OK car seat experts... UPDATED - Page 2

[tiqa]

Well *right now* they're in boosters.  They haven't been harnessed for quite some time.  We're taking a step backwards in getting them the high back boosters / harnesses.

I'm not trying to be argumentative... just trying to figure out the issue here.  Is it that it would be hard for them to buckle?  I'm thinking that once we're ready to move on from the Coccoro with the baby, he/she would get the Radian and my son would move to the low back booster.  When my daughter was out of the harness limit (thinking two years) she could also move back to the booster she has now, with just the Radian in the middle.  Color me confused but I think that would work.

[Maedze]

It may very well work just fine, although I don't think it's going to be fun for anyone, LOL.  

[tiqa]

The fun part for Mommy is when filling up the fuel tank... We downgraded from an SUV with three rows of seats plus trunk...  It was huge.  The Civic costs less than half that to fill up AND lasts twice as long on one fill up!  =P 

[DahliaRW]

Boosters are next to possible to buckle/unbuckle in 3 across situations.  Like skinning your hand while buckling difficult.  But if you're goign to keep the car for 5-6 years you'll have to make it work at some point since your kids won't fit in harnesses for that long.

[brigala]

I suggest you cross that bridge when you come to it. Maybe there will be more options in booster seats then. Or maybe you'll have to resort to Ride Safer Travel Vests or something - not very convenient, but possibly  better than scraping knuckles with boosters. Or maybe your financial situation will be different or you'll have a great opportunity to trade for a car with just a *slightly* wider back seat. The Radian/Coccoro combo should last you a couple of years, and a lot can change between now and then. 

[chel]

I'm a fellow civic driver, 97, and hear you on the gas.
One nice thing to consider, is kids start fitting the regular seat much sooner than a minivan or suv. My oldest was 8.5 yr when she no longer needed a booster

[tiqa]

A happy update.... we (meaning DH, while I watched) got them three across!  2 Radians and the Coccoro on the side.  It did involve a lot of sweat and quite a few choice bad words, but no blood, and no tears.   (Unless you count the tears I shed when thinking of our credit card statement after the purchases... but anyway.) Overall I think it's a success!  =D  Thanks for all the help.

[stegenrae]

We're facing a similar issue right now (DD due in ~7 weeks), needing to fit 3 across in an '07 Prius. When babe arrives, we'll have a Graco Turbo HBB (big 7y9m kid), Radian 65 (avg 4y9m), and an infant bucket (MyRide65 didn't really fit). They all fit, but my issue is with leveling under the seats so they aren't crooked. Tiqa did you have to do that for your seat?

What is the safest way to accomplish the leveling? I've heard towels, pool noodles, and wooden boards. DH seems to think a cut-to-fit wooden board slid under the low side of the outboard seats is safest; I just don't know if that's too rigid. I kind of think we'd need too many towels to even them out, as the seats are pretty contoured. Thoughts?
 

[tiqa]

We were lucky... for some reason we didn't need any levelers because of the way the seats were angled already.  Did you already check out your car's seat angles?  I would *think* that the pool noodles would be good if you needed major levelling... and if you can find them this time of year. :)

[stegenrae]

Yeah, DH was out there messing around with the seats for  hours today, and we at least need a leveler for the booster. My primary concern with the noodle is that it's kind of slick...and I'm not sure how that would really behave in an impact situation, yk? (another concern is that they deteriorate relatively quickly) Though we do have an old foam roller we've since replaced--I wonder if cutting that in half and using those might offer more density than a noodle...?

[chickabiddy]

You cannot use any sort of leveler with a booster, you can't use a leveler on the sides of a seat, and you cannot ever use a wooden board as a leveler.  You can use towels or pool noodles in the seat bight (crease)to adjust the angle of a rear-facing seat.  They can't be used with boosters, with forward-facing seats, or to correct a loose installation.

[brigala]

Rae, how tall is your 7 year old? You mention that he's "big." If he's really tall for his age, he might not be too far off from being able to ride without a booster. The average height when kids will fit the adult seat belt in most vehicles is 4'9" tall. Of course most 8 year olds aren't that tall yet, but some are. 

You might want to consider a bubble bum for the oldest child. It's very narrow and may fit between the contours of the seat better. 

As chickabiddy said, you cannot place things under car seats to level them out. The only exception is to place pool noodles or a rolled towel in the bight of the seat to recline a rear-facing seat. And even then not all rear-facing seats allow it; you have to check the manual. 

[stegenrae]

I think I just found that on car-seat.org, chickabiddy. (But WHY isn't it more visible or easier to search for?! It took me literally 3 hours to find a thread that happened to mention it. ARGH)

Thank you!

(and crap. Now I have to drive the van come December. blech. At least we know they fit, even if they are uncomfortable, in case we need to use the Prius in a pinch.)

ETA: brigala, he's not *that* tall, and I don't suspect he will be anytime in the next year. He's almost 4'3" (I think. I've been quite lax in measuring my poor kids, lol). 

I'll check into the bubble bum, but now DH is saying we may just get a new car. :sigh: Allegedly starting in 2010, the back seat of the Prius is a flat bench, rather than contoured.

[chickabiddy]

The Recaro Vivo booster fits very nicely into contoured back seats.