We are expecting baby #3 in 3 months and are desperate to solve our carseat issues; I'm wondering if anyone can help. Once baby arrives we will have three children that need to be in carseats. Our son will be 18 months old when the baby arrives and our daughter will have just turned 7. I drive a 2008 Kia Optima. Now the backseat seems spacious but we are having troubles getting all three carseats to fit properly. I think this is probably because the middle seat in the back is raised up higher then the sides but I could be wrong. Does anyone have any suggestions for us? We would love to purchase a bigger passenger vehicle but that is not an option right now. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good carseat that maybe isn't so wide at the base? Any advice would be appreciated.
Look at the website for these seats they fit 5 pounds to 80 so they should work for all of your kids unless you have a big 7 year old. The picture shows them fitting 3 across. The only bad thing is they have quite a price tag. http://www.healthchecksystems.com/product/index.cfm?product_id=17644
there are a few options here. You could do Sunshine Radians, as the previous poster stated....but, they are very pricey. They are about 279 a piece, so 3 would be a lot of money. They are made to go 3 side by side though...and would work. However, your 7 year old would be outgrowign the seat soon, if she was not too big already....so they would not be a good choice for her. If you want Radians, go with 2 of them....and put the 7 year old in something else that she wont outgrow super quick.
The 7 year old is old enough to be boostered now. There is no evidence that a harness is any safer than a booster and belt when used properly and at the age intended....at 7, that is a good age for booster. Boosters are not safe for LITTLE kids...but older kids, they are great and work very well. I would look into the Graco Nautilis. It is a great seat and would harness her if she is still small enough for harness, and then high back booster and then no back booster her to 100 pounds. Then, when your bug was 3-4 years old, you could use the Nautilis forward facing for him.....and then use the boosters for him. That would be a great option...and they are available at Walmart for 150. So you would have the Naitilis, and then carseats on each side of the Nautilis....I would rear face both of the littles...until at least age 2. Lexi just got turned aroud ans she is 3 years, 7 months. Put the least protected child in the safest spot....so the 7 year old would be the least protected in a booster..so put her in the middle, with two rear facing seats on each side. I could fit two Britaz Marathons with a Nautilis in the middle. Nautilis seats are also designed to go 3 side by side....BUT are FORWARD FACING only...so dont go buy three of them! haha. I am just stating that to say that they are slendor.
If you do not want to booster her yet...then there are seats that will harness her until 80 pounds. Check out the Britax Frontier. It will harness her to 80 pounds and then, just like the Nautilis, it will booster her to 100. It is a fantastic seat too....this is the seat I will be getting for my kids when they outgrow their Britax Marathons.....to harness to 80 and then booster to 100. A great seat, but much more expensive than the Nautilis. But, if you want her harnessed, this is an option. Make sure she is ok height wise though.....before you purchase it so that she can be harnessed. If she is too tall, then you would have to booster anyway.
I can reccommend specific seats for the little ones if you need me to...just let me know!
Zachary has a Eddie Bauer convertible carseat (rearfacing), my 7 year old is in a Evenflo highback booster seat, and I was planning to reuse the Graco snugride infant seat that Zachary used since it's not even 18 months old yet and in great condition.
I would hate to spend a lot of money on a seat for my daughter. She will turn 8 11-months after the baby is born and will no longer be required by law to use one. She is tall for her age too, but still needs to grow another 7 inches to reach the height requirement.
We had a similar issue with our 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan with going from 4 to 5 that all needed to be in some form of child restraint. We actually took our youngest daughter and put her in an oversized carseat and moved her into the rear row in the middle.
Now does your car have the latch system in it? I wish that I could remember what store I was in that had a pretty narrow booster seat....I'd like to say it was a Graco though. Since your oldest is on her way out of the booster stage you may want to think about changing one of your other seats since they will be in it longer.
I am going out shopping tomorrow and if I see it I will write the information down and pass it along.
Sorry I couldn't be more help
MrsJohnson
keep in mind though, that just because she is not required by law to be in a seat, doesnt mean that she is safest that way. By law, your little one doesnt have to be rear facing after a year and 20 pounds, but it is SAFEST to be to the limits of the seat.....kwim? I would put your daughter in a booster that will booster her to 100 pounds....I would also post this question on the carseat safety group....there are techs in there that can give you a professional answer, to get other opinions. As far as the Eddie Bauer seat...that one I thikn has bery low harness slots, so your little one will outgrow it rather quickly. If it were me, I would use the snugride for the new baby for the first year (or until he or she outgrows it), booster your 7 year old in a Nautilis (and then graduate your junebug to the nautilis, harnessed, when your junebug outgrows his current seat).....if he outgrows it before your 7 year old is ready to be moved to just a seat belt, then you could buy another nautilis....then you would have a nutilis for your bug (at that time he could ride in one....hopefully around 3 years old....3 years is a good age for the nautilis....and then you would have the other nautilis for use with your 7 year old, and then when she outgrew it, your new baby would be several years old and ready to use it. Does that make sense? haha...I was sort of rambling. That seems like the best option to me....and in the long run will save you the most money and get the most bang for your buck.
Quoting Stephanie116:
Zachary has a Eddie Bauer convertible carseat (rearfacing), my 7 year old is in a Evenflo highback booster seat, and I was planning to reuse the Graco snugride infant seat that Zachary used since it's not even 18 months old yet and in great condition.
I would hate to spend a lot of money on a seat for my daughter. She will turn 8 11-months after the baby is born and will no longer be required by law to use one. She is tall for her age too, but still needs to grow another 7 inches to reach the height requirement.
My car does have the latch system, but I only have to ability to latch two seats.
Quoting MrsJohnson215:
We had a similar issue with our 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan with going from 4 to 5 that all needed to be in some form of child restraint. We actually took our youngest daughter and put her in an oversized carseat and moved her into the rear row in the middle.
Now does your car have the latch system in it? I wish that I could remember what store I was in that had a pretty narrow booster seat....I'd like to say it was a Graco though. Since your oldest is on her way out of the booster stage you may want to think about changing one of your other seats since they will be in it longer.
I am going out shopping tomorrow and if I see it I will write the information down and pass it along.
Sorry I couldn't be more help
MrsJohnson
Yes, I'm fully aware of the law requirements vs safety issue. In my opinion boostering to 100lbs is crazy. I only weighed 98lbs at the end of 9th grade, I couldn't imagine being a 9th grader and still sitting in a booster seat!
As far as the Eddie Bauer carseat, I'm not sure how far up the harness goes, but it does harness to 50lbs so I would imagine it should last for a while longer. Zachary is only 23lbs and 30in.
Thank you everyone for all the input/advice. I appreciate it!
Quoting Lsmom:
keep in mind though, that just because she is not required by law to be in a seat, doesnt mean that she is safest that way. By law, your little one doesnt have to be rear facing after a year and 20 pounds, but it is SAFEST to be to the limits of the seat.....kwim? I would put your daughter in a booster that will booster her to 100 pounds....I would also post this question on the carseat safety group....there are techs in there that can give you a professional answer, to get other opinions. As far as the Eddie Bauer seat...that one I thikn has bery low harness slots, so your little one will outgrow it rather quickly. If it were me, I would use the snugride for the new baby for the first year (or until he or she outgrows it), booster your 7 year old in a Nautilis (and then graduate your junebug to the nautilis, harnessed, when your junebug outgrows his current seat).....if he outgrows it before your 7 year old is ready to be moved to just a seat belt, then you could buy another nautilis....then you would have a nutilis for your bug (at that time he could ride in one....hopefully around 3 years old....3 years is a good age for the nautilis....and then you would have the other nautilis for use with your 7 year old, and then when she outgrew it, your new baby would be several years old and ready to use it. Does that make sense? haha...I was sort of rambling. That seems like the best option to me....and in the long run will save you the most money and get the most bang for your buck.
Quoting Stephanie116:
Zachary has a Eddie Bauer convertible carseat (rearfacing), my 7 year old is in a Evenflo highback booster seat, and I was planning to reuse the Graco snugride infant seat that Zachary used since it's not even 18 months old yet and in great condition.
I would hate to spend a lot of money on a seat for my daughter. She will turn 8 11-months after the baby is born and will no longer be required by law to use one. She is tall for her age too, but still needs to grow another 7 inches to reach the height requirement.
Quoting Stephanie116:
Yes, I'm fully aware of the law requirements vs safety issue. In my opinion boostering to 100lbs is crazy. I only weighed 98lbs at the end of 9th grade, I couldn't imagine being a 9th grader and still sitting in a booster seat!
As far as the Eddie Bauer carseat, I'm not sure how far up the harness goes, but it does harness to 50lbs so I would imagine it should last for a while longer. Zachary is only 23lbs and 30in.
Thank you everyone for all the input/advice. I appreciate it
Are you sure it says that it harnesses to 50lbs? The only Eddie Bauer seats that I see harness to 40lbs and then booster to 80 or 100lbs. The Safety 1st and Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seats FF to 50lbs but not the Eddie Bauer. You might want to check again just to be sure.
As far as letting you oldest use an adult seatbelt she should be at least 8yrs, 80lbs OR 4ft 9in before you put her take her out of a booster. She also needs to pass the 5step test. http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm If she doesn't it puts her at serious risk for injury in the event of a collision.
You can use the SnugRide for the new baby since it isn't expired yet. It's silly to buy another seat when you have one already. Just be sure that you've cleaned it properly. Don't put the straps under water(it damages the strength of the straps), don't use chemicals to clean it. You can take the cover and headrest if it came with one and wash it with a drop or two of laundry detergent on gentle cycle and then hang it to dry. Do NOT put it in the dryer. Wipe the rest of the seat down with a damp cloth and no soap. Also be sure that you don't use any of the infant car seat positioners you can buy in the store. If your newborn needs extra support in the seat, take 2 extra receiving blankets and place them along side of the baby in a "L" shape. Put the corner of the "L" where the babys butt is, the short part along the legs and the longer part along the body. Do this after you buckled baby in.
I would buy your bug a new seat. The 3-in-1 or all-in-one car seats are some of the worst you can buy. They are outgrown height wise quickly and they make very bad booster seats. MOST 3-in-1 or all-in-one car seats are outgrown by 2-3yrs old. I would get your bug either one of the Sunshine Kids Radian car seats. They are made to fit 3 across so they might work well with your situation. Also they are testing them now for RF to 40 and 45lbs.
They make the
SKR 65(RF to 33lbs, FF to 65lbs)
http://www.albeebaby.com/sukiracarseg.html
SKR 80(RF to 33lbs(maybe 35) FF to 80lbs)
http://www.albeebaby.com/sukira80coca1.html
SKR XT(RF to 35lbs, FF to 80lbs with headwings for Side Impact Protection)
http://www.albeebaby.com/sunshine-kids-radian-xt-rio-convertible-car-seat.html
I also suggest the:
Cosco Scenera: (RF to 35lbs, FF to 40lbs so you will need another seat to harness your bug after this. This is a good cheap seat to fit 3 across.) http://www.albeebaby.com/cosco-scenera-convertible-car-seat-22160ntr.html
The Britax seats will be too wide I think but you can try them out at BRU. They make the Advocate, BLVD, Decathlon and Marathon. They all RF to 35lbs, FF to 65lbs. There are slight differences between the 4. If you want the specs I can give them to you.
The TrueFit might also be to wide but, again, try it out at BRU. It RF to 35lbs and FF to 65lbs.
You could also try the Safety 1st Air seat for your bug. It RF to 40lbs, FF to 50lbs. It is very slim and has headwings for side impact protection.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3601277
You also might need to try different combinations of settings in the back.
Try:
RF, Booster, RF
Booster, RF, RF
RF, RF, Booster
You said you have LATCH but that can only be used on the outboard positions so if you put a RF car seat in the middle you will have to use the seatbelt to secure it. In a perfect world your Boostered child would be in the middle since it is the safest spot. However it might be hard to get her in/out of the car and buckled when in the middle with 2 RF seats. Keep your bug RF as it is 500% safer. If you have to put a RF seat in the middle I would put the new baby because plopping down a seat into a base is a lot easier than wrestling your bug into his seat.
~Sarah
Child Passenger Safety Tech. w/ SAFE KIDS.
I have the Eddie Bauer 22790CGT. It rear faces to 35lbs. Forward faces 22-50lbs. And is a belt positioning booster from 40-100lbs, but the 5point harness fits children up to 50lbs. It is a really nice carseat right now, but I can see what your saying about it being a bad belt positioning booster.
Thanks for all the other advice. I will definitely take a look at the carseats you suggested.
Quoting babyboomboom:
Quoting Stephanie116:
Yes, I'm fully aware of the law requirements vs safety issue. In my opinion boostering to 100lbs is crazy. I only weighed 98lbs at the end of 9th grade, I couldn't imagine being a 9th grader and still sitting in a booster seat!
As far as the Eddie Bauer carseat, I'm not sure how far up the harness goes, but it does harness to 50lbs so I would imagine it should last for a while longer. Zachary is only 23lbs and 30in.
Thank you everyone for all the input/advice. I appreciate it
Are you sure it says that it harnesses to 50lbs? The only Eddie Bauer seats that I see harness to 40lbs and then booster to 80 or 100lbs. The Safety 1st and Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seats FF to 50lbs but not the Eddie Bauer. You might want to check again just to be sure.As far as letting you oldest use an adult seatbelt she should be at least 8yrs, 80lbs OR 4ft 9in before you put her take her out of a booster. She also needs to pass the 5step test. http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm If she doesn't it puts her at serious risk for injury in the event of a collision.
You can use the SnugRide for the new baby since it isn't expired yet. It's silly to buy another seat when you have one already. Just be sure that you've cleaned it properly. Don't put the straps under water(it damages the strength of the straps), don't use chemicals to clean it. You can take the cover and headrest if it came with one and wash it with a drop or two of laundry detergent on gentle cycle and then hang it to dry. Do NOT put it in the dryer. Wipe the rest of the seat down with a damp cloth and no soap. Also be sure that you don't use any of the infant car seat positioners you can buy in the store. If your newborn needs extra support in the seat, take 2 extra receiving blankets and place them along side of the baby in a "L" shape. Put the corner of the "L" where the babys butt is, the short part along the legs and the longer part along the body. Do this after you buckled baby in.
I would buy your bug a new seat. The 3-in-1 or all-in-one car seats are some of the worst you can buy. They are outgrown height wise quickly and they make very bad booster seats. MOST 3-in-1 or all-in-one car seats are outgrown by 2-3yrs old. I would get your bug either one of the Sunshine Kids Radian car seats. They are made to fit 3 across so they might work well with your situation. Also they are testing them now for RF to 40 and 45lbs.
They make the
SKR 65(RF to 33lbs, FF to 65lbs)
http://www.albeebaby.com/sukiracarseg.htmlSKR 80(RF to 33lbs(maybe 35) FF to 80lbs)
http://www.albeebaby.com/sukira80coca1.htmlSKR XT(RF to 35lbs, FF to 80lbs with headwings for Side Impact Protection)
http://www.albeebaby.com/sunshine-kids-radian-xt-rio-convertible-car-seat.htmlI also suggest the:
Cosco Scenera: (RF to 35lbs, FF to 40lbs so you will need another seat to harness your bug after this. This is a good cheap seat to fit 3 across.) http://www.albeebaby.com/cosco-scenera-convertible-car-seat-22160ntr.html
The Britax seats will be too wide I think but you can try them out at BRU. They make the Advocate, BLVD, Decathlon and Marathon. They all RF to 35lbs, FF to 65lbs. There are slight differences between the 4. If you want the specs I can give them to you.
The TrueFit might also be to wide but, again, try it out at BRU. It RF to 35lbs and FF to 65lbs.
You could also try the Safety 1st Air seat for your bug. It RF to 40lbs, FF to 50lbs. It is very slim and has headwings for side impact protection.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3601277You also might need to try different combinations of settings in the back.
Try:
RF, Booster, RF
Booster, RF, RF
RF, RF, Booster
You said you have LATCH but that can only be used on the outboard positions so if you put a RF car seat in the middle you will have to use the seatbelt to secure it. In a perfect world your Boostered child would be in the middle since it is the safest spot. However it might be hard to get her in/out of the car and buckled when in the middle with 2 RF seats. Keep your bug RF as it is 500% safer. If you have to put a RF seat in the middle I would put the new baby because plopping down a seat into a base is a lot easier than wrestling your bug into his seat.
~Sarah
Child Passenger Safety Tech. w/ SAFE KIDS.
in a pickle
- Stephanie116
on Sep. 17, 2009 at 3:41 PM