Radian or Regent?

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charmedmom4

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #1

I have been out of the loop for long time with the carseat but I'm back on looking for new carseat for Sarah. I drive a van, 1995 Ford Aerostar. I'm thinking of putting her carseat behind driver's seat rather than the passenger side because only have 3 doors not 4. It's hassle for other 3 girls to go in hurt Sarah's legs. So.. my question, which carseat should I get? Sarah's 35in tall, 33lbs. Oh also, is it better to buy a seat thats up to 65lbs then buy other seat thats up to 100lbs or what? We usually travel so its a must to have a comfortable carseat where Sarah can sleep comfy. Any suggestions/any other seats that I might not know about?

Thanks!

Amy

 

Raegansmom4

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #2

How old is she? At that weight and size, she could still be rear-facing, which is about 5 times safer than forward-facing. If you would consider rear-facing, get the Radian, which now rear-faces to 40 lbs (dom of 9/08 and newer). As for the Regent, it is usually overkill for most kids. If you want to ff her, I'd go w/ a Britax Frontier or Graco Nautilus. The Nautilus harnesses to 65 lbs and then converts to both a high back and low back booster for $150. The Frontier harnesses to 80 lbs and then converts to a high back booster. The harness height of the Nautilus and frontier are basically the same, and most kids usually outgrow the harness by height in both seats around 60 lbs or less. The Frontier is about $280 and can be hard to install until you get used to it. I have the Nautilus and love, love, love it.

 

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charmedmom4

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #3

She's almost 3. So, how old/how much weight for rf? My concern is her legs, how will she be comfortable with boots and snowsuit? wont her seat get dirty from the boots if sit rf? Sorry for some silly questions..

 

Raegansmom4

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #4

She shouldn't wear a heavy snowsuit in the carseat anyway - they bulk creates slack in the harness. Put her in a fleece for the vehicle ride and have the heavy coat for going to and from the car. Kids that age are much more flexible than we are - they don't mind the folded legs. You could hang a towel on the back of the vehicle seat to protect from the shoes. But also, at almost 3, you could choose to forward-face her. The biggest benefit is to make it to 2 or so rear-facing, but I plan to rear-face my 18 mo until she hits the 40 lb limit of her seat for rear-facing.

 

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Maedze

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #5

charmedmom4 said:

She's almost 3. So, how old/how much weight for rf? My concern is her legs, how will she be comfortable with boots and snowsuit? wont her seat get dirty from the boots if sit rf? Sorry for some silly questions..

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A not-yet-three year old would definitely benefit from continued rear facing. A Radian has a 40 lb rear facing weight limit, which should keep her rear facing at least until her fourth birthday.

As for a snow suit, a snowsuit should NEVER be worn in a car seat. They cause a false sense of having the harness properly adjusted and tightened when it reality is very loose. The only thing that should be worn under a car seat harness (or booster) is street clothes and perhaps a thin layer of polar fleece, but never a thick jacket and never a snowsuit.

For rear facing children of any age, it's easiest to remove the boots, or hang a towel to protect the upholstery from muddy feet.

 

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charmedmom4

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #6

Thank you so much for all of your advices. I just stopped by graco baby .com and saw the seat for 65lbs, would that be a good seat for rf until she hit 40lbs mark?

 

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Maedze

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #7

charmedmom4 said:

Thank you so much for all of your advices. I just stopped by graco baby .com and saw the seat for 65lbs, would that be a good seat for rf until she hit 40lbs mark?

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The Graco MyRide 65? (not the Nautilus, right?)

That should last her until she's about four, yes. You can see my daughter below in the second picture, rear facing in that seat. Stats 3y7m 35#, 39"

 

Raegansmom4

New member

• Sep 12, 2009

• #8

If you mean the MyRide 65, then yes - 40 lbs rear-facing and 65 lbs forward-facing. My 18 mo is in the MyRide.

 

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charmedmom4

New member

• Sep 13, 2009

• #9

Awesome! I really like the look of Myride. I was looking at other posts, I see that there were some problems with the covers for myride. Is it still a problem or not?

 

Mommy2Marcus

New member

• Sep 14, 2009

• #10

I have a My Ride & really LOVE it so far. I have found it VERY easy to install & use. My son also LOVES his cupholders to. He uses them for his sippy cups, snacks, hot wheels & verious things. He also has a TON of leg room in it & is very comfortable RF still at 2 years 11 months. He has some pretty long legs on him to. You can see his legs RF in the MR down below in my signature picture.

Also I see you're thinking of turning her back RF. Here is a video showing WHY to keep them RF.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvyIv9QVRBE"]YouTube - Rear facing is safer[/ame]

 

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charmedmom4

New member

• Sep 14, 2009

• #11

Wow. Thanks for the link. I'm glad you did that.

 

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Maedze

New member

• Sep 14, 2009

• #12

Some of the original covers are definitely quirky. They seem to have resolved that with their more recent covers.

 

Mommy2Marcus

New member

• Sep 14, 2009

• #13

charmedmom4 said:

Wow. Thanks for the link. I'm glad you did that.

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You're Very Welcome. I knew that you said you were already going to ERF, but I also know that I am a very visuale person myself. Also hearing it & seeing it are two different things to me. It helps me to understand the why better when there is something to show me why. It is also a great video. I hope that you can pass it along.

Also as for the covers on the MR, I bought mine about a month ago. I have had very little issue with the cover on it. It sometimes slips off on the side, but not alot. It mostly happens when Marcus or I grab it. The top stays on very nicely. So I do think that they fixed the cover issues for the most part.

 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician

• Sep 14, 2009

• #14

For comparison's sake -- I watch a little boy who is 2y7m. He's appx 40lb, and probably 37" tall. I got the MR at the beginning of the summer for him, and RF'd him, but turned him FF at the end of the summer, as we travel much less now, and I'm not sure where he is in relation to the 40lb mark at this point.

We were out messing with car seats today, and he was asking me to "ride backwards." I let him sit in the seat (it's installed RF for another child,) and at several inches taller than your Sarah, he does still fit in the MR with more than an inch above his head (albeit not much more.) It will help to have a pretty upright install, too.

I would recommend putting it on the drivers side, as you'd planned on doing -- I too have a 3-door van, and having kids crawl on the floor under RFing seats is not their favorite thing ever lol.

We love the MR, although others do not. But it's proven great in my situation, especially because I was able to RF my young, stocky guy through the summer, when no other seat went to 40lb. (If the RadianSL wasn't so expensive, I'd buy it to re-RF him again!)

 

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Melanie

New member

• Sep 14, 2009

• #15

On rearfacing - don't worry about your child being upset about being turned back rear facing. It's a common misconception. My daughter was turned back rear facing at almost 2 (thanks to what I learned on this site!). She'd been forward facing for almost a year by then. She fussed for all of 2 minutes and was fine. Just today she asked why she cant sit like her sister who is rear facing at 2 years 5 months. (She's now over the weight limit and is 4 1/2)

Mommy2Marcus-that's a great video. Puts all that is said here into one easy to grasp spot.