2 New Car Seats Needed - Overwhelmed by Choices

I been lurking on this forum for a while, and honestly have to admit I'm now overwhelmed. We are in need of 2 new car seats, and just can't make a decision on what will suit our kids and cars best... Here's the details.

Kids:
1. Eldest son (Duncan) is 2 years, 5 months old.
He is 31lbs, and 36" tall.
2. We are expecting our 2nd son at the end of September.

Cars:
We drive two Subaru's. A 2001 Outback and a 2004 Forester XT. The 2 new car seats are going into the 2004 Forester XT - but it would be nice to know our choices could be moved to the Outback if the need ever arises!

What We're Tossing Around:

1. Newborn: We'd like to use the seat right from birth - and have had the suggestion of a Boulevard, TrueFit or Radian Premier. Would one be better than the other? My concern is the Forester is tight in terms of seating - DH is 6'1", so pushes the drivers seat/passenger seat to the max position when riding. I'm only 5'6', and while the Forester is my primary vehicle - I don't sit as far back as the hubby!

2. We'd like to possibly put Duncan into a Radian Premier - since we do travel and would like the convenience of being able to take along the seat. However, we've had the suggestion of a Frontier being the better choice in terms of long term use. Is this really the case?

Bottom line - we're open to any suggestions. Key for us is to keep the kiddos safe, and ideally to maximize the car seats for as long as possible. Looking forward to any and all input :thumbsup:

Tough call, but here's my suggestion:

For the newborn baby, I'd forget about the Radian premier; it's a great seat but it's very tall and takes up lots of room front-to-back when reclined 45 degrees (for a newborn). I'd probably go with a seat with a shorter shell, like the True Fit or the Britax Boulevard instead. Another option is the Graco SafeSeat which is an infant bucket-type seat but with a 30 lbs limit (most little ones fit until 18-24 months).

For your older child, I'd also forget the Radian Premier and instead consider a "regular" Radian. The Premier is the same as a "regular" Radian but it has an infant insert which your child won't need at age 2. I'd also seriously consider the Britax Frontier which also converts to a booster seat when the harness is outgrown, unlike the Radian which is just a harnessed seat (albeit a very good one).

I'm sure some techs with more carseat exoerience will chime in, eventually.

What carseat is Duncan in right nowÉ

hipmaman said:

What carseat is Duncan in right nowÉ

Click to expand...

He's in an EB 3in1 - and it's time to say farewell to that model

Since you travel a lot, I'd want to get a SafeSeat1 for the baby and a Radian for the 2.5 year old.

Yes, the Frontier will last longer and be the last seat he needs, but it would be a bit of a beast to travel with on airlines. The Radian is a fantastic airline travel seat. I'd splurge and get two backpack straps to go with it to make it into a backpack ($5/strap at babyproofingplus.com) and just go with the regular Radian (cheaper and no different than the premier other then cover choices). The Radian will last your 2.5 year old until at least age 6 (probably longer).

The SS1 is also a great travel seat for the baby and should last anywhere between 18 months - 2 years old. Keep in mind also, that just because you have a carrier for the baby does not mean you have to take it out of the vehicle. If you don't want to carry it around, leave it in the vehicle and treat it like a convertible seat. When you need the carrier feature it will be there for you.

When the baby outgrows the SS1, you can re-evaluate whether you want to pass the older child's Radian down and get the older one a Frontier/Nautilus/whatever is latest/greatest on the market at that time.

Is the SS1 compatible with cloth diapers? I guess I should have added we were trying to avoid the carrier style this time around, as it was cumbersome with a little one in cloth diapers. Thus the reason the convertibles were more appealing from birth...

You won't have a problem using cloth diapers with the SS1. The straps lengthen at both the hips and shoulders and my 22 month old (at that time) still fit with nice room in the straps. He was right at the height limit and 27lbs at that time.

Yesterday I did a 3 across with the TF RF, RN FF and the SS1 in a Accord. Since you said that room is an issue because of your tall DH I would not go with the TF just because you can't have the carseat touching the vehicle seat. I think the RN would work but it might be a tight squeeze. My only concern with the boulevard is that it doesn't always fit small babies well. There was a thread yesterday about it and someone posted a picture of their baby in it.

I know what you mean about not wanting a carrier. I wanted the SS1 for my 2nd. I had a c-section so I wasn't able to carry it for the first while and then once I could carry it she didn't want to be in it so I ended up putting her in the sling or wrap. I have now discovered that she is happier in the MA so I have moved her from the SS1 to the MA. Now i'm deciding whether I want to keep the SS1 for our frigid cold winter or just keep her in the MA.

I have a SS1 and a little one in cloth diapers. My only FYI about it is that when a breast fed baby poops and the diaper doesn't hold it all that poop goes everywhere! It even went through the crotch strap and out the bottom of the seat.

As much as I love the Boulevard, I wouldn't use it from birth unless you have a REALLY big baby (10-12+ pounds). While Britax says you can use the seat even with the harness slightly above the baby's shoulders, the Boulevard doesn't seem to fit newborns well at all.

I like the recommendation of a TrueFit for the baby and a Radian for the toddler.




ETA: I see that Jewels just posted the same concern about the Boulevard. Sorry!