Several More Questions and a Plug for This Board!

:)
Hello again!
Okay, so I'm back with a few more questions. I did read a few Nautilus vs. Regent comments on other threads, but tell me bottom-line what you think of my plan:
DS3.5 is in 2 Marathons (FF, wah!) in our cars, and a brand-new Nautilus in Gramma's car since he outgrew our spare (Scenera, which we used RF in the gap between 33-35 lbs. when he outgrew the Roundabout, lol, did I confuse you yet? That Scenera was also our airline seat, which figures into one of my questions below). Anyway, he is about 39 inches and weighs between 38-40 lbs. depending on what he's eaten recently, hee hee! We are planning to buy 2 more Nautilus seats when he outgrows the Marathons, avoiding the Regent altogether because it looks HUGE and I don't think we need those crazy limits. So that leads to questions 1-3;
1. Would you buy the Nautilus over the Regent for a kid with his stats?
2. Why would you need a higher harness limit than the Nautilus? What exactly IS the limit on the Regent's harness? I can't imagine more than 65 lbs. ???
3. I have seen the ads for the CARES and I'm thinking of buying him one for our next flight in December. However, he would likely only be able to use it for a couple of years, tops. Does it expire like a seat? Would I be able to save it for the next kid?
4. If I don't get the CARES, what should I use on the airplane? Nautilus? Marathon? I am even thinking of having Nana (my mom in Florida) buy her own Nautilus as it would last him until he's out of a booster completely, I think...is that logical thinking? She would absolutely buy one if I asked her to and explained that it would be the last one she'd need to buy. We visit frequently and it could make things much easier. But the problem with that is, what would I do on the plane once he outgrew the CARES? Would he then be fine in the regular seatbelt (I mean safe enough, ugh I hate to put it like that but sometimes lugging a heavy seat alone is hard, dh often joins us a week or so later so I'm on my own at least one way).
Okay, sorry for the litany of questions, but I do have one more. If you were starting over with a newborn tomorrow, what would you buy? We are seriously considering TTC within a year, and I'd like to start shopping for seats. Not to buy now, but to get an idea of what's out there. DS was in a Roundabout as a newborn, but it will likely expire just as we have our next baby.

OH and finally the plug: I saw a couple shopping for a car seat in BRU and ended up talking to them about child passenger safety and which car seats I like (they bought the Nautilus)! I told them about this site and hopefully they've checked it out and enjoyed it as much as I have! They were very nice and had an adorable daughter. I told them about extended RF and told them to check out the crash test dummy videos. The only suggestion they didn't take was that they might wait to buy the Nautilus as their DD certainly had a ton more time to RF, and the Nautilus DOES expire at some point, but they were eager to get one. I am really hoping they decided to extended RF, they seemed like very smart people who were interested in finding out more about it. So I was quite proud of myself, lol. :)
 
ADS

NannyMom

Well-known member
If CARES isthe one that wraps around the seat...I think I read it had problems on planes with a video screen on every seat.

As for seats for newborns.... My boss will be havea baby this winter and she'll be buying a Graco SafeSeat 1, an extra base for my carand 1for her DH's car. I had one for Sofi and really liked it.
 

bensmom

Admin - CPS Technician
I'm a little tired right now, so I apologize if I miss something, but here's my thoughts:

1. I probably would buy the Nautilus over the Regent for a kid that size because I personally think that the Nautilus would let my child be harnessed long enough until I was ready to use a booster seat all of the time.

2. It's more the height limit than the weight limit. Most kids will outgrow the 65 pound harnesses before the weight. The Regent has slightly higher harness slots, so it will fit longer by height. The Regent (and Sunshine Kids Radian 80) have 80 pound limits - again, most kids will outgrow by height before weight.

3. No idea. I haven't used one and probably won't.

4. I allowed my son at around 40 pounds (3 years old) to sit in just the airplane seatbelt. Crash dynamics and tests are different on an airplane. A carseat "is approved" for airplane use if it would hold a kid in the seat when flipped upside down. When my son was that size, he was mature enough (and large enough) to stay buckled in his seat and keep his belt buckled the entire trip. Having said that, I personally will not check (including gate check) a carseat. So, I would only do that on the airplane if there was a seat at the destination. Otherwise, I'd take your Marathon with you on the plane. Another option - if your son still has growing room in the Marathon, The Safeguard Go is another option (what I use). I take it as a carry-on on the plane.

As for a new baby, it's hard to say what seats will be available in a year or two.
 
If CARES isthe one that wraps around the seat...I think I read it had problems on planes with a video screen on every seat.

As for seats for newborns.... My boss will be havea baby this winter and she'll be buying a Graco SafeSeat 1, an extra base for my carand 1for her DH's car. I had one for Sofi and really liked it.

Ooooh, thanks for the tip, I never would have thought of that. I will make sure to pass that info along to anyone who might be affected, but we fly on the cheap (Southwest) and there are no video monitors in the seats. :) Is the SafeSeat a "bucket" type seat, sorry I'm not sure what they're really called, we just call it a bucket because of the handle on the carrier. I didn't have one of those with DS3 but I had considered looking into the Companion... But I have bad wrists (similar to carpal tunnel but it is genetic) so I am thinking I would not easily be able to carry one plus corral a 5 year old??? Any thoughts? Are those seats heavy? What about the stroller some of them can click into? I never used a stroller with DS until he was 5 or 6 months and then I only did it for our strollercize class, we just were never a stroller family.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The Safeseat is an infant seat with a 30 pound limit. It's a large seat.

At 3.5 years and 40 pounds he'd only have a few pounds left on the CARES. You could pass it down, but it fits such a small population of kids I'd be nervous using it most of the time.

And while at that age there is the maturity to possibly sit in the lapbelt alone on a plane, there is still a very large metal buckle right on the abdomen which can cause a lot of internal injuries. I get nervous for me on a plane with that belt buckle. I'm constantly pushing it down onto my hips. I'd not let Piper ride in just that until she was tall enough for the buckle to be on her hips and not across her belly, and that the space on either side of her butt was more filled in. That much lateral emptiness makes me nervous.

Wendy
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
The Safe Seat 1 is a bucket seat. It holds up to 30 pounds and 32 or 33 inches. It is bigger then the Graco Snug Ride. With a baby in it, it is very heavy. I will be suggesting to my Boss that she also get the Snugrider, the stroller frame that the seat clicks into. The SS1 can also click into almost any Graco stroller. My daughter never made it to 30 pounds in it because we had to have the harness adjuster strap replaced when she was 13-14 months, and we had to ship it back to them (in exchange for a brand new seat). DD still isn't 30 pounds (at 22 months), but I haven't opened the box to see if she still fits in it. Hmm...maybe we'll check that out at our next trrip to BRU :whistle:
 

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