I got a Frontier today (lots of pics)

I ordered from Albee Baby and they sent us the PINK one instead of the RED one!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh, I'm soooo mad! We had been waiting for this seat for 5 days and I had been tracking it every day as it made it's way across the country. And I specifically didn't leave the house today since I knew it was coming and I wanted to be here when it arrived. And then DS and I go to open it and it's freakin' PINK!!!!!

I immediately called Albee Baby, but they were already closed for the day since they're on the EAST COAST. And it's Friday so that means we have to wait till Monday to talk to them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This sucks big time! If they weren't closed for the day I would have told them to overnight me the red one! I thought that maybe the box was labeled wrong and it wasn't their fault or something or that I had ordered the wrong color-- but nope, my order clearly said red rock, my packing slip inside the box said red rock, and the label on the outside of the box said PINK SKY! So whoever filled my order must have not even looked at the label on the outside of the box. :thumbsdown:

I do have to say that the pink is very cute though and I would definately get it if I had a GIRL!

I tried Conner out in it and he had 3 inches of torso growth room in it (in the house, not installed). In the house he was in the 4th notch from the top, but once installed in the car the harness needed to be in the 3rd notch from the top.

So the good news-- I installed in Frontier in my car (well not my car but the 1990 Toyota Corolla that we bought for me to use this summer while we're in CA) and it installed ROCK SOLID using the lap belt only in less than one minute! I thought for sure that it wasn't going to work at all since no one seems to be able to install it using the short belt path, which is the only option I have since I don't have a lap shoulder belt in the center and the lap shoulder belts in the outboard seats don't lock. And you can only use the short belt path when using a lap only belt. So that is wonderful news. The car didn't have top tether anchors originally, but I got a top tether anchor for the center seating position installed yesterday! So now we're all good to go (once we get the correct Frontier that is). I packed the pink one back up in the box already-- but only after taking a ton of pictures of Conner in it! He really likes the seat. We did have to move the harness up one notch once I got it installed in the car though. So he is actually on the third notch from the top. Even though you have to lift a lever in the back to raise the harness height, I was able to unhook the top tether, slide my hand down the back of the seat, and raise the harness height without uninstalling the actual seat. So that's good.

Here's all the pictures I took. There's 20 of them so it was just easier to put them all in a Shutterfly album. Conner is 4years10months old, 43" tall, 43 pounds, and has a 14.5" torso. Even though his torso is not very tall, for some reason his shoulders are exactly "at" the top slots of his FPSVD and Boulevard with no room to grow when in the car. I thought those seats have 17" top slots? I don't get it. I've measured his torso several times and always get the same number. He also rides in a Regent.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbsnDVo1YtmZo

Thanks, this was awesome! So sorry you got the wrong seat, but what a great sport Conner was about posing in the pink seat! He cracked me up grinning and looking right in the camera in almost every single picture!

I keep going back and forth between the Regent pictured in your siggy and the red rock frontier....and we have the same FPSVD! Weird. Anyway, initial reaction, which would you say you like more? If you just get bored over the weekend, and feel like unpacking the frontier again, you could do a side by side maybe? I know what you mean about the FPSVD, I can't figure it out either. I measure DS and get 13.5 every time and we are a hair away from moving to the top slot.

Does DS still have two slots left in the Regent? How would you compare his -installed in the car- growing room between the two?

Thanks again for the pictures :thumbsup:

He was really good about posing in a pink seat! He actually said we should keep it in case we have a girl one day-- although he talks all the time about how we can only have another boy, a brother, no sister at all!

I would do a side by side with the Regent if I could but we are in CA for the summer and our Regent is in VA. Conner is in the second slots from the top in his Regent with about 4 inches of torso growing room when installed in the car. His shoulders in the Regent are just a smidgen above the third slots from the top which is why we moved the straps up. He likes the super soft velvety fabric of the Huntington Regent better than the Frontier's fabric. He really liked the Frontier though because of the armrests and cupholders. He likes the cupholders because he can put his "babies" (his two loveys) in them and they will be safe he says. I LOVE our Regent, especially the Huntington since it is soooo soft and plush, and would have ordered a second one in an instant if it would have fit in my boyfriend's car. In his car though, Conner didn't have any legroom at all with the Regent installed, so our only options left were the Frontier and the Nautilus and I didn't like the Nautilus. My boyfriend's car is in VA though (he's using a rental while we're in CA) so I won't even know if the Frontier fits in his car until we get back in August! I didn't have a tape measure or ruler with me when I played with the Frontier today, but I would say Conner has 2 to 2 1/2 inches of torso growing room left when the Frontier was installed in the car. My goal is to keep him harnessed to age 8 which I KNOW he'll be able to do in the Regent, but I don't know if that will be possible in the Frontier. My biggest gripe with the Frontier is it's twisty straps. When I tried it out in a store last week both straps twisted in the few minutes I had Conner in the seat. Today, one strap twisted while buckling Conner in. This will be a HUGE annoyance if it keeps happening. I've never had this happen with the Regent. For this reason alone I would have chosen a second Regent over the Frontier if I could. I don't like buying first generation carseats and I would hope that Britax would fix the twisty strap problem. It seems liked they rushed to get this seat on the market before ironing out all the kinks. Conner was at the limit of his FPSVD though so I had to get a seat ASAP. I really can't say what seat I like best. I do like that the Frontier is FAA approved though since we'll be flying again in August and next year as well. The only reason we have our FPSVD seat out here in CA instead of the Regent is that I couldn't take the Regent on the plane and there was no way I was going to check it. Three things that would make the Frontier "perfect" would be if it had a harness height as high as the Regent, non-twisting straps, and an all over plush fabric. Only then would I say I liked it more than the Regent. The only thing I don't like about the Regent is that it isn't FAA approved and that it doesn't fit in my boyfriend's car.

Sorry if I couldn't be more help. I think the best thing for you to do would be to find a store that carries both the Regent and Frontier and try them both out. Do you have a Right Start near you? That's where I saw the Frontier IRL for the first time last week.

Thanks for posting the pics. Your ds is very close in size to my dd (a pound, an overall inch and an inch in torso difference), so I now have a nice idea of how she'd fit in this seat.

Maybe by the time I'm ready to purchase Britax will have non-twisty straps on the thing

Thanks for taking the time to put that together. It really helps to see real life pictures.

Your son is a cutie!

Great Photos! Your son looks so happy with the pink seat . He does have a beautiful smile. I hopw you get your Red Rock soon.

Nice pictures and your son is cute with his big smile!

I have the same car. I have become very good at installing seats with a locking clip outboard. Can you imagine that I fit three kids in carseats in that car? They are packed in like sardines. lol

essnce629 said:

He was really good about posing in a pink seat! He actually said we should keep it in case we have a girl one day-- although he talks all the time about how we can only have another boy, a brother, no sister at all!

I would do a side by side with the Regent if I could but we are in CA for the summer and our Regent is in VA. Conner is in the second slots from the top in his Regent with about 4 inches of torso growing room when installed in the car. His shoulders in the Regent are just a smidgen above the third slots from the top which is why we moved the straps up. He likes the super soft velvety fabric of the Huntington Regent better than the Frontier's fabric. He really liked the Frontier though because of the armrests and cupholders. He likes the cupholders because he can put his "babies" (his two loveys) in them and they will be safe he says. I LOVE our Regent, especially the Huntington since it is soooo soft and plush, and would have ordered a second one in an instant if it would have fit in my boyfriend's car. In his car though, Conner didn't have any legroom at all with the Regent installed, so our only options left were the Frontier and the Nautilus and I didn't like the Nautilus. My boyfriend's car is in VA though (he's using a rental while we're in CA) so I won't even know if the Frontier fits in his car until we get back in August! I didn't have a tape measure or ruler with me when I played with the Frontier today, but I would say Conner has 2 to 2 1/2 inches of torso growing room left when the Frontier was installed in the car. My goal is to keep him harnessed to age 8 which I KNOW he'll be able to do in the Regent, but I don't know if that will be possible in the Frontier. My biggest gripe with the Frontier is it's twisty straps. When I tried it out in a store last week both straps twisted in the few minutes I had Conner in the seat. Today, one strap twisted while buckling Conner in. This will be a HUGE annoyance if it keeps happening. I've never had this happen with the Regent. For this reason alone I would have chosen a second Regent over the Frontier if I could. I don't like buying first generation carseats and I would hope that Britax would fix the twisty strap problem. It seems liked they rushed to get this seat on the market before ironing out all the kinks. Conner was at the limit of his FPSVD though so I had to get a seat ASAP. I really can't say what seat I like best. I do like that the Frontier is FAA approved though since we'll be flying again in August and next year as well. The only reason we have our FPSVD seat out here in CA instead of the Regent is that I couldn't take the Regent on the plane and there was no way I was going to check it. Three things that would make the Frontier "perfect" would be if it had a harness height as high as the Regent, non-twisting straps, and an all over plush fabric. Only then would I say I liked it more than the Regent. The only thing I don't like about the Regent is that it isn't FAA approved and that it doesn't fit in my boyfriend's car.

Sorry if I couldn't be more help. I think the best thing for you to do would be to find a store that carries both the Regent and Frontier and try them both out. Do you have a Right Start near you? That's where I saw the Frontier IRL for the first time last week.

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NOT AT ALL, you were a huge help!!! No problem on the side by side, I don't blame you for leaving the Regent in Va! I'm in NC, and I think the closest Right Start is DC area! No where near me. Not even within 8 hours or so! I think I may be able to find the Frontier in the Raleigh area, but that will still be 1.5-2 hours away at least. I don't have to make a decision any time soon really, but this was very helpful. I think I'm leaning back towards the Regent. I have a hard time buying something (ie the frontier) when I know there's something else that could keep him harnessed significantly longer Man I wish the harness heights were the same. I wouldn't hesitate. I don't foresee us flying at all, so I'm not too worried about the FAA approved. I agree though, I want to see both of them, install them, take pictures and then come home to ponder

Thanks again!

Thanks so much for the pics!

I am in Canada so anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Frontier to try out for my big guy (who's almost the exact weight and height of your son, incidentally).

BTW, he's a cutie, loved all the pics of him grinning while modeling the seat for us. Made me smile

And this is off topic, but:

I noted with interest that you are a birth/post partum doula...
exactly what I am thinking of training for once we have third (and likely, last) child. Finally something that I could really get passionate about!!

I have a contact in my city who does this too, and I'm really excited to start down that path

Debn31 said:

And this is off topic, but:

I noted with interest that you are a birth/post partum doula...
exactly what I am thinking of training for once we have third (and likely, last) child. Finally something that I could really get passionate about!!

I have a contact in my city who does this too, and I'm really excited to start down that path

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I LOVE my job! My end goal, however, it to become a homebirth midwife. Conner was born at home (waterbirth) and it was such an amazing experience that I still think of his birth at least once a day and he's turning 5 soon! I just want to one day help other women have the same birth experience as I did. Being a doula is not the same since I have yet to attend a homebirth and hospital births are a totally different ballgame.

So the good news-- I woke up Saturday morning to a message on my answering machine from Albee Baby saying that they were extremely sorry and that they would ship out the correct seat on Monday. They also said that they would send someone to pick up the pink Frontier on Tuesday. Later that day I checked my email and had an email from them saying the red Frontier had already shipped that afternoon. Unfortunately the tracking info said it was shipped via UPS ground, not express or overnight. So we'll see when it arrives.

essnce629 said:

Unfortunately the tracking info said it was shipped via UPS ground, not express or overnight. So we'll see when it arrives.

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Most all retailers will ship out the replacement seat via ground, or will allow you to pay the difference on overnight charges. Sorry you got the wrong one.

I don't suppose it is there yet?! Any update at all on the tracking info? I keep hoping you'll post & say it has arrived!

I haven't gotten the red seat yet-- the tracking info says it's supposed to arrive on Friday. UPS did just pick up the pink seat though so that's gone.

That's great! I was hoping that by the time my third was born (we are planning on a third next year) - they would have something less "hospital-ish" available here.
Both my boys had breathing problems right after birth, and that sort of has scared me out of a home birth....not to mention that midwives are really in demand here, more than there are midwives available! My second was a preemie, too.

Other than that, I'd want a homebirth too. The water birth has sounded like a great experience, from all whom I've talked to that had one.

So then I thought, at least a birthing center that is little more geared to mommies who want a water birth etc, but can't/don't want to birth at home....and while I hear that there are some who are attempting to gain this sort of birthing center here, there'd be no way it'll be ready in time for me to have a third.

I'm really looking forward to starting the reading etc that is needed to become a doula, and I plan on having a doula at my next birth.

I feel like it's something I can get really passionate about, whereas I was substitute teaching before and really not enjoying it.

I may have questions for you at some point re: the doula stuff, if you don't mind.

essnce629 said:

I LOVE my job! My end goal, however, it to become a homebirth midwife. Conner was born at home (waterbirth) and it was such an amazing experience that I still think of his birth at least once a day and he's turning 5 soon! I just want to one day help other women have the same birth experience as I did. Being a doula is not the same since I have yet to attend a homebirth and hospital births are a totally different ballgame.

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I'm always happy to answer any doula/birthing questions.

I do want to point out that having a birthing center birth and a home birth are basically the same in level of safety and type of medical equipment available. If you are healthy enough to have a birthing center birth, then you are healthy enough to have a homebirth. If you risk out of having a homebirth, then you would most likely risk out of having a birthing center birth as well. The only difference is that at a homebirth you don't have to do the traveling-- the midwife comes to you! Midwives who work at birthing centers and attend homebirths are the same type of midwife and go through the same type of training. Most birthing center and homebirth midwives are CPMs (certified professional midwives), whereas midwives who attend hospital births are CNMs (certified nurse midwives). The difference in training is that CPMs are trained specifically in out-of-hospital births while CNMs are nurses that spend most of their training in handling hospital births only. Less than 5% of CNMs attend out-of-hospital births. A homebirth midwife carries with her to each birth-- pitocin, methergine, and often herbals to handle postpartum bleeding. They also carry oxygen for mom and baby and rescusitation equipment for mom and baby. They also carry with them IV equipment and suturing supplies as well as all the normal birth equipment. They use a hand held doppler to keep track of the baby's heartbeat. This is the EXACT same equipment that would be at any out-of-hospital birthing center. Birthing centers are not safer than homebirths and statistically, moms who plan homebirths have slightly lower c-section and intervention rates than moms who birth at a birthing centers. Also, at a homebirth, you don't have to worry about packing your bags and going home 4 hours after giving birth like you would after giving birth at a birthing center. The midwife makes sure all is stable, tucks you into bed with your new baby, throws the laundry in the wash and then leaves you to get a good rest before coming back 24 hours later for a postpartum visit. Many homebirthers say that the best part about having a homebirth is the postpartum care! And I can agree to that.

Wow, did I go off topic!