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View Full Version : Wow, long time no see....car seat quest. too?


chloaver
05-28-2008, 11:29 AM
Hello everyone! We haven't been on here for forever and I've missed being a part of CN but life here is, as usual, hectic. Anyway, everything has been going good here. Chloe is doing very well and is even on a baseball team. We were lucky to have The Miracle League build a field here and start a league and I thought it would be something Chloe would enjoy. It's a six week season and they play each game for an hour and a half and each kid gets to hit and each kid gets to go in the field. Chloe can't do any of the activities on her own but they are all assigned a buddy and the buddy does each thing with them and pushes her wheelchair around a rubber track. It is soo cute! The kids on the team are just adorable to watch and alot of them are so excited about being there. I love to watch it! She's been doing good seizure wise and hasn't had any med changes in a year or so. We tried weaning on the Phenobarb but her myoclonics increased almost immediately so we stopped it and left her on it along with the Keppra. It seems to be a good fit for her though and her myoclonics are mild and infrequent right now so we are thanking our lucky stars for that.

Averi is doing good and loves being a big sister to Hayden and has turned into her little mommy. She watches for any little thing on the ground that Hayden can pick up and always makes sure the gate to the stairs are closed. It's really cute to see and actually handy. One of the things I was scared of with having a 4yr old and a baby was all of Averi's toys laying around and being a danger to the baby but she does good in helping me keep things away from her. Hayden is almost 7mths now and such a good baby. She really only fusses when she is hungry or tired and is otherwise very smiley. She is army crawling right now and gets to just about anywhere she wants to and fast so she definitely keeps me on my toes.

Anyway, we've been going back and forth on getting the van with a ramp now or waiting another couple of years when Chloe gets harder to transfer. Right now she is heavy but not impossible to transfer so I'd like to hold off and get the most years out of the van that we can. So we've decided to wait but that means we need to get another car seat. I had gotten a gorilla car seat off of ebay but I really don't feel it supports her nearly enough. It also is the straight up and down kind so she has to always sit in the van seat and recline it so far back that we can't use the seat behind her and that still isn't nearly enough recline. I was looking at the Britax Special needs one. Has anyone had any experience with this one. She is 45lbs and about 45in tall. It says that it fits kids up to 105lbs which i don't think we'll hit for quite awhile but I was worried about the height and her outgrowing it that way. Anyway, any help you could give here would be great or any car seats that you guys use that you like. Thanks!!

Even though I'm not here posting alot I definitely am still checking up on everyone. Hopefully, now that things have gotten a little more calm around here I'll be able to get on here more. :)

wheeliebird
05-28-2008, 12:32 PM
Kori, Welcome back, I've missed ya!!! :) Miss Chloe looks terrrriffffic and that's awesome about the baseball team, I bet she loves it!! :) Anyway, hope to see you around here again!!

Love and {{{HUGS}}}

Robin

mybaboo
05-28-2008, 12:55 PM
We have and LOVE the Britax Traveller Plus...that's the special needs one. It provides great support and is really easy to adjust. It comes with a bar that lets you recline it and you can buy an extender for the legs when they get too big for the standard size. One of the cool features is that you can adjust the support by removing/adding padding under the cover, it has bolsters and pads that are either connected with velcro or elastic. This is a really good carseat. Molly has limited head control and poor tone, she sits really well in it with it reclined a bit. Its pricey and its huge, but worth it. Molly's around 38 pounds and about 40 inches tall, she's got PLENTY of room for growth even without the leg extender.

GinaMarie
05-28-2008, 01:22 PM
HI Kori!!
Chloe looks great and so do Averi and Hayden!! Hayden is a little chunk. :) Good to see they are doing great!! Thats great Averi is such a help.
Hope you are able to check in more and show more pics.
HUGS,
Gina Marie

Mom2HeathandKynzer
05-28-2008, 02:57 PM
We have the Britax Traveler and LOVE it!! I looks like it would be very comfortable and Kynzer hasn't complained about it at all. He is about 40 inches tall and weighs about 36lbs. and has tons of growing room!

Tracy Sheppard
05-28-2008, 06:59 PM
Hello sweet sweet friend. I am so glad to hear that all is going well with all the kiddos. We have the britax traveller also, and I LOVE IT!!! Even more important Miss Megs loves it. She had the Columbia and it was all right, but the britax is so comfy and cushy. It is BIG, but it is wonderful. It reclines if you need it and really nice. Hug all those girls from us.

chloaver
05-28-2008, 10:37 PM
Thanks everyone! Where did you guys order your from? Did they automatically come with a pad kit with the different positioning pads? I found it at adaptive mall but it didn't say anything about a pad kit coming with it. I also found it on ebay for cheaper but with a no return policy and it says it comes with a pad kit. I could probably go through our dealer that got Chloe's w/c too but not sure if that would be more expensive or not. Thanks for all the help! Gotta go feed the baby!

khfernandez
05-28-2008, 10:37 PM
we have the Columbia. The therapist ordered some extra padding. It cost about $900, but my insurance covered. I also bought another one just like it on ebay, but without the extra padding. The columbia is light weight and FAA approved, and I don't think the britax will fit on an airplane.
Kimberly

khfernandez
05-28-2008, 10:40 PM
I also bought a Sunshine booster seat, which is not a "special needs" product, and is a lot less expensive. It works for a short haul, and is a lot trimmer than the columbia.
Kimberly

chloaver
05-29-2008, 12:13 AM
Tracy, do you use the 5 point harness or a seat belt with it. One site I was reading said that the LATCH system goes up to 48lbs which I'm thinking is teh 5 point harness, isn't it? hmmm.....

chloaver
05-29-2008, 12:14 AM
P.S. I didn't realize insurance covers car seats. I'll have to call our dealer tomorrow and have him help me out. Thanks again!

Mom2HeathandKynzer
05-29-2008, 12:42 AM
I think ours came from snugseat.com
And our insurance paid for it.

glad2beadam's mom!
05-29-2008, 07:52 AM
Our insurance also paid for our Britax special needs car seat, we love it and it's very adjustable and has plenty of room for growth with Adam. Like you, we don't plan on getting a conversion van quite yet. The padding is great, we recently removed some of the side padding as Adam's gained some shoulder width. So I would check into it if I were you...ours has the five point harness.

The photos of the girls are beautiful...the baby is so cute - I can't believe she's seven months already..time sure passes by fast! Can you believe Adam and Chloe will soon be seven years old?

Take care and don't be a stranger around here....but take ease in knowing we all realize you have your hands full we just miss you is all :)

mybaboo
05-29-2008, 10:29 AM
The pads all just come with it and you can remove them as needed. The LATCH system is the strap that secures it to your car seat without needing the seatbelt. It works until like 50lbs and then you have to add a second strap or use the seatbelt. Ours came with the extra strap, but we'll have to install another hook in the van floor to secure it to. I think they only come with a 5 point harness.

Tracy Sheppard
05-29-2008, 04:10 PM
We got ours thru abilitations I think. Our insurance didn't cover it. It was around 600.00 I think. Megs uses the 5 point harness and it is all tethered down it is very secure. All the padding came with ours too.....

Camille's Mom
05-29-2008, 06:33 PM
Camille has had the Britax for a couple of years. It is nicely padded, easy to adjust and will recline. The things I don't like about are
It is massive and it weighs a ton
Camille seems to get very hot and sweaty in the summer because she is so surrounded by padding
We are on a never-ending quest to position Camille's head so it is not too far forward or too far back. Even with all the pads we haven't been successful. I'm currently using a hensinger head support on her when she is in the car.

chloaver
05-30-2008, 02:56 PM
Aaah thanks for clearing up the LATCH question. That part of it didn't make sense to me. My insurance is unsure if they will cover or not when I called them. They will determine it when I send all the paperwork in. Kind of a pain though but I guess better than paying for it all. :) Thanks again for the help. I need to post a separate question now on strollers. :)

Heather
06-03-2008, 06:58 PM
Hi Kori,
We have the Britax Traveler Plus, which was around $400. on sale, ordered online. Aidan is 38 lbs and 41 ' tall now and still has room to grow in it, but it doesn't support him well enough. His head will come forward, out of the support pads, even in the most reclined position. He does the same thing in his current wheelchair. Transporting Aidan is never really safe enough. We are also waiting until we can't lift him anymore, but that day is coming fast! I think I want a Honda Odyssy with a manual, rear ramp and a Chunc wheelchair. Chloe looks happy and healthy and Avery and Hayden look great too!