Fourteen cookies to anyone who can do this puzzle...

I'm not expecting a lot of help (since I don't think there's a good solution,) but maybe someone knows of something that will work. It's really long, but I'm super frustrated.

Problem: My current setup only works as long as J can rearface, but he's 44.2lbs in a 45lb seat. My seats have all been out for break, and I'm trying to decide whether to try a new setup this week, or wait out that last .8lb. He tends to bounce around a bit, so it could be a while.

Goal: Come up with a workable arrangement that still allows me to use the SR35. I'd really like to put off the switch to a convertible for another, say, three months. I can do it as long as J stays below 45lbs.

Bonus goal (worth an add'l five cookies): Permanant installs on ALL seats, no reinstalling as described below.

Puzzle: Seven kids, six seating positions. One seat must be switched T-F, since the kids who need to share spots cannot share a seat. The best option that's been suggested is Nautilus, LATCHed, used harnessed for the smaller child and boostered for the larger, but we really don't love that setup for a variety of reasons. I usually (though not always) reinstall daily.

Seats:

Boosters -
Monterey
FPSVB
Pronto
Couple backlesses (not really of any use)

Combos -
Nautilus
Cosco HBB

Covertibles -
Radian (45/80)
MyRide
Avenue
Coccoro (which I hate, it doesn't install well where I need it to)
Scenera

Bucket -
SR 35 with base (Usable by babyK only.)

Kids:

(Full-time seats)
CAT, 7 next week, 65-70lbs, 50" or so.
J, 3y11m, 44.2lb, height irrelevent
S, 23m, 32?lb, still fits in all convertibles except maybe CCO
K, 6m, 16lb, greatly prefer in SR35 for now.

(Part time)
NHM, 5y10m, 51?lb, 17ish inch torso. Average sized, I think. He is with me in the morning, and must share a space with either --

CCL, 4y10m, 32-33lb, fits in any seat except CCO (including Cosco HBB.) Running out of room RF in Scenera, though. I will FF her, but generally RF her since I'm putting in a 'fresh' seat anyways.
CSL, 2y8m, 23-24lb, tiniest peanut you ever did see. Fits in everything including SR35.

Current setup:

Second row: Monterey (CAT), SR35 w/base (K), whatever I feel like using for NHM & CSL/CCL as I switch them out.
Third row: Radian (J,) MyRide (S,) Avenue (CCL) or CCO (CSL), all RF.

Major caveat: Third row setup MUST include RF Radian/RF MyRide. Options for third seat are RF Avenue, RF CCO, Monterey (although this has drawbacks -- namely causing problems for school dropoff,) FPSVB.

I would be willing to buy one new seat, although I'd really like to avoid it. But if I could find the "perfect" seat, that would make my life easier and make all problems disappear, I would do it.

A STRONG contender would be finding a good FF seat that J could ride in in the third row (along with S & CSL's seats,) and then putting a SmartSeat in the second row to adjust between CCL & NHM, with the SR 35 and Monterey. Of course by the time the SS comes out, I would probably be willing to put K into the MR, and could just put J in the Nautilus in the center.

I stop the car for NHM's dropoff, so he can booster in the third row, but then I have to get that seat out and install SOMETHING back there for one of the CLs. Not my favorite option, but if I could get an easy-adjust seat back there that I could leave installed for NHM & CCL to share, that might work.

CAT has to get out in a dropoff line, so he really needs to be next to a door.

There is not enough room to get a RF seat second row driver. I can make any other seating position work.

I would like this setup to last the rest of the school year, so five months of projected growth. Summer is much simpler, no switching of seats and no school dropoff to contend with. Of course if J can hold off that long on .8lb, it's a nonissue. Sigh.

I have three tubs of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies ready to bake for the winner. Ready? GO!

Third row
Radian RF - S
Myride RF - CSL
SR35/Avenue (depending on if SR35 will fit) - K


Second row
Monterey - Cat
Nautilus - J
BRITAX FRONTIER(new seat... unavoidable I think) - set the harness at the right height for NHM - When CCL is in car, put CCL in Nautilus, J in frontier, unless CCL has a longer torso

Basically, I'd rather a ff child have harnesses a bit high than have to pull out/put in seats.

LOL thanks. I've presented this before and it's never gotten a lot of responses -- probably because it's not exactly easy. There just aren't many options. But I keep hoping someone will see something I'm not seeing. I've just been putting it off by keeping J rearfacing. If I still can't figure it out, well, guess the kid will need to donate his kidney and gall bladder to keep the weight down.

I'll be honest- the cookies tempted me. Then I saw the puzzle and decided I could make my own cookies .

cookies or not... it's a puzzle for sure... and I'm curious to see if I figured out something doable.

jess71903 said:

I'll be honest- the cookies tempted me. Then I saw the puzzle and decided I could make my own cookies .

Click to expand...

:yeahthat: I'm making myself some cookies, LOL. Okay, but seriously, I'll try to come back to it when I have a minute.

LOL. They're good cookies, too. Not sure if this speaks to my baking skills or my vehicle

To be clear, this is not an un-do-able puzzle. We all do fit in the vehicle. I can scrap the SR35 and put the babe in the MR, J goes in the Nautilus in the center, and I alternate between NHM's booster and one of the CLs' seats. No problem. (If CCL wasn't so dang tiny I might booster her for the five minute trip to/from school, but I just don't feel comfortable at her age/size.)

Kat, I just now saw your response. I'll look at it and edit in, hang on.

Edit: The SR35 doesn't fit in the third row, not even baseless. I tried it one day when we were eating lunch in the car at the zoo and I was bored, lol. I can get it in there, baseless, but then it's overreclined (and, uh, I'm installing every time.) The MR/Radian combo is as upright as it can go.

I think K's a bit too small for the Avenue yet, but I could put her in the MR and CSL in the Avenue. (I really wish I could use these kids' names, it would make this less confusing!)

The idea about having J "share" seats is a good one. For an idea of torso size, CCL is just under the second harness height, J is a bit under the 3rd, and NHM is on the 4th (halfway last time he used it, but it's been a while.) If CCL & NHM were more similar in size, they could just share the Nautilus, but it looks like she's trying to hang herself and although I know harness too high is safe, and would gladly do it once in a while, it makes me twitch to do it everyday. Just looks... wrong.

You're right, though -- if I want to not reinstall, another HWH seat is a must. I've thought about a CA65, easier for NHM and CCL to share, since I can adjust the harness...

Would NHM fit in a CA65? I know the torso height would be close.
Then some thing like this:
2nd row: CAT in Monterey, K in SR35, NHM/CCL in CA65
3rd row: S in Radian, CSL in MR, J in another CA65 ( I know that would be 2 seat purchases.)
OR 3rd row: CSL in Avenue, S in MR, J in Radian FF (will the Radian FF in 3rd row and let the MR and Avenue puzzle?

FWIW: The MR puzzles beautifully FF with many other FF seats. We can puzzle with a PWSG, FR85 and CA. So if J could FF in the MR in the 2nd row with the Monterey and a FR85 or CA65 for NHM/CCL and you could puzzle 3 across with your other seats for the 3 who have to be RF..hmm could babyK go in the Radian, with the Avenue for S and either the Coccoro/Scenera for CSL. Then when S hits 35 lbs BabyK should fit in one of the other seats and S can have the Radian.

Wow I just confused myself. I think a FR85 or CA65 would be great for NHM/CCL. The CA65 is easier to adjust because it is upfront but not sure if NHM will be too tall. My 5 yr old has a torso of about 17 in and barely fits. It could work until summer if NHM doesn't grow much. Also the CA65 has the nice push button LATCH connectors so you could use it for CCL and have it set to just pop in and out when NHM needs a booster.

Sorry if you are confused but hope this helps!

That does help. I think CA65 is a great bet for NHM/CCL, I had forgotten about that plan. He had a bit of room when I tried him in it; he was AT the top height of the EFT65 at that time. (That's what I was going to buy them.)

The problem with my third row (there's a link in my sig) is that I have a 60/40 split on a very narrow row. The whole row is 48", and buckle to buckle on the 60 portion it's 25". I'm able to put the Radian outboard, with the "toe" just inside the seat hinge and the seat itself overhanging, and get the base of the MR between the other edge and the other buckle. I swear I had managed to get the MR and FPSVB in there, but then I tried it again and had no luck. I may have put it on the wrong side, dunno. Either way, that doesn't work because NHM is the only one who can ride in the FPSVB at its narrowest setting, and he can't have a "full" spot.

So it HAS to be RF Radian/RF MR/??? Maybe, MAYBE RF/FF Radian, I've never tried it. The buckles might interfere. It would be tight.

Maybe another CA65. Maybe a Maestro. Maybe one CA65 and use it for NHM/CCL, and then put the Nautilus second row center for J, with CAT and baby K outboard, hmmm... I need something to FF, that puzzles with a RF Radian, and works with rigid forward-of-bight buckles. ???

jess71903 said:

I'll be honest- the cookies tempted me. Then I saw the puzzle and decided I could make my own cookies .

Click to expand...

This is EXACTLY what I thought! I'm glad there are a few people willing and able to take on this puzzle, because I am lost! Three-acrosses are not my bag.

Ff radian/rf radian is really thin together... I have a really thin back seat (rf rn/rf mr/rf rn barely fits) and I can do ff rn/rf rn/pretty much anything

Yeah, RF/FF Radian doesn't fit. Well, it fits -- it just doesn't install. The RF Radian's buckle is thick and the FF Radian would need to sit ON it for a proper install. Sigh.

I hit four different stores yeterday (two BRUs, Target and a Buy Buy Baby) and *may* have come up with a workable option. I can get an Evenflo Titan in in place of the MR, albeit not without some effort. (Thanks Bobandjess for mentioning in some thread a million years ago that the Titan puzzles similarly to the MR!) I *think* I can get a ProSport installed next to the Titan; I can get a ProSport installed on that seat period, which is quite impressive, because not much installs there. And it would have fit next to the MR were it not for cupholder interference.

The Titan fit RF, and it fit even better FF. So either of the CLs could use it, depending on what mode I put it in in. I'd like to see if the Tribute 5 fits there, since it looks like it's a similar size, and it's less expensive. Actually -- if I end up with the Titan FF, J could maybe even use it for a bit longer.

Interestingly, I was able to "almost-but-not-quite" fit a RA55, and a classic MA. The MA might have actually fit, but I didn't fight it too long since I wanted to think about whether that's what I wanted to do, and I didn't want to break BRU's seat, lol. Maestro was a no-go. CA did not fit FF, but did fit RF, in case anyone never needs an EEERF 3-across in a Pilot's 3rd row. (Radian/MyRide/CA.)

Didn't try the Frontier, but it was not gonna fit; neither was the Nautilus (and it doesn't install there.) I think I looked at every.flippin.seat on the planet.

So, IF it works, I'll have:

Row two: Monterey/SR35/Nautilus or FPSVB-convertible switch.
Row three: Radian (S)/Titan (CSL or CCL, depending on whether I need it RF or FF)/ProSport

My third row seatbacks are low enough that I *may* be able to adjust the ProRide's headrest once installed, but I'm not sure how that will work with the funky belt path. If I can do that, then I'll put CSL in the Titan and have CCL & NHM share the Prosport. Otherwise, J can use the ProSport and I'll make due with what I have for NHM and the other girl. And maybe invest in a SmartSeat when it comes out. Because I need to spend another $500 in carseats with this whole debacle.

And oh yeah. My J, who was 44lbs, then dropped to 42, and was back up to 44.2 on Saturday? Weighed him this morning (hoping he went back down,) and he's 44.8. So I need to do this NOW, if I'm gonna do it. (Otherwise K moves to the MR.)

Your puzzle makes my brain hurt. I'm making my own root beer meringue cookies right now.

But I just wanted to tell you how jealous I am of your third row. Again.
What about an RSTV for the biggest harnessed kid?

I too was thinking RSTV for the 2 who share a seat. OR
Could you get another My Ride for the middle row center seat and use it for J? Maybe get the Titan and move the My Ride then you could have all 3/4 FFers in the middle row and 3 RFers in the back.

Carrie - I suck because every time you post these threads, I duck away. I can't even keep the acronyms for your kiddos names straight, let alone think of the magic bullet to make this easier.

I know, sorry. I think it would be easier if I could use their names, lol. Maybe I'll see if I can get permission to do that.

RSTV is a good idea, I'll have to think about that, hmmm...

And um, I want root beer cookies!

Third row
Radian RF - S
Myride RF - CSL
Avenue - K


Second row
Monterey - Cat
Nautilus - J
CA65 - NHM/CCL

Purple is where I changed from my original choice of setup.

If you wanted, you could even replace the Nauti with another CA 65 (those headwings are awesome... so awesome... for sleep support)

I did it

I found on an older thread that I had posted the RF Radian worked next to my RF MR. I was all because I SWEAR it didn't work, but if I posted it, I guess it did.

What I was looking to see, actually, is if a FF Coccoro puzzled with a RF Radian. I don't know who on earth would really use that combination, but with CCL being so tiny, I could make it happen. Anyways, no, at least, not in my vehicle. Seems a FFing CCO and forward-of-bight buckles are not friends.

I was able to try a ProSport and ... it fit in my 40 portion! The Nautilus does not fit there and although I've never tried the Frontier, I have not been hopeful. But the ProSport has a funky belt path around the front of the seat that allows it to work with my forward-of-bight buckles, and is the right width to work on the seat. I tried a Titan in there; I think it would fit (either direction) and in fact I bought it at BRU. I tried it in the parking lot there, but truthfully to see if something really fits in a three-across like that (jimmying installing, install, remove, check for tightness, reinstall, etc) it takes more time than I like to spend in the parking lot there.

But... before I opened the box, I took the CCO out there and HEY! It fits, RFing, right between the Radian and the ProSport. I plopped it down on the seat and all of a sudden realized I had PLOPPED it down on the seat, not wiggled, jimmied, cajoled, or forced it in there! I could have peed my pants I was so excited.

So... I now have RF Radian, RF CCO, FF (obviously) ProSport. S will use the Radian, CSL the CCO, and J in the ProSport. C will keep his beloved Monterey, and K in her SR35 . N and CCL will ride passenger outboard, which will allow me to switch their seats out as needed, or I can do the LATCHed Nautilus thing, buy a CA, SmartSeat, whatever.

I don't love the reinstalling but I realized this week I only end up doing it about twice a week, as I have a sitter who comes three of the four afternoons I have the girls. So she can ride in someone else's seat if her seat isn't in, unless I have everyone, and then I can take a couple of minutes to throw a seat in for her.

The other really nice thing about this setup is that when we go on long drives, I can put K in the CCO and she'll have J to entertain her. But I still have the SR35 for portability for the next couple of months, until it warms up.

C cracked me up this week; I'd had all of the seats out for Christmas and was being lazy about hauling them back downstairs and into the car. The last one I took was the Monterey, so he was using a LiteRider for the first couple of days. When he got in the car midweek and saw that his seat was back, he crawled in and said "ahhh!" So happy his seat was back. Cracks me up, my anti-booster kid LOVES that darned seat.

Five bucks says I go into work tomorrow and J's back down to 42lbs. It's gonna happen, just watch. LOL!

(Now I have to figure out which of the 48,000 seats I have I need to sell, I do NOT need a dozen seats, I don't even have kids! LOL!)

My hard-won photos:

Forgive my dirty window, it IS winter in Ohio lol...



(Now I just gotta figure out how to get J *buckled* in that third row. )