Carseat Issue Revisited

It's been a couple months and I still haven't solved my carseat and stroller quandaries.

To my husband's frustration I still own four strollers- a double, a single, a lightweight single, and an umbrella stroller. I use all of them for various reasons and situations. None of them made it into a single yard sale this summer. Nada. Still in the garage collecting dust. Hopefully there are no Pretzel Time remnants molding in the underseat baskets.

I thought I had settled on getting rid of the double stroller and the deluxe stroller that originally came with a matching carseat and replacing them both with a sit n' stand model. Now I'm not so sure and I think I'll wait until the baby is a little older to decide what will work best. In the meantime I can still get by with the double stroller and in reality how often am I really going to be strolling through the mall with a three year old and an infant? Yeah. Not much. See how I've totally justified my decision making procrastination?

But there is still this carseat conundrum. (Aren't I coming up with some fun words today?)

I read all your previous suggestions. I've visited Babies R'Us and have received a full unbiased (ha!) consultation by a salesperson, I've read the online comparison reports. We definitely MUST replace the toddler seat that Spicey currently rides in. I'm concerned that it's just not safe anymore aside from the fact that it is TOTALLY trashed after undergoing four years of Cool's abuse.

As for the infant seat, I think we're going to continue with the same seat that we've used for the other two. While it isn't a five-point restraint, many of the seats currently being sold aren't either. It's been well kept, is still current, and has not been recalled. The only difference between it and what is in the store is the fabric cover.

So we've decided to upgrade the toddler seat knowing that by the time Bump is big enough for it Spicey will be in a booster seat assuming that Bump will not be the beefcake that Cool was as an infant (20 pounds at five months! hello!) and need it sooner.

After all the research I've done it's pretty clear that the Britax is going to be the safest, most durable bang for our buck. But man, that price is hard to swallow! Can I really count on it being as safe and in good condition as I want it to be through two children for the next five years? And my second biggest hang up, aside from the price, is that not a single Britax model has a CUP HOLDER. A cup holder! Don't they realize that toddlers do not travel sans sippy cup? That a sippy cup is as good as a third appendage to a small child? That a mother's sanity is bottled in that plastic recepticle with a screw on lid? People! A carseat THAT expensive and they don't have the forethought to attach a CUP HOLDER?! I mean come on! Don't the Britax people know that it's not safe to drive and listen to screaming while reaching backwards to fish a wayward cup out from under the seat? Clearly their test market consists of those really low key, parent pleasing type kids who sit still to be buckled in and then quietly look out the window when driving home even though it's 12:45 and they haven't had lunch and they just left the pediatrician who gave them four immunizations. Gah! What is the carseat world coming to??

So Britax owners: please advise. Which model, why, and what in the world do you do about this lack of cup holderage?