MeaganS Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 OK, so this is for all you carseat experts out there. We have two daughters. DD2 weighs 27 lbs and is 2 years old. We currently have her in a convertible carseat forward facing. DD4mo is 27 inches long and will outgrow her rear-facing infant seat in about a month. The problem is that we are a one-car family. We have a '99 Mercury Sable (4-door medium car), so the girls have to be in the backseat, but we still have to be able to fit in the front, and my husband is a tall man. With DD2, we had her rear-facing in the middle of the backseat until DD4mo came along and we had to put her forward-facing on the driver's side with DD4mo on the passenger's side in order to fit at all. And DD4mo's infant seat hardly fits now. The problem I'm running into is that DD4mo still needs to be rear-facing, but that our car won't fit a standard convertible rear-facing seat when you combine it with another carseat and the fact that the person in the passenger seat still needs to fit. The only option I'm seeing to be safe is to buy a bigger car, but I'd like to know if any of you see a cheaper alternative, because I'd much rather not buy a car right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msk Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I'm not an expert, but I've found answers to my carseat questions by browsing around here before: http://www.car-safety.org/guide.html. If you don't see what you need in the links, you can search their forums from a link near the bottom of the page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholand Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Where I live we have car seat safety check ups and techs. You could call and ask. Call your local peds clinic and ask where you might find the number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevilla Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I don't think you need to buy a new car:). And DD4mo's infant seat hardly fits now. IME, infant seats actually take up MORE room than convertible seats b/c of how low their angle is - a convertible seat can be adjusted to be slightly more upright than 45 degrees with an older infant who has good head control, this gives you more room. For comparison, we have a tiny compact car and could fit a Britax Marathon rearfacing behind the passenger with *more* front passenger legroom than a Graco Snugride35. The problem I'm running into is that DD4mo still needs to be rear-facing, but that our car won't fit a standard convertible rear-facing seat when you combine it with another carseat and the fact that the person in the passenger seat still needs to fit. Which convertibles have you tried? Some are more compact than others and others take up more room. Is your priority that it take up less room front-to-back or side to side so you can fit them next to each other? Here is a list of recommended carseats (scroll down to convertible): http://carseatblog.com/carseatblogcoms-recommended-car-seats/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Most baby megastores will let you take the carseat out to the car and see how it fits before you buy. So, no specific advice, but that's a possible way to try different configurations. Unfortunately, a lot of the higher rated options aren't sold in the big stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nknapp5 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 We have been having a similar situation w/ fitting 3 in the back of our vehicle. Just a couple days ago everything worked out. We came across the Sunshine Kids radian65SL. We ordered a couple of those and all our problems were solved! It was pricey, but cheaper then having to buy a new vehicle. This carseat is the narrowest they sell. They say you can fit 3 of those in the back of most vehicles. HTH http://www.albeebaby.com/sunshine-kids-radian-65-convertible-car-seat-in-champagne.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks! Those are all great suggestions and resources. I think I'll head over to Babies 'R Us this afternoon to try out some different configurations. Oh what fun! I did discover the Sunshine Kids Radian which is supposedly skinnier than most, so I might be able to do that for DD2 and use the convertible we have now with DD4mo in the middle if I can't find anything else. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevilla Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks! Those are all great suggestions and resources. I think I'll head over to Babies 'R Us this afternoon to try out some different configurations. Oh what fun! I did discover the Sunshine Kids Radian which is supposedly skinnier than most, so I might be able to do that for DD2 and use the convertible we have now with DD4mo in the middle if I can't find anything else. Thanks! FWIW, the Radian is an awesome seat for not taking up space when forward facing...but takes up a TON of room rear-facing. Not a good choice for rf'ing in a compact car :). Try the Roundabout 55, Graco MyRide, Evenflo Triumph Advance, and Cosco Scenara instead :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Yep, btdt with the carseat thing. I've currently got three kids (one who doesn't need anything, one who is forward-facing in a Graco CarGo with the lap-shoulder belt, and one rear-facing in a Graco MyRide) in a Ford Focus. It is tight, but it works, and they are all safe. (DD8 is in the middle, the toddler behind the passenger seat -- this works because I'm the one who rides in that spot, and I'm short.) The Graco CarGo is a fantastic seat; I really love it. It is big, though, but IDK how it compares to other convertibles. It might fit behind your passenger seat. I think it would be great for your younger daughter, though I personally haven't tried it with one that young. We used a Graco SafeSeat I, the "bucket" one that goes up to 35 pounds, for our younger DS, and even though he is on the big side (born at over 9 pounds and at 26 months is 29 pounds), he fit in it until 18 months. It's a bit pricey, but it might buy you a bit extra, though it's longer than a standard bucket seat, I think. You might try, for your older daughter, a Graco CarGo, with the 5-point harness in it for now. It's a good and narrow seat without a big footprint, so it works well behind someone else. I think it also "puzzled" well with our infant seat, meaning the baby could be behind the passenger, and the CarGo could be in the middle of the backseat. I've heard good things about the Radian too. I think you will just have to try out different combos and see which ones work well together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Check out the ladies (mostly) at http://www.car-seat.org/ They have a LOT of accumulated knowledge and can answer questions for your specific situation. The Radian is GREAT in 3-across situations -- but does have problems front-to-back Some car seats are better at puzzling with each other (putting side by side) even though they look big and bulky Etc. Warning: They will strongly recommend you rear-face your first child as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 We have been having a similar situation w/ fitting 3 in the back of our vehicle. Just a couple days ago everything worked out. We came across the Sunshine Kids radian65SL. We ordered a couple of those and all our problems were solved! It was pricey, but cheaper then having to buy a new vehicle. This carseat is the narrowest they sell. They say you can fit 3 of those in the back of most vehicles. HTH http://www.albeebaby.com/sunshine-kids-radian-65-convertible-car-seat-in-champagne.html WOW. That's one expensive car seat! :001_huh: (although my perspective might be a little skewed - we haven't had to buy a regular car seat for a long time) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2J112903 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 The Sunshine Kids Radians take up *a lot* of space RFing and if you have a compact car, not the one to choose. car-seat.org is a great resource and if you belong to cafemom.com there is a wonderful car seat group there as well, and I am one of the co-admins there. I would look into the Britax convertibles for your 4 month old and highly consider turning your 2yr old back RFing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Radian-Seat-Champagne/dp/B000EE3HB6 Yup, this is what I want for my 7 year old to finish out his carseat days. I only had to look at the little boy (on the youtube that his family put together as a tribute/warning) who flew out of his carseat when his parents had a wreck... dead... and... if he had stayed in it.. he would have been alive like his sister. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Wow. What car seat was that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) We have been having a similar situation w/ fitting 3 in the back of our vehicle. Just a couple days ago everything worked out. We came across the Sunshine Kids radian65SL. We ordered a couple of those and all our problems were solved! It was pricey, but cheaper then having to buy a new vehicle. This carseat is the narrowest they sell. They say you can fit 3 of those in the back of most vehicles. HTH http://www.albeebaby.com/sunshine-kids-radian-65-convertible-car-seat-in-champagne.html I second (or second/third/whatever, I haven't read the entire thread) the Sunshine Kids car seats! They are AWESOME and the ONLY car seats that would fit 3 across the back seat of my car. Here are my kids enjoying them:001_smile: ETA that another benefit is that you can keep your child in a 5 point harness until they are 51" tall, which is the tallest I've ever seen. ETA again that my oldest dd in the picture is almost 7 and I think was 50 inches at the time. She looks a little catywompas but was trying to scoot into the picture. Edited January 21, 2011 by Cheryl in SoCal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 we have 3 radians in dh's honda accord, and though the one that rf for awhile was long, in the middle it worked because it went between the headrests of the front seats if they were positioned just right. I like the radian a lot, though it is a pain to install. another option is to see if you can borrow a secondhand infant seat that can accommodate a larger infant, such as a chico keyfit 30, to buy you some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 This is a very nice carseat that had a removable headrest - which makes it more compact to use with a smaller rear-facing child. You can add it when the child grows, or you turn them forward. It has pretty decent weight limits which encourage extended rear-facing and extended harnessing. It's also decently priced. http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-True-Convertible-Casino/dp/B000YBILWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1295571149&sr=1-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 The Sunshine Kids Radians take up *a lot* of space RFing and if you have a compact car, not the one to choose. car-seat.org is a great resource and if you belong to cafemom.com there is a wonderful car seat group there as well, and I am one of the co-admins there. I would look into the Britax convertibles for your 4 month old and highly consider turning your 2yr old back RFing as well. My sister used hers RF in her compact Ford without any problems. I don't remember what the name of the car was (I don't know cars much) but it was a 2-door hatchback. It fit in the center back RF just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 My sister used hers RF in her compact Ford without any problems. I don't remember what the name of the car was (I don't know cars much) but it was a 2-door hatchback. It fit in the center back RF just fine. As the child gets older, the seat tends to recline more and more -- it is hard to get it installed and STAY installed in the more upright position that takes up less space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 This is a very nice carseat that had a removable headrest - which makes it more compact to use with a smaller rear-facing child. You can add it when the child grows, or you turn them forward. It has pretty decent weight limits which encourage extended rear-facing and extended harnessing. It's also decently priced. http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-True-Convertible-Casino/dp/B000YBILWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1295571149&sr=1-1 Note that the headrest MUST be re-attached when the child hits 22 pounds, no matter what their height, weight, or whether they are still sitting RFing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevilla Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 As the child gets older, the seat tends to recline more and more -- it is hard to get it installed and STAY installed in the more upright position that takes up less space. I have not found that to be true - in fact it's the opposite. I would say that the installation needs to be fixed to be tighter and firmer if this is happening b/c an older child can be at a 30 degree angle and the seat shouldn't naturally continue to recline further back as they grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 As the child gets older, the seat tends to recline more and more -- it is hard to get it installed and STAY installed in the more upright position that takes up less space. I don't believe she had that problem; I know we didn't. If space is tight the car seat touching the back of the front passenger seat would keep it more upright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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