We could have used his car seat as a booster...we would have had to take the base off the car seat and remove the harness straps. But with an up coming trip to Florida & wanting a little more space in the backseat (Some how my Mom always gets conned into sitting in the back of our car between the two boys' seats!) we decided to get him a booster.
Like I said, we made the switch about a week and a half ago and I'm ok with it now. But initially it was hard to see him in the booster. Hard to see him just using the car seat belt to fasten him in. He seems so big, so grown up. He is also able to be a little more mobile in the car (leaning forward or over) which I have really tried to discourage. He loves his new seat and has shown it to many people.
We moved Carson into Andrew's old car seat. (And finally used the LATCH system instead of just the car seat belt. We always thought we couldn't use the LATCH because our car is a wagon and doesn't have a top tether latch) I always liked Andrew's car seat better than the one I got Carson. A little easier to use, more convenient to adjust the shoulder straps and the base is a little less bulky than the one we got Carson.
We are flying to Florida this spring. This the first time we are flying with kids since Andrew was 6 months old. We are trying to decide if we should take their car seats with us or rent them once we arrive. We figured Andrew's booster seat would be pretty easy to take with us, but a little less necessary than Carson's car seat. A friend mentioned that they rented car seats once and it wasn't a great experience....dated car seat, no instructions. I thought we would have to pay the airline to take the seats but another friend mentioned they can't charge you for them because they are car seats, not luggage. But with all the luggage we will have with us for a weeks stay, I'm not sure we want the hassle of lugging around two car seats. Any frequent fliers with children have any input on this? Much appreciated. Bonus question: how many times was "car seat" mentioned in this post??? :)
3 comments:
Hi Kristi!
When we flew last summer we took both seats along (a booster for Evan). If your airline has curb-side check-in it is not as big a deal. If you do not have curb-side check in you can rent one of those carts they have at the curb (it may cost $4). We checked Emma's seat and carried on Evan's. But we really checked it at the gate and didn't have it with us on the plane. That may be the way to check a seat without counting it as a bag. I don't remember those details. Florida sounds great! Have Fun!
-Karen Short
Hey Kristi -
We just got back from Florida on Sat and this whole carseat thing is tricky. Jeff and I have been talking about how to make it go smoother the next time. We carried Mara's carseat onto the plane and had her use it, mostly because I thought she would be more comfortable and more likely to sleep. She didn't sleep, but was comfy and could see well. Tyson has a backless booster (could the back of Andrew's seat come off just for the trip?) and we packed his booster in our big suitcase with clothes. That was annoying, but it worked. The whole thing of what to carry on and what to check is so hard when flying with kids. At least you are going to Florida!
beth
Thanks Karen & Beth! Your comments were very helpful. After talking with another friend that had a bad car seat rental experience (when installing it, a whole nest of red ants came flooding out of the seat!!) I think we will be taking the boys' seats. Yes Beth, Andrew's booster seat back could come off for the trip and packing it inside a suitcase could be a good option. I'm surprised Mara's seat fit in the airplane seat... the base on ours seems so wide, I didn't think they would fit in an airplane seat. Maybe we will gate check Carson's. It is quite tricky!
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