Moms of Big Toddlers & Car Seats

Hi, I don't have much advice, just wanted say I think he would be ok in a 5 point harness booster. I have a 2 year old who is also about 40 lbs. but she has always been big so I bought a convertible with a 65lb weight limit (britax boulevard) and am planning on getting their 5 pt. harness booster when she grows out of the boulevard. Otherwise, their is bound to be cheaper convertible seats that have a higher weight limit. What kind of seat do you have in your car?

We got ours at Walmart, they have name brands, why spend more than needed? Ours fits up to 100 lbs.

I found the cheapest prices on carseats to be on Amazon. Free shipping too since it'll be over $25. We love our Graco MyRide 65, but it is not under $100. Might be able to find it for $130. It has a 5 point harness up to 65 lbs!

We have the Evenflo Generations 65 and it 5 point harnesses up to 65 lbs. It was only $100 too and I had a 15%off coupon for babies r us, so I got it for $85.

Look at the seats that convert from five pt harness to booster with back. Can't quite remember, but I think it should be able to handle your big guy.

You're right - he's way too young for a belt-positioning booster. You're looking for what's called a "Combination" seat - a forward facing seat that can be used as a 5 point harness seat and later as a belt-positioning booster when the child outgrows the harness. Good ones in your budget range would be the Evenflo Maestro ( about $80, 50 lb. harnessed limit, positions the belt well as a booster but doesn't adjust very tall so you'd need to get another booster after he outgrows it as a booster - this is not a huge deal because a good high back booster like a Graco TurboBooster high back can be found for around $35 on sale. details here http://carseatblog.com/5923/evenflo-maestro-as-booster-re...) and, if you could go a little higher, the Graco Nautilus (65 lb. harnessed weight limit, can also be used as a high back or backless booster - around $160 but you could probably get a good online deal for less than that, and it could actually last until your child is ready to use the seat belt without a booster. Also if your child is almost 40 lbs. at age 2.5, you might need the 65 lb. harnessed weight limit to make sure you can keep him in a 5-pt until he's mature enough to sit properly in a booster)

Most other combination seats in your price range (Evenflo Chase, various models under the Cosco/Summit/Eddie Bauer name) are not worth buying because they either have a low harnessed height or weight limit, don't position the seat belt well as a booster, or both. examples here http://carseatblog.com/1646/dorel-summit-as-booster-part-... , http://carseatblog.com/1426/dorel-vantage-point-as-booste...

PS - when you compare seats, make sure to check what the *harnessed* weight limit is - many are rather vaguely labeled so a box that says something like "for children 20-100 lbs." might have a seat with a 100 lb. booster weight limit but only a 40 lb. weight limit for the 5-pt. harness. Also please note that many harnessed seats are outgrown by *height* before the weight limit is reached (harness slots should be at or slightly above the shoulders for a forward facing seat)