Tall adults, 2011 Kia Forte 5, baby due in 1 month, advice needed!

[PreggoBarista]

Hi everyone from rainy SW Ontario!

The spouse and I are expecting our first child mid-June. I have a daughter from a previous marriage who is 4.5 and rides in the car (outboard position rear passenger side) FF in a Radian XT. I have been with this current partner for about 3.5 years. When we first started living together, I had just bought the Radian XT because my ex took the car and the carseat etc. and I wanted to ERF.

We installed the Radian in the center position RF of the Kia, but it was a problem. Spouse is about 6'1" and prefers to drive with the seat slightly reclined. I'm about 5'11" but all leg. Spouse is taller than I am while sitting though we share a similar inseam (if that makes sense). The Radian being the seat that it is simply did not sit on the seat flush. While we moved the front seats forward a little bit to help keep the seat more safely installed, spouse complained regularly about his discomfort with respect to driving. We turned FF and moved the seat to an outboard position sometime before she turned 3, probably close to two years ago, now, to improve everyone's general feeling of comfort and safety. She's also a tall child and had essentially exceeded the RF height limit on the seat.

Now we're expecting our first child together and haven't yet bought a car seat for a baby due in just over 4 weeks. He brought up the topic a couple of days ago to indicate he was finally ready to start talking about it. I, of course, have been thinking about this probably since before I was pregnant.

Basically, since all the Transport Canada guidelines recommend RF until age 2 or longer anyways, can anyone recommend something naturally 'shorter' than the Radian, that will go nicely into our Kia (no plans to replace the car anytime soon) and allow tall people in a small-ish car to feel comfy and safe? I was thinking something like Britax but I have no brand loyalty -- other than to avoid a Radian. I'd rather not go through the "bucket seat" step either to get the maximum economy out of an investment. Spouse is wary of a 3 in 1 because of the installation, comfort, and potential safety issues we had RF with the Radian.

 

[canadiangie]

Hello and welcome,

So am I reading correctly that you want to skip an infant seat and go straight into a convertible from birth? If that's the case, I would look closest at the Peg Perego Convertible, the Graco MyRide 65, and any of the Britax G4 convertibles IF Britax gets their anti rebound bar accessory to market before your baby arrives (doubtful if babe is coming in June -- I think the rebound bar is due out mid summer). Current G4 seats require rear faced tethering in Canada which is complicated and messy. The rebound bar will take the place of required rear faced tethering, but like I said, it's not out yet.

 

[biddyk8]

I've had a peg convertible in a kia forte, it fit nicely. I can't really comment on leg room as I'm 5ft2 but I wasn't eating the dashboard either.

 

[MammaBear]

I can't comment on how it'll fit in your vehicle, but I've brought 2 of my 3 kids home in a Graco MR65 and I love the seat. DS was ginormous and outgrew it rfing by height by about 2.5.

 

[Anitra]

We've also had good luck with a Graco MyRide for ERF without being too enormous. That said, you WILL need to have a fairly steep recline for baby for a while, and it will be uncomfortable to drive if the seat is behind the driver.

This may sound silly, but also try putting the older child behind the driver and the baby behind the passenger seat (not in the center)? I find I can cope with being cramped as the front passenger a lot easier than as the driver.

 

[Anitra]

Also, don't feel too bad about not having a seat yet. I'm due with baby #3 in six weeks, and we don't have a seat yet either. OK, technically, we have a spare MyRide, but I'd really prefer a bucket seat for the first 6-8 months. Trying to negotiate with a friend whose baby is outgrowing one