Car Seat Quandry

The Bjorns · Dec 30, 2008

I'm in in a quandry over what to do about seats for my 4 3/4 DD. I was planning on getting her a Frontier for her birthday in March, but I'm guessing that if she's about to outgrow her Marathon, then she's on the verge of outgrowing the Radian in Grandma's car. Grandma picks her up from preschool 3x a week. I like the idea of a Nautiuls for her 2nd seat, but she takes one look at it and refuses to even give it a test sit. I don't know if it's because the ones in the store are all hideous gray (she's a major girly girl) or she just doesn't care for based on whatever arbitrary criteria is in her crazy 4 3/4 yr mind.

First off, does anyone know of a place that has the Mariposa Nautilus in stock to try out?

What about something like the SafeGuard Go booster. Grandma's car is a Mazda 3 with a top tether.

Maybe she's ready for a really sturdy booster for those short trips. I would really really like to keep her harnessed, but I just can't afford 2 Frontiers.

Are there any other options I should consider?

She's tall for her age, just around 44" and while I can't get a decent torso measurement on her, she is tall in the torso (just like her Daddy!). Weight-wise, she's around 45 lbs.

firemomof3 · Dec 30, 2008

At your dd's height she won't fit the safeguard go booster (and if she does she won't fit for long

)
The Frontier for your car or even the Safeguard child seat (has 19" top harness slots) or the Regent (20" top slots)
I don't know if the Mariposa cover is available yet

mominabigtruck · Dec 30, 2008

I thought the radian had higher harness slots the the nautilus?? If it does and she's outgrowing the radian then there's no point in the nautilus.

The last time I was at bru they had the mariposa nautilus there.

The Bjorns · Dec 30, 2008

I haven't checked her in the RA for a while (I figure as long as she's fitting in the MA, then she's fitting in the RA) so I'm not sure how close she is to outgrowing it.

And you're right about the SafeGuard Go. I just was checking the dimensions and it's not going to buy us any time.

Guess I'll have to swing by BRU before I drag her down there against her will to look at seats.

Does BRU finally have the Frontier (mine has not in the past, but it's been a while)? Otherwise we have to go to 2 different stores...PITA.

firemomof3 · Dec 30, 2008

The GN has 18.25" top harness slots and the Radian has 18" right? I don't have a Radian so I can't check.

bubbaray · Dec 30, 2008

If she's just outgrowing the MA, she has time left in the RN. The RN is at least 1/2" higher top slot than the MA. My DD#1 has been out of the MA for at least a year now and is still in the RNs, with about 1/4" to go before her shoulder is even with the top slot.

mominabigtruck · Dec 30, 2008

firemomof3 said:
The GN has 18.25" top harness slots and the Radian has 18" right? I don't have a Radian so I can't check.

Really?? If they actually came out with some boy covers then I might buy one for my mom. As it is, grey, grey and more grey just don't do it for me.

LISmama810 · Dec 30, 2008

The Babies R Us in Foothill Ranch has the Frontier AND the girly Nautilus. They're usually the last store in the county to get stuff, so likely the other ones around here have them, too. I forget where exactly you are, but I'll bet the one in Westminster has them.

Edited: I know the Westminster BRU had the Frontier when I was there a few weeks ago, so unless they pulled them for the recall, they should still have them now, too.

carseatcoach · Dec 30, 2008

Mariposa Nautilus is a BRU exclusive (I'm 99% sure).

The Bjorns · Dec 31, 2008

Jennie ~ Awesome info on the Foothill Ranch BRU. It's a toss up as to what is closer--Foothill Ranch or the one in Laguna Hills off the 5. If we're up at my parents' the Westminster one is close.

Now all I have to do is check her out in the RA and see how far she's got to go.

LISmama810 · Dec 31, 2008

The Bjorns said:
Jennie ~ Awesome info on the Foothill Ranch BRU. It's a toss up as to what is closer--Foothill Ranch or the one in Laguna Hills off the 5. If we're up at my parents' the Westminster one is close.

Now all I have to do is check her out in the RA and see how far she's got to go.

I can't picture one in Laguna Hills. There's a Toys R Us that I think is technically in Laguna Niguel, off Oso. Is that the one you mean? They just added a Babies R Us section, but it's much smaller than a regular BRU. I was there the other day, but for the first time in forever, I didn't check the car seat selection

The one in Irvine (Marketplace, at the 5 and Jamboree) is a big, busy store. If the Foothill Ranch store has them, the Irvine one most certainly does. That might be a good option for you, too.

Defrost · Dec 31, 2008

Yep - my dd outgrew the Marathon a couple of months ago but still has a decent amount of growing room in the Radian. :thumbsup: (About an inch? I'm guessing she'll get another year out of it, keeping in mind she's a petite slow-grower.)

bobandjess99 · Dec 31, 2008

kids usually have a good inch in a radian after they outgrow A MARATHON. So she should still be good for several months, possibly up to a year in the Radian, at which point, a booster will be a perfectly approprioate choice. so get her her frontier for now, and re-evaluate a new seat for gramma's car when you need to....as long as she is 5.5 or so, and understands how to sit, a nice booster is a good choice.

The Bjorns · Jan 3, 2009

Did a quick check in the Radian and she's good to go for a while. I didn't measure how much room she has left because we were rushed for time and she had enough room that it wasn't a judgement call whether or not she still fit.

The good news is the BRU in Foothill Ranch had the Mariposa Nautiuls, but the bad news is they didn't have a Frontier or even a Regent to look at. We happened to be really close to this store so we checked. The one in Irvine is much busier so I'm guessing they'll have it.

We actually stopped at Right Start in MV to see the Frontier because they ALWAYS have it. Wrong!!! They had just sold their floor model about 30 minutes before I got there. There was actually another lady there wanting to buy 2 (replace her jumbo Regents) sight unseen.

The other good news is the DD actually liked the Nautilus! She was on the 2nd highest slots so she had plenty of room left. It fit her quite nicely and she liked the butterfly shaped shouler pad and the giant belly pad. The cup holders were a hit but not as cup holders--as blankie holders! Weird, I know.

She also sat in some booster just for fun. She did NOT like how they didn't feel sturdy (the turbo ones). However, she did like the Monterey but knew that a race car harness (5-pt) is the safest for her. She did fit really well in the Monterey...makes me look forward to her growing just so we can get more seats. How wrong is that?

LISmama810 · Jan 3, 2009

I think all the Frontiers are gone because of the recall. I'm surprised Right Start sold their floor model.

I'm not sure when the new seats will start arriving, but I know there was a thread that mentioned it recently.

The Foothill Ranch store definitely HAD them at one point, so likely will again.

Oh, and I don't think any of the BRUs carry the Regent anymore. I think Bergstrom's has it. Have you been there? There's one in Irvine and one in Anaheim.

I'm glad you found the Mariposa Nautilus. I liked it a lot more in person than in the online photos. Online, it looked almost as gray as the rest of them!

Kat_Momof3 · Jan 4, 2009

I'd pick the Nautilus, but just remember/beware that you'll lose up to 1" of height when you install it.

The Bjorns · Jan 5, 2009

Jennie ~ I'm with you on liking the Mariposa pattern much better IRL than online. Ugly online and quite acceptable for a girly girl in person.

Kat ~ good point about the height! For the price, I think the Nautilus fit really well and well, price might be the deciding factor. $100 difference is an awful lot.

Kat_Momof3 · Jan 6, 2009

yes... that difference is what would keep me from going for the frontier.

I say that because I've seen the frontier IRL... and even though it goes taller, I like the Monterey as a hbb better.

The Bjorns · Jan 7, 2009

yes... that difference is what would keep me from going for the frontier.

I say that because I've seen the frontier IRL... and even though it goes taller, I like the Monterey as a hbb better.

:yeahthat:

DD loved sitting in the Monterey and it just looks super sturdy. And can I confess that I would love to ultimately buy a Clek just because they look cool? No need to get one if the Nautiuls converts to a backless...

Oooo! I just had a thought. Once she outgrows the MA, I move the Radian into my car as her primary seat and get a Monterey for Grandma's car. Then eventually, I can get a Clek for someone! That at least gives me some more time to figure out what to get her as a new primary seat. I should not be allowed to sit and ponder all the possibilities of car seat configurations.

Kat_Momof3 · Jan 8, 2009

I think it would depend how long the Nauti had left.

I mean, if it had years to go, I'd rather pass it to someone who needed it for a harnessed child. At least when comparing that to me using it as nothing more than a backless for Jeffrey. (it wouldn't work as a spare in dh's car for RUthie... too wide)

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