Booster for toddler or convertible for infant?

Currently, the 2.5 yr old is in a Britax Marathon - he's 32 lb, 40in. The 6 mo old is in a Graco Snugride and is 18 lb, 25". As the infant is approaching the limits of the bucket, I need to get her into something else. Here are my options:

1. Keep the toddler in the Marathon and get a convertible for the infant. Not sure which convertible.

2. Get a booster for the toddler and move the infant into the Marathon. Not sure which booster.

Any advice?

ETA: To clarify, I meant a harnessed booster. :)
 
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Blondie87

New member
Do you mean a HARNESSED booster? Like the Graco Nautilus or Britax Frontier? Cuz I would probably vote for one of those. But definately not an actual booster seat.
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
I would probably recommend looking at the Graco Nautilus or the Britax Frontier for your son as they have a taller harness height then the marathon. Both seats also turn into pretty good booster seats later on. Most of the other combination seats (the seats that have a harness and convert to a booster later) are not always the best choice because they have low harness heights and 40 lb weight limits.
 

Pixels

New member
Definitely a convertible for the infant. At 2.5, your older child is nowhere near old enough (mature enough) to ride in a booster. He also just barely meets the legal minimums to ride in only a select few boosters. Most have much higher minimums, really because it's not safe for a child that young and small to ride in a booster. Many of us on this board have children older than yours who are still harnessed (until 6 years old, or older) and even some are still rear facing at 4 years.

What vehicle would this be going into?
 

Stretchy Glue

New member
Currently, the 2.5 yr old is in a Britax Marathon - he's 32 lb, 40in. The 6 mo old is in a Graco Snugride and is 18 lb, 25". As the infant is approaching the limits of the bucket, I need to get her into something else. Here are my options:

1. Keep the toddler in the Marathon and get a convertible for the infant. Not sure which convertible.

2. Get a booster for the toddler and move the infant into the Marathon. Not sure which booster.

Any advice?

You could get a Graco Nautilus for the toddler, since he's nearing the rf weight limit, and pass the MA on to the baby. Your toddler is way to young and too small for a booster, but the Nautilus makes a decent booster later (depending on the car of course). If you want to stick with Britax, you can get a Frontier, but the Nautilus is considerably less expensive.

(not meaning to be repetitive, but we all posted at the same time)
 
I did mean a harnessed booster.

I do believe that you can't put a price on your child's safety. Unfortunately, though, I can't afford to be buying carseats every year! I'm trying to find my best long term solution. I was thinking if I got the harnessed booster that turns into a belt-positioner for the toddler, it will last him a while and then the infant can be in the Marathon a while longer.
 

Blondie87

New member
I did mean a harnessed booster.

I do believe that you can't put a price on your child's safety. Unfortunately, though, I can't afford to be buying carseats every year! I'm trying to find my best long term solution. I was thinking if I got the harnessed booster that turns into a belt-positioner for the toddler, it will last him a while and then the infant can be in the Marathon a while longer.

Then yes, I vote for getting a harnessed booster and passing the convertible to your baby. That would be the best option since your oldest is reaching the rear facing limit and no longer needs a convertible.

Now you just have to choose between the Britax Frontier or Graco Nautilus! Some people don't like how the Nautilus fits their kiddos as a booster, or the crotch room when harnessed. Otherwise it's an awesome seat. The Frontier becomes the tallest booster out there, has more crotch room when buckled, but it is more expensive. So it's up to you! :)
 

Pixels

New member
Ok, that makes good sense. :thumbsup: In that case,
You could get a Graco Nautilus for the toddler, since he's nearing the rf weight limit, and pass the MA on to the baby. Your toddler is way to young and too small for a booster, but the Nautilus makes a decent booster later (depending on the car of course). If you want to stick with Britax, you can get a Frontier, but the Nautilus is considerably less expensive.

(not meaning to be repetitive, but we all posted at the same time)

:yeahthat:
 
Thank you so much for your advice! I'll go tonight and try out the Nautilus if my Toys R Us has it... the Frontier would have to be ordered in... Canadian retailers aren't really interested in carrying the products that I want!
 

heyruthie

New member
LOL!

If you search recent threads, you'll discover that I recently posed the same question. I think the answer to the question is that, ultimately (given that all the seats are equal/still good/decent seats, etc.) it's always more COST effective to get the bigger kids new seats, and then pass the smaller ones down. This just makes financial sense, if you think about it: why get smaller seats? your kids are only going to grow! Now that your 3 yo is FFing, he doesn't NEED an MA, which, when you pay for it, you're paying for the ability to RF. But in the future he WILL need a booster, or at least a HWH seat. I'd get him a new seat that has higher harness slots (like the Nautilus or Frontier.) Even if you don't end up using it as a booster, you'll buy yourself another year. But if you buy another MA, eventually, you're going to have to get your 3 yo a new seat, but your baby will still be in the MA, so you'll be stuck with an un-useable seat for a while.

OTOH, if you just want to "splurge" for some reason, and get a new and better seat thrown into the mix, that's another thing altogether :) I may be buying my littlest a new seat, just because I want to get her the cool new girly pattern True Fit--esp. since I found out the new baby coming is another girl. That said, I know it's not the most cost-effective thing to do. But in your case, that's prob. not what's going on, since the MA is a great seat, and you can also get new covers. If I was sticking only with Britax, I would only ever buy the older kids seats, because I could "treat" the younger ones to a new cover when the actual seat is passed down.....
 

cookie123

New member
Another option for later is to just pass down the GN or Frontier to the little one and get a dedicated booster for your older child if the timing works out.
 

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