Difficulty finding right convertible!

angee418 · Mar 6, 2012

I initially bought a Sunshine Radian, and not only is the seat ridiculously heavy but I have very deep bucket seats in the back, so my daugter is extremely uncomfortable, even with pool noodle to adjust to the correct angle.

She is 2 years old and in the 98% percentile in height and weight, so she seems to be getting a little big for this seat. Because of her age, should I still keep her in a convertible or would I be okay moving her into a booster with a 5-point harness since she is a larger 2 year old?

Also, any suggestions on a seat that works well with deep bucket seats? My next car will be a crossover (probably Chevy Equinox), so I won't have that problem but need a solution for now.

carseatcoach · Mar 6, 2012

A 2yo is significantly safer rear-facing, so unless she is very near 45#, I would try to make the Radian work. Have you tried an Angle Adjuster? You can't use a pool noodle with the Radian: you need to use the boot that came with the seat.

hrice · Mar 6, 2012

Is the seat over reclined or not reclined enough? And pp is correct that you can't use a pool noodle with the Radian.

What makes you think she is uncomfortable? My almost 3 and almost 4 year olds are RF in Radians. My almost 4yo is about 40" tall and 37#. No complaints from him! They are both in my sig pic.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

Keeanh · Mar 6, 2012

How tall and how heavy is she? How long is her torso (seated height to shoulders)? The Radian is probably the best seat. Were you using the rear-facing boot that comes with the seat? The other 45lb RF seat is the new Peg Perego convertible. The Complete Air is an option, but has a RF height limit of 40". If her torso isn't too long, the Graco My Ride & Evenflo Triumph 65 are options too.

angee418 · Mar 6, 2012

First of all, thanks so much for all the replies so far! I'll try to answer them all here in this one email.

I tried to keep her rear facing but she got carsick at least 3 times a week (I also get carsick, so this shouldn't have surprised me too much!), so I turned her around earlier than I would have liked.

I thought that the boot that came with the seat said to only use front facing. Am I wrong there? I read that the pool noodle wasn't supposed to be used but I was desperate. It was the only thing I found that didn't cause the seat to move more than an inch in either direction.

Her seat is over-reclined. What makes me feel she is uncomfortable is that she cries and says her bottom hurts....also points to her lower back.

She is 33 pounds and 36" tall. I don't know how long her torso is but she has short legs. She's in a 4T shirt because her belly hangs out of 3Ts and she's still in big 2T/small 3T pants.

I don't know what the angle adjuster is. The rear facing boot isn't used anymore becuase, again, she throws up regularly when she's rear facing.

angee418 · Mar 6, 2012

Oh, and by the way, she is already growing out of the top forward facing slot....

StillThankful · Mar 6, 2012

Hi there

I totally understand the frustrating with dealing with this seat I call "THE BEAST."

I encourage you to take the time to read through the instruction manual in its entirety.

This is how the seat should look rearfacing: You see the angle adjuster (dark grey foam under the seat, which helps accomplish a more upright incline:

DSCN0283 by StillThankful, on Flickr

DSCN0265 by StillThankful, on Flickr

Here is the boot that will be at the bite of the seat:

DSCN0242 by StillThankful, on Flickr

DSCN0240 by StillThankful, on Flickr

Angle Adjuster: Can be used to get a more upright incline

DSCN0238 by StillThankful, on Flickr

safeinthecar · Mar 6, 2012

I'm completely lost now. Let me try to sort this out.

1: you had her rear-facing.

2:was that when she was uncomfortable or is she uncomfortable now that she is forward facing?

3:were you using a noodle rear facing or forward facing?

4:Was she getting car sick due to being over-reclined rear facing, or just being rear facing in general (IE did it happen in her infant seat)?

5:can you take a pic of what you have going on with your install now?

StillThankful · Mar 6, 2012

safeinthecar said:
5:can you take a pic of what you have going on with your install now?

Posting a picture would help immensely in allowing us diagnose your problem.

You can post pics by either attaching them to the post thru "Manage Attachments" or via "copy and paste" from a photo hosting site like flikr or photobucket.

angee418 · Mar 6, 2012

STILLTHANKFUL:

I read the manual very carefully. When it comes to my daughter’s safety, I’m anal retentive like that! That’s why I’m on this site.

I can’t see any of your pics but if you can email them to me, I’d appreciate it! I’m at angee 418 @ yahoo . com (no spaces).

SAFEINTHECAR:

1) I had her rear facing until she was about 11 months old, when I turned her around. I couldn’t take the vomiting anymore. I am a single mother and not only was I practically breaking my back and pulling muscles getting this seat in and out of my car, but it was so hard to clean!
2) She has never liked being rear facing, so I’m not sure if it was uncomfortable, the carsickness or just boredom from not being able to see anything. She is definitely not comfortable now that she’s forward facing because she cries and tells me her bottom hurts. She also points to her lower back. I can’t blame her. Those deep bucket seats hurt me, too, but I just can’t afford a new car right now.
3) She was getting car sick rear facing and forward facing. It has decreased DRAMATICALLY since I turned her around, though. She was getting sick a few times a week, even in her infant seat (which was a breeze to clean!) but since she’s been front facing, I think she’s only been sick once and it was a long drive.
4) I can take a pic of my install and post tomorrow.

StillThankful · Mar 6, 2012

angee418 said:
STILLTHANKFUL:

I read the manual very carefully. When it comes to my daughter’s safety, I’m anal retentive like that! That’s why I’m on this site. I can’t see any of your pics but if you can email them to me, I’d appreciate it! I’m at angee 418 @ yahoo . com (no spaces).

.

OK. Will do

hrice · Mar 6, 2012

I would order an angle adjustor (designed to position the Radian more upright when rear facing) from Amazon and turn your Radian back to rear facing. With a more upright angle she may not have sickness issues. Also the pain she is feeling in her back is likely due to her legs dangling over the front of her seat and the pressure that puts on her lower back. When rear facing she will be able to prop her legs and her back will be perfectly supported. One of the pics StillThankful posted has the angle adjustor under the Radian. It is the black foam thing.

As far as her not being able to see RF that is a common misconception. My son narrates our entire drive with all the things he sees.

safeinthecar · Mar 6, 2012

angee418 said:
STILLTHANKFUL:

I read the manual very carefully. When it comes to my daughter’s safety, I’m anal retentive like that! That’s why I’m on this site. I can’t see any of your pics but if you can email them to me, I’d appreciate it! I’m at angee 418 @ yahoo . com (no spaces).

SAFEINTHECAR:

1) I had her rear facing until she was about 11 months old, when I turned her around. I couldn’t take the vomiting anymore. I am a single mother and not only was I practically breaking my back and pulling muscles getting this seat in and out of my car, but it was so hard to clean!
2) She has never liked being rear facing, so I’m not sure if it was uncomfortable, the carsickness or just boredom from not being able to see anything. She is definitely not comfortable now that she’s forward facing because she cries and tells me her bottom hurts. She also points to her lower back. I can’t blame her. Those deep bucket seats hurt me, too, but I just can’t afford a new car right now.
3) She was getting car sick rear facing and forward facing. It has decreased DRAMATICALLY since I turned her around, though. She was getting sick a few times a week, even in her infant seat (which was a breeze to clean!) but since she’s been front facing, I think she’s only been sick once and it was a long drive.
4) I can take a pic of my install and post tomorrow.

OK, well first off, just aging may have made a huge difference in the level of her car sickness, so it is worth a shot to try to rf her again. You know how babies are born with a gap in their skull to allow their brain to grow? well there is a gap in each vertebra as well so the spinal cord can get bigger around. This leaves the spine pretty unstable and easy to break in a forward facing crash until that gap finishes closing up at around age 4-6.

While I understand well the risks of frequent vomiting (have a kid like that due to reflux. She'll need surgery at some point to correct things) and agree that ongoing damage trumps possible damage, I would want to know that I at least gave it a shot. Nothing to lose by giving rfing a 1 week free trial, right?

Either way, she'll have to go ffing at some point and you didn't answer about how you are using the noodle, so I can't advise about that yet.

Keeanh · Mar 6, 2012

Just to clarify, the Radian has a rear-facing "boot", and a forward-facing "recline foot". You can also buy a separate "angle adjuster".

The boot is the big triangular chunk of plastic that comes with the seat, but is detachable. You clip it on to the bottom of the seat for rear-facing, and remove it for forward-facing.

The foot is a permanent part of the seat that can be dropped down an inch or so to help with a forward-facing install. It has to be in (or "up") for a rear-facing install. Every forward-facing install I've done has required the recline foot to be out.

The angle adjuster is a square of foam that you purchase separately. It's ONLY for rear-facing, and causes the seat to be more upright.

I would recommend trying the seat rear-facing with an angle adjuster. They're $10 on [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Diono-60320-Radian-Angle-Adjuster/dp/B006I1QTYQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331082314&sr=8-1"]Amazon[/ame]. There's a huge difference between 11mos and 2 years. Rear-facing may turn out differently this time.

And regardless of which direction you choose to put her, please post pictures! The Radian is generally a very upright seat forward-facing. And you must NEVER use pool noodles with a forward-facing seat.

Difficulty finding right convertible!

angee418

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