Front facing 5 point harness booster or convertable

MargaretC5

I am trying to figure our car seats for DS and the new LO.
We still have DS infant cat seat and it is not expired, so we are all set at first. I am trying to figure out when we move this LO to a convertable should she use DS convertable and we get DS the 5 point harness booster, or is it safer to keep both in convertables?
DS will be just over 2 when this LO is born, so I guess the question is, is a 5 point harness booster just as safe as a convertable for a 2.5 to 3 year old?
I would like both kids to be safe, but if I can save money by not having to buy another set of convertables for both our cars that would be great.

kdsmith43

My suggestion would be to keep him rear facing in a convertible car seat.

VexedMommy

I know at about 3 I moved my DD into the 5 point booster and it was fine.

rebeccalynn27

It all depends on DS weight and height. My DS is over the weight and height for rear facing. I have him forward facing in a convertible seat and he's comfortable in that. We plan on possibly buying a booster car seat after the new year for him since he's becoming too tall for the convertible.

LSRoo

A convertible seat is your safest bet. Booster car seats are really not recommended until much later. Look at:

www.csftl.org or the car seat lady on fb. They will give you the most up to date information.

And as always--Any child under 2 should be rear facing in a convertible. (Unless they have reached the height or weight requirements of the seat).

apritch88

I am in a similar situation and have been giving this a lot of thought as well. 

I think we will be purchasing additional convertible seats when the baby is too big for the infant seat. 

My oldest will be three when baby is born and, despite being HUGE (both height and weight) for her age she is nowhere near reaching the limits of our current convertible seats- I haven't found any booster seats that have low enough weight and height limits to accommodate her now (I haven't looked very hard- and I'm not sure I would feel safe with that anyways).

nbpa3027

When it was time for my daughter to move out of her infant seat and into a convertible seat we bought my son a forward facing only 5 point harness and put my daughter in the convertible seat. He was way more comfortable in a the forward facing seat. So much more comfortable that when I am only with my daughter, she sits in my sons seat. They have a bit more space and it is significantly cooler (and a cup holder) We have the Britax Pinnacle(I think--similar to the Britax Frontier), and we love it. I am actually really sad that we are going to have to be getting all new seats when this baby comes so we can fit three across in our car. We are going to be going with the Diono Rainier, which I keep hearing good things about.

MargaretC5

@apritch88 I was looking at the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1. It starts at 22lbs with the harness.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I think I will wait until we really need the new car seats to figure it out. I will see how tall DS is at that point. If they are both only going to be in the convertable car seats together for a short time, maybe I will just go with a cheap convertable.
We have a registry just for the completion coupon and I was hoping to include the car seats, but it is probably a better idea to wait.

kdsmith43

You could also look into the all in one seats like the Diono Ranier but it's pretty pricey. Worth it though!

https://www.amazon.com/Diono-Rainier-Convertible-Booster-Adjustable/dp/B00ISS2S6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438370362&sr=8-1&keywords=diono+rainier

fitmama89

We love love our Diono Radian. They have fantastic safety ratings, are slim & have a steel frame which pushes back the expiration to 10 years. My daughter prefers her Diono over her Britax. We will also get much more use of of the Diono since it is a 5-pt harness then turns into a booster that goes up to 120 lbs! Definitely worth the money in my opinion.

https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/2014/06/2014-diono-radian-rxt-review.html/

Albee baby also has no tax & free (quick) shipping!
https://m.albeebaby.com/diono-radian-rxt-convertible-car-seat-shadow.html

sheri0102

I have the same convertible seat for both of my daughters (3yr and 4 1/2 yr). It can be rear facing, then front facing with a harness and then a booster seat to use with the car seat belt. MH and I found this was the best option as it will last for a long time. I am pretty sure that they are Safety 1st brand.

RaisingJulian

My son will be 3 when baby gets here. We just bought him a car seat that is both 5point & turns into a booster with a car seat belt once he's big enough. He's very tall and fits perfectly we only spent $60 on the car seat at Walmart. It also has cup holders. Which is irrelevant but a plus.

rox7777

My son is 2.5 and he has the graco nautilus and we love it. It is super heavy so you won't be able to easily move it from car to car, but the straps are super easy to adjust which had been awesome because I think he grows every other week. He's currently 36lbs so he's on the higher end for weight.

Pontot31

I would stick with the rear facing convertible. Much safer.
We didn't move my daughter forward facing until 2.5 and that was only because she reached the height limit. I would have kept her that way until 3 if I could have.
We just switched to a 5 point harness when she reached 40lbs a few months ago and she's 3.5 years old. She was 1 inch from the height limit.
A convertible will last a long time.