Please help me choose a new carseat or booster

Really long, TIA for reading!

I'm going to need to move one or more of my children up into new carseats in the near future. With the 25% babiesrus trade up deal and/or the Sunshine Kids and Britax sale in the near future I think it would be smart to go ahead and buy the new seats now.
Our current set up is 10 month old (18lbs) in a Graco safeseat, 3 year old (27lbs) in a Evenflo Triumph, both the 4 year old (33lbs) and 6 year old (44 lbs) in Radian80. We drive a Dodge Caravan. The Triump is the oldest seat and a 40lb version, but does not expire until 2012- however the shoulder harness is stuck in the highest strap setting and we cannot get it to move at all!

My plan was to switch the baby into the Triump and get the 3 year old another Radian, however it won't work with the harness stuck! This is the seat I'd be willing to trade in a BRU, but then I'd need to choose 2 new seats.

My oldest daughter just moved into the top slots of the Radian and has a full inch to grow before being even with that strap setting. I'm wondering if I can push this seat until she is 8 or older though as her shoulders are looking like they will be cramped before she outgrows it in height/weight.

My first question is how long can I use the infant seat? Will the baby be comfortable in it until 18 months or more if she still fits in it? Or would a convertible rearfacing be more comfortable as far as how much recline she's in. She is already really fighting being laid back to buckle. My other children were in 20lb infant seats and moved to rear facing Triumps by 6 months old- it seemed like they were happier in those seats and they reclined less??

Help! Should I just get the baby a new seat? Maybe I should get the baby and the 3 year old new seats? Or maybe I should by the 6 year old a booster or larger harness/booster combo (nautilus or Frontier) and give the Radian to the baby or the 3 year old??

Thanks if you've made it this far and can help me!

I would either move the 3yo to the radian (rfing if you can) and then buy a nautilus or frontier or hbb (if mature enough) for your 6yo. Get a MyRide65 or something cheaper for the baby, since the baby can eventually have a radian if needing a higher shell.

OR

Move the baby to a radian (since the evenflo has the harness issue) and then buy a nautilus or frontier or hbb (if mature enough) for your oldest.

If you want to go cheaper for your oldest, the graco turbobooster is a good seat and really quite inexpensive. You could also look at the monterrey or parkway sg or vivo, but not sure which ones of those BRU carries.

For your youngest, the carseat will be outgrown when baby hits the weight limit or has less than an inch of shell above the head.
How is baby doing height wise?
There's no reason why baby, assuming baby fits, couldn't stay in the bucket seat. Did you know that the seat can be adjusted to a more upright angle? That will certainly make little one happier.

I agree with previous poster that your 6 year old could be moved to another high-weight harness to booster or booster seat. One option would be the Graco Nautilus (converts from high-weight harness to a decent booster.) Since there are other kiddos to pass this seat down to, it wouldn't be a true negative cost as it would get lots of use before expiring. They go for about $150.

I would personally get rid of that Triumph. Have you taken it out and tried to readjust the harness? It would worry me that the seat won't perform well in a crash, not knowing why the harness is stuck. Have you tried calling Evenflo about it?

With a Nautilus (or similar) for the 6 year old, 4 year old in one Radian, 3 year old can rear face in the second Radian, then you can decide weather or not to get baby a new seat.

If you decide to get baby a new seat...that might be best suited to a new thread. There are a lot of good options on the market now with high rear facing limits to choose from.
Hope that helps.

amanda_jo said:

Really long, TIA for reading!

I'm going to need to move one or more of my children up into new carseats in the near future. With the 25% babiesrus trade up deal and/or the Sunshine Kids and Britax sale in the near future I think it would be smart to go ahead and buy the new seats now.
Our current set up is 10 month old (18lbs) in a Graco safeseat, 3 year old (27lbs) in a Evenflo Triumph, both the 4 year old (33lbs) and 6 year old (44 lbs) in Radian80. We drive a Dodge Caravan. The Triump is the oldest seat and a 40lb version, but does not expire until 2012- however the shoulder harness is stuck in the highest strap setting and we cannot get it to move at all!

My plan was to switch the baby into the Triump and get the 3 year old another Radian, however it won't work with the harness stuck! This is the seat I'd be willing to trade in a BRU, but then I'd need to choose 2 new seats.

My oldest daughter just moved into the top slots of the Radian and has a full inch to grow before being even with that strap setting. I'm wondering if I can push this seat until she is 8 or older though as her shoulders are looking like they will be cramped before she outgrows it in height/weight.

My first question is how long can I use the infant seat? Will the baby be comfortable in it until 18 months or more if she still fits in it? Or would a convertible rearfacing be more comfortable as far as how much recline she's in. She is already really fighting being laid back to buckle. My other children were in 20lb infant seats and moved to rear facing Triumps by 6 months old- it seemed like they were happier in those seats and they reclined less??

Help! Should I just get the baby a new seat? Maybe I should get the baby and the 3 year old new seats? Or maybe I should by the 6 year old a booster or larger harness/booster combo (nautilus or Frontier) and give the Radian to the baby or the 3 year old??

Thanks if you've made it this far and can help me!

Click to expand...

Okay... here's what I'd do...

Baby - definitely get a new convertible for when you move him - I'd get a Graco Myride... I just love how it cradles kids... I do - BUT... there's no rush... baby can stay in the infant seat until either the weight limit is reached or baby's top of head is less than 1" from the top of the shell... so when you buy the next seat depends how much time she's got left in it.

3yr old - give the 6yr old's Radian to this child... the older one doesn't need a convertible (and I'd rearface the 3yr old)

4yr old - Keeps current seat.

6yr old - I'd get this child the new seat... a child this age who is going to stay forward facing and eventually need a booster doesn't need a convertible when there is another child who could use it... I'd get a Nautilus or Frontier if you want to keep him/her harnessed, or a Graco Turbobooster, Recaro Vivo, or Parkway SG if you want to move on to a booster.

And as for seating arrangements,
If the 6yr old gets a Nautilus or Frontier - what I'd do is put 6yr old and baby in the 2nd row, and put the Radians in the back row (put the ff one center, for using the top tether) Remove the headrest from baby's captain's chair so you can have plenty of room for the Radian to fit in the back.

The older ones can get in on one side... you can load the 3yr old in the rear.. and then put baby in on the other side.

(and yes, I've loaded my own daughter through the back.. it's not hard with a caravan and she loved being back there with her brother in his forward facing seat)

If the 6yr old gets a booster - what I'd do is put the ff Radian in the center of the third row (assuming this will all fit, but I'm pretty sure it should) with the Rf Radian on one side and the booster (I really stress Vivo if you put it in the third row... it's narrow and it's the ONLY booster that can go to full height in my third row of my Caravan (2005 Caravan) without tilting from touching the side of the van or hitting the ceiling)... and then (of course, removing the headrest from this captain's chair to make it easier to fit the RF Radian behind it) put the RF Myride in the second row.

if it will fit, I'd put baby in the third row because baby would be lighter weight to lift over the back bench to load... but if it doesn't, that's fine...

The baby has plenty of growing room in the SafeSeat. She's very petite. She's not even in the highest strap setting yet. She's got at least 4 inches before her head is an inch from the top of the shell. So that means I can likely keep her in that seat comfortably until 18 months or more.

I'm not going to rearface the 3 year old again. He's got some sensory issues and can't handle being backwards. He screams and pukes; it's horrible and then he can't regroup even after he gets out of the seat after going through all that. He struggles forward facing just with the straps and has only just begun to not go into a tizzy on any trip lasting more than 20 minutes, but he can't deal at all with the claustrophia issues when rear-facing on top of dealing with being strapped in at all.

I'm not sure what is wrong with the Triumph. It seems like something is bent as the harness will move up and down but stops and won't go any lower just above the middle harness slots. It moves around easily near the upper harness slot and clips securely into place. I hadn't thought about calling Evenflo- that's a great idea. I've tried just about everything to get it to lower, but I was afraid to use too much force and end up breaking the plastic pieces that it uses to go up and down.

I think the 6 year old is definitely ready for a booster as far as maturity. She's a very obedient child and is very trustworthy. Now I'm not so sure about a combo harness/booster for this child. Our rear seat doesn't have latch, so I'd a bit leary of using such a heavy seat as a booster.

I'd really like to keep the set up in the car the same which is the two oldest in the back and two youngest in the front. Both due to personality issues, and for the ease of getting all four in and out of the car. Oldest is capable of doing her seat independently. The 4 year old can also buckle independently (though I reach back and check the straps while I buckle in the 3 year old in front of her) and her sister helps her get unbuckled.
It is highly likely that I will at somepoint in the next 2 years need to fit 5 children into the van. I've always thought at that point I'd have 3 radians- but it may need to be a booster and 2 radians.

Okay, so now I'm just leaning toward getting a new Radian for the 3 year old if I can't ensure that the Triump is still safe. And leaving everyone else as is. Then with the baby outgrows the safe seat give her the oldest's radian and get the oldest a booster then. I really thought I'd need to move the baby out of the safeseat almost as soon as she turned one, but if she can remain in it until she outgrows it I probably have much longer than I thought to be forced to buy something new.

That sounds perfectly reasonable to me regarding your 3yo. If he was younger, my opinion might be different, but at 3 and given sensory issues, I think FFing is fine (though granted I'm not a tech.)

What about getting a booster for your oldest, and passing her Radian to the 3yo? Baby can stay in the SS for a while. Then, when she's ready to move up, give her the 4yo's Radian, and get the 4yo a Nautilus. There are other options, but any way you look at it, I think you have two carseat purchases in your near(ish) future.

And definitely call Evenflo. If you/they can work the seat out, and it is deemed safe, then put baby RF in that seat, 3 & 4yos in Radians, and the oldest in a Nautilus or booster.

If your oldest child is developmentally able to sit well in a booster, she'd be perfectly safe in one, and it will save the cost of buying an additional Radian.

it sounds reasonable to me, too... obviously kids with sensory issues are just plain different sometimes (my oldest has aspergers, so totally understand how quirky they can be)

in that case, I'd still do what I said... and get a Vivo for your 6yr old, since you said he's booster ready.

I'd put the 6yr old in a vivo or turbobooster (the vivo is not heavy at all and again is great for third row... I have pictures!!... just none next to a Radian as we don't have one anymore...) - but here is my thread showing the pic of my son demonstrating the fit of the vivo in my third row at it's tallest setting (the one he would use if he used that booster)... he found it very comfy as his feet could sit flat on the floor when he was in it... for shorter-legged kiddos, I'd just put in a lightweight footstool if they had a problem with their legs dangling... - http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=107696

I'd still use the Radian for the 3yr old over getting a third one, unless you plan to pass down the 6yr old's radian to the baby and wait and move the 6yr old to a booster at that time.

I'd be tempted to try putting all 3 older ones in the back and flipping the captain's chair forward so maybe that would help the 3yr old feel in a bigger space... and he'd be next to a cupholder to put a drink and some toys... (great built-in ones in the caravan)

and then keep baby in the 2nd row...

my suggestion for seating was due to where the top tether anchors are... and trying to keep all forward facing harnessed kids tethered...