We were in an accident. Replace britax and graco seats? With what?

paintedbison · Jan 8, 2012

We were in an accident. I am unsure if we meet the requirements for continuing to use our britax seat. The only one I'm unsure of is it says it is classified as a "minor accident" if no one was injured. My 7 year old and I are both having neck and head pain. However, we have not seen a doctor. (We have talked with our ped, though, so don't worry!) Is that enough to count as an injury?

We were not at fault at all. Will the other car's insurance pay to replace all our seats? We had one seat in the car (used by a friend) that no child was in. Does that seat also need to be replaced? It will be a total of 4 seats.

Can you please start me on my carseat research for new seats? Will insurance reimburse for anything I pick or do we have to buy the same exact seats? I think three of the seats are graco and they say they need to be replaced no matter what.

I have a ff 7 year old. A ff 4.5 year old. A rf 2.5 year old. I am pregnant with #4 (I think I will inherit a nice bucket from a car seat obsessed friend for when she's a baby!) We have a Nissan Quest minivan. I've toyed with the idea of wondering if we could fit three radians in the back and still have one extra spot for a friend. Any suggestions to start me off? It's been a while since I've looked at seats. But, I knew this would be the best place to start!!!!!! I am always in awe of the carseat knowledge here!

wendytthomas · Jan 8, 2012

I hope you guys feel better soon.

Yes, I would say that if you guys are sore enough to talk to a doctor of any sort to check in, yes, you're injured enough to replace seats. We had All State Insurance give us each $100 for our "injuries" in 2004, even though I stressed we were not seen at a hospital, did not talk to a doctor, and had nothing that some tylenol and a nice bath wouldn't cure. So according to them, at least, we were injured.

I don't know if your seven year old would fit in a Radian, but the new baby will, and the 2.5 year old and five year old should. So that's a possibility. Then maybe the seven year old in a booster in the captain's chair. I'd try RF/FF/RF across the third row. I don't know if it'll work, but that'd be my first try. I'd buy one angle adjuster for now, and prepare to buy a second. Put the baby behind the empty seat so that way if there's no one there you can remove the headrest, and if there is someone there you can move the seat up and they're uncomfortable only for a bit, not for someone for everyday.

So if you do two Radians now then the bucket, and then a third Radian, I'd look at the Clek Oobr, Diono Monterey, Graco Turbobooster, Britax Parkway, and Recaro ProBooster as the boosters for your seven year old.

Wendy

paintedbison · Jan 8, 2012

wendytthomas said:
I hope you guys feel better soon.

Yes, I would say that if you guys are sore enough to talk to a doctor of any sort to check in, yes, you're injured enough to replace seats. We had All State Insurance give us each $100 for our "injuries" in 2004, even though I stressed we were not seen at a hospital, did not talk to a doctor, and had nothing that some tylenol and a nice bath wouldn't cure. So according to them, at least, we were injured.

I don't know if your seven year old would fit in a Radian, but the new baby will, and the 2.5 year old and five year old should. So that's a possibility. Then maybe the seven year old in a booster in the captain's chair. I'd try RF/FF/RF across the third row. I don't know if it'll work, but that'd be my first try. I'd buy one angle adjuster for now, and prepare to buy a second. Put the baby behind the empty seat so that way if there's no one there you can remove the headrest, and if there is someone there you can move the seat up and they're uncomfortable only for a bit, not for someone for everyday.

So if you do two Radians now then the bucket, and then a third Radian, I'd look at the Clek Oobr, Diono Monterey, Graco Turbobooster, Britax Parkway, and Recaro ProBooster as the boosters for your seven year old.

Wendy

Hmmm. I'm thinking I need to have the baby in the middle row because the third row is super hard to get to. One of my older kids could help buckle the 2 year old, but I don't know if I'd trust them with the baby.

I just weighed my 7 year old and she is 47 pounds. Do I need to look for her a 5 pt harness or just a booster? She is currently in a nautilus. And, sorry, my next oldest is 4.5... not 5! Thanks for the quick help!

wendytthomas · Jan 8, 2012

Could you put the baby in through the trunk?

A booster is fine for your seven year old. A harness won't hurt, but I wouldn't go out and buy one provided your child can sit properly.

Wendy

paintedbison · Jan 8, 2012

wendytthomas said:
Could you put the baby in through the trunk?

A booster is fine for your seven year old. A harness won't hurt, but I wouldn't go out and buy one provided your child can sit properly.

Wendy

Yes, she is a proper sitter.

Is it beneficial to have my 4.5 year old harnessed? He also is very good at sitting in a seat (would never unbuckle without permission).

DH thinks we should prioritize car seats that come in cow print and get four matching ones. I am liking that idea!

mylittlet · Jan 8, 2012

I would not put a 4.5y in a booster full-time. Ours is very, very part-time in dh truck, where she rides to the store a mile away 2-3x a month. I'm not ready fr her to be in a booster.

If you want all cow seats
#1 - parkway
#2 - frontier
#3 - bv or ma
#4 - bv or ma for when the infant seat from your friend is outgrown.

CPST in Iowa
mom to dd11y, ds10y, ds 5.5y (red monterey), dd 4.5y (cow frontier85), EDD 8/17/12 (who knows what??)

paintedbison · Jan 8, 2012

pippi2077 said:
I would not put a 4.5y in a booster full-time. Ours is very, very part-time in dh truck, where she rides to the store a mile away 2-3x a month. I'm not ready fr her to be in a booster.

If you want all cow seats
#1 - parkway
#2 - frontier
#3 - bv or ma
#4 - bv or ma for when the infant seat from your friend is outgrown.

CPST in Iowa
mom to dd11y, ds10y, ds 5.5y (red monterey), dd 4.5y (cow frontier85), EDD 8/17/12 (who knows what??)

Okay... I'm thinking as I read more I will definitely keep him harnessed. Is their any benefit to the bv over the marathon? We have a marathon and it is the only seat we have ever owned that I really, really, really like. I was also considering the combo you suggested. Are their any reasons other seats would be better than basing our decision off of cow print material? (Four cow print seats though... how cute would that be!

)

truckerswife · Jan 8, 2012

oh all cow seats sounds wonderful

mylittlet · Jan 8, 2012

How big is your 2y? Weight? Torso height? Even bum to top of head height? Just want to make sure a bv or ma would be a good choice for him. (Our kids outgrew the old bv at just past 2y, but we have monster kids). Your 7y is about the size of our 5y, but want to make sure its a good choice for him.

I think all cow sounds super cute!! We have a cow frontier. Love how soft it is!

CPST in Iowa
mom to dd11y, ds10y, ds 5.5y (red monterey), dd 4.5y (cow frontier85), EDD 8/17/12 (who knows what??)

Brigala · Jan 8, 2012

All cow would be cute, if you're into cow...

Honestly, though, what I would do is go with two Radians, a booster, and an infant seat.

A RF Radian for the 2 year old, of course, and a FF Radian for the 4 year old which could be passed down to the baby when the infant bucket is outgrown. At that point you can re-evaluate whether the (by then 5) year old is ready for a booster, or whether you want to get a FF harnessed seat, or whether you'd like to go with another Radian so you can squeeze 3-across the back.

In the short run, I'd probably put a booster and a FF Radian in the 3rd row, and put the bucket and the RF Radian in the 2nd row. If the bucket gets clicked into the base last, it gives room for all the other kids to load up.

If you don't want to someday do a 3-across, you might want to get a FF-only seat for the 4 year old rather than putting her in a Radian.

If you want everything to match, the Britax "onyx" fabric is an exact match for the Diono "shadow" fabric. So if you went with all Diono and Britax you could still get matching seats. But it would be all cowmoo.

paintedbison · Jan 8, 2012

pippi2077 said:
How big is your 2y? Weight? Torso height? Even bum to top of head height? Just want to make sure a bv or ma would be a good choice for him. (Our kids outgrew the old bv at just past 2y, but we have monster kids). Your 7y is about the size of our 5y, but want to make sure its a good choice for him.

I think all cow sounds super cute!! We have a cow frontier. Love how soft it is!

CPST in Iowa
mom to dd11y, ds10y, ds 5.5y (red monterey), dd 4.5y (cow frontier85), EDD 8/17/12 (who knows what??)

I think she's about 26lbs. I weighed the other two today but I didn't do her! I'll do her in the morning. She's currently in a marathon and looks to have room to grow for awhile, so I figured I'd be good to replace her marathon with a marathon.

paintedbison · Jan 8, 2012

Brigala said:
All cow would be cute, if you're into cow...

Honestly, though, what I would do is go with two Radians, a booster, and an infant seat.

A RF Radian for the 2 year old, of course, and a FF Radian for the 4 year old which could be passed down to the baby when the infant bucket is outgrown. At that point you can re-evaluate whether the (by then 5) year old is ready for a booster, or whether you want to get a FF harnessed seat, or whether you'd like to go with another Radian so you can squeeze 3-across the back.

In the short run, I'd probably put a booster and a FF Radian in the 3rd row, and put the bucket and the RF Radian in the 2nd row. If the bucket gets clicked into the base last, it gives room for all the other kids to load up.

If you don't want to someday do a 3-across, you might want to get a FF-only seat for the 4 year old rather than putting her in a Radian.

If you want everything to match, the Britax "onyx" fabric is an exact match for the Diono "shadow" fabric. So if you went with all Diono and Britax you could still get matching seats. But it would be all cowmoo.

Ah man, this sounds like something else I should consider. I wonder if two radians and a booster would for sure fit across the back of my minivan? I hate to sacrifice cow print for radians if they won't fit anyways... but if they would, it would be worth it.

If it won't fit three across, would you still pick radians over a britax marathon and frontier for the 2 and 4 year old?

Brigala · Jan 9, 2012

paintedbison said:
Ah man, this sounds like something else I should consider. I wonder if two radians and a booster would for sure fit across the back of my minivan? I hate to sacrifice cow print for radians if they won't fit anyways... but if they would, it would be worth it.

If it won't fit three across, would you still pick radians over a britax marathon and frontier for the 2 and 4 year old?

I can't say for sure that 2 Radians and a booster would fit across the back, but 3 Radians would almost surely fit. The question then would be how long your 2nd oldest child would fit in one.

If you got two Radians, you could then get an idea of how much space is left and whether you would be able to squeeze a booster in there.

If it won't fit three across, I would choose a Radian over a Marathon, but it's a tossup whether I'd choose a Radian or a Frontier for the 4 year old. If I wanted to keep the 2 year old rear-facing even after the baby outgrows the infant seat, then I'd probably buy a Radian for the 4 year old and the 2 year old, and then pass the 4 year old's radian down to the baby when the time came and get the 4 year old something else. If I figured I'd be forward-facing the 2 year old by the time baby needed a convertible, I might get the 4 year old a FF seat and figure I'd buy something new for the 2 year old later.

But if anything will fit two car seats and a booster across the back row, it would be Radians.

mylittlet · Jan 9, 2012

If you get 2 radians and a frontier. I would hand the frontier down and get the oldest a booster. I bet a radian, radian, bum booster would fit for the extra friend when needed.

CPST in Iowa
mom to dd11y, ds10y, ds 5.5y (red monterey), dd 4.5y (cow frontier85), EDD 8/17/12 (who knows what??)

paintedbison · Jan 9, 2012

Another idea for cow print seats. How would this work?

Current purchases:

7 yo DD - britax parkway
4.5 yo DS - britax frontier 85
2.5 yo DD - britax marathon

And, purchase additional britax parkway.

Still not sure how insurance will work? Cut us a check? Want us to purchase same seats??? Let me buy anything? Hmmm...

After new baby comes five months from now, and we use friend's bucket for an additional 6 months, this will be everyone's ages...

8 yo DD - stay in her parkway
5.5 yo DS - promote up to parkway
3.5 yo DD - promote to frontier 85 (is this old enough to ff? She's been an average size kid so far)
6 month old - marathon

It looks like the parkways are the same width as radians. So maybe, two parkways and friends booster would fit in the back? Or could the frontier be put between them?

Thanks! I have a friend that has radians. I'm debating if it would be worth asking if I could uninstall a couple of hers to see how they'd fit in the back of my car....

Brigala · Jan 9, 2012

The Parkway may be the same overall width as a Radian, but the shape is so much different it's hard to compare. The Radians are only 14" wide at the bottom, so they squeeze in tightly when puzzled with RF Radians next to FF Radians.

I would definitely see if your friend can help you play with Radians before making a decision. You might want to pick up at least one Parkway first (since you'll probably want at least one no matter what else you do).

As far as the 3.5 year old going FF, that is quite reasonable and is your choice. Chances are, if she is average in size, she will outgrow the RF limits of the Marathon before then, but would probably still fit RF in a Radian.

We were in an accident. Replace britax and graco seats? With what?

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