Question Need some advice on the next stage seat

I'm looking to replace my daughter's infant seat with a larger more comfortable seat. Right now she is in a Maxi Cosy Mico. She's 15lbs and about 26.5 inches long. I'm driving a 2003 VW GTI, so it's a two-door. I want to stay RF as long as possible but not sure what kind of seat to get that will fit our car. We were able to install her seat in the middle and would like to again with the new one.

Any good recommendations? Cost is not too much of an issue.

Thanks! :thumbsup:

The Graco My Ride is on sale at TRU/BRU this weekend for $189.97 ($30 off). Very comfy seat, cupholders for child, nice cozy infant insert (not sure of your babe's age so you may or may not need this). It RF to 40# so can keep your baby RF for a long time and it fits nicely in smaller vehicles.

The First Years True Fit is also nice and goes on sale regularly at Zellers for $149.99. It's also available at TRU/BRU. The nice thing about this one is, if you still needed more recline for your babe (again, not sure what age your babe is), she'd still fit in the seat without the headrest, which would give you more room to install it an angle closer to 45°. Then, when she's older you can add the headrest and install it more upright and it won't take up anymore room than it did without the headrest (in fact, it may take up less, but someone would have to confirm that). It has nice tall harness slots and also has a very cozy infant insert. I believe the infant insert has to be removed at 22#, but you can still use the head support for as long as you like. It has a taller shell height than the MR, but only RF to 35#.

My DD used to ride in a TF but she's now 33# without her winter wear (light jacket, toque, mittens, etc.) so I've swapped her to a MR because I didn't want to worry about her being over the weight of the TF. She's 3 years, 3 months and is likely to make it to age 4 in the MR when she'll outgrow it by height likely before weight. She's got lots of height room in the TF, but is basically maxing out the weight, so the extra height sadly isn't doing her much good!

Here's a post where I did a bit of a comparison between the two seats http://car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=1074897&postcount=6

You have two great suggestions from PP. If you happen to not like either option or just want to look at more seats, here's a list of good seat choices in Canada (just look at the "RF over 30 lbs" list for best options at this stage in your carseat use):
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=36056
Some of these are plushier than others, easier to use, seat specific quirks, etc, so once you have some in mind come back and browse through the board or ask us for the pros/cons of the seats you are considering.

Thanks for the info! My little one is now 7 months old and I want her RF as long as possible. We are going to check out the First Years seat and hope it fits into our car.

Thanks again!

We actually went with the Britax Diplomat as it was the only one to fit in the car. We're getting it installed tomorrow. So happy

Thanks for all the info and pointing me in the right direction. I have to say even researching all the brands it's hard to narrow it down without some advice from others. :thumbsup:

VWgirl said:

We actually went with the Britax Diplomat as it was the only one to fit in the car. We're getting it installed tomorrow. So happy

Thanks for all the info and pointing me in the right direction. I have to say even researching all the brands it's hard to narrow it down without some advice from others. :thumbsup:

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Oh dear. Um. Can you return it?

The Diplomat is a cute little seat. Operative word being 'little'. The vast majority of kids will outgrow it before the second birthday rear facing and the third birthday forward facing, and that really just is not enough.

Even in little cars, bigger child restraints can be installed. You don't need a full 45 degree angle. The MyRide is actually a GREAT seat for compact spaces, as is the Complete Air, because they both install upright really nicely.

Is there any chance you can get in touch with a technician from the board who can show you the tricks?

I concur; the Diplomat is cute and all but it will be outgrown VERY early both RF and FF, and you'll be buying a new seat sooner rather than later.

Oh no, what happend to the True Fit you were going to try? Did you try the My Ride?

Well, sadly nothing fit and my little one is a smaller baby and I don't think she'll out grow it that fast. I cannot return the seat nor do I want to. As my car is a 2 door sports car (VW GTI) and my husband is really tall, we needed a smaller seat and the TF, would not fit in the car. We love the seat and she does too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now this is the way we want to go.

VWgirl said:

As my car is a 2 door sports car (VW GTI) and my husband is really tall, we needed a smaller seat and the TF, would not fit in the car.

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I realize it's too late, but at your DD's size, she would fit into the TF without the headrest. *If* you still needed/wanted a greater recline, leaving the headrest off saves room. Then, as she gets older, you install the seat more upright. And once the TF is more upright, the headrest doesn't take up any additional space front-back due to the clever design.

Were you trying to install the TF at a 45°?

Just so you know, in Canada, the Diplomat has a 30" RF height limit, only an inch more than your Maxi Cosi Mico. Britax sometime has silly RF height limits in Canada, so hopefully you'll get more height out if than that, but my 3 year old who can still rear-face in a True Fit would have outgrown the Diplomat rear-facing BEFORE she outgrew her infant seat rear-facing (she had a Graco SafeSeat) and would be really close to being too tall for the Diplomat forward-facing.

So, if you end up needing another seat sooner than you planned, just keep in mind the TF and MR can both be installed more upright than 45°.

One other thing, taller guys tend to sit REALLY reclined in vehicle seats. I had to get my DH to adjust his seating position to be much more upright with the seat bottom further back. This gives him the same leg room, just sitting more upright, which changed us from not being able to fit much behind the driver's side, to being able to fit virtually any convertible at a more upright angle. It does take the guy some getting used to as they will grumble about sitting differently, but in a week and half, DH didn't even notice the change anymore.

I am glad she is comfy and likes the Diplomat though! A happy child makes travelling in the vehicle much easier! :thumbsup: