Boy troubles in Decathalon

[Oceana]

We have a marathon decathalon and a roundabout... my 3 1/2 year old uses the decathalon. He is NOT a big boy, he is very average height and a little low on the weight. We have the seat belt strap that goes between the legs on the one closest to the front of the chair.

I believe only the decathalon has the adjustable clip area

anyhow, my 3 year old son has been complaining of penis pain in the car seat... it is on its furthest out position and I dont know what to do. He is scooted back in the seat as far as he can go... it doesnt seem to be squishing him or anything, it isnt about his leg straps being too tight more about how the buckle sits... I am using that silly circle thing that comes with the chair but it doesnt seem to be helping

I plan to buy him a new seat when we get our new van in 3 months... I was going to get the Britax with the side impact stuff... but will I encounter additional penis issues?

I would really rather keep him in a 5 point harnes as long as possible but not at the cost of pain.

suggestions ideas?

help?
julie

 

[broken4u05]

I have not heard of the problem for any of the britax seats have you put him in the other seats to try it and see if it still hurts him? I know some people say this about the radian though

 

[Jimaie(mom2boys)]

We got our Britax Regent last week and the fit in that area is GREAT! We had similar "boy troubles" in the ALpha Omega Elite and even tho it wasnt technically squishing him i could see how it would be uncomfy or seemingly restrictive. The Regent has two positions for the crotch strap but i believe that Britax doesnt reccomend using the 2nd position until after 50lbs(??) but even so we have PLENTY of room where it is now

 

[mominabigtruck]

Is he wearing any kind of bulky pants? My 4.5yo can fit in my blvd with the closest setting and it doesn't bother him at all. I make sure when I buckle him in his husky that I have my hand in between the buckle and him so nothing gets pinched or smushed. Maybe you would have better luck with a regent since it has a deeper base then the other britax models.

 

[scatterbunny]

The Britax Regent would eliminate those problems, and should last your ds at least 4-5 years. The Regent appears to be a huge seat, but it is only 2 inches wider than the Decathlon, and 1-2 inches taller overall. The top slots are 3 inches taller, though, and it harnesses to 80 pounds. Most kids do not outgrow this seat until age 8-10. My big 5yo is in a Husky, the precursor to the Regent. It's the same basic seat, and it's wonderful! Plenty of crotch room. My dd is almost 50 pounds and the closest crotch strap position (of two) still has plenty of room.

 

[Oceana]

What about the boulivard? I am very interested in the side impact?

We bought the decathalon for my now 1 year old and swapped seats because my elder child was complaining about the crotch.

My DS is only 30lbs and potty trained so he is just wearing underpants and jeans. he is more comfortable in the seat if we take the time to point things up before we buckle... but that gets a little odd.... Getting a 3 year old to do anything without repeating it 1200 times is next to impossible and I can only stand outside the car door saying "point your penis up please" so many times before I am just willing to buy a new seat ya know


He is a tad independant so he is buckling himself, we use the circular pad though and he doesnt seem to have anything pinched in the buckle

 

[arly1983]

Jackson (who has PPD) doesn't talk to us. We think that he was having boy troubles or his legs were going to sleep when he was FF in a MA. When we turned him RF all the crying a fussing disappeared. My onw personal opinion is that the MA/BV/DC are sitting at a reclined angle causing the crotch to rest against the crotch strap. We just went to the doc and Jack is 33 bls 10 oz so we had to move him FF. We decided to move him into his regent. He is not having any probelms so far. He seems to sit strait up in the regent and the crotch strap is not putting any pressure on his crotch. I can't really say if that was the problem ( i am not in his head) However whatever it was, be it less pressure on the crotch or more theigh support, he definatly prefers the Regent.

 

[joolsplus3]

What about the boulivard? I am very interested in the side impact?

We bought the decathalon for my now 1 year old and swapped seats because my elder child was complaining about the crotch.

My DS is only 30lbs and potty trained so he is just wearing underpants and jeans. he is more comfortable in the seat if we take the time to point things up before we buckle... but that gets a little odd.... Getting a 3 year old to do anything without repeating it 1200 times is next to impossible and I can only stand outside the car door saying "point your penis up please" so many times before I am just willing to buy a new seat ya know


He is a tad independant so he is buckling himself, we use the circular pad though and he doesnt seem to have anything pinched in the buckle

The boulevard is the same as the marathon, so less crotch room than the decathlon's outer position. do you loosen the harness before he buckles up? And then only tighten it till it's snug on his shoulders (not tight all up and down, that makes things too squishy everywhere, the torso harness section should be loose-ish, just the shoulders need to be snug)...does he have other sensory complaints in general? Is it really 'pain' he's feeling?

Anyway, there's several more inches of crotch room in the Regent, and any five point harness seat is remarkably good at side impact protection, so it might be a great choice (my 9 year old loves his, no complaints at all!)

 

[thepeach80]

I thought the farthes out spot in the DC was the same as the MA/BV?

When he sits in the seat, all the way back, can you see any of the other crotch positions? Maybe it needs to be closer to him to keep him from sliding forward into it. AJ complained on the middle slot of his Radian, but not the outer one.

 

[joolsplus3]

No, the middle one is the same as the MA/BV, the farthest one out is further out

 

[henrietta]

If you haven't taken the buckle/belly pad out and tried that, I'd suggest removing it first. Maybe it's squishing him more than necessary.

I think the way the Cosco Apex fits he might not complain--it seems more upright and like the buckle hits differently. I'm sure the Regent is a better choice overall for comfort and size, but the Apex may be a convenient, cheaper option for right this second. (-:

hths

 

[Oceana]

We started without the belly pad and I added it when he complained...

I think what happens is, you know that rumor about boys and how often they get an erection... well pretty much he is fine then gets one and its all ouch all over the place. No he doesnt complain about much else in the world.

I may go try seats this afternoon at the local Babies R and see

Thanks
julie

 

[tech_raechel]

We started without the belly pad and I added it when he complained...

I think what happens is, you know that rumor about boys and how often they get an erection... well pretty much he is fine then gets one and its all ouch all over the place. No he doesnt complain about much else in the world.

I may go try seats this afternoon at the local Babies R and see

Thanks
julie

I have 2 Wizards (precursor to the Blvd). Both my older boys have had this exact issue. It was, thankfully, a fairly short-lived phase. While it was happening, we'd just stop, give them a minute to re-adjust things, and then buckle back up and be on our way. The oldest has since moved to a Husky (Regent), about 2 years ago (he's 7 1/2) and has never had the complaint. The 5yr old is still in the WZ and only rarely has an issue.

So, if you're able to replace the seat, I'd definately look at the Regent, but if a new seat isn't possible, you might just try waiting it out. I don't think it's a problem of overall too-little room, as my boys don't complain about it all the time (and the eldest was still able to ride in the WZ on occasion until just recently).

Good luck!

 

[Oceana]

I have 2 Wizards (precursor to the Blvd).
So, if you're able to replace the seat, I'd definately look at the Regent, but if a new seat isn't possible, you might just try waiting it out. I don't think it's a problem of overall too-little room, as my boys don't complain about it all the time (and the eldest was still able to ride in the WZ on occasion until just recently).

Good luck!

We are planning to get a new car seats for both boys when we get our new van our current van has a built in, in the next 3-6 months... but with this new issue I dont see any reason in the world not to go ahead and get him a new seat.

We stopped by babies R today and checked out what they had, they did not have the regent in... apparently they dont carry it. The only other retailer anywhere near us says they wont have any regents in till end of April.

We did test sit the Parkway, and my smart arse for a 3 year old pointed out the lack of penis pain because there is "no buckle on my penis Mom!"

Unfortunatly I dont know if he reaches the requirments for the seat... I am also not certain I am ready for him to be in a booster with all the concern over ill working seat belts etc, and I am concerned about the wings irritating him not being able to see out the car windows.

so I think about other choices in seats outside of the britax world, so where can I test sit some raydians?

julie

 

[scatterbunny]

Radians are hard to find in real stores, not online stores, but you can order thru Target.com and return in-store if necessary.

I think you already are leaning this way, but I would NOT put a 3.5yo child into a belt positioning booster full-time. IF he's 40 pounds, as a spare, MAYBE. Full-time, absolutely not, not until he's maxed out the limits on a good harnessed seat.

You won't find a Regent in-store to try out, more than likely. They are hard to find in stores even when demand is low. High-end baby stores usually carry them. Try the britaxusa.net website, look for retailers and start calling the ones in your area.

 

[Oceana]

Radians are hard to find in real stores, not online stores, but you can order thru Target.com and return in-store if necessary.

I think you already are leaning this way, but I would NOT put a 3.5yo child into a belt positioning booster full-time. IF he's 40 pounds, as a spare, MAYBE. Full-time, absolutely not, not until he's maxed out the limits on a good harnessed seat.

You won't find a Regent in-store to try out, more than likely. They are hard to find in stores even when demand is low. High-end baby stores usually carry them. Try the britaxusa.net website, look for retailers and start calling the ones in your area.

We dont have "spare" seats really. We have 2 car seats per car and use them about evenly.

Target's return policies here are kinda narly. If the seat doesnt work I am stuck with a $300 credit which can only be used in the car seat department ick!

We did the call around to all the local stores which carry Britax (authorized reatailer) and the only one who carries them will have them in April bah!

Guess we will just push through the penis pain till April and try out the regent

 

[Oceana]

UPDATE

Penis troubles have continued and my roundabout expires in April (the 3rd... its 5 years right?)

so I am stuck with no retailers even having a Regent till sometime in April

so outside the Britax family... anything?

 

[Jeanum]

I don't have any good suggestions for a more comfortable seat for your DS other than what others have posted about trying the Radian or Regent, sorry. I just wanted to let you know Britax seats expire 6 years from their date of manufacture, not 5 years, so that buys your RA some more time if it's any consolation.

 

[Niea]

Target's return policies here are kinda narly. If the seat doesnt work I am stuck with a $300 credit which can only be used in the car seat department ick!

You may want to double check this with your store -- if that's their policy then your store has issues and you should complain to corporate.

They should accept a full refund. And even in other cases when Target does not, they have never limited store credit to just one department. They give you a gift card for use anywhere in the store.

 

[Dillipop]

You may want to double check this with your store -- if that's their policy then your store has issues and you should complain to corporate.

They should accept a full refund. And even in other cases when Target does not, they have never limited store credit to just one department. They give you a gift card for use anywhere in the store.

They have limited areas of the store before, but not with a receipt. I know my sister had to return something on her registry without a receipt and was limited to the homeware aisles. If you have your receipt and its within their 90 day policy, you should get a full refund with how you paid.