car seats/high back booster

My daughter is 40 lbs and 43.5 inches. The straps in her current car seat are pretty much flush with her shoulders, and I noticed today when wearing a fall jacket they had to go up and over to fit. So I think it's time for a new seat. I was looking at the graco nautilus 5 pt harness high back booster. But I wondered how much of a difference it provides with the height limits? Is it similar to the regular convertible car seat 5pt harnesses? I just want to make sure it's worth the extra money compared to a regular high back booster without the harness, if we won't get more than a couple months out of that feature. I've had a hard time finding height limits on seats, and I know it's hard to judge since even the same sized kids are built differently (long torso vs long legs). But I just wondered if anyone had any input/feedback before I made the purchase?

 

It's the same as a convertible, except the harness slots are higher. For example, the my ride 65 convertible has slots up to 17 inches, for the nautilus it's 18.5... so it can last you 2-3 years probably. I went with britax frontiers personally because the harness slots go up to 20 inches.

IMO it's 100% worth it to keep a harness longer. It depends on your kids though, but mine would be moving all over the place in their seats, and would probably still slump over when they sleep, so they're totally not ready for a regular booster.

 

Denise - we have the Graco Nautilus's and there are several inches above my girls' shoulders for the straps (two of the slots are well above their shoulders now). Both of my girls are 44 inches tall, so we'll get several more years out of them... long enough that we won't have to buy another 5 point harness seat, or another high backed booster. The height of the back adjusts too, so it can be shorter when the child is shorter and then it can be moved up as they grow.

 

Love love love love LOOOOOVE our Graco Nautilus car seats. I HIGHLY recommend them, especially if you're considering harnessing past the 40 pound/4 year limit. We've had them for about 3 years now (maybe 4? OMG...) and we have absolutely loved them. My girls are now 46 1/2" and 48" inches; and 47 and 50 pounds and the harness straps still fit on them perfectly fine, with some wiggle room. I do think they won't fit my bigger girl during winter though. I'm not ready to give up the harness!!

 

That's why I like the frontier better... sure, it's $80 more, but you can keep your kids in harnesses longer (they are often on sale for $210 on amazon).

 

I love the Graco Nautilus too! If it had come out about 6 months earlier I would have bought one for my oldest daughter (who is the same age as Michelle's girls). She's 48 in and 48 lbs right now and could fit in it.

Personally, I just don't see myself harnessing past the age of 5 or so. My twins are 3.5 and have plenty of growing room, but once we start school I'll be switching the Nautilus's to booster seats. But that's my personal opinion, so for me, spending the extra on the Britax's would have been a waste.

I should also mention my older dd is very tall for her age and has insanely long legs. She barely fits in my husband's Ford Focus with her booster seat, because her legs are so long and he keeps his seat pretty far back. If she was in a bigger nautilus or britax she'd be so squished

 

We had to sell our Nautilus' for hubby's car for the same reason. My chicks are tall too and he also has a little car. There was no leg room. He doesn't do highway driving or long trips in his car, so we did a Graco booster there since it was smaller. :good:

 

Thanks everyone! I ordered the Graco Nautilus from Amazon last night for $129 each and free shipping. I hope the kids like them!

 

Our twins are 7 and we still 5 point harness them with the nautilus. Love them!

 

We have all three kids in Nautilus'. Dh thinks I'm nuts that I still have them in 5 pt harnesses. And when I see kids getting picked up from preschool, my boys are probably the only ones in 5 pt still. In my dh car, he has the Graco high back boosters. But I wasn't going to spend $200/ea car seat for the rare occasion they go with him. And he knows if it's more than a 30-45 min drive, he needs the carseats in my car.

I won that battle! Lol!

They will be five in October. Nicholas is still under 40 lbs and Anthony probably tips the scale at 31 lbs. We've got a ways to go over here!

I hope they enjoy the new seats!

 

My girls are about 44-45 inches, and they still have plenty of room to go in their Nautilus seats. One of them just reached 40 pounds at 6.5 years old though! I don't intend to move them to the booster anytime soon, they just don't weigh enough yet.