Infant seats have changed so much!!

We used a Graco Snugride for my first two kids (currently 20 months and 3 years 8 months), but gave it away because we didn't anticipate having another one too soon... Well, life had other plans for us, it seems. So I went to BabiesRUs to look at car seats again, and... was totally overwhelmed by how much they've changed in response to new recommendations!

So I'm wondering if I can get suggestions on car seats, please. We have a small SUV (Saturn VUE) with all three back seats having LATCH connectors. Currently, we have the 20 month old RF in a Radian XTSL, and we just recently turned our older boy FF in his Radian R120. They're on the outside two seats, and I notice that they don't sit super close to the door -- possibly because the Radians are just so narrow -- so there's 4-6 inches of space between each of their seats and the door, so there's a decent amount of space in between, but not as much as you'd think given the width of the car and how narrow the seats are.

So here's a break down of what I'm looking for:

1) I'd like to get an infant seat that can be carried around when the babies asleep in it, rather than something like a Radian.

2) I'd also like to get something narrow enough to fit in with the Radians, though I'll probably move the FF Radian to the middle to make better use of all that space next to the door with the infant seat (and so I don't have to lift it up and over other car seats to get it to the middle).

3) A lot of the ones I saw are "adjustable", and *say* they can go through age 2, but I also need to think about torso length, because both of my kids have exceptionally long torsos. Both outgrew the Graco Snugride well before a year (one at 7 months) torso-wise, which is when we moved them into their Radians (I was really nervous of buying another car seat only to have them outgrow it in the torso in just a few months). In a perfect world, the infant seat would also last long enough that the baby could then move into one of the other kids radian, when my oldest outgrows his R120. I don't know when I expect him to outgrow it, honestly, since he's only 40lb and still has one slot above where he's at now (only 43" tall, but wears 5/6T shirts with short little 3T pants). However, having the baby seat last a long time is the least important of my desired features, honestly.

4) If they won't be in it for very long, I'd really like to keep the price down (so I can save for the next one I'll have to get as soon as they outgrow this one!)

I realize that's a tall order, but figured maybe someone on here would know of something that fits the bill!

Thank you very much!

Congratulations on your little surprise!

Ok, first of all, you will maximize your available space if you install your seats with the seat belt instead of LATCH. LATCH tends to pull the seats closer to the center of the vehicle, leaving less room in the center. It may or may not be necessary to install all the seats with the belt. Just experiment a little to see what gives you the most room.

Most likely, I would install the rear-facing Radian on one side with the belt, and the forward-facing Radian in the center. When you alternate Radian directions RF/FF, they take up the least amount of space because the widest parts (the tops) are not next to each other. This will give you the most space to fit your desired infant seat on the other side.

The Chicco Keyfit is a good all-around, mid-priced infant seat. It is pretty narrow and compact overall.

The Safety 1st Onboard Air is also fairly narrow. It takes up more space front-to-back, however. The trade-off is that it will last a lot longer for a long-torsoed baby. I would say an average-sized baby will outgrow a Keyfit somewhere around a year old, and will outgrow an Onboard around 1.5.

These are the first two I would try in your vehicle to see how they fit. Babies R Us should carry both and they will let you test in your car.

I got my baby the onboard air 35... i got it specificly because i was told it fits long torso babies longer then other seats. my older two boys outgrew the infant seat at 3 and 4 months.

I love this seat. He still has lots of room above his head and there is still lots of room by his feet. I leave it installed in the car now that its getting warmer and hes getting bigger these were taken recently... there not the best but you can kinda see that he still has space above his head. He is 5 months old and around 26.5 inches long

Thanks for the feedback! I'll go check those out -- especially the onboard air. Silly kids just need to grow more evenly. I feel pretty silly buying clothes 3 sizes larger for their tops than their bottoms.