Our family was in an accident over the weekend and we need to replace our car seats (3). Our objective is to replace them, meaning, get the best equivalent that we can. However, it might be more prudent to purchase a slightly different kind than we have now based on the kid's ages and current sizes.
Our oldest is using a Graco booster, she's 52" tall and 8yrs. The middle child weighs about 38lbs, is 39" tall and is using a Graco My Ride 65 FF. The baby (1yr+) is using a Graco Snugride 30 RF, and he's a little over 20lbs and 29" tall.
I'm just wondering if it would be good to switch baby now to a convertible, and if so, would the Graco My Ride 65 be a good choice or is there a better option?
For the middle guy, stay with the Graco My Ride 65?
And for our oldest, stay with the Graco booster?
Of course, when I write, "stay with" I mean we will buy a new seat in that model. I just don't want to miss a chance to make the best choice.
For your oldest, any booster would be fine. You may want to get one that goes taller as a high back booster if that's important to you.
For your middle, I would get a ffing only seat, like the nautilus, argos, or frontier. It'll last a whole lot longer harnessed than the MR would. And it'll convert to a booster (or you can hand it down as well).
A MR would be fine for the baby. Or if you want something that'll last a bit longer rfing you could look at the radians.
I've had a nautilus and loved the seat. I'm not sure what the exact differences between it and the Argos are. I personally feel the frontier can be overkill for most kids, unless they are exceptionally tall or heavy. I have also heard it can be hard to install.
Do these seats all need to go next to each other? If so, I would base your seats on that.
For the oldest, I'd go with a booster that she likes and will happily use. If you plan on passing it down, you might keep that in mind.
The Nautilus and the Argos are virtually the same seat--- the Argos is just the Nautilus with a no re-thread harness (you don't have to take the straps out and rethread them at a higher height, you adjust them instead). Since most kids using that seat grow slowly, it's not generally "worth it" for most people to spend the extra to get that functionality. If you had different sized kids using the same seat, it would be totally worth it--- personal preference.
There are definitely longer lived seats than the Graco My Ride, but with a fairly short child (over 1 year, only 29") unless you're dealing with a long torso you're fine with the My Ride if you like that. If you are interested in a taller shelled seat in the same price range, you could look at the Graco My Size 70/ Size 4 Me/ Headwise which should last most children significantly longer based on height.
The new Graco seats TiredX2 mentioned are also narrower than the MyRide so they tend to fit better in more vehicle situations. Personally, I think they're a HUGE upgrade over the MyRide, and I would choose them over the MyRide any day for a number of reasons including ease-of-use, more vehicle-friendly design, and more longevity both RF and FF in terms of height. There are three "clones": The Size4Me 70, and the Headwise 70 (Target exclusive), and the MySize 70 (Babies R Us exclusive). They're all basically the same seat in different color patterns and very very minor feature differences (minor enough nobody can ever remember what they are, usually).
How old is your middle child? If the child is, say, 4.5 years old with those stats, I might just go for two Graco Size4Me seats. You're not going to need the little bit of extra height you'd get out of a Nautilus, but you'd get the no-rethread feature you'd have to pay extra for in an Argos. Yeah, the Nauti converts to a booster but personally I prefer regular booster seats because they're lighter and more portable and usually narrower. I can't see myself using a combo seat as a booster, really. On the other hand, if your child is, say, 2 years old and is 39" tall, that would change things completely and I'd say "Buy a Frontier. Even if you have to pay the price difference yourself. Period." Because a child that age & height is going to need the longest-lasting seat he/she can get.
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