Question Need recommendations for a friend...

[chaoticoctopus]

Hi folks! Long time no see! I'll have to post an update over in the Coffee Break forum later...

This posting is for a friend of mine though. She's expecting her 3rd child, owns a small vehicle ('07 Hyundai Elantra) with no option to upgrade to a larger vehicle at this point. We're trying to figure out IF she needs to purchase a new seat before her little one arrives (mid-June to early-July-ish), and if so, which child is best served with a new seat. Seat recommendations and config suggestions would be much appreciated.

Here are some of the necessary details:
Ds1: 4.5 y/o, about 35#
Ds2: 2 y/o, about 25#
Both are currently FF
Bean arriving in about 8 to 10 weeks!!

She already owns:
Radian 65, mfr. 03/07
Graco Comfort Sport, mfr. 12/03
AOE, mfr. 04/04
Cosco high back, mfr. 04/07

So two of the seats are near their expiry anyway, but still usable at the moment.

Some challenges particular to her situation:
* Her hubby is tall and long-legged, so RF installs on driver's side and middle seat are not an option. (Actually, she is checking to see if a middle RF install might be possible... I'll update with more info once she's gotten back to me.)
* Wider seats will be trickier, especially outboard, since the hump of the outboard seats forces most carseats to take up too much space from the middle. A wide-ish seat FF in the middle may be do-able with two narrow seats outboard; one of those outboard seats would then most likely be RF.
* Finances are a factor, if a new seat is recommended. It may require budgeting/saving for a few months.

I'm hoping you can save us hours on end of trying out different configs, since A) she is in her 3rd trimester now and it's uncomfortable trying to get in & out of such a small space to mess with seats, and 2) it's still very cold here (Alaska) and spending too much time outside or even in the garage is not pleasant.

I'm not sure about her seatbelts/stalks, if there are any unique problems or challenges with them in her vehicle.

I'm going to try to get together with her soon to see if I can come up with a good config, but would be soooo helpful if I had a few ideas to start with!

TIA!!!

 

[mylittlet]

Does she have an infant seat? Does she want one or is she going convertible?

I would take your radian over to try the 2 radians with one of her seats she owns.

 

[chaoticoctopus]

She is just looking at convertibles, or possibly a FF HWH/HBB combo for her oldest boy.

I did end up going over with my Radian earlier, and WOW is her back seat carseat-unfriendly! It's a tight squeeze for just about any RF convertible I can think of, either center or outboard. She got the Radian installed RF center, an extremely tight squeeze front-to-back, but the angle was way too steep for a newborn. Granted, neither of us had the RF boot to work with today, but I don't foresee that helping much due to the space constraints.

She got the Radian FF in the center again, a rock-solid install, and I tried out mine in the pass. outboard seat, both FF and RF. Both worked, although we weren't aiming for as solid of an install as we were trying to figure out if it was workable at all in the first place. It seems to be... but the cost of the Radian is prohibitive right now.

With a Radian FF in the center though, we were able to get the AOE in RF *and* FF outboard. The Cosco highback seat was a no-go, simply due to irreconcilable differences with the shape of the back seat. Neither of us has been able to get a good install on that one yet (seatbelt only; the LATCH straps are no longer on this seat unfortunately).

Her Comfort Sport gets a good install (both RF and FF) next to the Radian as well, although we didn't try it out today. So it looks like, for now, she has a workable solution. The two convertibles (AOE and Comfort Sport) do expire within the year, though, so new seats are still going to be needed eventually.

Aside from the Radian as the obvious (albeit expensive) choice to replace the other two convertibles as they expire, what other options are there out there for HWH convertibles, in a more affordable price range? What are some of the pros and cons of each? If she were to go ahead and replace one of the seats now, what would you suggest?

 

[ketchupqueen]

If space weren't an issue, I'd say True Fit, hands down. However, with space as an issue, I'd choose the Uptown or Avenue for the baby (not HWH but could replace the ComfortSport-- should use the CS from birth though until baby fits the Uptown/Avenue, they don't tend to fit from birth and the CS does) and, well, there really aren't that many HWH convertibles, TF and Radian and the Britax seats and EFTA (also really wide) and the new AOE goes to 50 lbs. and has useable top slots. Really, as far as narrow, HWH convertibles, the Radian is it. Other than that you can choose narrow OR HWH, not both. The closest any of the other seats come to it is the new AOE; if you take the base off it's not super-wide, and it has a decent harness height and goes to 50 lbs. And at the price you usually pay for it, well, you might as well pay $20-$30 more and get the Radian.

 

[chaoticoctopus]

Thanks for the suggestions! We are going to try to find a True Fit locally and see whether it will be a "true fit" (sorry, couldn't resist! ). The product descriptions say that the upper headrest piece is removable?? Is that right? So it may take up less space front-to-back if that part comes off for a RF install. Do you know off-hand how wide it is?

Edit: we did get good installs on the AOE, which is fairly wide, so I'm hoping the True Fit's width is comparable. It's the lack of space from front-to-back that I think poses the biggest problem (as long as the Radian is in the center, that is).

 

[ketchupqueen]

The True Fit is a wiiiiiide seat. Really wide. Like, EFTA wide. Other than that it installs pretty easily in most vehicles, though some people have trouble reaching the rear adjuster strap when it's upright, and some people have trouble closing the lockoffs on some seatbelts when it's at a full 45 degree angle.

The headrest doesn't need to go on when it's used with a baby under 22 lbs. or under 1 inch from the top of the bottom part (they have a handy line to show where that is.) When either of those limits is reached, it has to go back on-- but at that point of course it can go more upright (they say as upright as 35 deg. with that seat, not 30, FYI) and when it's upright it takes up less front-to-back space than an upright Marathon, because of the lack of base. :thumbsup: I've heard front-to-back room taken up without the top headrest on at a newborn angle is comparable to a SnugRide, though I've never sat them next to each other to check.

But I do think it will probably be too wide for what you need it for. It's wider than the AOE, at least I think it is, last time I had them side by side it looked much wider (though I didn't measure.)

 

[crunchierthanthou]

Coccoro!

It's not a permanent solution, but seems to be great for three across in small vehicles. It's narrow like the Radian, but not nearly so tall (both a blessing and a curse).

 

[Kat_Momof3]

how old is her comfortsport?

they aren't great convertibles for long term use, but they are good at doing 2 things... 1. fitting newborns and rearfacing babies for a decent (not extended rearfacing, but not bad) time and 2. being super narrow.

If it is still useable, I'd use it for the new baby, put the middle child in the Radian, and then make the third seat another Radian.

Why another Radian?

When baby gets too big for the comfortsport (around age 3-4 going by her small kids.... most kids would only get 1-2yrs out of it) (assuming baby made it to age 2 rf) or when the oldest outgrows the Radian, then you could pass down the 2nd Radian to the baby and simply get the oldest a nice booster (Recaro Vivo or something else on the narrower side)