Need narrow seat recommendations!

[kmc&3girls]

I have a 3 & 1/2 year old dd who is about 30 lbs. I am expecting twins. We are buying a minivan as primary vehicle but need help on fitting 3 carseats in secondary vehicle which is 2003 nissan maxima. I am looking for a narrow, hopefully inexpensive, ff convertible for dd and 2 infant seats. I would love to have 30lb infant seats that would fit in a stroller (like the safeseats?) but I realize that they are pretty wide.

If anyone can tell me what the narrowest seats are I would appreciate it!

 

[NZ Child Restraints]

I have a 3 & 1/2 year old dd who is about 30 lbs. I am expecting twins. We are buying a minivan as primary vehicle but need help on fitting 3 carseats in secondary vehicle which is 2003 nissan maxima. I am looking for a narrow, hopefully inexpensive, ff convertible for dd and 2 infant seats. I would love to have 30lb infant seats that would fit in a stroller (like the safeseats?) but I realize that they are pretty wide.

If anyone can tell me what the narrowest seats are I would appreciate it!

radians?

 

[scatterbunny]

The 2003 Nissan Maxima has 53.7 inches of rear hip room, not too shabby, that's wider than the third row of my minivan.

Knowing your 3.5yo's exact height and weight would be immensely helpful in choosing a seat that will last her enough time, harnessed, while still being as inexpensive as possible. Also, what seat is she currently riding in, and how is she fitting? Where are her shoulders in relation to the top slots?

Off the top of my head, I'd go with a Sunshine Kids Radian 65 (about 14.5-15 inches wide at the base, 17 inches wide at the widest point, the shoulder area, harnesses up to 65 pounds) for your 3.5yo and Graco SnugRides or Baby Trend Latch Locs/Flex Locs for the babies (SnugRides are 17.5 inches wide w/ base, the Baby Trend seats are supposed to be very narrow at 16.5 inches). The Baby Trend seats can sometimes be a bit more difficult to install with the base if using the seatbelt instead of lower anchors, and usually when trying to fit three-across you'll want to use seatbelts anyway, because LATCH installs usually pull the seats a little more toward the middle of the vehicle. But the Baby Trend seats have a slightly taller seat shell (so it'll last longer for a taller, longer-torsoed baby) and slightly shorter bottom slots (so it'll fit smaller/shorter-torsoed babies better). I'm not sure of the Chicco KeyFit's measurements, but if there's a chance your babies will be born/come home at less than 5 pounds, I'd strongly look into those (4 pound minimum weight, very good newborn padding, fits preemies well).

Radians aren't awful to use for newborns or young babies, they have pretty low bottom slots, but I'd hesitate to recommend them from birth for twins. They also can take up more space front-to-back when rear-facing, so you might want to use something else with a slightly shorter seatback for rear-facing once the infant seats are outgrown (because rear-facing as long as possible is safest, to the limits of the convertible seat, which is 30/33/35 pounds depending on manufacturer).

Anyway, I hope that helps some, and if you post back with your daughter's information it'll help with other recommendations.

 

[zactayaus]

The Graco Platnium Cargo is a nice inexpensive narrow seat. Less than $100 and less than 18 in" wide. The weight limit for the harness is 40 lbs, but the harness does give you some extra height for a child up to 43". It does turn into a highback booster by removing the harness but I don't like the guides for the adult seat belt and will probably buy a new seat when my son out grows the harness limits. My son is 4yr 10mon old. He weights 36lbs and is 40" tall.

 

[scatterbunny]

Yes, the CarGo is a nice choice for harnessing only to 40 pounds. For a 3.5yo who is just 30 pounds, it could definitely be a contender. The 43 inch height limit, like all other stated height limits, doesn't really matter; a child is too tall for any given harnessed seat when shoulders go over top slots (aside from the Radian, which allows shoulders an inch over the top slots). My daughter was too tall for the CarGo at about 46 inches tall, and 4y9mo. She was already over 40 pounds, though, since 3y4mo.

 

[kmc&3girls]

I saw the cosco scenera on sale this week at kmart. I am wondering if I could fit that with 2 snugrides. It would probably fit my dd until the twins were ready to change into convertibles?

 

[kmc&3girls]

Ok--so I weighed dd today. She is 32 lbs and 39 inches tall. When sitting, height to her shoulders is 14 inches.

 

[scatterbunny]

My daughter was too tall for a Scenera at 38 inches tall, and it's wider than the CarGo. I'd go with a Graco CarGo if money is an issue, or a Sunshine Kids Radian (it will last years longer).