Help with seats for foster baby twins please!

Unregistered · Jan 10, 2009

Hi - I am going to be fostering (with the hope of adopting) my 6 month old great niece and nephew. I am going crazy trying to figure out what to do for car seats! Currently they are both in Graco Snug Rides. Baby boy is about 18# and baby girl is about 15#. I'm not sure of the length - at 4 mo they were around 25". I also had a dd who just turned 7 (today!) and is in a Britax Husky. She is a big kid - about 52" tall and 67#. She loves her Husky and doesn't want to give it up, though I think there is no choice.

I drive a 2002 Honda Cr-V, so I need to get 3 in a row for now. We're hoping to switch to a Pilot if we get too adopt the babies.

So...what should I get? I have been doing tons of research and I think I'm leaning towards 2 True Fits, but can I get 2 of those plus a booster in? Anything else I should be looking at? Thanks soooo much for any advice, I really appreciate it!

ketchupqueen · Jan 10, 2009

True Fits are nice but WIDE. Avenues are pretty narrow and last a good long time, for the money. Radians of course are narrow but also can take up a lot of RF room (not sure if that's an issue in your car.)

Spam · Jan 10, 2009

Truefits are very nice and they would most likely fit into the pilot, but not so sure about cr-v. Is there a store that sells them locally where you could try it out first? Of course if you got the pilot, then dd could keep her husky and the truefits would also fit. Maybe look at the radians for 3 across in cr-v?

Evolily · Jan 10, 2009

I would probably look at safety 1st avenues for the babies, they're available at kmart and sears (click on the name for a link).

For your dd, I would probably transition to a booster. Maybe she might be swayed by a cool new seat?

NannyMom · Jan 10, 2009

You *might* be able to get 2 radians rear facing with the Husky. But, maybe not. They do take up alot of room rf, but The CRV has alot of room. My dad owns one, and there's plenty of room for rf radians (depending on how far back you like your front seats).

I'll be installing a seat in my dad's CRV today, and I happen to have a radian in my trunk. I can play around a little and measure the space to see if a Husky might fit.

ETA: Does anyone know if an 02 and 04 CRV are the same?

tanyaandallie · Jan 10, 2009

Yep, if you need 3 across, the True-Fit is not likely to work for you. The Radian or scenera or Avenue would likely work better for you. If you want something that will last long term, the Radian would be a great investment. They do take up more room rf b/c the cannot be installed more upright.

There is a 3 across thread floating around somewhere!

Unregistered · Jan 10, 2009

tanyaandallie said:
Yep, if you need 3 across, the True-Fit is not likely to work for you. The Radian or scenera or Avenue would likely work better for you. If you want something that will last long term, the Radian would be a great investment. They do take up more room rf b/c the cannot be installed more upright.

There is a 3 across thread floating around somewhere!

Thanks, ladies for all the help. Please keep the advice coming!

I'm a bit worried about the Radians if they can't be very upright. Both DH and I are pretty tall and the Cr-v isn't that big. He is 6'4" and I'm 5'8" so to drive either of us need the seat basically all the way back. We've had difficulty with the Snug Rides due to this when we've had the babies in our car.

So do you think that it is pretty unlikely that I'd be able to fit 2 RF TF's with a simple HBB or backless booster? When we have the babies now I'm able to get the 2 Snug Rides in next to each other and use a Graco backless booster for DD, but it is pretty tight. Is a TF wider than a Snugride?

Thanks for sharing all your expertise!

TXAggieTech · Jan 10, 2009

I would go for the Radians. I was able to put a Regent, Radian and Marathon in the back of a Escape but it would have been a ton easier with 2 Radians. The Regent had to be outboard, I thought it would work better center but wouldn't fit that way.

Unregistered1 · Jan 10, 2009

I'm pretty sure the TF is wider than a snugride. I would really go with Radians... but ideally you should try them out first and see if you can get an install upright enough to seat you and DH comfortably. Otherwise I agree with the Avenue... I really don't see you fitting anything but maybe a Radian back there with two TFs, and if your 7 y/o hasn't already outgrown the Radian she will soon...

tanyaandallie · Jan 10, 2009

The True-Fit really is a wide seat. It's one of the widest. They carry it at Target so you could always go try it out. I just really don't think it would be a good choice 3 across.

You could also try something smaller like the Scenera or the Avenue.

Unregistered · Jan 10, 2009

I hadn't really looked at the Avenue - is that a decent seat? I worry because it is so inexpensive. I'm staying away from the Scenara just because I've heard it isn't very padded. I'm in the car a fair amount and I want to be sure the babies are comfy. Maybe 2 Avenue's and a booster. It is hard because there isn't much around here that I can actually physically try. If the Avenue is a decent seat I'll try to find some of those to try with dd's HBB. I'd still like to try 2 TF's with the booster, even though it sounds like a no go. DD is going to size out of her Husky soon, so I don't think that is too much of an issue. She'll get used to the booster I think.

BW1426 · Jan 10, 2009

I would go with the Avenue. The Avenue is affordable and they can rearface to 35 lbs in it. Then when the go forward facing, you could buy a Nautilus for each of them.

I always like to mention to new posters the importance of rearfacing to the limits of the child restraint. Here is a great video clip about it, that just takes a couple minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

tarynsmum · Jan 10, 2009

I have a 2000 CR-V and a Radian currently installed in the center -- there is NO WAY I could get in installed rear-facing outboard. It's just too tall (and that's with me using all the tips and tricks to get it as upright as possible for my almost 3 year old. And I'm not tall - definitely shorter than your 6'4 hubby! Now, maybe the 2002 has a little more room than the 2000 model (they are substantially different) - but I can't imagine that much more room.

HOWEVER - I can fit a snugride next to my Radian (both RFing and FFing). I don't know if that would help, since I don't know if you'd want a Radian for your DD, but it might help with dimensions. I've never tried a booster in my car since I've never had a need.

I can also fit an Uptown (structurally similar to the Avenue, I don't think it's any more or less narrow) next to the Radian.

cryswilkins · Jan 10, 2009

I agree with the above. There is now way that you can get a RF Radian outboard in the CRV. We have an 01 and I would have to fold the front seats down to get the Radian to fit RF.

I would actually try two RF Marathons and a Nautilus, if your DD will fit in it. I can put the Nauti drivers outboard and out Marathon in the center and have enough room for another passenger. I am pretty sure that another seat would fit.

Unregistered1 · Jan 10, 2009

cryswilkins said:
I agree with the above. There is now way that you can get a RF Radian outboard in the CRV. We have an 01 and I would have to fold the front seats down to get the Radian to fit RF.

I would actually try two RF Marathons and a Nautilus, if your DD will fit in it. I can put the Nauti drivers outboard and out Marathon in the center and have enough room for another passenger. I am pretty sure that another seat would fit.

OP's dd is over 65 lbs... but since MAs have that smaller base it's possible that they might puzzle with a booster. OP, is the middle seat a lap only belt or a lap/shoulder belt?

Unregistered · Jan 10, 2009

MissKatie said:
OP's dd is over 65 lbs... but since MAs have that smaller base it's possible that they might puzzle with a booster. OP, is the middle seat a lap only belt or a lap/shoulder belt?

The middle seat is a lap/shoulder belt. I'm content to have her in a high back booster. She is a large kid and will be out of the Husky soon anyway. I can put her behind the driver I just need to figure out what 2 convertibles I can puzzle in next to it.

You gals have no idea how much I appreciate you sharing your thoughts/expertise. Thank you so much.

NannyMom · Jan 10, 2009

I sat the radian (not installed) in my Dad's 2004 CRV today. I don't see why a PP says you'd have to fold down the front seats

I had moved the front passenger's seat all the way up because I was going to install a new seat. But it did fit. It looked like we *might* even be able to fit 2 radians on the 60 split.

As far as room for the seat... How does a Radian compare to the BLVD (fully reclined, rf) in how much room it takes up? I was able to install the BLVD passenger side and put the front seat all the way back.

I don't know if a 2004 and 2002 are the same though....

Kat_Momof3 · Jan 11, 2009

I'm wondering if a narrow booster like the Recaro Vivo/vivo light would make the truefits doable... they aren't SUPER wide... they're as wide as the Marathon... just sitting lower.

Unregistered · Jan 11, 2009

Kat_Momof3 said:
I'm wondering if a narrow booster like the Recaro Vivo/vivo light would make the truefits doable... they aren't SUPER wide... they're as wide as the Marathon... just sitting lower.

You know what, I think this is what I'm going to try. It looks like it should fit on paper. Thanks so much for all of your advice. I've found carseats that I've never even heard of before thanks to you gals!

Help with seats for foster baby twins please!

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