Next step and when for five year old?

[mamaluvs]

Dd1 is 5, weighs approx. 43 lbs and is about 44 inches tall. She currently sits in a Britax marathon in the third row passenger side of our Honda Odyssey. The carseat will expire in December. Dd will be six by then.

Dd2 is in a bucket seat in the second row and we are thinking of putting her into a convertible sometime during the next few months.

Not sure which route to take. Safety is the number one issue but we would like to be economical as well. We also have a three year old in a Britax marathon if that matters. Here is what I think my options are, please tell me which seems the best route to take. Or give me a suggestion that I haven't thought about.

Keep dd1 and ds in their seats and buy baby a new convertible, then deal with dd1's expiring seat in December.

Buy dd1 a new seat now, give dd's seat to baby and then buy either baby or ds a new seat come December.
If we take this route, what do I put dd1 in? A five-point harness that goes to booster or will she be okay in a booster? Is a high back booster better than one that just has the seat? She is mature for her age and I trust her to sit properly in a carseat. She is very safety conscious.

One last piece of info which maybe a determining factor: I just noticed that when dd1 is in her carseat, her shoulders must be rounded to the front in order for her to fit. She does not complain about being uncomfortable but just wondering if that is still an ok fit?

Thanks for taking the time to read my novel!

 

[Brianna]

Is the 3 year old rear or forward facing? When you say DD1's shoulders are rounded, does that mean that the harness straps are no longer coming from at or above her shoulders? If they come from below her shoulders, she has already outgrown the Marathon and she should move into a new seat.

 

[mamaluvs]

Is the 3 year old rear or forward facing? When you say DD1's shoulders are rounded, does that mean that the harness straps are no longer coming from at or above her shoulders? If they come from below her shoulders, she has already outgrown the Marathon and she should move into a new seat.

The three year old recently turned forward facing. He too is in the third row (driver's side).

The harness straps still come from above but she must push her shoulders forward in order to fit back in the seat, like the seat is no longer wide enough for her. Sorry if I am not explaining clearly.

 

[jujumum]

I'd move DD1 to a Graco Nautilus (GN) - my favorite forward facing harnessed seat. The cost is quite good (varies from $125 to $155 generally). Since you can pass the seat down to other kids and it can be used as a booster, it will be very economical as you'd get a lot of use out of it. The Frontier 85 is a great seat, too, but pricey and more difficult to install. The Evenflo Securekid 300/400 is nice, too, but for the price difference between that seat and the GN I much prefer the GN.

Between now and December you can also use the GN to booster train DD1. Then, in Nov/December, you can either purchase another GN for (presumably you're ff him now or by then?) or purchase a dedicated booster for DD1 and give DS the Nautilus.

 

[MommyShannon]

If she has outgrown the Marathon like pp mentioned, I'd probably buy a combination seat (5pt harness and converts to booster) now. Give her Marathon to DD2. When it expires, buy DD1 a booster, pass the combo to DS, pass DS's Marathon to DD2. At 5 or 6 she might be ready for a booster full time, but even once my DD was ready to sit correctly at 6, there were times I really liked having a harness she fit.
ETA: PP beat me. I agree with what she said. The Nautilus and Frontier are great combo seats.

 

[mamaluvs]

Thank you for the responses. Dd1's shoulders are still below the straps but she is too broad across the shoulder area to fit flat against the seat. Thus, she sits with her shoulders pushed forward. Does that make sense?