Forward Facing seat that converts to booster

ninejr · Apr 14, 2010

Ok, so I have lots of time to figure this out (seeing as DD #2 is only 2 months old and 12lbs). Anyway I am trying to figure out what we should do when DD #2 is ready for a convertible seat. Currently DD#1 is Forward Facing in a Marathon and DD#2 is in an infant bucket seat (rear facing obviously).
My 2 options are
1 - Move DD #1 into a larger seat that is Forward facing and then converts to a booster (any tips? Like a Frontier?) and move DD #2 into the Marathon
2 - Buy a new Marathon for DD #2 and worry about finding a booster once DD#1 outgrows her current Marathon
If I am going to spend the $300 I might as well make the right decision.

What would you do?

Oh and speaking of the Marathon, we have a small car and I couldn't really find anywhere to attach the top tether in the rear facing position, the manual recommends tethering it to the bolted metal of the front seat?? I think, but that would interfere with the front seat being able to move back and forth.

MomToEliEm · Apr 14, 2010

What is the age/weight/height of DD#1?

bobandjess99 · Apr 14, 2010

First, we need to know the age and size of your older child, and if she is under 45 pounds, whether or not you would consider rearfacing her for increased safety. For size, we need weight and if possible, torso height.

ninejr · Apr 14, 2010

DD#1 is 2.5 (32 months) and 31.5lbs and 35.5inches (almost 3 feet - yikes!). She has to be forward facing now that we have the baby because we cant fit a rear facing seat behind the driver in our car only the passengers side (the seat has to be scooted to far forward for it to be safe for the driver).

TechnoGranola · Apr 14, 2010

What vehicle do you drive? Older children can have rear-facing seats more upright than when they are infants, which makes the convertible seat take up much less room then when installed at a newborn angle.

ninejr · Apr 14, 2010

It is an 02 Ford Focus. I am hoping to get pregnant again (maybe not quite yet, but in 4 months or so) then I will have an excuse to get a van and not have to worry about space.

So I went out and tried to turn it around. It will rear face, but it doesn't have the 1" gap between the back of the car seat and the drivers seat. Also there isn't anywhere to attach the upper tether?

momto2boysinOnt · Apr 15, 2010

If your DD is over 30 lbs, she has probably outgrown the MA RFing anyway. There are other seats available in Canada that will keep her RFing longer (the TruFit, the ComfortAir, the Radian, and the MyRide) all come to mind. Hopefully someone else will speak up about how the various seats might fit in your vehicle.

As for the RFing tether for the MA, if the Dring is attached to the fixed part behind the seat (rather than to the seat itself), you should still be able to move it forward and back in front of the tether. Not sure if I'm explaining that very well, but I hope it helps some.

I'm hoping that one of the Canadian Techs will weigh in with some more suggestions, but I wanted to provide some information while you're waiting.

TechnoGranola · Apr 15, 2010

ninejr said:
It is an 02 Ford Focus. I am hoping to get pregnant again (maybe not quite yet, but in 4 months or so) then I will have an excuse to get a van and not have to worry about space.

So I went out and tried to turn it around. It will rear face, but it doesn't have the 1" gap between the back of the car seat and the drivers seat. Also there isn't anywhere to attach the upper tether?

Does the Marathon manual specify that a 1" gap is needed? If so, take some of the recline out of the driver's seat and move the seat bottom further back instead. This allows the same amount of leg room but the driver will sit a tad more upright. It will take awhile for the driver to get used to it, but they will! And in this case it doesn't sound like a lot of seat adjustment is needed.

The rear -facing tether is optional. So, if you can't find a good place to attach it, you don't need to use it.

I'd use the Marathon RF for the baby behind the driver's side, then either a My Ride, Complete Air or Radian to install RF passenger side for the older girl. At 31.5# I likely wouldn't go for the True Fit. In my vehicle, the My Ride and True Fit both took up slightly less space front to back than the Marathon, so can't hurt to try the older one's seat driver's side as well in case that works better for you. The Radian often takes up the most room, but it does depend on the vehicle. Hopefully someone has installed in a Focus and can share the information. I have zero experience with the Complete Air.

Forward Facing seat that converts to booster

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