Tall 4 month old, and tall skinny 2.5 year old need seat help!!!

U

Unregistered

Guest
I need help with carseats! My 2.5 year old is currently in an Evenflo Triumph. He is 36" tall and 28lbs. He does not fit in this seat well. The middle strap height is too short, and the top one is too tall and he always slumps badly in it and looks swallowed in it. My 4 month old is 27.5" long (tall girl!) and 15lb. I need to get her out of her Graco Snugride infant seat since the height limit on it is 27".

My dilemma is budget and carsize. I have a Hyundai Sonata. The RF Graco infant seat fits fine behind the driver or passenger. I really wanted to just buy 2 Radian seats, but cannot afford even one right now! They are $$$$.

My thought now is to put my 4 month old RF in the Evenflo Triumph I already have, and buy a new seat for my 2.5 year old that will fit him better. And get my baby a different seat when she is able to turn forward facing.

Any suggestions for a seat for a 2.5 year old tall skinny kid that is $150 or under????
 
ADS

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Babies need to stay rear facing for a long time (2-3 years) so you'll have time to decide what new seat to get her later. She'll need a new seat before she's ready to turn forward facing as the Triumph has a short shell.

She doesn't outgrow the Snugride at 27" exactly, she outgrows it when she has less than an inch of shell left above her head.

The slot height above his shoulders is fine, but if he's slumped and uncomfortable it's fine to get him a new one. With the harness tight, though, he shouldn't be able to slouch that much.

There are a few seats that will last quite a while for you guys. The first is the new Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE. It rear faces to 35 pounds (so your two year old could go rear facing again) and then forward faces to 50 pounds with 17.5" top slots. It's $130. You can use it for your son rear facing until 35 pounds (or until he has less than an inch of shell above his head), then forward facing. He can get a new seat when your daughter is too tall to rear face in the old Triumph. That should be in a year or so would be my guess.

The other is a forward facing only seat, so at two and 28 pounds it's a parental decision (I'd rear face), but I believe it is the second best for you guys. It's the Graco Nautilus, $150. 19" top slots, 65 pound harness limit, then it turns into a booster to 100 pounds. You would then need to get your daughter a larger convertible when she outgrows the Triumph rear facing. But like I said, at 28 pounds he's so tiny rear facing would really benefit him, so this would be a distant second.

There are other convertible seats I like, but in the <$150 range that's my favorite. You could also look at the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe. It's online only. $130. You can go to BRU or Target and check out a Marathon as the FPSVD is based on that. Then come home and buy the FPSVD online. There are no built in lockoffs or rear facing tether on the FPSVD, nor the neat LATCH system of the Marathon, but it is a Britax seat made for FP. They've been discontinued, however, and people have gotten a wide range of date of manufactures. You want the newest seat possible since seats expire six years (most of them) from the date they were made, not the date they were bought or the date they were first used.

That's about it for a seat with a decent amount of longevity per child under $150.

Wendy
 

solmama

Active member
Okay...For your son, you might want to look into the Evenflo Triumph Advance-it rearfaces to 35lbs and forward faces to 50 ($130 @ Target, some WalMarts, and Babies r us). However, since it's similar in size and shape to the Triumph you already have, it also might swallow him. My ds is nearly the same size as yours and I think he's comfy in his EFTA. Another seat to look into is the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe. It's made by Britax and is similar to the Marathon. It will rf to 33 lbs, and ff to 55lbs (it's at albeebaby.com). Of these 2 seats, the EFTA harness is a bit higher, so it may last longer. If your son is still rear-facing (or forward-facing), either seat is a good choice. It's now recommended that kids ride, rear-facing, to the rear-facing limit of the seat or until their head is 1" from the top of the shell. Rear-facing is just so much safer than forward facing. If he's forward facing, you may want to look into the Graco Nautilus. It's top harness height is 18" and will harness to 65lbs, and later turns into a belt positioning booster. You'll need to register to reply! Feel free to ask all the questions you need.
 

Tammyfh

New member
Is the snugride really 27 inches? I thought they were all the same and mine says 29 inches. Although since I've been here I've done the head to top of shell measurement and seem to have a little more time. It's still coming to an end soon, but I'm not ready to get rid of the bucket!! It's so convenient and I just can't imagine having to put him in and out of the car without it. I'm going to use it as long as I can. I wish now that I got the SSI to get the extra couple issues.
 

abacus2

Well-known member
Older model Snugrides, like mine from 2004, have a 26" height limit. The have been redesigned and the current ones have a 29" height limit. I'd not heard of any with a 27" limit before.
 

prairiegirl929

New member
Thanks for the tips. I can post now!

My Snugride manual does say it has a 27in limit on it. I just checked. I purchased mine in 2005.

I was set on getting my 2.5 year old a Graco Nautilus, but it seems to have a few bad reviews on here with the head piece. It was right in my price range and looked good though. I might still get it, I am not sure yet.

Right now I am going to work on finding my toddler a different seat, and use his old Evenflo Triumph for my baby RF for a while until she gets bigger. Unless we decide to get the baby like a Graco Comfortsport or something not too expensive for now and use my Evenflo as a spare wich we do need a spare around. I've liked all my Graco products and would love to stick to the brand.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The Comfortsport is a waste of money. It's not a bad seat, just you'll need another one before a harness. And if you go into it knowing your going to need another one you may as well save money and get a $45 Scenera. It'll last much longer rear facing, and probably about the same amount of time, maybe a hair more, forward facing.

Graco does great infant seats, they have a nice booster, and with the Nautilus they hit it out of the park. The SS2 and the Comfortsport are wastes of money, though. Completely not at all cost effective. There are many people here who have done the same thing you're thinking of and then regretted it when they had to put down another $150 for a harnessed seat later when they realized the Comfortsport wouldn't last. They ended up spending enough for a Britax in the end.

The Scenera makes a great spare seat.

Wendy
 

MommyBoha

New member
I agree about the Comfortsport. We got one for our DS when he was 8 months old and he outgrew it by age 3. No where NEAR ready for a booster. So we ended up with a Regent. My 26 month old now uses the comfortsport as a backup seat. She outgrew it RF at 18 month and I purchased a Fisher Price safe Voyage Deluxe to keep her RF(she is only 24lbs) And now at 26 months, she has nearly outgrown the comfortsport all together. She has less than a half inch before her shoulders are over the top harness.
 

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