Would this bug you? and another what seat should I get thread....

I've been hesitant to post this and have people think that I'm a crazy person (I know too late )

Something I didn't think about until I took my spare MA to munchkin to borrow is that having Benjamin in a forward facing radian next to Elizabeth in a forward facing MA will drive me nuts because Elizabeth would sit so much higher than Benjamin.

I took a picture to try to show it but it actually doesn't look that bad in the picture. It is something you have to see in person to see how weird it looks.



please note that hugs are required for a FF MA, Elizabeth did not ride like this I just turned her for the picture.

I would also have the same problem after I move Benjamin to a booster.



And yes I was able to move the MA forward facing and move Benjamin from the radian to the monterey and keep them both asleep! I know you guys all hate me!

I need to get a new seat for someone. I posted in senior chat that I'm not liking how Elizabeth is fitting in the RF MA. I want to either move her to the radian or buy a true fit for her.

Moving her to the radian makes the most sense, since I already have 3 convertibles for a 31 lbs child.

I could sell a MA though and get a true fit, the FF true fit looks good next to a FF radian.

If I moved her to the radian what should I get for Benjamin?

I really do like the MA better than the radian and would like to put Elizabeth back in it after she is forward facing but I'm thinking any of the seats I'm thinking of would have Benjamin sit too low though whatever I buy for Benjamin I could buy a matching seat for Elizabeth after she is forward facing. I was considering a nautilus, frontier, or regent. I was waiting to see if graco makes a tan or brown nautilus. Then I saw that the safeguard seat sits high. If Benjamin was in a safeguard I think he would sit about the same height as Elizabeth.

I need something that will work short term and long term. I want to keep Elizabeth rear-facing and Benjamin in a harness.

So what seat should I get?

We our Regent, so I voted for Regent for Bejamin

I am one of the few (more than likely) who do not like the GN in booster mode, and actually just sold ours and will be moving Josef into a Monteray. I have never played with the FN, but I hear it makes a great booster.

When I think about it more, I think of this-do you want something that converts into a booster or do you want a dedicated booster?

mommaon112903 said:

do you want something that converts into a booster or do you want a dedicated booster?

Click to expand...

I honestly think that down the line I would buy a dedicated booster. I've played with the frontier and nautilus and both seemed like they would be harder to buckle than a dedicated booster such as the monterey or oobr.

As far as one seat sitting higher than the other, YES. It drives me nuts. But I am a very organized, everything goes in a straight line, kind of person.

I wont be much help with your "what to buy" problem though. I can't even make up my own mind.

I agree with you. One child much higher than the other bugs me.

One child being way higher than the other is awesome to me because it provides a type of "separation" from each other that I am constantly searching for, to keep the in-car fighting to a minimum! Just the physical height difference is a mental barrier that says to the kids "this is my space" and "this is your space." it's a type of divider, in a way, and my kids NEED that!!! good luck!

is your DS getting to the top slots of his Radian? If so, I'd get him a bigger seat....any of the ones you mentioned!

I don't think it would bother me. Unless... I had MA/RN/MA. THen it would be weird having a shorter seat in the middle.

Okay, I got a picture of the regent and MA next to each other and their heads end up about even.

I took a picture with the frontier but the picture isn't at the same angle so it is hard to tell and we messed up and the recline block was in booster mode so I need to try it again.

I know someone with a safeguard and I'm hoping to go see it next week and can try a nautilus at TRU or BRU.

I really want Elizabeth in the radian ASAP so I need to make a decision fast.

I will post the pictures after I get all them taken.

Thanks all for helping me and not laughing at me. It would be hard to believe if you saw what my house looks like most of the time but I might be a bit OCD.

Okay here are some more pictures. Lots of pictures! lol

First Munchkin and I discovered that the middle seat sits lower than the outboard seat. These are blurry because the kids kept moving but you get the idea. Elizabeth is outboard now but will be moving to the middle when she starts preschool in July.

Radian in the middle MA on the side



MA in the middle radian on the side.




The radian on the side and the MA doesn't bother me but I still have the added problem that I want to move Elizabeth to the radian and don't have another 5-point that Benjamin fits in.

here are some more pictures.

MA in the middle regent on the side.



MA in the middle frontier on the side. I didn't do a good job of taking this picture. I really think if the camera was straight it would be different. I can't try the regent in my van again, the mom who has it is very upset that I said her daughter sould be be rear-facing at 25 lbs. I really think Benjamin would fit about the same as the radian.



A picture showing how much room Benjamin has in the radian. I took him out of the MA in Jan and his already a full inch above the top slots on it!




and a picture showing how much room he would have in the frontier. Isn't it supposed to have taller harness slots than the radian?



I'm hoping to get a pictures of the safeguard and nautilus later this week.

Since the FF outboard radian and FF center MA doesn't bother me I honestly only need a seat to use until Elizabeth reaches 35 lbs unless I wanted to get something with taller slots than the radian to keep Benjamin in a harness longer. The frontier doesn't seem to have taller slots so it seems like a waste of money to me.

I seem to have tons of friends with kids reaching 40 lbs, I don't think it would be hard to sell the nautilus to someone a year from now. Or I could keep the nautilus and put it in Brian's car. Benjamin has been using a booster in his car since he outgrew the MA because the radian is so hard to install in it. I would say he has been in Brian's car about twice a month.

Ha, the seats in my van would drive you totally bonkers! I have the Regent which sits really low and the Nautilus which sits much higher; they are both in the middle captain's chairs of my Ody. Oh, and the shorter child is in the Regent and the taller one in the Nautilus, so it is really obvious.

I thought I'd update that I'm still deciding but for the next two weeks I have the temporary solution of borrowing munchkin's true fit!

Tomorrow Munckin and I are going to try the radian in my friend's car to see how it fits. If you missed my other post I'm thinking about buying another radian using it for a while and then selling one of them to her.

I've now ruled out the nautilus because of the crotch strap issues.

I've ruled out the frontier because Benjamin looks to have MORE room in the radian so it would be a waste of money. Plus I really hate the frontier.

I'm still on the fence about the regent. Even though I would like to keep Benjamin in a harness I don't like the thin straps and I'm worried Benjamin won't be able to sleep well in it and my kids are big time sleepers. Also if I pass it down to Elizabeth it is so wide I think Benjamin could have trouble buckling a booster when sitting next to it. I know this is a silly reason but if I buy a regent then Benjamin is set for years. If something new and awesome comes on the market I won't be able to justify buying it.

I am positive that graco is going to fix the nautilus and in the future it will come out in lots of really cool covers and I can buy Benjamin and Elizabeth both nautiluses.

I still haven't been able to see the safeguard. Part of me thinks if I'm going to spend $250 on the regent it is only $50 more for the safeguard. I know it has thin straps as well though.

ummm... get them both frontiers... in different colors??

ugh... I can't say that... sorry... I just don't like the frontier and you have other options.

Benny boy is such a thick (skinny, but broad and thick) that I worry the Nautilus would be a bad choice and I do wonder if he will get uncomfortable in the Radian down the line. I also think the Monterey will end up being the perfect booster for him because of the width.

then, I look at Elizabeth... she's not a narrow child, either, so I think about what seat should follow the Marathon.

So... here it is... my official recommendation.

Regent... with a spare cover (get Onyx for Ben and Madison for when Elizabeth inherits it)

and, when Elizabeth goes ff, get a princess cover for the Radian80 and keep those two next to each other.

I love how they fit together.... I really do.

So basically... Regent is the answer for me.

However, it doesn't bother me that the seats aren't even... it really doesn't.

But then, I'm kind of used to it... Ruthie was in the marathon for so long and was higher than the boys in their Regents/regent and booster for so long that it was weird to me to see her lower when she went to other seats.





Okay... just read your last post... changed mind (SURPRISE)

forget how you said the seats can go so that they don't bother you... but do that... then, when Elizabeth goes ff for good, put Ben in the Monterey and, if you want to keep him harnessed at that point, get an 86-Y harness. And give Elizabeth the Radian.... would that keep him harnessed till age 6 though??

I just wanted to say that a FF radian and MA do look odd together, and it makes Lexi sit much higher than Kamille..... Or maybe I am just fishing for excuses to buy more car seats.

I thought I'd update that I did get the second radian but I'm waiting to take it out of the box until we have been on these meds for a week. I don't want to risk contaminated a brand new car seat.

For those curious I got a tech one and said my first choice was princess, second choice monaco and they sent a monaco. I had heard they were low on princess ones.