What seat do I buy next?

I only need to buy one right now, just one. I'd love to buy more.

Kids, cars, stats:

DD 4 yr, 38#, 43"
DS 2 yr, 28#, 34"
TTC #3
my kids are all torso

I drive an 03 Grand Caravan
DH has an 02 Focus

We own:
Snugride (my kids moved to the Wizard at 10-12 weeks)
Scenara
Wizard (ds is AT the height limit RF, dd is too big, so ds rides FF in dh's car for the rare times he's with dh)
Radian 65 (dd FF in the van, I move it to the car when she goes with dh)
Radian 65 (ds RF in the van)



SO, I need a seat in the Focus for dd, I'd like both kids to have seats in both vehicles. I'd prefer ds RF but the RF Radian in the Focus is difficult at best.

My plan... I was going to keep ds in the Radian in the van, and in the Wiz in the car, and move dd's Radian to the car, and get her a Regent for the van.

Which would make 3 across in the car possible in case of an emergency I think. RN center, Wiz outboard, Snugride w/o base outboard.

But ds complains about the RN. He looks good in it, but he has a HUGE head and he needs the headwings. So I could get him a RN XT, and leave dd in the RN in both cars for now, and we'd be ok, except I'm going to want the Wiz for baby3 in a year. Which leaves me needing another seat in a year, and I was considering replacing our Snugride too.

If I get a Regent for dd, and keep her in the RN in the car, then we're all set for a while, until I need the Wiz again. Grr!

I'm not keen on switching seats as much as I do, so I really should just make dh take the van when he goes somewhere with the kids, but since they are 2 and 4, it's likely he WILL be taking them out at 3 and 5 w/o me.

So, I'm game for suggestions. Nautilus? Frontier? Something else I haven't thought of yet? I have enough seats right now to handle that emergency 3 across in the car, so that's not an issue.

Thoughts? Cost isn't a big issues as long as I'm only buying one seat at a time.

You lost me a little bit, so this may not be the right answer but...

Now I know you said you're only after ONE seat, but the price difference may be worth it here plus you wind up with a free-ed up wizard, which means you don't need to purchase another seat next year (unless you want to replace that SR):

Walmart.com has the Nautilus for 140 and the True fit for 180. Nauti for DD, TF for DS to keep RFing and should be WAY easier to install in the car than the RN. Or since he needs the deep sides, make that the one for the main car and wrestle that RN into the car and leave it. Total for both is $320, and you can get free shipping with site-to-store. The Regent and XT are both $280 so for $50 more you get another seat, essentially.

Installing the RN isn't an issue, it's the size of the seat, no matter how upright, it still really interferes with the front seat to the point of being unsafe for a passenger.

I've been thinking about it all night, and what really needs to happen is dh needs to stop taking kids in his car, and use the van

Dd is on the top slots on the Radian, she recently moved up, so I know she'd have 2" or so in the combo seats, which is good, and I'd love to get her in headwings for the added safety.

Ds really needs to be back in headwings for comfort, he was leaning sooooo far over in the RN the other day, he has mild low tone and a big head, and we're out so much he does sleep in the car a ton.

Grrr... too many needs!

The new base on the Radian is supposed to allow for a more upright install-- and it is compatible with the old Radians...

I saw that. But ds will still have the floppy head in the RN issue. He's in it now because he's too tall to RF in the Wizard and I need him RF.

I wonder if I should solve it one problem at a time, his seat need is higher priority than dd, she's got a few inches to grow in the RN FF.

So do any of the other seats with wings RF longer than the Wizard? Or am I looking at a RN XT for him as the only realistic choice?

The XT would solve the floppy head, sure. Of course it would be cheaper to get the Comfy-Soft and use it in "toddler head pillow" mode. You don't by any chance have an 80 in the mix you could try it with?

No, they are both 65s.

Oh wait, a little google on this site and it seems I can use the comfy soft with the 65 too.... hmm... that's a lot cheaper than an XT for ds.

IF it works for his head, then the next biggest safety issue is dd not having headwings

LOL

Am I looking for an excuse to buy a seat?

lisa2976 said:

Installing the RN isn't an issue, it's the size of the seat, no matter how upright, it still really interferes with the front seat to the point of being unsafe for a passenger.

I've been thinking about it all night, and what really needs to happen is dh needs to stop taking kids in his car, and use the van

Dd is on the top slots on the Radian, she recently moved up, so I know she'd have 2" or so in the combo seats, which is good, and I'd love to get her in headwings for the added safety.

Ds really needs to be back in headwings for comfort, he was leaning sooooo far over in the RN the other day, he has mild low tone and a big head, and we're out so much he does sleep in the car a ton.

Grrr... too many needs!

Click to expand...

Why not buy the Comfy Soft and use it for him? The part that is the side support for infants can be used as side pillows for older kids in the 65 or 80.

ETA: Sorry, should have read the whole thread first! I see this is repetitive!

Hopefully the comfy soft will solve DS head flop. If not, the XT and the REcaro Signo both have head wings and a taller shell than the Wizard.

So even putting the wizard more upright in the car doesn't give enough room? I know the radians with the old foot were nearly impossible to get upright, but other seats should be able to get pretty upright.

Yah, it's been -18 here and we don't have a garage, so I just yanked the Wiz out and put the Radian in one day, and haven't played with it since. It's supposed to be 35 today, so maybe I'll go play around with it more.

Time to go find a comfy soft.