Need two carseats for grandma's car

Hi, all. I have a 4 yo DD (45 lbs, 42.5") and a 19 month old DS (27lb, 35.5"). Both are in Radians at home; DD recently moved to FF and DS is obviously RF.

We are going to visit my parents on the other side of the country in March. My nephew (almost 3) will be visiting at the same time. We need to put all three kids in carseats. The only carseat my parents currently have at their house is our old Britax Roundabout (40, I think). My DS will use this rear-facing, but we need a plan for the other two kids.

While our original thought was to buy a carseat that my nephew could use (and that any visiting grandkids could use in the future) and bring one of our Radians for my DD, I am leery of checking our good carseats on an airplane. In addition, my DS is nearing the top height on the Roundabout rear-facing (he is almost 20 inches to the top of his head, the Britax is just over 21 inches and requires an inch of clearance rear-facing), so he will need a different seat the next time we visit and it will need to still rear-face, since I am uncomfortable with a FF two year old.

I am therefore considering buying two seats - one FF (combination?) seat for my DD to use this time and for the next couple years' of visits and one for my nephew to use this time that my son would be able to use rear-facing for at least the next couple of years on future visits (and note that he is really tall, so it would need to be a pretty tall seat). These seats would also be used on future visits by my nephew and his expected younger sibling, by which time they would be almost 4 and 6 months, respectively. An added consideration is that since these seats won't be used often (a couple of weeks every six months, maybe?), I would rather not pay $300 for them if we don't have to.

Does anyone have suggestions for seats that might work for us? I tried searching the forums, but frankly I just got more confused. Thank you in advance for any help you can give us!

-Rebecca

You're right that you should never check seats. However, your 19 month old needs a ticket and a carseat brought on board, as per the FAA's recommendations. http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/ So I'd bring one of your Radians with you. It's also narrow, so it'll work well in a three across. Just pack your rear facing foot and put it forward facing on the plane.

For your four year old I'd look at an Evenflo SecureKid. It can harness for a while, then booster. Maybe another for your nephew, but if he's under 40 pounds he should be in a seat on the plane.

Wendy

Well, it's too late to buy my son a seat at this point, so he will be sitting in my lap. I recognize many people do not consider this safe, but that is the plan. My nephew is not flying with us and I don't really have control over his flying plans, but my sister doesn't own a carseat (or a car), so I doubt he will be riding in one on the airplane, either. You can yell at me now.

In other news, thank you for the Eveflo suggestion. I see the Evenflo SecureKid is new; is it easy to install and use? My mom will be installing it at times without me and I want to make sure it isn't too challenging for her!

And since we aren't taking the Radian on the plane, any thoughts on a reasonably priced easy to install and use convertible carseat that will let a tall child rearface for as long as possible? Or should we just suck it up and buy another Radian for my mom's house? As a note, the kids don't all have to be in the same car, so we don't need three across.

Wendy, you actually did a carseat inspection for us at Children's when we were using the Roundabout for DD some several years ago!

What about bringing the Radian for your 4yo to sit in on the plane, then rear-face for your DS while there and get FF seats that you will leave there. Your parents can get a Scenera for your nephew's future younger sibling when they next visit.

For future visits, your younger child will be over two and won't be able to be a lap baby, so you'll bring a Radian for him for a while, which he will sit in on the plane.

Bringing the Radian this trip also means that if there turns out to be an available seat that you can use for your toddler, he'll be able to sit in the car seat (and your DD can just use the lap belt, like you're currently planning).

Qarin said:

What about bringing the Radian for your 4yo to sit in on the plane, then rear-face for your DS while there and get FF seats that you will leave there. Your parents can get a Scenera for your nephew's future younger sibling when they next visit.

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Better yet, take the Radian on the plane for the 4-year-old, and if there happens to be an open seat, use it for the baby instead, and let the 4-year-old sit in the belt.

LISmama810 said:

Better yet, take the Radian on the plane for the 4-year-old, and if there happens to be an open seat, use it for the baby instead, and let the 4-year-old sit in the belt.

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Did I not say that in my third paragraph?

Qarin said:

Did I not say that in my third paragraph?

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LOL, what, you expected me to read your whole post?

Apparently you did (on both counts)

Unfortunately, we need a convertible to be at my folks' house before we are because my nephew will be there a week before we get there. Since he is only almost 3, I would rather he were rear-facing, so he can't go in the FF seat we get for my daughter and while my son can still use the Roundabout, I doubt he could! (Tell me if I'm wrong in any of this thinking!)

So even if we bring the Radian, it doesn't solve the problem if we then get something FF for DD (like the Evenflo seat); it just means that my daughter could use the Radian and we would definitely need to buy a convertible for my folks' house for my nephew instead of the Evenflo.

My parents also have an expired Marathon, which is what my nephew used last time (before it expired!), but that's obviously not an option.

I admit, I assumed the almost-3yo would be forward-facing. What are his stats? It's possible that he would fit in a Scenera (your children are very large for their ages, is he?), otherwise pick a larger seat that would fit him AND would fit a 6mo (not hard- doesn't require good newborn fit), and when the baby is eventually born (sounds like they've got some precise planning going on?) he could use the FF seat you get for this trip and the baby gets the convertible, and your kids would visit and use the Radian you bring and your DD would by then (when she's 5+) be able to use a booster seat.

So for this trip, you arrange them to get a convertible seat that will fit the 2yo nephew and a FF seat for your 4yo, bring the Radian on board the plane (and either your 4yo sits in it while 1yo is a lap-baby, or a seat is open and the 1yo sits in it) for your 1yo to sit in RF during your visit.

Well, I feel a bit like a dunce, but that's actually part of my original question and the part I was having trouble with - picking a taller convertible seat that is easy to install/use and preferably not too expensive; do you have any suggestions?

I do appreciate the advice on other aspects of my question, though! It's given me a lot to think about!

Well, what I'd recommend really at least somewhat depends on the 2 year old's stats- with my long-term plan your kids will never actually use that seat. My go-tos for budget seats are still the Scenera for medium or smallish kids and the Graco MyRide for medium to large kids, but there may be other, better suggestions... I admit that I haven't been able to keep up with the latest'n'greatest.

I'd try to get a Complete Air.

The only reason I'd yell at you about not having a seat on the plane is that it's dangerous to other people on board to have a free flying 19 month old hit them in the head. This isn't an instance of you doing something stupid and not keeping your 19 month old buckled in the car. In that case it's just the lives of your family you're risking. Since you're local to me, and I may actually potentially share a plane with you, if you risked MY life and the lives of MY kids by aiming a 19 month old cannon at them, I will get upset. It's not just his life. For the price of his ticket you're risking everybody on the plane. He could end up going behind you, in front of you, ending up who knows where after a 150 mph crash on the runway (forget the six mile vertical drop, a carseat won't save him from that), and killing himself and three others in the process of bouncing around. Flight attendants call unrestrained babies "lap rockets." Not my term, but I see their point. At 27 pounds your son will be a 4,050 pound force on the runway. That will kill him and anyone he hits. This is simple physics. I'm not judging you, just explaining the math and physics behind why I get upset when people don't buy their babies tickets. Because if he hit me in the head as a 4,050 pound projectile, I'm going to die. Do you think my kids will now survive if I'm dead? So yeah, I get pissed when people take my life so casually. I've bought a ticket, used a carseat, and done everything in my power to keep my kids safe when we're flying. It's not fair for you to kill them.

Not to mention, try sitting on your sofa for however long your flight is with your 19 month old on your lap. I don't know your son, but by the end of it I'd be a homicidal maniac with my girls. So even if it wasn't safer for every person on the plane, it's a sanity saver. I also don't need to do the wondering you're doing about who is going to use what. I have seats for my kids. My husband forgot us at the airport once. One time the E train in NYC wasn't running and we jumped into a cab. I can't guarantee that everything will work out as I've planned it. I've been diverted to other airports, and my husband used to routinely drive home to Raleigh rather than wait for a very delayed Charlotte to Raleigh flight. With seats safely on board for my kids, I don't need to worry about the what ifs. We can hop in a cab, call another friend, go to a different airport, and we'll still be safe when we arrive.

So those are the three main reasons I think people should always travel with the appropriate seats for their kids, every time. You'll save their lives, save my life and the lives of my kids, and you'll be prepared and sane when you arrive.

Wendy

Qarin, I checked with my sister and my nephew is around 39.5 inches and 35ish lbs (she said she hasn't weighed him recently, though).

Wendy, thank you for the seat suggestions! Obviously, you feel very strongly about children riding in the appropriate seats for their age on planes. Thank you for your thoughts. And I will hope to run into you again in person one of these days!