Question Opinions on new seat for my 3 yr. old please...

kidrepair · Feb 16, 2010

DD3 rearfaced until she was 3yr.1mo old in a MA in our 91 T&C van..it broke down down in Oct. we couldn't afford to fix it until taxes came back, so we have been using my dad's Ford Explorer..I could not fit her rf in there except for the middle and I needed to be able to drop off and pick up my older girls from school..so I put my 6 yr. old back into the GN and 3yr. old into the RN in the center ff...well now my van is about to get fixed and I really want a new seat for DD3...the thing is do I want to go back to rf her or get a nicer ff seat?..I want to sell our MA and either get a MR and rearface for a little longer and then it might work in the back with our crazy long buckle stalks once she is ff or do I go with a FR? We already have a GN but I hate it for the little ones because of head flop while sleeping...So what do you all think? She is 3y5m now and about 37"and 31lbs.

ETA---We love our RN but I cannot get it to install in the backseat with those crazy long stalks even when twisting them 3 times..it does go into the middle captain chairs but then that leaves the backseat open with no headrests for my 10 yr. old and friends,etc.

JerseyGirl'sMama · Feb 16, 2010

With those stats, I'd be inclined to RF her again, provided she is ok with it, and it works for the rest of your carseat configuration.

TechnoGranola · Feb 16, 2010

My DD is the same age, but an inch taller and a couple pounds heavier and is RF in a Graco My Ride. She really loves the seat and has a couple inches of torso growing room so I expect she'll make it to at least age 4.

kidrepair · Feb 17, 2010

So not fair....If I decided to get a MR I was dying for the Flair..I haven't kept up with the fact that Target is getting rid of it and you will not be able to buy it anywhere else..I'm getting ready to call our Target to find out if it is really gone..I don't like any of the other patterns...why did they have to get rid of it????

TechnoGranola · Feb 17, 2010

I also loved, loved, loved the Flair. And we'll never get it in Canada since they've discontinued it in the U.S.

It wasn't DD's favourite anyway, her #1 was Alma, which we also didn't have in Canada, so she ended up with one Sonata and one Spiral.

kidrepair · Feb 17, 2010

So I called our Target and they had one left..so I had them hold it and I just picked it up...If I'm reading right if she is using the 4th slot then we use the first set of loops(the ones on the end of the strap) right? I just hope if I decide to rf her longer that she still fits with room..will try to post pics when I get it installed and her in it..

TechnoGranola · Feb 17, 2010

kidrepair said:
So I called our Target and they had one left..so I had them hold it and I just picked it up...If I'm reading right if she is using the 4th slot then we use the first set of loops(the ones on the end of the strap) right? I just hope if I decide to rf her longer that she still fits with room..will try to post pics when I get it installed and her in it..

Lucky you! And yes, the outermost loops with the 4th harness slot sounds right. That's exactly what setting my DD was at when we got the seat 3 months ago (and same setting she is at now).

kidrepair · Feb 17, 2010

I actually don't like the fit rf or ff in my van...in my parents newer van I love it but my seats don't move forward or back in the middle and it fits so tightly against the drivers seat when rf..can it be braced? I need to check the manual..and it sits so high ff that she would never be able to climb in her own seat in the back bench very easily with the captains chair in front of her..I don't know..not sure what to do now...

TechnoGranola · Feb 17, 2010

Well I hated ours for the first week, I grumbled that it was too high, not wide enough inside the seat, etc. and after using it for a week I ended up liking it more than our TF (which I had really, really liked). Sometimes it's the change that can be a problem.

So, you have it in the 2nd row driver's side? How far back do you have the driver's seat and how reclined do you have the MR? The MR can be installed with the ball anywhere in the green section of the level when RF; check angle with child IN the seat. Installing it more upright (ball to the left of the green section) will give more room for the driver's seat. Also, check how reclined the driver's seat is. Putting the driver's seat at less of an incline and then moving back the seat bottom, will give the driver the same amount of leg room, but give the child restraint behind it more room and the driver will be safer sitting more upright.

Did you have the MA installed in that position before? Because I find the MR takes up slightly less space than the MA. So, if you had the MA fitting there RF, you should be able to get the MR to work.

As for her climbing into the seat when FF, I'd worry about that when the time came. She'll likely RF for another 6-18 months depending on her growth and then she'll be older and likely more capable of getting into her seat.

kidrepair · Mar 2, 2010

So I ended up with the Flair MR and after keeping it for a week..and trying it in different configurations without actually using it..I wish I would have taken a pic...we really thought that she didn't have much growing room to grow...looked like just a tad over an inch at this point..and I really did not like how high it was...so now I am at the point where once my van is fixed I'm not sure what to put her in..I'm now wondering about the TF for just another 3 lbs. she is now about 32lbs. and then seeing how it fits ff in the back row...another question..I have an 07 RN...I can't remember if it is still only 33lbs. for rf or if all the older ones are 35...I can only fit the RN in rf in the back row..my DH is concerned if we were in a wreck about the possibility of glass breaking and flying into her face..we do not have headrests to possibly deflect the glass at all...I'm at the point where I am thinking about selling all of our MA's and saving up for the new FR85...any opinions..sorry this is so long...I think about this day and night trying to figure out what to put her in and keeping her as safe as possible since i feel like my van is so old it probably doesn't have the best crash ratings...also I cannot find the TF in the Monet pattern..is it still available anywhere?

TechnoGranola · Mar 2, 2010

Oh gee, I wish you would have taken a pic and posted it here before you returned it! My DD is taller than your DD and has 2" growing room in the MR. Sometimes it can be tricky to determine how much room they have and I thought DD had less until I actually measured.

I also hated how high it was *until* I started using it. Then I realized it was easier to buckle her in as she was right at my arm height and she also loved being higher.

Okay, I am not much help.

But if you decide to pick up that MR again and get pics, I'll be happy to weigh in on how much growing room she has.

MJHY27 · Mar 2, 2010

I have a daughter about that age but I had to turn her ffing at 3 years b/c she was 35lbs. I fought back and forth about getting her a myride for the extra 5 lbs but she just seemed too big for it, tall and broad shoulders. I had her in a true fit rfing and ffing and gotta say I love that seat! I am buying her a GN only b/c her little brother needs the tf now to continue rfing and I thought the GN was a more economic purchse to get for her at this point seeings how she couldn't rf anymore and she is a tall girl who will need a tall harness to keep her to 6 years old harnessed.
So yes i'd recommend a truefit if you want to keep her rfing a bit more and when you do have to turn her ffing it is a really great ffing seat for comfort and safety in my opinion. I don't know about the availabilty of the monet pattern. I wanted that one but had to go with sporty blue b/c i knew her little bro would be using it one day

i do love sporty blue though!!
not sure if this has been helpful to you but good luck in your car seat deciding

TechnoGranola · Mar 2, 2010

Oh, and chiming in on the Monet, it is very pretty. I've got a brand new one sitting here that is likely waiting for when DD goes FF (if I don't decide to sell it first).

kidrepair · Mar 3, 2010

I tried looking for shell height on the MR but couldn't seem to find it..I just measured DD3 and she has a 14.5 inch torso and 22.5 inches to the top of her head..My DH and I both looked and it appeared that she was very close to the 1 inch rule already...wish I would have taken a picture for you guys..although I can still take one of her in it at Target..

armywife12 · Mar 3, 2010

I am pretty sure she had more than an inch left above her head. My son has a 15 inch torso and still has room to RF in it. He had about 2.5-3 inches above his head a few months ago. I find the MyRide a little tricky to figure out how much room is left in the seat. I think I have a pic of Caleb RF in the MyRide in my siggy. His torso was about 14.5-14.75 when the pic was taken.

emandbri · Mar 3, 2010

Sorry the my ride didn't work out. Maybe a complete air. It would be easier to get into. Does your target have it? I would be hesitant to get the true fit for 3 lbs but I'm a bit jaded since I bought the radian that goes to 40 when Elizabeth was 35 lbs and it only took her 9 months to get to 39. Cross your fingers it takes her longer to get to 45.

Here is Elizabeth in the my ride
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HSDiiPpWLM0zKzbuzqrlFg?feat=directlink

and complete air

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/deB3mvFeKzX3BXiexY5Mvw?feat=directlink

to give you an idea of how much head room your dd would have.

TechnoGranola · Mar 3, 2010

kidrepair said:
I tried looking for shell height on the MR but couldn't seem to find it..I just measured DD3 and she has a 14.5 inch torso and 22.5 inches to the top of her head..My DH and I both looked and it appeared that she was very close to the 1 inch rule already...wish I would have taken a picture for you guys..although I can still take one of her in it at Target..

The way she fits installed in the vehicle will be different than how she fits sitting in it in Target, so when you really need to know exactly how much room a child has, a pic of them in it installed in the vehicle is really the only way to go.

I just measured my DD. She is halfway between 22.25" and 22.5" from butt top of head, measured sitting on the floor against the wall. Like I said, she's got about 2" growing room above her head in the MR (so 3" above her head). So, if you think the MR would have otherwise worked, it might be worth to pick it up again, install it and try her in it. Although it sounds like you were unsure of the MR anyway. But know that it may still be a possibility if you don't find anything else that works.

Oh, and make sure you're measuring the right way to determine how much room she has left, here is a post with pics on how to do that http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=278124&postcount=1

kidrepair · Mar 3, 2010

I did measure her installed in our van..her head I remember was over that stitching at the top..how many inches above that?

ETA...I just remembered it was sitting on the captains chair and she was sitting in it but not strapped in and the seat was not installed..I had tried to install it and it went in great but when I was showing my DH height room it was not installed..so maybe I'm a dufus and it fit her just fine..I am going to return something to Target today so maybe I will take another look at how she fits while strapped in.

TechnoGranola · Mar 3, 2010

kidrepair said:
I did measure her installed in our van..her head I remember was over that stitching at the top..how many inches above that?

ETA...I just remembered it was sitting on the captains chair and she was sitting in it but not strapped in and the seat was not installed..I had tried to install it and it went in great but when I was showing my DH height room it was not installed..so maybe I'm a dufus and it fit her just fine..I am going to return something to Target today so maybe I will take another look at how she fits while strapped in.

You're not a dufus!

It's just not obvious that a child can fit differently when strapped in and installed in the vehicle. Checking her when she strapped in will help, but it still won't be the same as installed in the vehicle since the seat won't be sitting at the same angle. Also, the child settles in after sitting for a bit.

This is a pic of where DD's head was when we first bought the seat 3.5 months ago (she's grown a bit so head is higher now, but she grew mostly in legs):

The top of the MR shell is actually a bit above the top piping in that pic. So, I'd say if a child's head is AT the lower piping, they'd have about 3" above their head, or 2" growing room. Of course it depends on how the cover is sitting on the particular seat and whether the piping has been sewn in at the exact same location on every seat.

Grab a DVD while you're in Target and once you strap her in, place it on her head so you can really see where her head is; sometimes a glance can give you the wrong impression. Also, remember it is still likely to be different once installed IN the vehicle.

Question Opinions on new seat for my 3 yr. old please...

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