And now a carseat question

hikerbeth

WWYD?

DS just turned 15 months.  He is just about 30 lbs. and 34 inches (all torso).

He has just about outgrown the rear-facing height limit (he'll be within 1" of the top of the shell any day) of our Classic Roundabout (40 lb. upper limit).  DD didn't outgrow the height limit of that seat until she was 21 months. . . she is all leg.  That's when I turned her.

We now have a Roundabout 50 in the other car which has a 35 lb. rear facing limit, so I will switch that from car to car.

I know that growth rate slows down, but I think it's very probable that he'll hit 35 lbs. before he's 2.

I felt good rear facing DD until she was 21 months because the "bare minimum" was 1 year/20 lbs.

Now I feel like the "bare minimum" is 2 years.

Do I turn DS when he hits 35 lbs. or do I invest in a 40 lb. rear-racing seat.  I know there are a couple of options, but I haven't seen great reviews on their installation in my cars.

Do I wait to see when he actually hits 35 lbs. and re-evaluate?

DD rides in a Nautilus (harnessed) part of the time and a Turbobooster the rest of the time.  We have another Nautilus just sitting around right now, so when I DO turn DS, I have forward facing seats for him. . . so forward facing is a non-issue.

monchichi

I'd wait until he hits 35 lbs and re-evaluate.  Who knows: you might find that it takes him a long time to grow those next 5 lbs and he's almost 2--and ready to turn--anyway.

hikerbeth

monchichi:

I'd wait until he hits 35 lbs and re-evaluate.  Who knows: you might find that it takes him a long time to grow those next 5 lbs and he's almost 2--and ready to turn--anyway.

That was my first thought. . . and there may be more 40 lb. RF options at that point, too.

I keep waiting for that growth rate to slow (especially since he runs around like a maniac all the time), but the kid can pack the food in.

Angela814

I think I'd wait too, unless it gets to be too much of a pain to keep moving the seat back and forth. I'm assuming the SK Radian is the one that's hard to install? We haven't tried it rfing yet. DD1 somehow still fits ffing in it.

hikerbeth

Angela814:

I think I'd wait too, unless it gets to be too much of a pain to keep moving the seat back and forth. I'm assuming the SK Radian is the one that's hard to install? We haven't tried it rfing yet. DD1 somehow still fits ffing in it.

Yep, I have read conflicting things about the RF Radian install an our Subaru. . . and lots of problems with RF Radian installs in general.  The other one is the Complete Air, but evidentally it needs a 45 degree recline ALWAYS when RF which would just not work since it would put the passenger in the dash in our smallish cars.  I think maybe the Scenara has a 40 lbs. one as well.

penguingrrl

BIL has an outback (I think I remember reading at one point that's one of your cars) and for a while had 2 RF radians in it. It worked for him and SIL, but they're both about 5'1". DH (6" even) tried to sit in their passenger seat with the RF radian behind him to see if a subaru would be a good replacement for our beetle and he had significantly more room in a beetle with a RF radian than in the outback and that's saying something! That said, we've since discovered that BIL installs his carseats far too loosely and that may impact how far up the passenger seat had to be (it makes a pretty big difference in our car, but not as much in my sister's, so I think that varies by how squishy the seats are).

I am pretty sure the new scenera does have a 40 lb RF limit, but I'm not sure how the shell of the seat compares to a classic roundabout and whether that would get you much longer. I've heard that one is pretty good for an upright RF angle so it may be worth trying.

Alexandra*sMom

I am just shocked.  My 14 mo old is only 18 lbs and my 3.5 yo is 32 lbs.

It seems that you are looking to keep DS RF longer than age 2...  do you think height will be a factor in another year too?  (Ours is always height, not weight.)

hikerbeth

Nah, I'd just like to make it to age 2. . . and I'm a little nervous that he might not make it with our current 35 lb. rearfacing Roundabout 50 (shell is the same height as a Marathon shell, so hopefully that won't factor in).

DD gained about 6 lbs. between ages 1 and 2, but DS's growth rate has been crazier.  I think he may be right on the border.

My DH has a very big/tall family.  It's not surprising to me that he's a big kid.  DD is very tall, but thin so she always maxxed out things by height, not weight.

ghm

Yeah, the radian sucks in a subaru, especially RF. The new britax seats RF to 40 lbs (some of them, at least, but I think all).