Question new baby: new carseat for baby or big sister?

U

Unregistered

Guest
Hello. I haven't frequented this board since I was researching carseats 3 1/2 years ago for my oldest daughter. I decided to buy the Recaro Signo and really like the seat in itself, but did have to turn her ff before the seat's weight limit because of not enough room for her legs and not being able to lift her into it because of the tall sides. So now we have a new little girl and am trying to figure out what I want to do about getting a new carseat.

From what I've been researching, it appears that getting a second Recaro is not the way to go. I've seen that the most recommended are the Truefit/TFP, My Ride, and Complete Air in order to get her closest to booster specs. I'm prepared to purchase another Recaro if that is the best fit for our familly, so anything under that price is sufficient.

DD1 is 3 1/2 yo, about 30lbs, and about 3ft tall. She still fits in the Signo well, ffing. The butt side padding is still there too with plenty of room. She's kind of on the small side of weight and height.

DD2 is 6weeks old but already at almost 12 lbs and probably only about 22-23inches. She is currently in an infant bucket, but probably want to switch her into a convertible in a few months.

I'm thinking it would be best to use the Signo for DD2 and get DD1 a new seat that will last her until booster and then dd2 will use it. Now the million dollar question is...which one?

Currently we have a 2001 Ford Escape, but should be getting a van sometime in the next year. We don't have to switch the carseats from car to car very often, so the fact that the Signo is a beast isn't a huge issue. I have DD1 on the outboard passenger side and the baby outboard driver side because I didn't think I could use latch system with 2 latches on the same spot on the frame of the car. But now that I've seen 3 across in some situations, I'm assuming you can click 2 carseats into the same latch point?

Thank you for your input.
Miranda
 
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But now that I've seen 3 across in some situations, I'm assuming you can click 2 carseats into the same latch point?
One of the techs will tell you for sure, but I think you'd have to check your car's manual to see what they say about the LATCH anchors. IIRC a lot of the time when people do 3 across installations they use seat belts to install - partly because some cars don't allow the LATCH to be used in the center if there are only two sets of LATCH anchors for the outboard seats, and partly because when there are two sets of LATCH anchors, they're spaced a bit farther away from the vehicle doors so you wouldn't have as much room to install a seat in the center position as you would have if the outboard seats were installed with seat belts. Remember that LATCH installs aren't inherently safer than seat belt installs - they're just supposed to be more convenient.

For your ODD - since she's already forward facing, how about getting her a good 'combination' seat like a Graco Nautilus or Britax Frontier - these are forward facing seats that harness to 65 lbs (nautilus) or 80 lbs (frontier) and then convert to boosters - the Nautilus can be used as a high back or low back booster, the Frontier can only convert to a high back booster but it adjusts VERY tall in booster mode - many of the adults here say they can fit it - so it'll last until your DD is tall enough to use a seat belt without booster.

Of course, if you'd like to turn your ODD back to rear-facing for those last 5-10 lbs., I'm sure that folks here will give you plenty of suggestions for convertibles with high RF weight limits;)
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
My hubby's vote was not to turn her back around and I have to probably agree. I would have to actually put her in a seat rfing and see what I think to know for sure. I'm also not sure how she would do going back to rfing.

I'm more likely to keep the baby ERFing as long as possible if I had a better rfing seat that allowed more room for the legs/easier to get in/out of, which is why we turned the Signo around earlier than weight limit.

Thanks
 

jess71903

Ambassador
You definitely can't use 1 LATCH anchor for 2 car seats, and Ford does not allow LATCH in the center position anyway. LATCH is no safer than the seatbelt, just supposed to be easier (and it's not always) so if you want to and can fit the 2 seats side-by-side, you'll have to use the seatbelt to install in the center.

Before you do anything, see if your new baby will fit in the Signo yet. The harness must come out at or below her shoulders, so if she's not there yet, you may need to wait.

If you don't plan to rear-face your DD1 again, I would look at the Graco Nautilus and Britax Frontier for her. They are both combination seats, meaning they forward face, then turn into boosters. The Nauti has a 65lb harness weight limit, the Frontier 80 (but most kids will outgrow both by height before 65lbs). They have about the same top harness slot height. The Nauti is usually much cheaper, but I actually like it better. Some people hate it and prefer the Frontier, though.

If you do want to RF DD1 again, just about everything has more leg room than the Signo. The regular Radian seats now RF to 40lbs, the 80SL and XTSL seats now RF to 45lbs.
 

Pixels

New member
One of the techs will tell you for sure, but I think you'd have to check your car's manual to see what they say about the LATCH anchors. IIRC a lot of the time when people do 3 across installations they use seat belts to install - partly because some cars don't allow the LATCH to be used in the center if there are only two sets of LATCH anchors for the outboard seats, and partly because when there are two sets of LATCH anchors, they're spaced a bit farther away from the vehicle doors so you wouldn't have as much room to install a seat in the center position as you would have if the outboard seats were installed with seat belts. Remember that LATCH installs aren't inherently safer than seat belt installs - they're just supposed to be more convenient.

For your ODD - since she's already forward facing, how about getting her a good 'combination' seat like a Graco Nautilus or Britax Frontier - these are forward facing seats that harness to 65 lbs (nautilus) or 80 lbs (frontier) and then convert to boosters - the Nautilus can be used as a high back or low back booster, the Frontier can only convert to a high back booster but it adjusts VERY tall in booster mode - many of the adults here say they can fit it - so it'll last until your DD is tall enough to use a seat belt without booster.

Of course, if you'd like to turn your ODD back to rear-facing for those last 5-10 lbs., I'm sure that folks here will give you plenty of suggestions for convertibles with high RF weight limits;)

Yes, this. All of it. :) I'm not aware of any vehicle that allows you to double up on lower anchors. A very few vehicles (mostly pickups) allow doubling on the top tether anchors.

Using a seatbelt is just as safe as LATCH. LATCH was supposed to be easier, but it isn't always. As long as you can get a good install with less than one inch of movement at the belt path, that's all that matters.

If you're going to keep her forward facing, there is no reason to get a convertible seat. Combination seats (harnessed FFing and then convert to booster) generally have taller top slots and will last longer than convertible seats. Plus, they convert to a booster. The Nautilus and Frontier are both good choices.

If you are considering re-rear facing her, or want to get a different convertible to rear face your second child longer, add the Radian to the list of seats to consider. It has nice, low sides and tons of leg room.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I never even thought about one that converts to a booster. I will look into those.

But if I don't get a seat that has better stats for ERF then I probably won't be able to keep dd2 rfing as long as possible down the road with the issues with the Signo.

So it's get a combo/booster for dd1 now and be stuck with flipping dd2 around sooner or get a longer rfing seat now for dd1 to use in the meantime and then switch her a booster when ready. And be able to use that new seat to erf dd2.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I think that keeping the baby rear-facing for as long as possible (at least 2 years old, preferably to 3 or 4 years old) is the most important step you can take to keep your child safe in the car. (Assuming proper installation and use of the car seat, of course!)

With that said, I would recommend either the My Ride or the Radian for the baby. The Compass True Fit would be the third on my list. Over the next 2-3 years, you can switch seats back and forth between the two girls - depending on what works best. For example, you might use the new car seat for the baby until the baby is 35/40lbs. At that point, you could put the baby ff in the Recaro seat and give DD1 the My Ride or Radian - which I assume/believe are bigger than the Recaro (but I might be wrong!). When DD1 outgrows the new seat - or when she is about 6 years old and over 40lbs, you can move her to a booster seat. Then keep whichever seat will work best for DD2 until she gets to booster age.

HTH

Melanie
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I've seen people refer to the Truefit as "Compass" and others "First Year". Is this the same thing or are there 2 carseats with the same name,j ust different manufacturers?
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I've seen people refer to the Truefit as "Compass" and others "First Year". Is this the same thing or are there 2 carseats with the same name,j ust different manufacturers?

And also Learning Curve. I can't remember the order, but one company bought another which bought another. So Compass/Learning Curve/First Years are one and the same.

Wendy
 

jess71903

Ambassador
I never even thought about one that converts to a booster. I will look into those.

But if I don't get a seat that has better stats for ERF then I probably won't be able to keep dd2 rfing as long as possible down the road with the issues with the Signo.

So it's get a combo/booster for dd1 now and be stuck with flipping dd2 around sooner or get a longer rfing seat now for dd1 to use in the meantime and then switch her a booster when ready. And be able to use that new seat to erf dd2.

You'll either be dealing with DD1 outgrowing a convertible in a few years or DD2 outgrowing RF capacity on the Signo. If it were me, I'd first be sure DD2 fits in the Signo now. If not, wait until she does. Then pass the Signo to DD2 and get DD1 a Nautilus. She won't need another seat for the rest of her car seat days. Then use the Signo until DD2 outgrows it or you have another kiddo to pass it to. At that time, you can evaluate your RF choices if you feel like she still needs to be RF. So much has happened in the world of ERF in just a couple of months. I can't wait to see what will be available in a few years! I kind of feel like the Signo is a fine seat and meets your needs right now, so it seems silly to ditch it altogether, you know?
 

mkmama

Active member
If the Signo still fits DD1 and will until booster age (I'm not familiar with the seat and its specs) I'd keep it for her and get a TrueFit for the youngest...I might even do that anyways, as you can always use the Signo RF for the youngest and the TF FF for your oldest until booster age (it harnesses to 65 lbs like the Nautilus, but the top slots aren't quite as high, but that doesn't sound like it will be a big problem for your girls). It would mean still buying a booster at some point, but those seats are much less expensive.

If you had trouble with the high sides of the Signo, and getting your daughter in and out I'd personally not go with the MyRide over the TrueFit...the TrueFit has a LOT more leg room and inside room IMO (I have both the MyRide and TF) and much lower sides -- its MUCH easier for me to get my 17 mo old (not walking yet) RF son in and out of it as opposed to the MyRide. However, the MyRide does RF to 40 lbs instead of 35 like the TF...both harness FF to 65 lbs.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I definately won't be ditching the signo at all (that baby was expensive). There are a couple of scenerios I can go with.

A) If I get a Truefit, Radian, or My Ride, I can put dd2 in it now. Then I can either keep dd1 in the signo until she meets the requirements for that one (can't remember off top of my head) and then just get a booster. Like someone said, it's cheaper. Then dd2 can hopefully stay rfing longer than she could in the signo. Or put dd1 in the new seat as long as dd2 can still rf fine in the Signo, but the seats could be interchangable for the next 2 years (probably).

B) Get dd1 a combo/booster that will take her through her booster age and use the Signo exclusively for dd2. But then we will have the same issues erfing as we did before. Hubby will definately not go for getting a new seat just to keep dd2 rfing longer. He seems to have a "limit" when it comes to erfing. We would have to keep dd2 in the signo until it is no longer useful or until dd1 outgrows the new booster/combo.

Did I cover my options? or is there something I missed. Which would be the most effective scenario in your opinion? Then I'll have a way to narrow down which type of seat I'll need to choose.

Thanks so much for your feedback.
 

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