Help me decide - which kid gets which seat?

Which kid for which seat?

  • Leave dd in the MA, put ds in the radian

    Votes: 4 100.0%
  • Move dd to the radian and put ds in the MA.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (jic I'm missing something..lol)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    4

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I'm a planner. ;) Ds won't outgrow his SS1 for awhile yet - I'm hoping to make it partway through winter, but I'm thinking about this already.

For convertibles, I have a Marathon and a Radian. Both can be installed rf'ing or ff'ing in our truck, so compatibility isn't an issue.

Right now ds rides in the SS1 and dd is ff'ing in the Marathon. I'm trying to decide between using the radian rf'ing and leaving dd in the marathon, or moving dd to the radian and turning the MA back rf'ing.

My only reason for considering using the radian ff'ing for dd is because of the safestop. She's 30lbs, and I'm thinking that she'd benefit by having the safestop as opposed to just a regular ff'ing car seat like the MA.

Am I off base in thinking that? Which seat would you match to each kid?
* I can get an upright install of the Radian rf'ing in our truck, so that's not really a factor - the biggest one is honestly the safe stop at the moment and I'm not sure if it's a factor to consider or not...
 
ADS

momof2kiddos

New member
Does your DD still nap in the car?If so I would leave her in the MA because the radian sits straight up and doesn't have great "wings" for her to place her head on when asleep.
 

Jewels

Senior Community Member
I am wondering if the Radian will be harder to tighten and loosen then the MA while RF :confused: Have you tried that? That might make the decision for you!
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
Once their legs get longer, the Radian is easier to buckle kids in/out of because it has more leg room RFing.

I know your seats recline when carseats are installed on them... does that give Jillian enough of a recline to sleep in the Radian?

I know space isn't an issue so that kind of nixes that deal breaker. ;)

One other thing to consider... I thought the hugs on the MA were supposed to act the same way in a crash as the safestop... spreads the crash forces more evenly and helps to disburse more of the energy... just does it in a different way than the safestop. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this point.

I guess none of that really helps, eh? :D I'd probably try out both kids in each of the seats and see what works better. Jillian may have a definite preference and could take the decision right out of your hands for you. ;) They're both very safe seats and we know you are using them correctly, so I don't think you can go wrong either way. :)
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Wow, you guys raised some points I hadn't considered. I wonder how much of an angle the radian would have in our truck? If it was dd going into it, my plan was to put it in the center - but our seats aren't quite as angled in the middle - although the MA seems to recline a bit too much for dd's liking in the middle, so maybe it would be a happy medium...

Jen - did you have troubles tightening the harness ff'ing or rf'ing with the more shallow belt path? You know how compressible our seat cushions are - firm, but compress with pressure. I'm worried that I might have troubles adjusting the harness with the shallow path on our Radian.

What I'm thinking of doing is putting the Radian in the middle, installing the SS1 base on the driver side for now, and trying dd in it for a ride and seeing what she thinks. I didn't realize that the HUGS could have a similar affect as the safe stop.
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
I almost never adjust the harness on Mikkel's for RFing... when I do, I use the buckle one side, tighten harness, buckle the other side trick. I've never used the shallow path for a RFing install, other than to take pics for people that is. Sorry. :eek:

Aiden's was difficult to adjust (FFing) when I had the shallow belt path because of the super compressible cushions. The new one is fairly simple. The easiest way to do it... if you are standing on the passenger side, grab the adjuster strap with your left hand and put your right hand on the adjuster strap between your left hand and the adjuster. Then push down with your right hand while pulling up with your left. Makes it really simple to tighten a FFing seat this way.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I fiddled with the seats tonight and put dd in the Radian and ds in the MA. He fits the MA well and seems cozy. She complained a bit about the straps on her neck, but I was having troubles reaching in far enough to tighten the harness...

I'm still fighting with installing the radian in the middle though - Jen, it seemed so much easier when you did it..lol. I haven't completely mastered the whole unbuckle, retract belt a little and rebuckle trick yet. I think I need dh's help to re-buckle it.

I had 3 across in my truck tonight though. A SS1, ff'ing Radian and rf'ing Marathon. It was snug, but it fit. A ff'ing MA, rf'ing ss1 and then ff'ing radian would be no problem at all and wouldn't even have it be snug. Unfortunately the SS1 and a rf'ing MA do not puzzle well together - the handle of the SS is right at the widest part of the MA and I couldn't snap it on to the base. I might've been able to jsut buckle it in without the base if need be though...

I was trying to do 3 across so that we still have the option of the infant carrier.. I'm mainly just trying to figure out who gets which seat right now, and suspect we'll go back to using the SS full time for ds once I get it figured out. :thumbsup:
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
Another thing to considered is which seat does your dd prefer? My oldest HATED the Radian due to the narrow straps.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Another thing to considered is which seat does your dd prefer? My oldest HATED the Radian due to the narrow straps.

Yeah, we'll see what she thinks of that. If they really bother her though I'll order a chest clip from Britax. (Maybe some other CDN's want to get one and then we could save on shipping? ;) )

I've got all 3 seats in there good now.

*** You know you're obsessed about getting your car seats in when you're out there at 11:30pm doing it so that you don't get interrupted by kids. :whistle: :cool:
 

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