Twins in a 2000 Forrester

crisbiss · Jan 19, 2010

Hi!
I am having twins soon and need to get two RF car seats for our Forrester. They need to be able to fit behind the driver and passenger.

Any ideas?

I checked the site for car seat compatibility, and they dont specify, but i suspect they were all fitted to the center position.

We tried out the graco snugride this weekend, ( and one other, cant remember, but they were the smallest int he store) and they didnt fit unless the driver and passenger seats were tilted forward and scooted all the way up. My husband is 6'2, and it would be great if we could keep this car and have good car seats .

lastly, i read on another thread that convertibles are smaller front to back and may be better for smaller cars? can anyone speak to that? Can infants still be tilted at a good angle with a convertible? Are they as safe for infants?

Thanks!

wendytthomas · Jan 20, 2010

Welcome, and double congrats!

Starting last first, convertibles often take up less space than infant seats, but that's usually when kids are older and have head control so the seat can go more upright. The only convertibles I can think of that would fit in a tight space for a newborn would be the Coccoro and the True Fit/True Fit Premier. The Coccoro is a little seat, so you'll need another harnessed seat, possibly even a rear facing seat, down the road. The True Fit has a removable headrest so it's tiny front to back up to 22 pounds. Then you can sit it more upright and put on the headrest and it still doesn't take up much space.

Did you have the handle up on the Snugride? That can help with space.

I don't have any specific suggestions for your year car, sorry!

Wendy

firemomof3 · Jan 20, 2010

For your twins the only reservation I have with recommending either the True Fit or Coccoro is if they are small. I don't know how well either will fit a smaller newborn

Hopefully someone will chime in. Because either of those convertibles would be perfect for your car.

BananaBoat · Jan 20, 2010

As a current owner of a 2003 Forester & a previous 2000 Forester owner, my only recommendation is to buy a different car...yes, really.

Unless you're willing to sit with your knees in the dash, it's just not going to work well with twins. We currently have the True Fit Premiere installed as upright as is allowed (NOT appropriate for newborns) behind the passenger seat. I can sit there without trouble, but I'm only 5'5" - my husband cannot sit there for more than 20 minutes.

Before we had the TFP, we had a SnugRide & later a KeyFit 30 (both installed in the same position) which were marginally better. We did get a good install center after learning some Forester-specific tricks from members here. But, this won't help you with twins!

The KeyFit is better for small babies (which twins typically are), so if getting a new vehicle is simply not possible, I would get 2 of those & hope they last long enough to save for a different vehicle.

Hope that helps!

BananaBoat · Jan 20, 2010

firemomof3 said:
For your twins the only reservation I have with recommending either the True Fit or Coccoro is if they are small. I don't know how well either will fit a smaller newborn
Hopefully someone will chime in. Because either of those convertibles would be perfect for your car.

The Coccoro is soon to be rated from 3lbs, so it's great for small babies. The True Fit is also good from little ones, as Wendy can attest to :thumbsup:

As far as the Coccoro is concerned, it takes up about the same amount of front-back room as the KeyFit in my 2003 Subaru. Meaning...the passenger seat wasn't all the way back, nor all the way up, but about 1/2 way inbetween.

wendytthomas · Jan 20, 2010

SuzaBanana said:
The Coccoro is soon to be rated from 3lbs, so it's great for small babies. The True Fit is also good from little ones, as Wendy can attest to :thumbsup:

It's good for full term size babies. Six pounds or so and up. Twins may or may not be, and I forgot that part.

Wendy

Unregistered · Jan 20, 2010

Thanks for all the help, i will try out those you mentioned. And, now we are thinking about asking my mom to witch cars with us for 6 months, until we can get a different car.

Do the Outback wagons have more room then the Forrester?

thanks again!

Thanksgiving_Twins_Mom · Jan 20, 2010

Unregistered said:
Thanks for all the help, i will try out those you mentioned. And, now we are thinking about asking my mom to witch cars with us for 6 months, until we can get a different car.

Do the Outback wagons have more room then the Forrester?

thanks again!

I'm pretty sure the Outback wagons would give you more car seat room - a couple folks in my old playgroup had Legacy Outback wagons and were able to install rear-facing SnugRides and Roundabouts and still be able to push the driver's seat back. At least one mom I know of was able to put the two convertibles side by side, which made it easier for an adult passenger to fit in the back when needed, don't know whether or not she was able to do that with the infant seats though (kind of a moot point since her infant seats were the old Fisher Price Stay-in-View which haven't been made for years).

BananaBoat · Jan 20, 2010

Unregistered said:
Thanks for all the help, i will try out those you mentioned. And, now we are thinking about asking my mom to witch cars with us for 6 months, until we can get a different car.

Do the Outback wagons have more room then the Forrester?

thanks again!

YES!!!! Surprisingly more room! Even the older ones! (Although the 2010 models are huge)

My best friend has a 2000 Outback & there are many more seats that I can comfortably install in her car than mine

And most of the seats I've tried in her car were fairly reclined & still allowed the front seat to go all the way back. Also I have found that, in Subarus at least, fabric seats allow for easier installs than leather. Maybe it's the way the seats compress or the fabric gives a bit more, but it was waaaaaaaaaay easier with fabric seats.

Twins in a 2000 Forrester

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