouch like a sack of potatoes. I also worried about the width of the harness. It was really far apart and I wondered if his shoulders would slide.

I also worry about day to day. He has fine motor issues as well, and if he buckles the harness he can't reach the seatbelt. I have a painful, chronic back and neck issue, so bending down to help really hurts. Not something I would really want to be doing, but I guess I will do what I need to.

On the spirit, the harness could come down a slot. I wonder of that would make the adjusters look less uncomfortable. I figured he would wig out, but he liked them.

He likes them both. I wish I could have had them side by side. I have been harassing the durable medical goods person since Jan 3rd. Maybe I will just demand to see them both.

I want the seat to last a while, be comfortable, and not make ds self conscious. Ugg. He has a script for a physcial therpist to be doing all this. She did the evual and gave it to the medical goods gal. Maybe I will try to get both seats and the pt together. Of course both seats came on super cold, windy days right after really nice days.

Thanks guys!

Have you tried him in a frontier?

The think I don't like about the harness adjusters on the spirit is that they seem to be right at his collar bones. Doesn't seem too safe, kwim?

What about a roosevelt? Isn't the top slot height on that 22 inches? Or would that make him to self concious?

Oh, look, here is a recent thread with pics by a frontier and a husky.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=162024

http://www.eztether.com/specifications.html

ETA: I went back and saw that the roosevelt was one you were going to consider, until they wouldn't be friendly on the phone or get back to you. That disappoints me a bit.

Would it work to use the pilot on short trips, and something like the roosevelt or spirit for longer trips? (though, like I said, I don't like the position of those harness adjusters over the collar bone).

Thanks Jennifer. I didn't talk to merrit, my durable goods person did. I'm not impressed with her at all. The guy who brought the snugseat was really down on merritt too. Maybe I need to call them directly.

I asked the developmental ped, who sent me to a ped. pt. They called a durable goods person who came to an appointment. She has been handling everything, including insurance. Well, she says she is, at least.

I have tried the frontier, briefly in Splash's car. Ds did not like it other then the cup holder. I was thinking that it and the husky had the same harness height. When comparing ds in husky in my car to ds in frontier85 in her car, he had more room in the husky in my car. I tried using Charlie too.

Despite being a beanpole, he has some broad shoulders. He doesn't like seats that kind of curve in. (He hated his nauty).

Thanks for helping me.

I would try calling merrit directly. I have heard on this board that they were pretty good at helping out (but maybe that was too long ago). Let me see what I can find.

Ahh, I thought so. It seems around 2-3 years ago, most people were dealing with Shayne Merritt himself, and said he was wonderful!

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=43218

Judi's pictures

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=43622

Carrie_R said:

(ETA: I can't access your pictures, they must be friends-only.)

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Thats only me that cannot see any pictures?

joyride said:

Thats only me that cannot see any pictures?

Click to expand...

Probably not only you guys. Oops. I am friends on facebook. Hopefully vamom will be around shortly to fix it.

vamom, try using photobucket and the img image.

I like the look of him in the pilot, if that will work for him but the spirit is a great seat too i have worked with the spirit and am impressed with it's capabilities, if his needs are going to increse the spirit might be a better choice, if they are likely to decreese the pilot may work well

also, i have had a few occasions to contact merritt and have been verrrry impressed with them. Shane was available by phone and spent quite a while talking through a chalangeing case with me.

good luck!

Louisa+3: Did the buckles at the clavicle bother you? Several people have voiced concerns.

So I showed the pics to his pt. She said the pilot was out because he would only get input from one side (from the belt). She said he needed the 5pt harness to get input from both sides. She said she would rather risk a broken clavicle then a spine or head injury. She said he is at high risk for a head or spine injury because of his tone in certain areas.

I was leaning toward the pilot. But he already has trouble getting himself in and out of the 5 pt and sometimes gets really frustrated. Sometimes he can do the pilot, but it takes a lot of work and today he was really aggravated with it.

Does the little buckle on the support harness on the pilot laying right on his squishy belly pose a problem in a crash?

Is having such a big kid (8 years, 53" 63") in a harness a risk in a crash?

Today he was cranky (it was nice out and hit 85, after being cold) and he was laying hard on the positioning harness. Completely out of the head winds and side.

Rep still has the spirit, but didn't bring it. Should I have her bring it again?

I keep calling merritt. Leaving voice messages after it says Shane is on the other line. Sent emails. No response

Kiddo doesn't like the roosevelt??? wants the pilot, then said he just wants the 5 pt, it is too hard to handle the belt. He is starting to be sensitive to being in a different seat when his peers aren't in anything. He keeps saying he is ready for the next step.

As far as outlook - dr says he has exceeded expectation sand this is as good as it gets. PT says she has seen similar kids improve some at 12. I have no idea what to expect.
Tia

Ok I created photobucket account. Some photos here now. Please do not copy or circulate. Thanks.


http://s1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc445/vamom/

Shane from Merritt is AMAZING! I mean really great to talk to. And he was just here last week. Thankfully, he left a seat at the hospital and the new system, the churchill is also on the way. So I hope to go down and play with it soon. I am almost positive that the roosevelt will make us happy. I almost called him before I got started, then just followed the dr and pt's direction. The d&e gal is very sweet, but she admittedly knows nothing about car seats. I think she even called the wrong company instead of merritt. So next up, pics of the roosevelt!

I don't know anything about these seats, but had to say he is one cute kid!

I hope you are able to find a seat that both of you are happy with.

Thanks. I am pretty partial to him!

Ugg. Shane did his part. He sent an email and left a message asking the special needs tech who has a sample of the roosevelt to let me try it. I have left multiple messages letting her know that I really wanted to try it so I could get a seat ordered and when I would be in town. She has not returned my call in over a week, nor responded to the email.

I am pretty sure this seat is what I want, but I want to see it and try it before I commit. Some sort of response would be nice. I don't need her, just 15 minutes with the seat that she is being loaned as a sample to help kids with special needs.

Three and a half months of dealing with this. And I also can not get a return call the durable goods person.

Can you find someone else at the hospital to talk to? Or, maybe just show up and ask to try it?

vamom said:

Louisa+3: Did the buckles at the clavicle bother you? Several people have voiced concerns.

Click to expand...

Sorry i just saw this, as for the buckles, i don't love them but i like the seat enough i think i can deal with them, the clavicals are a strong point on the body.

I was one of the people who was super impressed with merrett specifically with shane who has made himself available by phone several times and spent quite a while talking through some difficult sn situations with me.

That said, i also like the new coloumbia seat quite a bit, specifically the use of the shoulder belt as a tether.