Best 4lb/possible preemie infant seat in Canada?

[SynEpona]

My previous challenge of orchestrating the right 3-across in DH's truck just got more complicated.

Now, the new June baby is 2 May babies (twins should arrive before the June 1st due date).

I need a recommendation for infant carrier type seats, that will fit tiny babies well (DD was 6lb9oz, and just fit in the Radian at birth, and she was 10 days early, DS was right on time, and 7lb11oz).

We're not sure that we're putting all 4 seats into DH's truck, but we will be in my vehicle : Ford Freestyle 2006. (currently captains chairs in 2nd row,
we're definitely getting a bench for the 2nd row of my vehicle, ASAP!)

DD will be almost 3, RFng in Radian. In either 2nd or 3rd row of Freestyle.
DS will be 7, boostered in Monterey or Parkway, whichever fits best in the 3rd row of the Freestyle.

Two children need to fit on the 60 portion of the bench, and it can be either DD(3yo) + one baby, or both babies. The available space behind the driver is slightly less than a Radian w/ angle adjuster (DD currently rides on the passenger side with adequate room for the passenger)

I'll need to leave the 40(passenger side) portion for either adult passenger, DS's boostered friend, and to flip down for 3rd row access. Hatch loading is not a realistic daily option, the clearance over the back of the seats is insufficient -- I have done it before but will not make it a regular part of the routine.

Ideally, I'd like 2 seats that fit on the same bases, so that I can place either baby in their own seat in whichever base is most convenient at that moment, I'd like seats that can be used with the handle in any position, but definitely the carrying position, and I'd prefer to have 2 different coloured seats, to easily identify which seat belongs to which baby. We'll most likely get 2 extra bases for DH's truck, even if we don't keep them installed all the time. The long term plan will likely be more Radians, but that's probably 2 years and a new vehicle from now.

 

[1mommy]

I'm sorry as I really don't know what seats are available in Canada, but here is the list of recommended seats for preemies in the US. You could start by checking which of these seats are available in Canada and hopefully one of our helpful Canadian members will pop in soon.

http://carseatblog.com/9813/recomme...ies-multiples-carseatblogs-list-of-best-bets/

 

[Pixelated]

Wow, congrats Rochelle. That sure changes the planning of things!

Potential options for you would include:

Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35 - get the option with the lock-off, although I do not think it comes in more than one cover in Canada at this moment but that ought to change soon. Handle up, slim narrow base, lightweight carrier. This 'click connect' one is only compatible with Graco 'click connect' strollers, not 'classic connect.' I'm not a stroller person so I don't have any suggestions in that department.

Chicco KeyFit - Handle up, several colours. Narrow base.

Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 35 - handle up, lots of colours, wider flared base than the other version above.

Graco SnugRide 30 - super fit for tiny ones, several colours, handle up, narrow base.

Safety 1st OnBoard of any variety - super fit for tiny ones, handle up, not sure on cover options, narrow base.

Britax B-Safe - can't recall the fit for tiny ones but two or more colours, handle up, narrow base.

There might be more but that's what comes to mind.

 

[SynEpona]

Thank you Jen! that's just what I needed ... somewhere to start I haven't even begun to think about strollers .... I had a double in mind for DD + baby, but that's not going to work now with DD + 2 ...

Must solve the car seat situation first, then get the stroller side figured out (walking from home will be easy, we do have a double Chariot, but it won't fit in the cargo space behind the 3rd row in my car, so someting else for when we're driving to a stroller destination is going to be needed.)

Does anyone know how any of the above seats fit right next to a Radian, in general? I don't have the right vehicle seat here to test any of this out yet, so going to a store to try, isn't going to work yet! I do have a friend with bench seats in her Freestlyle, but can't ask her to drive out of town with me just to test seats ... and we live in a little city, with not a lot of local selection.

 

[canadiangie]

Another budget friendly option, that is lightweight, handle up, and generally easy to use, is the Safety 1st Comfy Carry. 4-22lbs and won't last forever, but fits small babies great, and I bet two would fit on the 60 portion. Base has no recline foot so you need a noodle or rolled towel, but that's ok. I believe they are just over $100. Depending on how long you are hoping for the babies to last in their infant seats, these could work. Sometimes every penny counts, so thought I'd mention it. Walmart carries them.

Eta- oh and congrats!!

 

[Pixelated]

They all, except the SnugRide 35 Classic Connect, have relatively narrow bases with fairly straight edges, so that's a bonus when fitting next to a Radian. The handle is going to be what might get in the way and I honestly don't know if one is a better bet than another.

Do you know how wide the 60 part of the 2nd row bench is? It might be easy to figure out what should work.

 

[Pixelated]

Another budget friendly option, that is lightweight, handle up, and generally easy to use, is the Safety 1st Comfy Carry. 4-22lbs and won't last forever, but fits small babies great, and I bet two would fit on the 60 portion. Base has no recline foot so you need a noodle or rolled towel, but that's ok. I believe they are just over $100. Depending on how long you are hoping for the babies to last in their infant seats, these could work. Sometimes every penny counts, so thought I'd mention it. Walmart carries them.

Eta- oh and congrats!!

Unless it's changed recently, which is entirely possible, I think that seat starts at 5lbs. But, the fit is great on small babies. I saw it on sale for $65 at my Walmart today. No idea how compatible they are with strollers though.

 

[trippsmom]

Unless it's changed recently, which is entirely possible, I think that seat starts at 5lbs. But, the fit is great on small babies. I saw it on sale for $65 at my Walmart today. No idea how compatible they are with strollers though.

The regular comfy carry does now start at 4lbs.

Eta: it is rather space-consuming when using the base. The front-to-back leaves something to be desired, especially for a seat that is only 4-22lbs.

 

[Pixelated]

The regular comfy carry does now start at 4lbs.

Eta: it is rather space-consuming when using the base. The front-to-back leaves something to be desired, especially for a seat that is only 4-22lbs.

Hopefully that will apply to Canada too. Maybe that's why the 5-22lbs ones are being cleared out, to make room for the new version. That would be nice

 

[canadiangie]

I thought for sure they were 4 pound seats. Oh well. At any rate they fit tiny babies extremely well, and are popular here. They don't seem like space hogs to me.. but maybe that's subjective.

For $65 and with walmart's return policy I would be quite tempted lol.

 

[SynEpona]

They all, except the SnugRide 35 Classic Connect, have relatively narrow bases with fairly straight edges, so that's a bonus when fitting next to a Radian. The handle is going to be what might get in the way and I honestly don't know if one is a better bet than another.

Do you know how wide the 60 part of the 2nd row bench is? It might be easy to figure out what should work.

I've emailed someone to find out the measurments, and DH found a better way to search for the bench seat itself (we had previously found only one in the right colour/leather, but now he's found 9 pages of results I need to weed through to find the right colour)

 

[oliviacw]

Congratulations! My DD was 4lbs 14oz at birth and 17.5" long, and she fit wonderfully in her Chicco Keyfit. The base is super easy to install, and even if you have to install it without the base it's not hard. At least in the US, the handle can be left in any position.

 

[Mary_Ann]

I know the britax b-safe puzzles with a rf radian with AA. The fit isn't perfect since the stroller adapters of the b-safe kind of rest on the flipping sides of the radian. I really needed to make sure the carrier was clicked in the base. My set up was really tight, so you might not run into this problem if you have more space.

By the way, I really loved that seat!

 

[SynEpona]

I'm not a stroller person so I don't have any suggestions in that department.

Chicco KeyFit - Handle up, several colours. Narrow base.

Do you know how wide the 60 part of the 2nd row bench is? It might be easy to figure out what should work.

I've gotten a good photo of the 40/60 seat, but no dimensions yet. I did find this (http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=780964&postcount=244) in the Successful 3-Across thread, and had already pretty much decided on the Chicco Keyfit, and the Cortina Together stroller. That combo should get us through 18mth hopefully. Then, I'll figure the next thing out! Going to look at strollers tomorrow to make sure it'll fit in the limited trunk space, since I will need to have my 3rd row in use at all times. I'll have a look at the seats in person too, and then hopefully figure out where the best price is ... 239-249 seems to be what I'm finding, except one seller has one colour marked down to 199.

 

[Pixelated]

You've got a bit of time to watch for a sale. It's sporadically marked down on Amazon for a really good price, and I check there often to post Friday sales on a FB group I co-admin. I'll try to remember to post back here if I see it.

 

[MamanMag]

Thank you Jen! that's just what I needed ... somewhere to start I haven't even begun to think about strollers ....

Congrats!! I know how surprising it is when you learn that you have twins I just wanted to throw an idea for the stroller. What I used when the babies were still in their infant seats (chicco keyfit 30 which BTW fit them great at 4#9oz!!)is the Baby Trend Universal Double Snap-N-Go Stroller Frame. So easy to just pop the seats on that thing without having to wake the babies up!! Which believe me you won't want to do

I hope this helps and good luck!!

Mag

 

[SynEpona]

Going to look at strollers & car-seats was a complete waste this morning -- aside from confirming that I don't like Graco strollers. The B'r'U didn't have either the Chicco double stroller or any Chicco seats. The sales person kept telling me to get a sit & stand type stroller, and couldn't seem to understand that I needed to put TWO babies into the stroller, not one + the toddler I was shopping with! No stores w/in 75 min drive have the stroller on display/in stock, and all she could tell me about the car seat was that it was discontinued -- when pressed, she said it was probably just that colour, but that doesn't help, as she couldn't see any other colours anyway.

Congrats!! I know how surprising it is when you learn that you have twins I just wanted to throw an idea for the stroller. What I used when the babies were still in their infant seats (chicco keyfit 30 which BTW fit them great at 4#9oz!!)is the Baby Trend Universal Double Snap-N-Go Stroller Frame. So easy to just pop the seats on that thing without having to wake the babies up!! Which believe me you won't want to do

I hope this helps and good luck!!

Mag

Thanks, but for the stroller, I need one with real seats as well, as I will more likely wear one twin and put my toddler in the stroller with the other -- wearing someone lighter seems easier on the back, when possible! So, it needs to be able to take 2 babies *or* one toddler & one baby.

I also don't think we have that seat in Canada.

 

[kmw]

We don't have the KeyFit 30 here yet.. the newest Sears catalogue has a few of us curious though! The shell of the KF22 and 30 (US version) are the same.

 

[MamanMag]

Going to look at strollers & car-seats was a complete waste this morning -- aside from confirming that I don't like Graco strollers. The B'r'U didn't have either the Chicco double stroller or any Chicco seats. The sales person kept telling me to get a sit & stand type stroller, and couldn't seem to understand that I needed to put TWO babies into the stroller, not one + the toddler I was shopping with! No stores w/in 75 min drive have the stroller on display/in stock, and all she could tell me about the car seat was that it was discontinued -- when pressed, she said it was probably just that colour, but that doesn't help, as she couldn't see any other colours anyway.

Thanks, but for the stroller, I need one with real seats as well, as I will more likely wear one twin and put my toddler in the stroller with the other -- wearing someone lighter seems easier on the back, when possible! So, it needs to be able to take 2 babies *or* one toddler & one baby.

I also don't think we have that seat in Canada.

Sorry I couldn't be of any help :-(... I didn't go out much the first year as really it wasn't easy to take all 5 with me... The hardest were the babies and my then 2yo... And when I did go out, DH was with me and pushed my 2yo in a single stroller and I had the babies in the baby trend. That's what worked for us! I hope you'll find what you're looking for!! Good luck!

Mag

 

[canadiangie]

OP, do some reading on the Contours tandem, and if you like what you read, the Sears spring catalogue has it available.

You could have 1 baby + toddler, 2 babies docked in travel system mode, or 2 toddlers. You need to order 1 extra car seat adapter as I believe the stroller only comes with 1, but for about $250(?) - maybe less, you'd have a really versatile stroller. They are very popular here - like a less expensive and more mainstream City Select type stroller. And the car seat adapter kits are universal.

The Chicco Cortina double is a beast of a stroller. Huge and heavy. At least with the Contours you could go right down to frame mode if you just had the babies with you. And if you have all three you would be in frame + adapter + 1 stroller seat mode. Way more compact in your cargo area.