which is safer?

[rowena___.]

due to an unfortunate tooth incident i no longer have the money to buy a car seat so i have to make a hard financial decision and need your advice:

as a temporary situation, which is safer: keep my child in her evenflo triumph (she is officially 40#, but only 3 years old), or move to a booster seat? this would be just until i can get the money together to buy a car seat that she fits (either marathon or regent). i have taken on more hours of work so i should have the money together within 6 weeks.

i know neither choice is ideal but the money that was to be used to buy the car seat got spent instead on two broken teeth.

if anybody has any other, better suggestion, i would welcome it! thank you.

 

[trailrunnermom]

I can sympathize...I have to pay for a crown soon. Hope your tooth repairs go well, though!

I'm not a tech, but if I had to make that choice, I would keep her in the Triumph, especially if she just hit 40# and she's only 3 yo.

The Regent would be a great seat to move up to; it will last your DD for many years.

If budget becomes an issue, you could consider a Fisher-Price Safe Voyage Deluxe ($130 @ albeebaby.com), which is made by Britax and is a basic version of the Marathon. It should last your DD until at least age 5 and maybe up to 6, depending on her size.

 

[ThreeBeans]

If she's 40 pounds she still fits in the triumph

 

[wendytthomas]

If she's 40 pounds she still fits in the triumph

No she doesn't. At 39.9 pounds she fits. At 40.0 she's outgrown the seat.

Tough choice. I'd probably stick with the Triumph and make sure that thing is in there as absolutely well as humanly possible and try not to drive her around too much over the next six weeks. Maybe stop feeding her.

Wendy

 

[rowena___.]

the manual says 40# max--she's that now--my question is, do i take a chance that she will stay safe and within the weight limit until i get a new seat?

she fits very well height-wise--i have seen several times on this board that children typically outgrow by height first but that is not the case with ella, her height is all in her legs, her torso is only 15" exactly.

i am so confused. and my mouth hurts.

edited to add: we are one of those truly lucky families in which the father and mother both work for the same organization AND we get to bring our child to work with us. so ella is in the car at least twice a day, plus any errands we run. i feel like we're in the car all the time.

thank you all so much, i am sorry to keep bothering you.

 

[stayinhomewithmy6]

I would probably leave her in the Triumph, but only until she hits 41 lbs. After that, I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it. Is she 40 lbs fully clothed, just like she would be in the car? If she's actually over 40 lbs when fully clothed, I'd put her in a booster temporarily and lock the seat belt if possible.

 

[rowena___.]

that's right, she was exactly 40# weighed on two different scales, fully clothed including shoes.

i wonder if it makes a difference that the seat is LATCHed? is the issue harness strength, or seat stability? if it is a LATCH issue, i can change to seatbelt install for a few weeks.

 

[Momto2whosews]

The 40 lbs. is the weight limit of the seats internal harness, but your vehicle may also have a LATCH weight limit of 40 lbs., so check your manual and switch to the seat belt installation if you need to. But you can, and should, keep the seat tethered if you can.

I would be OK with her in the Triumph until she goes over 40 lbs. and just hope she doesn't gain that extra pound in the next few weeks. But at 3 most kids gain pretty slowly anyway, so the odds are in your favor. I don't like the idea of a booster for a 3 year old, but it's better than nothing if she does gain that extra pound in the next 6 weeks.

ETA - OMG! I just re-read your original post and thought your username looked familiar... and then your website... and then it hit me! I was referred to your blog by a boardie on a an ivillage sewing board and I just made your one-seam dress!!!! Then I found sewingmamas because I saw it on your site. I love your blog and your sewing instructions were perfect! It's so nice to "see" you over here.

 

[Gypsy]

It has nothing to do with LATCH or the seatbelt, it has to do with the shell of the carseat and the harness possibly breaking loose in a crash. It's not an acceptable risk. Get her out running a lot, feed her a bunch of veggies and take her shoes off in the car. When she hits 41 pounds move to to a booster and lock the seatbelt. I can't in good conscience say it's ok to keep her in an outgrown seat. I've seen the aftermath of kids too heavy for a harness in a crash. It's not a risk you should take.

If she isn't mature enough to temporarily use the booster, then you might need to have someone stay with her at home, and just not drive with her until she becomes mature enough for the booster or until you have enough money for a new seat. Tough choices, but safety is the #1 priority. It's NOT safe to use a seat that she is too heavy for.

 

[CandCfam]

Was she weighed on a doctor's scale? Home scales can be way off, so I would want to get an accurate weight for sure.

I would be okay with using the Triumph if she weighs 40 lbs (the seat is approved for use to 40 lbs). If she's 40.1 lbs, then she's outgrown it, but I would not be okay with moving her to a booster seat, I guess I'd have to beg or borrow until I had the money to purchase my own.

 

[stayinhomewithmy6]

You could always take her shoes off in the car, too! That would help a little!

 

[all together ooky]

Yeah, Just strip her down! :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:

 

[Loves2sing]

Is there any way that you could use a credit card to purchase a new seat, and then pay it off as soon as you can? Then you wouldn't have to worry too much. Or is there anyone who can lend you the money for the next 6 weeks? I would start searching asap for another way to get the money in the meantime. What about selling the Triumph? Is there enough warranty left to sell it? Or giving blood? Anything? If you think about it there are probably a few different things you could do to get the money together a bit sooner. Like if you bought a seat at Sears, you can get a major discount if you are signing up for a Sears card at the time of your purchase, then you would also have some time to save up for the seat by the time the bill came. HTH!

 

[Morganthe]

I read this Thread about the Triumph just after I read yours. And I thought, "What the heck".

Contact Evenflo with your concerns & questions about your 40lb short child and ask to speak to someone higher up the food chain than entry level Customer Service. Tell them how tight money is and that your daughter has put on an uninticipated weight gain.
Emphasize how much you need the seat, how you LOVE it, and ask if there's ANYTHING they can do to help you perhaps get a hold of the newer version & higher weight seat using some sort of trade-in & perhaps a small fee. You are most concerned about her safety and trying to keep to their restrictions of the seat at the same time. But at 3 years old, she's too young in height & maturity to switch to a booster.

Perhaps they might take pity and work something out :shrug-shoulders:

At the worst, all they can do is say "No" :duck:

 

[UlrikeDG]

It's a tough choice. The "right" answer is move her to a booster. However, it's also true that the seat isn't going to just stop working simply because she's a few ounces over 40.00 lb.

 

[jennsmile]

Craiglist. Either sell some stuff to fianance the carseat of perhaps somebody is selling a decent carseat. I know sometimes people sell things new in box as they don't want to bother returning them. I just saw some regents on one in Houston this morning.

Do you have a friend you could swap carseats with for 6 weeks? Maybe they have a marathon or something and their little one still fits the Triumph?

Could you swing a Fisherprice seat? How about an Apex?

Good luck.
Jenn

 

[arly1983]

Could you apply for paypal buyer credit????

Just get a paypal and account and link will be in your account to apply....

Thats how I bought both the radian and regent at the same time to try out! Lots of online baby stores take paypal...

 

[rowena___.]

thanx everybody, we don't do credit, we have no credit cards and the only thing we have debt on is our house which we only financed 15 years (we're down to 9 years left!).

i had to borrow money from my sister to fix my teeth, it came to way more than the cost of the carseat.

i do a lot of work from home, online via a virtual network, and since our spring season has ended i have the liberty to work at home one or two days a week but i still have to drive go in the rest of the week (we have a 6-day week) and i still have to take ella with me. paying someone to stay with ella at home isn't an option--if i had that money, i'd buy the carseat. we have no family in state, and no friends who do not also work.

ella's weight was measured at the doctor's office and at our postal office on campus--i put her on the package scale. exactly 40 lbs at the ped's, 39.8lbs. at the post office.

this is truly a temporary situation, i fully expect to have the money no later than 6 weeks, possibly sooner if i can manage enough extra hours.

Momto2whosews: THANK YOU, you made my day. i would love to see your dress--i have one cut out to make tomorrow to wear to a wedding saturday. i have made so many of them and given them away, people literally stop me on the street to ask about them. i'm working on a new one-seam design, but i am very behind in posting to my blog, it probably won't be up until sometime in june.