Question 2yo, 4yo, newborn in 2010 Ford Focus.. in Canada?!

[cstewart09]

Hey guys! Newbie here! I searched the forum for Ford Focus topics already, so I hope I don't come across as asking a popular question!!

We have a 2010 Focus. I won't bore you with the details of what my children are in NOW, because it doesn't really matter. We can't get rid of our car (4 yrs left on loan.. urgh..) and with my husbands bankruptcy not off his record until next year, the banks won't do a double car loan. So, we are stuck with the little thing. So, we'd be willing to pay out the crazy amounts for 3 seats that will fit!! Much cheaper than the $2200 (or more) to offload our little car now..

Both my 4yr old and 2yr old are FF (shoot me now.. I don't mind..). If it makes you feel better, the 2yr old is 40lbs, and close to 40". He is still harnessed though. My 4yr old surpasses the limits and is in a highback booster. Now, we are adding a third (major surprise.. just for those wondering if I'm a sucker for punishment with the vehicle we have). She is due sometime around July. What I need to know is has anyone had success with 3 legal Canadian carseats in the back of a 2010 Focus?? Either 1 RF and 1 FF carseat and 1 FF highback booster. Or we could be willing to RF the 2yr old if we need the space. I'd prefer for the 2yr old to be in the middle so it makes getting the baby in and out easier. I would love to do an infant carrier with our little girl, but my babies are so big they are usually out of them in the first 4 months anyways

Any help I can get would be SOOOOOOOO appreciated!!

Thank you in advance!!

Crystal

 

[Pixelated]

Most people here will encourage you to rear face the 2 year old - given his weight, there is only currently one seat that will do that -- but that is in all likelihood what you might have to get anyway as it's also the narrowest. You're also going to be encouraged to harness the 4 year old as we typically don't like to see kids under 5 minimum in boosters. In a 3 across situation, it's also MUCH harder to buckle a booster than it is to do up a harness. It's just tough to get your hand or his/her hand down in there.

Can you sit both kids down on the floor, have them sit up tall, and measure from the floor to the shoulder? That will tell us their torso height, which is important for forward facing seats.

 

[selinajean]

How much does the 4yo weigh? Am I missing that?

 

[cstewart09]

I know. I know that I am horrible. I know that I am following the absolute basic minimum recommendations (4yr old is 41lbs and 41", the lap belt sits perfectly across his lap - not on his tummy - and it crosses his chest properly). I also am willing to put him back in a harness with a new seat that fits with 2 more But I can NOT get a new car. So if I *have* to use a booster to make them fit, then it's a necessity for us. We don't go out often, but for doctors appointments and grocery shopping, it's needed. We've already decided that we will rent a larger vehicle if we go anywhere farther/longer, in which case we would put him in a carseat for that. But for now, I am just looking for advice on what carseats are available in Canada that I could configure for the 3 of them?? Ooh.. forgot to mention that if my 2yr old is in the middle beside the 4yr old, I'd be okay with him being RF as they'd be able to see each other. But, I'm concerned as when he was RF in the backseat, the passenger seat was almost in the dash. So frustrated with this whole car thing. It's been great financially ($340/mo and under $200/mo for gas with over 2000 k a month being put on it), but now it's just a pain!

PS. Torso length I can get tomorrow. But both children have short little legs and incredibly long bodies. Their shirt sizes (for length) do not match their pants

 

[cstewart09]

Also forgot to mention, that my 4yr old will be 5 in October, and sister is not due until July. So there is only a 3 month span before more would be comfortable with him being in a booster. So I'm lost as what to do.

 

[amyd]

How much does the 4yo weigh? Am I missing that?

She said he surpasses the limits. Not sure if that means he's 65+ or if he's over the limits of the current seat.

OP, it would be helpful to know what seats they are currently in. One or both may work in a 3 across.

 

[Mommy090804]

Welcome to the boards! I am not a tech, but we do have an older Focus and I have had numerous seat configurations in it. You may want to search the General Carseat forum for a "three across thread". Also, don't limit your Focus search to the Canadian forum, as there is valuable info on the general forum which does apply to Canadian seats and cars.

More recently I have had 2 Radians (both FFing, but it also works one FFing and one RFing) and a high back Turbobooster. As a PP has mentioned, it is difficult to buckle the booster, and it may actually be much much easier to have the 4 year old in a harness just for that reason alone. I have found the Radians install a bit better with seatbelt than UAS, especially when trying to fit three seats.

I am sure that other posters will mention other narrow seats besides the Radians, but they have worked very well for us, and have made the vehicle last much longer than we thought it would (capacity-wise). Yes, please let us know which seats you currently own, because there are some other narrow seats that "puzzle" well with the Radians. As well, do you plan on using an infant seat or a convertible seat for the newborn? Do you currently own an infant seat?

 

[Pixelated]

OP you're not horrible! Ultimately parents make the decisions for their families, and it's not my job to try to guilt you or shame you into doing something. So long as your decision is an educated one, and we've gone through all the various options, the decision is yours.

 

[tam_shops]

You are not horrible for FF your 40# 2yo, just a couple years ago, the best we had in Canada was a 30# RF seat. We do what we can w/ what we have available to us and when we have better available, we do better. Sometimes, b/c of the way the seats go, you can fit more seat in w/ 1-2 RF and/or 1-2 FF. Instead of just 1 baby RF and the 2 older ones FF, you've got to try several different things...

Still need a weight for the 4yo b/c you might be able to put him in a Maestro goes on sale for $100 (TRU and Walmart) occasionally, but it only has a 47# weight limit. It's one of the more narrow (affordable seats).
Which baby bucket do you have? When was it manufactred? If your oldest is almost 5yo, depending on brand, it may have a year left on it, so you can use it, if it fits...

Preference will always go to RF a 2yo, but at 40# your only choice is a Radian (which you may need anyway to fit 3 across), so this could be a 2nd choice if fitting the Radian RF isn't going to work. I have my Radian installed w/ an Angle Adjuster and it's very upright and my seats (Toyota Matrix) now fits all the way back.So, where there is a will, there is a way.

I have done a 3 across w/ 2 Maestros and 1 Scenera in a Jetta, no idea size comparision, just so you know there are some more affordable options., that if you're lucky and willing to try a few things, might work. Even if you can make 1-2 of the cheaper seats fit and/or 1-2 of the seats you currently have fit, then you only have to buy 1-2 seats vs 3 new ones...

If your 4yo is too heavy for the Maestro and/or it doesn't fit, personally, I would get him a Radian, not a booster. Not even just about safety, my 6yo is still harnessed, not at 40# yet, but I've had 5yos in my car in a booster, not my preference but, to buckle them (w/ 3 across) is the biggest pain that you can imagine and takes a good 5min to get that 3rd child in the seat and buckled, then seated right and...it's just not worth the pain. That Radian will have a harness weight of 65# and a lifespan of 8yrs, once the oldest is too big for it, then it can be handed down to one of the younger children. It then will then take up less back seat space, so you can buckle a booster...

Best of luck!

tam

 

[Pingbns]

not sure if is 10 is like the earlier models but here is a few links I found

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=815736

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=96444

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=2217917

 

[tam_shops]

Wow, didn't realize how much bigger a Ford Focus was than my car. There is NO way I'd be able to fit a Frontier, MA and RN in my car--and I've had a MA and RN in it w/ a SR22 or SS1--no base.

Essentially, it looks like if you get one Radian, you should be able to fit your current baby bucket--if it's not expired and one of your old seats and/or Nautilus or Frontier for your older son. Thus, not having to deal w/ 3 across buckling-ever and having the benefit of handing that seat down to the middle and/or youngest child.


tam

 

[Brigala]

Putting a nearly-5-year-old over-40-lb child in a high back booster is an acceptable choice, but from a practical viewpoint if he'll fit FF in a Radian I think you'll find that's your best bet for the short run.

I don't know what his size is yet, but ideally what I think would fit the best would probably be:

Phase #1: RF Radian for the 2 year old with an angle adjuster, passenger side (do they have them readily available in Canada yet?). FF Radian, center, for the 4 year old. A narrow infant seat (not sure which ones are available in Canada, sorry) for the baby. Even assuming your oldest child is really mature (which is entirely possible) and is totally safe in a booster, I think you're going to have a hard time making a booster fit with a convertible and an infant seat no matter what you try to squeeze in there.

This is entirely for FIT purposes. Hopefully the 2 year old won't max out the RFing limits of the Radian too quickly.

Phase #2: When any one of the children outgrows the limits of the seat he or she is riding in, do a shuffle and move the oldest child to a booster (I'd recommend driver's side probably), the baby to a RF Radian (center) and the middle child to a FF Radian (passenger side).

The reason for all this is because most seats, especially Radians, tend to work best in a RF-FF-RF or FF-RF-FF configuration They are narrowest at the bottom and widest at the top.

If your oldest is too big for a Radian, then you might need to put the baby in a Radian right at birth. And in that case I'd go straight to the configuration I mentioned above in phase #2.

 

[cstewart09]

You ladies are so awesome!! You have NO idea!! If we can make this work, and keep our car, I would be SOOOO thrilled!! We'd be saving SO much money!!

My 4yr old is in a Nautilus which I find is SO bulky which is why we were thinking we'd only be able to do booster with him, hence why we converted it to the high back booster to see how it would work and get him used to it. He's much smaller than his 2 yr old brother (as in he's pretty much right on target for being 4.5 in comparison with his brother being 2 and always being over the 100th percentile mark, but both have long torsos and short legs), so if buying him a Radian (or any other narrow seat) that lets us skip the seat belt route with a harness again will work, then I have NO problem with it.

The 2yr old is in an Evenflo Triumph 65 LX and although the base is narrow, it flares out SO wide! My size 0, 14 yr old niece (who is really a toothpick!) can't fit between the 2 seats there is THAT little room left. So I know that I will be buying 3 new seats. This weekend I'll take our little car to TRU to try out what they have. I just have to find a store that sells (and will let us try) Radians as that seems to be one that will work.

Our infant carrier is an Evenflo (not sure which one) from 3 years ago. Again, fairly bulky. So I will try it with lets say, 2 Radians, but if it doesn't work, I can't justify the cost of finding another carrier for such a short period of time. In which case she will be in a RF car seat.

Secondary question, as I have NO experience with putting a newborn in a car seat, how do I go about doing that safely? I've always felt that the infant carrier held their little bodies better than a well padded car seat.

Thank you again for all of your help!! I can't even begin to tell you how much you have made my day!!!

 

[swtgi1982]

Honestly I would look into three radians since you said your kids outgrow carriers quickly. Maybe two to start with if your current carrier you have will fit with the other two radians. Then use and angle adjuster with the 2yr old RF to fit it behind an outboard position. When and if you put the baby in a radian in that car, since the angle adjuster can not be used until 1yr old it will have to space wise go in the center. I have owned a focus before.

 

[birdflippin']

Radians and Evenflo Triumphs puzzle nicely together when one is rear facing and the other forward. The Radian had a low profile that the triumph flares over.

No way will you fit the evenflo bucket though. I have 2 radians and an evenflo bucket in the back of a ford five hundred (new taurus) and have just enough clearance required for the handle.

 

[cstewart09]

One more quick question! When searching for Radian car seats, there seems to be 2 different kinds? Diono and Sunshine Kids. Which one is it that I want? I read a review somewhere that said the SK one is in fact slimmer. Is that true?? Is there a huge enough difference that I should find the SK one??

Thank you again!

 

[amyd]

One more quick question! When searching for Radian car seats, there seems to be 2 different kinds? Diono and Sunshine Kids. Which one is it that I want? I read a review somewhere that said the SK one is in fact slimmer. Is that true?? Is there a huge enough difference that I should find the SK one??

Thank you again!

I have one of each and don't notice a difference really. The Diono ones have sides that *can* widen for a larger child but without those moved out, I think the widths are the same. It may be moot anyway... the SK ones are not made anymore. You may not even be able to find one for sale.

 

[canadiangie]

I have one of each and don't notice a difference really. The Diono ones have sides that *can* widen for a larger child but without those moved out, I think the widths are the same. It may be moot anyway... the SK ones are not made anymore. You may not even be able to find one for sale.

It's the chunky red plastic lap belt guides and reinforcement that add a slight degree of width to the Diono Radians.

Doesn't really matter though, SK seats are likely long gone as you said, and it's probably a half inch of total difference anyway.

 

[Shanora]

Where about are you located?? Maybe we have a tech local to you.

 

[cstewart09]

Grimsby, ON. But we frequent the majority of the Niagara Region as well as the GTA