GHM or other carseat gurus....

Marce921 · November 2010

I've been trying to find the ff-ing 5 point harness height limit on my DS1's Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 convertible carseat without any luck. It says the seat itself has a 52 in height limit, but at what point would I need to make it into a belt positioning booster as opposed to the 5 point harness? TIA!

ETA: Just an FYI, DS1 is 4, 37 inches and 32.2 lbs (he's short and skinny). LOL

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

I hate to break it to you, but you're going to need to get a new seat, if not now, very soon. The top slot on it is NOT usable. Remember that seats are outgrown forward facing when the shoulder is above the top slot. I've never seen anyone say they've ever seen a child fit properly in it as a booster. It rides too high on the lap (onto the soft part of the abdomen), and the shoulder positioners are usually too low by the time the child has outgrown the harness.

If you're using the top slot, you're going to have to not use it for even another ride. Let me know if you need any more help. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

Marce921 · November 2010

The top slot is higher than his shoulders still. Like I said, he's a shorty. But, when his shoulders are above that, he's outgrown it even as a booster using the seatbelt?

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

He may or may not have outgrown it using the seatbelt, but I'll just say that I've never heard of any child ever fitting in it properly. For it to be a proper fit, the belt must sit low on the hips/high on the thighs and NEVER touch the soft part of the abdomen, and the shoulder portion must fit so it goes across the chest, not the neck, or down off the arm. The eddie bauer 3 in 1's are notorious for riding high on the abdomen, which would cause internal organs to be crushed in an accident.

Again, please make sure that we're not talking the very top slot here. The second from the top is the highest slot that can be used. If he's above that, it's outgrown.

Given his small size, I'd definitely buy another harnessed seat when he outgrows his current seat.

AnnapolisLari · November 2010

Threadjacking--- does anyone know the top harness height for the Evenflo Triumph Advance seats? We have 3 of them, but DS is tall and long in the torso, so I need to know if I need a new seat for him.

And the top harness height for the Graco Nautilus if you know that.

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

I don't know what the heights are off the top of my head--but the stated heights are just guidelines, unlike weight, which must be followed to the ounce. Seats are outgrown forward facing when the shoulder is above the top slot, or when the top of the ear is above the top of the shell of the seat.

AnnapolisLari · November 2010

Well, after some digging, it looks like the top harness height seated is 16ish inches. DS is measuring about 15.5 inches, but wasn't that cooperative. It looks like a new seat is in the not too distant future.

Now to find a deal on the Nautilus.

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

The nauti is on sale right now at Amazon for $138. I do believe the seated harness height is 16 inches on the triumph advance, the same as britax convertibles. It's 18 inches on the nauti, so that's quite a bit of growth left.

AnnapolisLari · November 2010

Nautilus or Maestro? There's a significant price difference.

Or the Evenflo Generations 65? We've been happy with our Evenflo Triumphs.

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

The maestro has the same harness height as the nauti. The generations isn't much taller than the triumph, I believe. Definitely the maestro. I had nauti's, but if I had it to do over again, I'd get maestros (they weren't around back then). As I've said in some of the other posts, the nauti doesn't always fit as a booster, so there's a strong chance you'll have to buy a new booster anyway. I'd rather buy the $80 seat and buy a new booster if necessary (the maestro has a better chance of being a good booster, though), than spending $150 and then having to buy a new booster.

AnnapolisLari · November 2010

DH had a conniption when I said "$138" last night. LOL Little does he know that it's one of the lower priced seats.

I have the trial of Amazon Prime, so I think I will go ahead and get the Maestro if you think it's the better option. DS is SO tall (almost 44 inches) and pretty skinny (just over 40 lbs) that he's outgrown the seat earlier than I thought he would.

My mom has a seat that harnesses to 40 lbs, and then has to be a booster. We're going to have to convert it, as much as I hate the idea. I can't ask her to buy new seats, and we can't afford to replace the ones in our car and hers.

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

If you see this, do you mind telling me what that seat is? The main problem is that a lot of them don't make good fitting boosters

Let me know if you need help finding out if a booster is a good fit or not.

AnnapolisLari · November 2010

Evenflo Symphony

goodheartedmommy · November 2010

That's better to hear than some seats! It has a much better chance of working as a booster, though not forever--you'll eventually want to get a taller booster.

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