travelling, vest help?

We are looking to travel for 2 weeks in February. Cuba for a beach resort with some possible day trips.

I am wondering if a travel vest would be helpful to us. Our daughter will be 23months old at the time. She is currently about 29lbs, 35inches with a long torso. She tends to wear size 3 clothes (but I hate tight clothes so move her up sooner than absolutely needed).

I've never much paid attention to the travel vest posts as I never envisioned us owning one. But, I am wondering now if it would be useful to us, for this trip and many more in the future.

Is there some quick info about what brands are out there, which ones work for what (cars, planes, buses, trains). Can anyone lead me to the info needed to decide if I should be trying to sell this idea on my husband? My husband is great, he is fine with my rear facing our daughter as long as I chose, he does his best to secure her as I teach him...but at the end of the day he isn't as safety concerned as I am and I wouldn't doubt he'd be fine letting her sit on our laps on the tour buses on our trip. I need some good info as to why this would be a good purchase for us before I sell the idea to him!!

Do you mean the RSTV? She's not old or big enough for that. We've used it and it works great for 4-5 year olds in vehicles with 3 pt seat belts, so maybe when she's older.

That thing for baby that works to strap them to an adult is terribly dangerous and not recommended. I've read it turns baby into an air bag for the adult.

I'd get a lightweight travel friendly convertible for the plane and cars and RF her. When we traveled with a child around that age, we used our regular convertible, FFed her on the plane, but RFed her in the car. My experience has been that buses and trains don't have seat belts and I've read that she should sit next to you on the seat, but hopefully others with more experience will chime in. HTH. I understand the Scenera is a good travel seat for smaller kids, but haven't used it personally.

Cuba, huh? I really don't know for sure because I haven't been there personally (and not too many other Americans either in the last 50 years - Lol) but I wouldn't count on there being seatbelts in ANY vehicle you travel in down there. And if you do find seatbelts, chances are it will be just an old rusty lap belt that's never been used.

If you take a convertible you at least have a chance of securing her properly with just a lap belt (rear-facing or forward-facing really doesn't make a difference in my mind in this situation - I'm thinking about restrained versus totally unrestrained).

If you're planning to hire a driver then you're more likely to wind up a modern vehicle with lap/shoulder belts (maybe?) but if you're going to use taxis, shuttle buses and public transportation you might be in for a real shock. The Cuban vehicle fleet is old. Really old.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...showing-Communist-regimes-liberalization.html

I vote for an Evenflo Tribute or new Scenera NEXT. You may only be able to use it on the plane but if you have it - that gives you some options. A vest is going to require a lap/shoulder belt and I think that's probably wishful thinking.

HTH! Good luck!

Kecia said:

Cuba, huh? I really don't know for sure because I haven't been there personally (and not too many other Americans either in the last 50 years - Lol) but I wouldn't count on there being seatbelts in ANY vehicle you travel in down there. And if you do find seatbelts, chances are it will be just an old rusty lap belt that's never been used.

If you take a convertible you at least have a chance of securing her properly with just a lap belt (rear-facing or forward-facing really doesn't make a difference in my mind in this situation - I'm thinking about restrained versus totally unrestrained).

If you're planning to hire a driver then you're more likely to wind up a modern vehicle with lap/shoulder belts (maybe?) but if you're going to use taxis, shuttle buses and public transportation you might be in for a real shock. The Cuban vehicle fleet is old. Really old.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...showing-Communist-regimes-liberalization.html

I vote for an Evenflo Tribute or new Scenera NEXT. You may only be able to use it on the plane but if you have it - that gives you some options. A vest is going to require a lap/shoulder belt and I think that's probably wishful thinking.

HTH! Good luck!

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Crap :-( It's that bad huh! Will look more into it, if this is the case then we'd forgo the daytrips and stay onsite at the resort. Then just have the airport-resort leg of the trip to worry about.

This is our first such trip, we usually visit a country and tour it ourselves with a car rental soaking in as much local culture as we can. We were trying to find a easier trip for our first 'with toddler' travel. Not sure this is easier!

I was referring to the RSTV, didn't realize it is for bigger/older kids. Darn. Thought it might be a good travel buy instead of buying a travel car seat. We do baby (now toddler) wear. Had no intention of using that in a vehicle!

Kecia said:

The Cuban vehicle fleet is old. Really old.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...showing-Communist-regimes-liberalization.html

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Wow, Communism doesn't seem to be good for car development. Anyone else remember that car they had in East Berlin that literally melted in the rain?

Lee-B- said:

I was referring to the RSTV, didn't realize it is for bigger/older kids. Darn. Thought it might be a good travel buy instead of buying a travel car seat.

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In a couple years, it will be a good option in developed countries where they have newer cars with 3 pt belts. We've only used it traveling within the US, but it was really nice to have, so I wouldn't rule it out for future years.

Lee-B- said:

We do baby (now toddler) wear. Had no intention of using that in a vehicle!

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I was referring to a product I'd seen sold for lap baby airplane use, not a baby carrier. It was probably for younger babies anyway and hopefully it's not around anymore.

You should ask for this thread to be moved to the Canadian forum. I bet more Canadians than Americans have been to Cuba (at least recently).

bubbaray said:

You should ask for this thread to be moved to the Canadian forum. I bet more Canadians than Americans have been to Cuba (at least recently).

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Hmmm maybe that's part of it. I am Canadian and going to Cuba didn't seem at all odd! No idea how to move this over to the Canadian section though. I usually just scan the main website page!

What carseat(s) do you currently own? I'd definitely recommend bringing a convertible along -- for the plane, certainly if she has her own ticket (children under 40 lbs are definitely safest in carseats on planes) and even if she'll be traveling as a lap infant, as if there are empty seats on the plane you often can be reseated next to one of them and install your carseat there.

I don't know about the seatbelt situation in Cuba -- if you're on local buses I'd guess there's very little chance of finding any sort of seatbelt but we've had decent luck finding lap belts on tour buses and taxis in surprising places -- maybe check with the resort? With a lap belt and a locking clip you have a good chance of being able to get a convertible seat installed.

Lee-B- said:

Hmmm maybe that's part of it. I am Canadian and going to Cuba didn't seem at all odd! No idea how to move this over to the Canadian section though. I usually just scan the main website page!

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You wouldn't be able to move your thread yourself directly, but you could report your post/thread and request to have it moved by moderators/Admin. No need to report it to request the move in this case, though, since I already went ahead and moved it for you to the Canadian and International forum to potentially get more input there.

Thanks for moving this over. I'd love to hear a bit about cars/bus travel in cuba if anyone has experience.

We have a Radian GTX. While it makes a great travel seats in some senses I am debating if it is best for us. The vest seemed like such a great solution but we are a few years off from using it I guess. I might consider getting a cheap, light weight seat. I can't help but wonder if light weight will better serve us over the folding Radian. Will look into lighter seats or a travel cart for the Radian.

Has anyone done a trip to Cuba, did you do any of the resort day trips? What kind of transportation was used? Are we better off just hanging out at the resort and only having the ride from the airport to resort to worry about? Thanks!

We usually travel with three carseats - 2 Britax Roundabouts and a Radian. The Radian is for our 5yo who seems like she may NEVER make it to 40 lbs -- and I cannot wait for her to do so so we can stop lugging that seat! In some ways it is great for travel -- it installs easily (FF) on aircraft and in most vehicles, its low profile means she can use the tray table, and when folded it doesn't take much room to store. But it is SO darn heavy and weighted weird, especially when folded, so that it's always trying to fall over. Also, unlike the Roundabouts, its locking clip isn't built in, so it's more of a pain to install where the seat belts don't lock.

If your daughter will travel FF and you have a good method for transporting the Radian (i.e. strapping it to the front of a rolling carry-on bag, or a lightweight travel cart that you like, or bungeeing it into the 2nd seat of a double umbrella stroller), and if you're familiar with using the locking clip, then by all means take it. I wouldn't recommend the GoGoBabyZ cart -- it can take a few minutes to screw and unscrew the seat and thus can become a nuisance at security and on the jetway. I also wouldn't recommend trying to "wear" the Radian for anything longer than a few minutes, especially not on an international trip where you'll be shlepping it through customs and immigration.

If she'll be traveling RF and/or if you don't want to deal with the Radian's weight, pick up a light travel seat. Preferably one with built-in lock-offs, if you plan to travel much out of the country. I'd start by looking at the Scenera and the Guide 65 -- both light and inexpensive, but without the lock-offs.

Hope this helps! I'd say try to do some day trips if you can. I haven't been to Cuba but it's always fun to get out and do some exploring! Enjoy your trip.

Thanks. We will really, really to sit down and make a long term travel plan and I think buy a specific travel seat. I don't know that I want to lug the radian around - just the thought of somehow damaging or losing it and not having a seat when we come back home scares me (likely not to happen, I know)!

We never bring a stroller when we travel, we just bring a baby carrier and wear her when needed as she rather dislikes sitting in a stroller when she can be part of the action (even if it means walking for 2 very slow hours).

So, I suspect a luggage cart will be a good choice, throw the seat on and a few bags.

I'll start a new thread here about cuba/travel questions.