Evenflo Symphony 65 for newborns?

We're expecting twins in early November and have purchased two Evenflo Symphony 65 car seats. We were unable to fit two infant bucket seats in our car.

I'm wondering about the recline angle of the seat when it's rear-facing. We know that the seats must be reclined back to their furthest position, but is it reclined enough to prevent a newborn's head from flopping forward? Does anyone have experience/advice about this?

Also, if anyone could suggest a mirror that is large enough to be able to see both babies at once in our rear-view, that would be great too.

Thank you, I appreciate any feedback!

I only have a minute to comment and zero experience with the Symphony 65, but I just wanted to say that - assuming it fits newborns - I would be really surprised if this seat took up less space than an infant seat. The seat itself would have to be in its recline "mode", but then you must also install the seat so that it is at a 45 degree angle in your car, for exactly the reason you mentioned about newborn head flop. Convertible seats can be installed more upright for older babies, but it must be at 45 degrees for your newbies and most convertibles take up a lot of space at that angle.

That is one of the best features of the True Fit car seat - you can take the top of the seat off to install at that angle for a newborn. Of course it is kind of hard to install at 45 degrees... but it can be done.

What kind of infant seat did you try, and what kind of car are we talking about? And do you even want infant seats if they fit? Oh, and how tall are you and your partner?

I can't comment on the mirrors... baby crying. Very quickly, they aren't recommended. I'll let someone else explain why.

I'm not sure what the bottom slots are like on the Symphony, but even if they were low enough to accommodate a full-term newborn, I would not use them with twins, since they are more likely to be smaller at birth. Also, the Symphony is probably going to take up more room at a 45* newborn recline than an infant seat.

The Symphony takes up a lot of room when it's installed fully reclined. More than a smaller infant seat, I'd think.

Thank you for the feedback so far.

We had originally purchased two Baby Trend Flex Loc infant seats, but they weren't even close to fitting in our SUV. (I'm only 5'6" but my husband is 6'2".) We returned those and tried out a couple of other infant seats at BRU but no luck.

The reason why the Evenflo Symphony seats fit better is because the top of the seat is high enough when RF that it somehow just wedges in nicely behind the front seats of our vehicle. It seemed weird to me too that these would fit better because they seem so much bigger, but somehow they do.

On the base of the seats, it says the bottom just needs to be level and then to recline it to the furthest position. I'm assuming this would be the 45* angle you mentioned. Does that mean then that it would be reclined enough for a newborn?

I'm also curious as to why a mirror is not recommended.

Thanks again, this site is great!

Yeah, the Baby Trend seats take up quite a bit of room because the handle needs to be down. If you think you may still want infant seats, try the Graco Snugride (just the basic 22lb model) or the Chicco Keyfit. Both allow the handle to be up in the vehicle so they don't take up as much room front to back.

About the Symphonys, yes, the angle should be fine if you have it in the most reclined position. Another poster mentioned that even though a typical newborn may fit (and the seat is rated to 5lbs), twins are often smaller and may not fit right away in this seat. Keep in mind that you want the shoulder straps to be at or below the babies's shoulders (at for an Evenflo since you can't go below with the infinite adjust harness).

Mirrors- not really recommended because many are quite hard and the straps they have to connect to the vehicle will not hold the mirror in a collision. Count on it flying around the car in the event of a collision. Some are softer than others. If you feel you must have one, choose one that is soft & flexible rather than hard. Another concern some techs have is that having a mirror adds to the driver's distraction if they are constantly checking on the babies.

What do you drive? I work in a lot of vehicles (countless, and just about everything under the sun) and have fit infant seats in some pretty small vehicles.

My first thought is that you should be re-thinking the Symphony seats. Just being honest.

In terms of a mirror, you need to keep in mind that even a well secured mirror may become a projectile in a crash. It is a parental decision to use one, and the idea is that you find one that is all plastic, lightweight, no bells/whistles, and secure is as snug as you can to the head restraint (in your case). I highly doubt you will find one wide enough to see both babies. If you want to use a mirror, just buy two.

I would recommend trying the Chicco Keyfit. It will fit tiny babies (like multiples usually are) quite well. It also doesn't take up as much space as some infant seats. Did you try installing the seats, or just setting them in the car? Installed they would take up a little less room yet, because the seat cushions would be compressed a bit.

featherhead said:

I would recommend trying the Chicco Keyfit. It will fit tiny babies (like multiples usually are) quite well. It also doesn't take up as much space as some infant seats. Did you try installing the seats, or just setting them in the car? Installed they would take up a little less room yet, because the seat cushions would be compressed a bit.

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Agreed. It's really important to actually install the seats completely. It's also really important to move your front seats all the way forward so that you can get right in there and install them properly. You typically buy yourself 1-2" of front to back space when you install the seats. Once you have everything secure you want to drop the seats on the bases, and *then* move your front seats back as far as you can. You need to be able to get your hand along the backs of the seats to access the release lever (this is not the case with BabyTrend as the release levers are down where baby's feet would be) but other than that they can be fairly close to the front seats. A good rule of thumb is you should be able to slip a piece of paper between the car seat and vehicle seat. The handle on the Chicco KeyFit can be left in any locked position, including up, which helps to decrease the amount of front to back space req'd.

I'm just so curious to know what SUV the OP drives...

We drive a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. We never would have expected to have issues with car seats fitting in it, but...

Now I'm worried about the Symphony seats... are they generally good seats but just maybe not the best for tiny newborns? I read that they had good safety ratings.

Now I understand about the mirrors and it totally makes sense. Thank you for explaining!

Unregistered said:

We drive a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. We never would have expected to have issues with car seats fitting in it, but...

Now I'm worried about the Symphony seats... are they generally good seats but just maybe not the best for tiny newborns? I read that they had good safety ratings.

Now I understand about the mirrors and it totally makes sense. Thank you for explaining!

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Hi,

You shouldn't have an issue fitting Chicco KeyFits in a Sante Fe. Where are you located? Maybe someone from around here can help you in person?

All car seats are safe if used correctly. None of us are hesitating about the Symphony seats because they aren't 'good'. We are worried about the babies not fitting, and you not being able to achieve a proper 45 degree angle which they will need at first.