Honda (x2) Car Seat puzzle help, please!

[acksim]

Hi all! I have a few questions that I was hoping you could help with. I currently own a 2010 Honda Fit and a 2001 Honda Accord COUPE. I have a 17mo son who is currently RF in a Boulevard in the center of the Fit. He does not have a seat in the Accord, we have just traded cars when one needed to take him somewhere (I currently SAH).

My questions revolve around the fact that we are now expecting #2. Our infant seat was a Graco Snugride (the lower weight one).

(1)Now, I think we will need the ABILITY to take the kids in the second car, only in rare circumstances. Is this even going to be possible in our little coupe? Is there any combo that will work? If not we may be car shopping.

(2)What is the best combo to use for the Fit? What is the safest way to get them both in there? I have been assuming my son would move behind drivers side and the new kid goes in the middle. Will this work with our existing seats? What will be the best second convertible seat? I need to recheck, but I think in our year of the Fit its ok for the seat to rest on the front seats but again I am not sure.

Thank you so much!

 

[wendytthomas]

You cannot rest on the passenger seat in the Fit, but the driver's seat is ok. Who is taller in that car? Driver or passenger? I'd put your older son behind the shorter front seat passenger, and try to get the baby in the middle. But I don't know that your seats will fit next to one another. They both flare out at the hips, and so they're going to be touching at the widest point. Are you open to new seats?

As for the coupe, will you have both kids in there, or just one at a time?

Wendy

 

[acksim]

Thank you for your reply! My husband is taller, and we alternate driving when we are together but it is primarily my car.

I am open to new seats, but would prefer if I could use one at least in the other car. I *think* we can get away with one at a time in the Accord, but we will need a convertible seat that fits in there, at a minimum. We know the Graco fits as we did switch him out in there when he was small enough.

Does any of that clarify?

 

[wendytthomas]

Do the Boulevard and Snugride fit in the coupe? Probably Snugride behind passenger, Boulevard behind driver. If so, I'd move those over there and get you another seat for the Fit. I'd probably look at the Diono Radian with angle adjuster. You can put the front seat all the way back with it, and it's narrow enough that the Snugride should be able to fit next to it. That'd be my first suggestion.

Otherwise, maybe a Graco seat would puzzle well next to that base? A My Ride or Size4Me perhaps.

Wendy

 

[acksim]

I dont actually know if they fit, I will have to try it. I am concerned with the logistics of getting my son in there at all, RF, honestly. I suppose you would have to do it from the opposite side, so perhaps if the snugride wasnt in yet that would work.

The Diono - do you think it would puzzle with the Britax in the Fit eventually? Once we are past the infant stage. I am also open to skipping the bucket seat if that opens up options.

Thank you so much!!

 

[wendytthomas]

Diono and Britax puzzle very well together in the same direction.

If you're open to no infant seat, how about a Radian for the older child, and a Britax Infant Positioning Wedge for your current Boulevard for the baby? That will allow it to sit more upright than a newborn angle, and give more front seat room.

How about a Graco Size4Me in the other car? It's easy to adjust between kids (like the Boulevard, you pull a handle and the headrest goes up and down, adjusting the harness). It fits newborns, and it's the tallest rear facing seat on the market. But it doesn't take up much room front to back. Not sure about the newborn angle required, though. That may be a deal breaker if you take the newborn in it at the beginning.

Wendy

 

[acksim]

Thank you so much!! I feel much more informed than I did. And less like I need a new car!

Will they not puzzle RF/FF? Not that that is a big deal, I am just curious.

Also - should my son go behind driver and baby in the middle? I was always under the impression that driver side is safest, but does that depend on height?

 

[wendytthomas]

They will puzzle rear and forward, but not as easily and perfectly as in the same direction.

Either side is not safer. You can find studies that state one is or the other, and they're within 3% or so of the other. I'd put your older on the side where the shorter person is to make it easier to get both adults in the car, and put the baby in the middle so if a newborn angle is needed there's more front to back room. If you can get the older child's seat upright enough that it doesn't matter which adult is in front, move him around until you guys have a configuration that works best for your family.

Wendy