Help solve my logistical mess!

Sewingbeth · Nov 7, 2008

we're going on a 10 day holiday by train.

the last 3 days of it, my partner is taking our 3.5 yr old (40 lbs, tall torso) to Kitchener. She's taking the train there so that's no problem but she doesn't live super close to the train or bus station and it's not convenient to take public transit around the city from her house.

So we don't want to take our carseat with us because we have a 7.5 month old as well and honestly taking a carseat along with all our luggage and a stroller to get around Toronto while we're there sounds like some kind of torture.

So... how do we get a carseat in Kitchener for them to use while we're there??? We don't want to buy a new seat (she's in a frontier right now at home but still fits in the marathon with a bit to spare)

HELP! (I'm dubious of rental seats and don't even know if this is an option but really a reliable rental would be perfect...)

BW1426 · Nov 7, 2008

I don't really think there is such a thing as a reliable rental seat. A rental company has absolutely NO idea what took place with the seat after it left their hands.

Why can't you take your carseat with you and leave it in the hotel?

J-max · Nov 7, 2008

This is why we own 2 Ride Safer Travel Vests! We take a super long train trip (like 3+weeks) every couple of years and they are the perfect "car seat" for travel. They fit in your luggage and can be pulled out and used in just a few minutes. They were a life saver this summer when we traveled from the PNW to the NE part of Canada, and only had to carry 1 "real" car seat with us.

QuassEE · Nov 7, 2008

It's too bad it would be illegal to use a Safeguard Go.. it would be the perfect solution here.

-N.

Sewingbeth · Nov 7, 2008

there's no checked baggage on the train between Ottawa and Toronto. We're not staying in a hotel but at my partner's sister's place (which is a very full 1 bedroom apartment when the 4 of us arrive) We already have a stroller and 3 suitcases with us and will be using transit when we get there to get from the train to the apartment and so each adult will have a suitcase, one of us will have the stroller folded up, our 3.5 yr old will pull her small suitcase and one of us will be wearing the baby. That's already as much as we can manage on the subway on our own (there are stairs to negotiate) plus we have a subway then bus or streetcar to take from the train to get there...

When the 3.5 yr old and my wife head to Kitchener it's just the 2 of them and they'll have 2 suitcases on their own.

I just can't see how we'll manage the carseat as well. I suppose we COULD do the carseat and all the luggage in a taxi and then the baby and I could take transit there... I just wish we could figure this out easily...

Sewingbeth · Nov 7, 2008

are there any vest type restraints that are safe and legal in Canada???

TXAggieTech · Nov 7, 2008

Could the sister see if there was anyone you would feel comfortable borrowing from?

BudgieStew · Nov 7, 2008

If your SIL is picking your daughter and partner up at the train station and you have a spare Marathon why not mail the Marathon to your SIL home and then have her bring it to the train station.

That was my solution for a trip home this summer. I had my Mother pick up a Scenera for DD and mailed one of our Radian's for DS to my parents.

Seats were there and ready to go when we arrived. Even with the fact that the Radian weighs a billion lbs and the insurance it came to less then 30.00 to mail. Much cheaper then buying another seat that would fit DS.

unityco · Nov 7, 2008

I assume your suitcases are the rolling type? Would a Traveling Toddler make it more manageable?

bubbaray · Nov 7, 2008

jessmcg said:
This is why we own 2 Ride Safer Travel Vests! We take a super long train trip (like 3+weeks) every couple of years and they are the perfect "car seat" for travel. They fit in your luggage and can be pulled out and used in just a few minutes. They were a life saver this summer when we traveled from the PNW to the NE part of Canada, and only had to carry 1 "real" car seat with us.

I thought the Ride Safer vest was not Canadian certified....

mamoomorgan · Nov 7, 2008

I've been pondering a similar situation (well not very similar, but a little, lol) for our family. we are going to Mexico and need our seats for the plane and for the taxis once we're in Mex. but we have 4 kids aged 10, 8.5, 3.5 and 2. How to get 4 (at least) suitcases, a stroller and two carseats (and maybe a porta crib) through the airports?

My idea (but I haven't tried it yet) is to get a couple of straps and attach the carseats to our suitcase (facing in, opposite to the link above). This will help before we check the suitcase but after we're left with 2 huge car seats and a stroller AND 4 kids.

Traveling is a lot trickier than it used to be!

Good luck, I hope your trip is fun and I'll be keeping my eye on this post for some tips.

Sewingbeth · Nov 7, 2008

the rolling toddler is very cool. I don't think our 3.5 yr old would go for it but that would solve lots of problems with a younger kid. the big problem here is that we need to go light. Like really light... It's not just getting on the train, it's getting off, negotiating several flights of stairs, getting onto the subway and then the streetcar. We don't need the seat until the very last 3 days of the 10 day trip when they're going further on to my partner's mother's house. she's the one that lives far out from transit. (My SIL doesn't have a car) We're leaving tomorrow (I know, I didn't start really thinking about the logistics until last night while awake and nursing... we've been really busy and sick)

The Marathon was our oldest daughter's carseat until our littlest outgrew her bucket. I'll get her to take the Marathon though if we take one because the 3.5 yr old still fits it and my wife has installed it a lot more than the frontier. The frontier can be a bit of a beast to install... Plus we've had the Marathon in the car it's going in on the other end but not the frontier.

We MIGHT be able to borrow one in Kitchener but the family JUST had a new baby and my wife doesn't want to call and disturb their first week post baby... (personally this is my choice since they have both a marathon and a radian but I don't know if she's willing to call and I hardly know them -- how wrong is it that I know their carseats but not them!!!)

BW1426 · Nov 7, 2008

With no time to order something that would be more manageable, you really need to take the carseat. (Remember--you cannot carry a carseat by the harness straps)

Is there anyway to cut down to 2 suitcases and put the third suitcase into backpacks or smaller bags that you can attach to the rolling suitcase? That would make it a bit more manageable. And pack in such a way that you can attach stuff to the stroller.

QuassEE · Nov 7, 2008

The Britax Marathon fits on the Maclaren Volo... It's not perfect, but it works! A lot of people travel this way, and I'm sure other carseat/stroller combos work. I'd sooner give up taking a stroller than a carseat if it came down to it.. Also--the Samsonite Micromover is great for carseats.

unityco · Nov 7, 2008

Not sure if you know the subway stations you'll be using well, but many have escalators and/or elevators, or maybe you can modify your trip to take advantage of the stations that do. The TTC has some info on their site: http://www3.ttc.ca/TTC_Accessibility/Accessible_Service/Elevators_and_escalators.jsp (I know that won't help with the streetcars. Many of our buses are accessible now too though, so that might work in your favour. :shrug-shoulders

Sewingbeth · Nov 7, 2008

I was thinking that the carseat might fit in the front of our stroller (we have a Joovy sit and stand)

I would normally jettison the stroller for the carseat but our 3.5 yr old doesn't take naps anymore and we always walk a lot when we visit Toronto. We will need the stroller or our arms will give out after a couple of days and she'll be cranky cranky cranky. Plus our 7 month old is 20 lbs of moving energy. I don't want to carry her the whole time. We'll be using transit for the whole first 7 days... The stroller is pretty lightweight and we'll leave the sunshade off of it to further lighten the load.

In the mean time I'll keep working on Jesse to call her friend looking for a carseat.

Thank you all for your suggestions! (and for further reference... IS there a vest type thingy that's legal in Canada? We might indeed do this again at some point... And I recognize that it would be easier to have seats on the other end but good seats aren't cheap and we've only gone without a car three times in 3.5 yrs and never with quite as many logistics as this trip)

bubbaray · Nov 7, 2008

The only vest that's certified in Canada is the CARES harness and it is ONLY for use on aircraft, not vehicles. The Ride Safer vest is not certified in Canada.

Sewingbeth · Nov 7, 2008

too bad.

There's something for bigger kids with special needs though right? I've seen students arrive at schools I work in with vests on that they thread the seatbelt through (I think) because they won't leave the seatbelt alone... It must just be for older kids.

Generally I love living in Canada but there are certainly times when I want all the options that are available south of the border.

Barbara Baines · Nov 8, 2008

There is one certified vest in Canada and it's for disabled children - there must be a prescription to obtian one.....

mommy_quigg · Nov 9, 2008

Since you have a Joovy could you put the MA on the back part, even upside down? Then put your 3.5 year old in the front seat. Wear a back pack, stuff stuff into the basket of the stroller. Your wife (or you, whichever) with the baby and a backpack and pulling two rolling suitcases. And take advantage of other people if they offer to help you go up and down stairs if needed. On the streetcar, the driver is required to help you if you need it.

Help solve my logistical mess!

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