Convertible to replace KF

[mommydev]

I've gotten good advice from here before, so I'm back to try again.

I have a 9 month old DD currently in a KF. She's only just over 16lbs right now and overall on the petite side. I know she will fit in the KF for a while yet, but I promised to send it up to PA to my aunt because she has 2 pregnant teenage daughters and was talking about buying seats on craigslist or at garage sales. I figure if I give her mine then I know that's at least one non-expired, never crashed seat. It's still good until 9/13. The babies aren't due until the beginning of July, so I've got some time but I know BRU has some good deals on seats right now so I thought it might be a good time to look.

The KF is currently located on the driver's side next to a FF radian for my 4 year old DS. DS still has another harness spot to go in the radian. I'd really like to keep DD on the side and DS in the middle because I can then fold the seat on the passenger side or put in another seat for carpool without using the back. Car is a 2011 Ford Flex with a 60/40 bench seat. So, what are my options? I'm assuming it's better to replace the KF. I know I could give the radian to DD and get a new seat for DS, but the radian fits really well FF in that center spot and I'm nowhere close to being ready to move him to a booster. So I guess I'm looking for a convertible that will puzzle well with a FF radian unless you have a better suggestion. I'm planning to RF DD until at least 3. Thanks in advance!

 

[mommydev]

Sorry, I just remembered this should have gone in the car seat advice section, whoops! I can't move it now, but hopefully someone else can put it where it's supposed to go.

On another note, after poking around on the chat I'm off to check if my headrest is in the spot where I use my Monterey when I have to drive a niece or nephew. The things I miss when I tell myself I can give up my addiction to reading the forums! Guess I should just embrace it for good as I'm now sucked in again.

 

[oliviacw]

My daughter is also currently in a Keyfit, and is just over 16 pounds - but she's 13 months old, so more petite than yours!

She's about to outgrow the Keyfit by height, though, so I have 2 new seats waiting for her (1 for each car). One is a Combi Coccoro - I figured that since she is petite, it should last quite a while. It will also be good for flying - we travel quite a lot. The other seat I have is a MyRide 65.

I would think both might be options for you. The Coccoro is small enough to fit almost anywhere, and I understand the MyRide will puzzle well with Radians.

 

[swtgi1982]

Personally I would look into a forward facing combination seat for your oldest and pass the radian to the baby. At four with one slot left in the radian and you want to harness for a lot longer I would look into a frontier for him it will last a long time and convert to a booster later for him.

 

[mommydev]

I think I read on a previous post that she couldn't get a good install for the Frontier in the middle of the Flex. I really would like to be able to still fold the smaller part of the seat for easier access to the back row. I don't need it often, but it's nice to know I have the option. This is probably going to require a car seat test trip to BRU...

I have no problem passing the radian to DD (I even have a flora cover ready to go), I just didn't think I could get another harnessed seat in the middle.

 

[mominabigtruck]

Check out the evenflo secure kid at bru. It's a pretty thin seat and has nice high top slots.
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[lanwenyi]

I have no problem passing the radian to DD (I even have a flora cover ready to go), I just didn't think I could get another harnessed seat in the middle.

What about a Maestro?

It's a narrow combination seat and might let you fold down the other part of the vehicle seat. The Evenflo SecureKids might work too, but I've never played with them. My BRU has the Maestro and the SecureKid, so you could try them and see if they fit. You might have to put the rfing radian in the middle and put your DS FFing outboard, but it might work.

 

[mommydev]

I don't think the Maestro top slot is any taller than the radian. Aren't they both 18in? The Frontier is 20, yes? I know the Maestro doesn't fit very well in the center. We have one in DH's car, so I've tried it

I also don't think I would enjoy having to load the baby into the center. I'm short and have trouble reaching it! I usually help my 4 year old buckle from the front seat, but that'd be harder with RF. I can put a seat in there to see though.

I'm thinking I should go see if I can get a Frontier to fit with the radian RF. The PP I read said the seat belt was too short for lbp, but that she didn't work very hard at sbp. It does make sense to buy something for DS instead of buying a RF convertible now just to move DD into the radian RF later. I might have been envisioning a pink seat though

 

[mommydev]

After playing with seats at BRU for a while, there's just not another seat for DS that will fit in the middle spot and still have the other side be totally usable. My other problem is that the radian won't install RF in the middle because of these weird plastic things at the back of my seats. I also need the angle adjuster to make it work outboard and DD isn't 1 yet. When I tried convertible seats next to the radian, I had to really push hard on my door to get it to close and I'm assuming that's not something I want to be doing every day. I really liked the True Fit, but i almost couldn't get the door to shut! In full confession, I didn't try a My Ride because they were moving stuff around and people were looking at those, so I just didn't think I should go in and get the seat. Would I have had any better luck with that?

I ordered a CCO from kohls to try that out since I knew I could return it if necessary. It "fits" great, but I haven't installed it yet (back for help with that later ). So, is there any reason not to use a CCO for everyday use? I know most of the time I hear it talked about as a travel seat or a second seat. The traveling we do is in the car, so I'd be surprised if it sees an airplane. I know it has lower limits and is overall a smaller seat, but DD is in the 10% for weight and 16% for height. I also would have the radian to pass down to DD when she outgrows it. We hopefully aren't done having kids, so I'd definitely consider using the CCO from birth next time (the thought of it scares me a little bit but I'm sure I'd get used to it).

I know I could just have both kids not on the 60 part of the bench and that would open up my seat options, but that set up has worked really well for us so far.