Car seat questions when traveling

[Court22]

Hello,

So we are planning our first family trip and trying to figure out how to travel with carseats. We have a 3 year old and a 7 year old and plan on flying to Orlando. We'd prefer not to lug our son's giant car seat around (he is RF and FF depending on the car in a Graco MySize). My daughter is in a Graco Turbobooster (and a Nautilus depending on car) with highback booster. Both are pretty petite. I know it would be easier to get a booster for our rental car and carry it on the flight with us for my daughter but I am nervous as she is 45lbs and about 45 inches. Her torso is longer than her legs (which is why we had to remove the harness in her nautlius) but she is still pretty petite.
Any suggestions on easy to travel with car seats? Or has anyone rented from the rental car company? I know it's riskier because you do not know the history of the seat, but I also am not sure I want to check my car seats for fear of them being damaged. Any advice is appreciated! We are okay purchasing new seats if they are not extremely pricey and are still safe

Thanks!!

[wendytthomas]

Hi there.

For your seven year old, you could do a backless booster easily. Either just take your backless booster and store it overhead, or something like a BubbleBum, Cosco Rise (super lightweight), Graco Turbo Go (is not as small, but folds down a bit and goes in a backpack), or a Graco Turbo Takealong.

For the three year old, something like an Evenflo Maestro is narrow, lightweight, and easy to install. You've hit all of the concerns with renting a seat (unknown history) and buying a seat there (expensive), so bringing a seat is the best way to go. The Maestro is nice, inexpensive, and lightweight. Plus, it's nice to have a lightweight spare to grab at home. It wouldn't surprise me if you end up using it at home more than you think.

Wendy