Car seat Question(s)

shellyamf · August 2015

I was wondering what every has and if they like it. I picked up our infant seat while at my parents house. I was hoping to fit both car seats in the middle and passenger side of our backseat, but Lily's convertible seat is too wide. (I was just testing.) I'm not sure we are going to get new car seats. I was just curious what everyone has/uses.

Am12712 · August 2015

We have the Nextfit for Caden and the Key Fit for Emerson.

Caden's seat is behind the driver seat (forward facing), secured with the seatbelt. Because of this I was able to scooch it closer to the door about an inch or so. Emerson's base is in the middle seat and is also secured with the seat belt because our car (Durango) doesn't allow a center install using the latch system.

The Nextfit is by no means a small seat but I was able to make it work because both seats were secured with seatbelts. If you do a Google search for Car Seats for the Littles you can look up car seats by feature on their webpage. Before we got a bigger car I looked up narrow seats and I believe there were 2 or 3 options available, if I recall correctly they were highly rated and we'll loved by the masses.

shellyamf · August 2015

Thanks, Am. I was doing research this morning. I found several recommendations for smaller seats. Our middle seat also has no latch system. I think that is pretty common for middle seats. We have Graco seats for both of ours. I will have to look up the model numbers.

So far the top rated and recommended for smaller seats is the Diono Radian models. But they are very pricey. We might get one for Lily later and just use our current seats for the new baby. At this point, Lily will be behind the driver seat (forward facing) and the baby will be behind the passenger. Lily was behind the passenger seat (forward facing) but I moved her to behind the driver seat this week. I wanted her to get used to being on that side well before the baby gets here.

My main reason for wanting one of them in the middle is being able to have an extra seat in the back if one of our family is visiting. With both car seats on the sides, it makes having a passenger in the middle very awkward if not impossible.

jjbmstinco · August 2015

Quickly replying before baby E wakes up.

We got the Graco click and connect 35 lb one. We ended up with the Graco modes stroller. J really liked all the options. I am sure that doesn't help much because we don't have a second child.

Did you guys have baby on the driver side or the middle? We put her on the passenger side and the car seat person said that it wasn't the safest. If she is in the middle, that doesn't seem good. If she is at the driver side, the driver can't check on her if there is no passenger?

Penguin129 · August 2015

Jen- We had Abby in the center and still do now. I think the center is the safest. There is a mirror you can get that hooks onto the center passenger seat and it lines up with the rear view mirror so you can see the baby when you are driving. It really worked well for us.

Am12712 · August 2015

Technically there is no unsafe seat if secured properly. However, my cousin who is a firefighter says middle and driver are best... he has seen more passenger side t-bone accidents than drivers side.

shellyamf · August 2015

Interesting, Am. We were told middle was safest and that's where we had L while she was in her infant seat. We moved her to passenger side when we got the convertible. It makes sense about passenger side collisions. And I can't say it hasn't worried me at times. L is in the driver side now. I wouldn't be opposed to putting the new baby in the middle but still need at least one new car seat to do it.

TaraW1979 · August 2015

For a smaller convertible seat, check out the Maxi Cosi Pria. We have 2 of them, one in my car, one in DH's. We love it and it is small. We have her rear facing on the passenger side. We went to an official car seat check and install and that's where they said she is the safest.

ImperiumWife · August 2015

My friend was actually in an accident when she was in a car seat, and I can't remember which side her mom got t-boned on, but she was in the middle, and the fire fighters told her mom that if she hadn't been in the middle she wouldn't have survived... so I'd go middle if you only have one.

jjbmstinco · August 2015

I guess we'll moving her!

shellyamf · August 2015

We had Lily in the middle in her infant seat. But honestly there will be a point where it's not possible. Like having 2 kids. Then how do you decide which one goes in the middle? Someone will have to sit on the side. I just try not to stress too much about it. Once I start going down the "what if" path of what might happen I can't sleep and don't want to drive anywhere.

one2andnow3 · August 2015

Just remember if you do middle you can't have an armrest that pulls down. I took mine in for inspection and the made me move it because of that.

Penguin129 · August 2015

one2andnow3 said:

Just remember if you do middle you can't have an armrest that pulls down. I took mine in for inspection and the made me move it because of that.

Really? We have an armrest that pulls down. I never thought about that.

shellyamf · August 2015

I never would have thought about the arm rest thing. Do you mean if part of seat back pulls down as an arm rest? Sorry if that's a dumb question. We have that and I never would have thought about it.

Penguin129 · August 2015

shellyamf said:

I never would have thought about the arm rest thing. Do you mean if part of seat back pulls down as an arm rest? Sorry if that's a dumb question. We have that and I never would have thought about it.

That is how I read it. Our middle back seat has an arm that pulls down and has cup holders in it.

Jean9ds · August 2015

We had the chicco keyfit 30 (he hated his infant seat) then got the chicco next zip when he was around 4 months. Love it. We have it behind the passenger side. When we went to get car seats checked, I specifically asked where the best place is to have it in the car. The technician said where it is correctly installed, so middle or side didn't matter. He likes the side so he can look out and it allows for so much more space for someone else sitting back there.

A lot of families who need thinner seats have the dionos and every single one of them love them. I've seen them go on sale on zulily but I believe diapers.com also has them go on sale often too

shellyamf · August 2015

Thanks Jean! Lily loves looking out the window too. We have a Graco infant and convertible but I don't remember the model numbers. We moved L to the convertible at about 8 months and she seemed to like it a lot more. We will eventually invest in a Diono but for now, her current seat works.

jjbmstinco · August 2015

Graco convertiable car seat is on sale today on Amazon for 119. Saw it on FB.

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