Too early to FF?

Brendan's Mom · Jan 26, 2010

DS#2 is 2 years 5 months old. He hopped on the scale at the MD's with clothes, shoes and light jacket and is 35lbs!! He is currently riding in the marathon RF! Is it too soon to flip him? If he did go FF he would ride in a radian or regent. Thoughts? What would you do? Is it worth buying another seat? Thanks!!

Shaunam · Jan 26, 2010

I would buy a new seat to continue to rf at 2 1/2 years, but others wouldn't. It's up to you really. He still benefits from rear-facing at this age for sure.

SavsMom · Jan 26, 2010

I'm not a tech - but I do know that the longer you can keep him rear facing the better.

For $150 you could get a Graco MyRide and keep him rear facing until he hits 40lbs - and at his age it could take him a little while to gain those 5 lbs.
For a bit more you could get a new Radian SL that will rear face to 45lbs giving you a lot more time rear facing.

Brendan's Mom · Jan 26, 2010

I know the myride RF to 40lbs and TrueFit to 40lbs. What are the rearfacing limits on the new radians?

Brendan's Mom · Jan 26, 2010

You answered my question while I was writing? HMMMMM....decisions!

TechnoGranola · Jan 26, 2010

Brendan's Mom said:
I know the myride RF to 40lbs and TrueFit to 40lbs. What are the rearfacing limits on the new radians?

The True Fit RF to 35#. The new Radians rear-face to 40# or 45# depending on the model.

To answer your original question, yes, I would buy a new seat at that age to continue RF. I bought a My Ride for DD to RF longer when she was close to the weight limit on her True Fit, and she was 3 years 2 months at the time.

ETA: do you know your son's height and torso height?

gecikuh · Jan 26, 2010

i too would buy a new seat for a child that age, but with the available options i would probably want to get the 10 more lbs if i was going to do it and get a radian 80sl or xtsl
to get 5 more lbs RFing you could get the my ride, safety first complete air, or radian 65, assuming they install well in your vehicle.
and yes, as someone mentioned the TF only RF to 35 lbs.

monstah · Jan 26, 2010

I'd be fine with making the switch to FF and I'd use the Radian. If you have the extra money laying around and just really want a new seat, I'd suggest RadianXT that RF's to 45 pounds. That would be ideal because he would have the most amount of growing room RF & FF and should easily get him to booster age.

Problem is, at this point - how much growing room would he have in the MyRide height wise? Would it be worth it? Maybe he would have more RF time in the Complete Air but it only FF to 50 pounds and he weighs more than most kids his age. (I assume without checking the percentile chart.)

(Edited out TF RF weight correction, I'm too slow.)

wendytthomas · Jan 26, 2010

When was your Radian made? If it was after 9/08 it has a 40 pound limit.

Wendy

Shaunam · Jan 26, 2010

2mykids said:
I'd be fine with making the switch to FF and I'd use the Radian. If you have the extra money laying around and just really want a new seat, I'd suggest RadianXT that RF's to 45 pounds. That would be ideal because he would have the most amount of growing room RF & FF and should easily get him to booster age.

Problem is, at this point - how much growing room would he have in the MyRide height wise? Would it be worth it? Maybe he would have more RF time in the Complete Air but it only FF to 50 pounds and he weighs more than most kids his age. (I assume without checking the percentile chart.)

(Edited out TF RF weight correction, I'm too slow.)

My DD is 2 yrs 3 months, average height with average proportions and has 4-5" above her head. Unless the 2 1/2 year old is very tall, I'd say it should definitely work for at least another year. My tall 5 year old would have outgrown it rf'ing between 3 1/2 and 4 years.

Brendan's Mom · Jan 26, 2010

Sitting against the wall the height to the top of his shoulders is 13 inches. The height in a sitting position to the top of his head is almost 22 inches.

My radian was manufactured in 06 so it is only good to 35lbs. We have all these seats and I feel as though I am always a step behind!

Spam · Jan 26, 2010

I agree w/ 2mykids, if you have the money and want another seat, sure go for it. It isn't the end of the world if you have to forward face him. A year ago, other options weren't even out yet. A is 19 months and has a long torso, (3rd slot on the tf rf) I wanted a MR, but it really isn't worth it to me, he'd most likely be too tall before reaching 40lbs. I have a rn I'm going to try make work when reaches the 35lb limit on the TFs.

NannyMom · Jan 26, 2010

I would buy a new seat. Does he have plenty of room above his head in the Marathon? The My Ride tends to fit about the same as far as seated height.
If you have more money you could spend, and it fits well, I'd get the Radian 80SL or XTSL. You also have the baby to pass a seat down to.

abacus2 · Jan 26, 2010

It seems likely that I will be facing the same dilemma in about a year when Naomi outgrows her Decathlon. I'm not sure yet whether I will get a new seat, but if I were buying a new seat to rearface longer for a kid who is already 35lbs, I would only consider a 45lb RFing limit Radian. My oldest went from 35lbs to 40lbs in just a few months, but my middle child still hasn't yet hit 35lbs at 3.5 and stayed at 26lbs for about a year. You cannot tell how kids will grow, so if I'm going to shell out more than $100 for a new seat, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Mom2FiveGirls · Jan 26, 2010

If I had the money I'd buy a new seat (and I'd, personally, try my best to get the money if I didn't have it). If not, I'd turn him FFing and not feel guilty. You've met the AAP recommendation of keeping him RFing until the limits of his seat. Good job!

swtgi1982 · Jan 26, 2010

Brendan's Mom said:
I know the myride RF to 40lbs and TrueFit to 40lbs. What are the rearfacing limits on the new radians?

True Fit only RF to 35lbs as well.

The new Radians The 80SL and XTSL Rf to 45lbs Others are still available that RF to 40 too.

Laurette · Jan 26, 2010

When my DS was 2.5 he weighed just under 33# and we had a 33# MA. At first I was going to get him a 35# MA but his legs were so long that it just wouldn't work anymore. We went with a Nautilus. It had been my intention to get him to 3 RFing but at the time there just weren't any other options.

He hit 35# at 3 years and 40# at 4. He is not 4 years and 4 months and he weighs 43# and he is 43 in tall and just recently outgrew the MyRide. He would have outgrown it by weight before height.

autumnlily · Jan 26, 2010

Brendan's Mom said:
Sitting against the wall the height to the top of his shoulders is 13 inches. The height in a sitting position to the top of his head is almost 22 inches.

My radian was manufactured in 06 so it is only good to 35lbs. We have all these seats and I feel as though I am always a step behind!

Does your radian say it RF to 35lb or 33lb? Originally the radians had a 33lb RF limit. I know my 2006 seat only RF'd to 33lbs. It was a Radian 65.

ketchupqueen · Jan 26, 2010

SK has okayed the 33 lb. Radians to RF to 35. There were no structural changes made until 9/08.

rodentranger · Jan 26, 2010

I'm just going to say that I just bought my 3 yo a CA for 2 inches and 5 lbs...but the primary vehicle is a smaller, older car without SIP and a center belt that is not car seat compatible.. In my mom's 07 Sentra with side airbags, he rides in a FN or GN installed in the center and I'm ok with it.

Too early to FF?

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