small convertible for rfing only?

tatertots4

New member
My daughter (12 months, 19#, 29") is in a Graco safeseat right now with about 4" and 11# before she outgrows it, however, she is beginning to HATE it. I think it's because she has to lay back so far. We had planned on using it until she completely outgrew it and then moving her to my son's Apex65. The Apex is only a year old and is now sitting in my garage waiting to be used so I don't need a huge high weighted extended harness seat like the MA, RN 80 or anything. My son (5 1/2 years, 43#, 44") only used it for a year until he outgrew the harness by height (last week) and it is WAY to big to leave hanging out in the car when he's not in it since it can't be latched in booster mode which is why I plan on using it in harness mode for dd when she outgrows the next seat rfing. So since I only need a seat for rfing I'd like one that would be small enough to fight behind the driver seat where she is now without losing comfort in the front seat (her SS1 touches the seat as it is). Tried the scenera because it was cheap and was perfect for what we planned on using it for, rfing. I gave my sis the apex and she gave me the scenera for 2 days and my dd SCREAMED after being in it for 5 mins! I tried a RA and she HATED that too! Not sure why, I liked it, a little, other than the twisting of the straps constantly but it seemed well padded and more comfortable than the scenera to me! I'm now at a loss as to what I should get. We think it may be the harnesses are bothering her so one with the soft strap things might be nice. The RA, scenera or her SS1 did/do not have those so we are only speculating. I've looked at the MC Priori and Combi C online but can't find them in person anywhere! Are either of these seats great for rearfacing or are there any others out there that would be good for rearfacing? EFTA maybe? Again we don't have the money or need the bigger seats, we just need something small and simple! We only using it for about a year. Thanks!
 
ADS

aeormsby

New member
Did you have the convertibles that you tried installed more upright? The ETA or the Graco Myride would probably be good seats to try. The ETA would probably last her as long as the Apex would, the Myride almost the same (I think they all have about 17" top harness positions). I think the ETA is still $110 at www.albeebaby.com, and the Myride is usually on sale for $120-130 someplace.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The My Ride has lower top slots. The EFTA has the same as the Apex. The True Fit has covers, and is both a small and large rear facing seat.

Have you put her Safeseat more upright? That may help temporarily.

Wendy
 

thepeach80

Senior Community Member
Don't forget the Apex has a 34" min height limit so at 29" now it's going to be at least a year before she can use it. Not sure on how long you were planning on rfing her.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Don't forget the Apex has a 34" min height limit so at 29" now it's going to be at least a year before she can use it. Not sure on how long you were planning on rfing her.

Yep. I'm not sure if you've been introduced to all the information about how rearfacing is the safest. The APP recommends rearfacing as long as possible to the limits of a convertible carseat (which have 35, 40 or 45 pound limits) or to a MINIMUM of 2 years of age. We have evidence that rearfacing for up to 4 years of age is beneficial and offers safety benefits. So hopefully, after you review the information, you will decide that you are not going to need a forward facing seat for her for at least one, possibly 2 or 3 more years.
You can see my son rearfacing at 2 years old in my sig pic. :)
 

tatertots4

New member
I plan on rear facing her until at least 2 if not longer which is why I am needing a car seat to last her at leat another year. I have the Apex in my garage to use once I turn her foward facing. I just need something to get me there. I have tried installing them more upright but she still sleeps when she's in the car and her head flops around when she's sleeping so we reinstalled them back at the 45 degree angle. We can't get her safe seat any more upright which is why we were thinking maybe she needs something with a base so she sits taller? I don't know what else to do really. She just SCREAMS everytime I put her in the car seat. I bought a comfort sport but it took up as much room as the safe seat and I didn't even see her getting any more out of that seat than her current seat (height or weight wise). I took the seat back and got a myride but it is sooo huge! The front seat is already uncomfortable as it is with the safeseat behind it, we were really hoping to get a good seat that was "small" but good to use rear facing for another year or so. We plan on having another kid so it would be used rear facing until it expires more than likely so I don't need one with the high forward facing limits (since we have one free to use now and by the time our next kid comes around they will have "better seats" out and our Apex would be expired so we would need a new one anyway:whistle:)
 
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Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
You have trouble with head slump with the MR more upright? I have a MR that I have installed more upright with a variety of kids, who have slept in it without head slump issues. I think S was 8 or 9 mos when I moved him into the MR, and I haven't had a problem. It's ridiculous how little room that seat takes up, if you push hard on the foot area when you install, given how large it is.

MyRide or TrueFit are typically the best seats for ERF in regards to front-to-back room, but if you really need something smaller I think your best bet would be a Coccoro.

I might consider selling the Apex, and just getting her a new seat that works well RF and FF... that way it doesn't sit in the garage wasting away most of its useful life. The TF or Evenflo Triumph Advance might be perfect, they'll RF her to 35lbs and then will get her to a good booster age FFing. (Having owned an Apex, and then a bunch of other seats, I would choose almost any other FFing seat first, just out of personal preference.)

If you really are set on wanting a RF only seat, and the MR doesn't work (it's my personal first pick if you want a seat for RF only,) then maybe look at the Coccoro. Just know that it's outgrown early.

Are you somewhere near a tech, so that they might be able to help you fit the MR in better?

I'm editing to respond to this --

I don't need lessons on rear facing (hince the original title) just lessons on rfacing car seats! Thanks

Please don't be offended by everyone explaning about ERF; the last thing anyone intends is to insult your intelligence or talk down to you. The vast majority of parents who come to this board are clueless about ERF, or know to RF longer than a year but think 15 or 18 mos is sufficient. The goal here is to keep kids safe, so we would rather overdo it by erring on the side of giving too much info... if you already know about ERF it's just additional info, if you don't, it can be eye-opening. (Less than a year ago I'd never heard about ERF, so I'm one of those who is beyond grateful it's shared here!) Because your daughter is 19lbs, and therefore not *quite* at the FF limit, I would guess that many read your post as I did -- that you wanted something just to "get you through" until your daughter was at the minimums to FF in the Apex.

Since we now know that you're aware of ERF, you won't have folks continue to pummel you with information... but until that's explicitly stated, the assumption is that the parent doesn't know, since most don't. It's not an intention of beating you over the head with it, the intention is just to educate a parent who may not know better.
 

cookie123

New member
I like the Safety First Avenue. It's not expensive, it installs easily, and is easy to get upright. It will last awhile without being overly large. You may even need a pool noodle or a pool noodle pyramid to get it to recline enough!

This link will show you how to use a pool noodle pyramid if you scroll down.

http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm
 

tatertots4

New member
Thanks for the updates! I wasn't offended about the ERF and totally understand about explaining that to some people...wish my sister would listen! I know how easy it is to get carried away on things like this :whistle: and just didn't want to end up with a thread without answers on car seats, lol! I just added it as a reminder ;). I did get the myride in there really good and it did give us more room. I like the natural recline of it too. My daughter slept quite well in it today and only screamed for about 5 minutes until she fell asleep. :thumbsup: Her head flopped around in the scenera a lot when it was upright so we gave that one back to my sis pretty quick and as for the RA, we had that for an enitre weekend and she just hated it! I think the MR is going to work great! Is the natural recline a problem for forward facing though? We got the girly one for her so I'm not liking my sons blue Apex too much anymore, :D!

I thought I could use the safeseat until she was atleast 2 only because my daughter has such a short torso that even though she only has about 3-4 more inches for "stated height" she has closer to 5 1/2 inches until her head is about 1 1/2 from the top. Should I go by the stated height or the 1 inch from top rule? I want to keep the seat in the house as a backup for now. We only have one car and sometimes my husband takes it to work instead of me dropping him off and we've run into situations of not having an extra car seat :eek:
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The recline forward facing is a personal preference. Some kids love it, some don't. Safety wise it's fine.

You go by the 1" rear facing. If you go by the stated limit you can end up with kids without head protection because their long torsos put them over the top before the limit. As long as she has more than 1" she's good.

Wendy
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Awesome. Sometimes it's impossible to tell tone on the internet and I read your post as that you might be frustrated.

As Wendy said, the recline is personal preference. As long as you can get a good install, Graco insists the recline is safe. Some kids are driven crazy by it, on the other hand, I had to put a 5yo (normally Nautilus/Monterey rider) in it a couple of weeks ago and his reaction cracked me up -- he happily declared "I can relax!" as he lounged back in the seat.

Glad to hear you got the MR to work, and that you have a plan! :)
 

tatertots4

New member
That's the part I hate about typing/texting/email! You never know when someone is kidding or if they are really really serious! I didn't mean to come across in a bad way, sorry if it "sounded" like it.

Crazy thing is my son LOVES the MR and while getting in the car yesterday he climbed into it. Me, with my hands full, told him to get out quickly so I could put his sis into it before I dropped her (not really but I'm sure you all understand ;)). He looked up and said "Do I fit?" Of course he didn't fit and when I told him he didn't he suggested I turn his booster seat around so he could sit like sis, lol! I wish the US would jump on board and make some higher rearfacing seats. With all the trips we've been on and having to listen to my son complain of his feet falling asleep and his head flopping around I sure would love for him to be comfortable again...
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
You probably came off fine, I'm just overly sensitive about those things sometimes, lol. Truly, I feel like there's such an important job being done on these boards educating about CPS issues that the LAST thing I want is someone to leave because they feel offended. And often we'll have parents come on here asking for information or if something's okay -- but they don't really want to hear what we have to say, they just want help to fix their specific situation to get to the minimums... and then get offended when no one condones that.

That's so funny about your 5.5yo. I have a 5yo that's the same way... all of the kids younger than him are RF, at least some of the time, and at 48 or 50lb he's just too big. I did let him sit in the Radian once, in the driveway, and he thought that was pretty funny. If they brought a 55lb RFing carseat over here, I might have to buy one (despite the fact that it would be unnecessary) just to humor him. (And, um, 'cause I'd want it.) Incidentally, he's the one who declared he could "relax" when I put him in the MR a couple of weeks ago.

What booster is your son in? Some are better than others for those issues... I have (and have had) a variety, but my Monterey is awesome for supporting sleepers. I think I need two more, once I can find the funds, lol... my kiddos are not skinny minnies so it fits them super well. Also, if you're so inclined, a styrofoam cooler is okay to put under your son's feet as a footrest, that might help with his legs getting tired. (N loves to put his feet onto the center console, since he sits second row center... I look over and there are these shoes to my right, it cracks me up!)
 

tatertots4

New member
I would so buy the two-way or multi-tech if I could get one legally only because we are going on an 8 hour trip in June and the poor kid never slept on our most recent 5 hour trip because he couldn't get comfortable in his cosco booster :( I bought him a TB once we got back from the trip because a friend of mine had one and said her son loved the head support for sleeping on. However, my son still slumps and his head still flops way foward and off the the side UNDER the head support when he falls asleep :eek: After a long day at the zoo I had to keep waking him up and telling him to sit up which caused a huge uproar on his end of course. I'm definitely in the market for a new booster, certainly before our 8 hour trip in June. We plan on leaving at night (bedtime) and hopefully my car hating daughter will sleep this time :rolleyes:! There's no way he's gonna make it there safely sleeping in the TB. We don't have a lot of cash (my daughter's car seat technically maxed out my credit card) so whatever I get will probably need to be second hand. I'm not willing to do it with a car seat but I'm thinking it might be okay for a booster if it's in pretty decent shape? His TB is second hand from an aquaintance. Is this okay with boosters?
We drive an 05 Sedona with the bench seat in the middle and another thing I hate about the TB (I don't know if all boosters are like this) is that if I don't have the armrest down he uses the booster armrest and the booster will fall over while he is getting in or out of it. Drives me nuts! My daughter sits behind the driver seat and he sits "in the middle" only it's not really in the middle it's more or less halfway behind the passenger seat. I will definitly look into a cooler or step stool or something! I never thought about that, thanks!
 

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