Ok, I need to make the final decision..MA or Radian?

We are leaving at the end of July to move to Oz and I am having the hardest time deciding on whether or not to bring a Marathon or a Radian for this new baby.
We will be bringing an infant seat (probably a keyfit) for the first little while. I have had both seats and like different things about each one.

It looks like for a while we will have to make do with a station wagon which means 3 kids in the back. ODS (9 in August) will be in either his high or lowback booster and I am extremely torn on what YDS will be in . He is 5.5 and is tall and weighs 47 lbs. and I am debating whether to leave him harnessed or put him in a high back. He is in a Radian right now but in Oz I know I will get looked at like I have 3 heads for having him harnessed. I don't really care about that but for practical reasons I am thinking he would be ok now in a high back booster. He does ride in one occasionally and does great.

Which brings me back to my point. I can't decide on which seat to bring for the new baby. Two ODS will most likely be in boosters and the babies seat will most likely be in the middle of a station wagon. A bigger wagon like a Ford Falcon (which I believe is like a Ford Taurus in the US)

Please help....

Oz?

Australia...lol

Australia.

Assuming you can get an acceptable install for a radian both ff and rf I would do that. How many years are left on your current radian? If you can use that one then do that. I think the lower profile and slimmer width of the radian will be more comfortable for the people who have to sit next to it. Just a thought...

Our Radian is only a few months old. Although since we found out we are having a girl, I am trying to sell it so I can get the "Malibu" one. Seems stupid I know but I have been waiting 9 yrs for a girlie carseat.

I guess the only thing I am nervous about is getting it installed. I have never had to install it rear facing before. But, I think you are right. It is probably the best choice due to it being so narrow.

I'd also go with the Radian. Narrower, more portable in that it folds, and has taller top harness slots.

Ok my 2 cents would be this... better safe than sorry, better to be over prepared than under. If the YDS is use to riding in his RN why not take it for the plane ride & initial transition, there's always the possibility that even though he sits well occasianally in a booster now that having a new baby sister to tinker with and becoming the middle child AND moving to a new place could change his behavior a bit. Also since you're comfy with the oldest in a no-back booster, you could take his highback and if YDS is being mature you could pass down the hbb and just buy a basic no back in Oz. So basically I'm saying... HBB/KF/ff RN ...then HBB/rf MA/ff RN ...then NBB/rf RN/HBB IMHO you can't go wrong w/both! Good luck, congrats & safe travels

Slightly off topic, but could you just get a girly cover for the Radian you already have? Then you could use it for YDS as suggested by PP and then swap the cover for baby. (Also, not to be a naysayer, but the docs have been known to make mistakes at times, even when they are absolutely, 100% sure.) I wouldn't necessarily bring the MA as well, if you felt that was too much. You could use the KF until it was outgrown, and by then YDS would be older and more settled about the move/baby and might easily go into the HBB.

I am happy to say that I got a girly cover for the Radian from a lady on another board. So, we are going to take the Radian (with boy cover) for YDS to use until new baby needs it. We also have a Nautilus we will be taking so YDS can stay harnessed for a while longer.

The only crappy thing now is, I would like to take the Radian and two boosters on the plane with us. My reason is I want the Radian right away for YDS and if I ship it with the rest of our stuff, it will take 6-8 weeks to get there. BUT, I also want to have a HBB for him because we will be doing a lot of car switching for a while, and I don't want to me wrestling with switching the RA from car to car. I am hoping I can gate check the RA and maybe even fit the HBB in our luggage since the top separates from the base.

Must feel good to have a plan. :thumbsup: Hope you can figure out the packing arrangements. Would you be able to use the Radian on the plane? Less worry over it that way than gate checking or packing it. I assume you are shipping the Nauti.