Expecting #3 carseat question

[crittersmom]

My oldest will be 4 in Nov. and is 40 lbs. and his head is starting to go above his Britax roundabout so we need to switch him to another seat.DS#2 will be 1 in OCt. and is just barely 20 lbs. in a Graco Snugride that we used for DS #1 so its going to expire soon.We are expecting # 3 in Feb.I dirve a PT Cruiser and we really can't afford to get another car right away but I don't think there are any seats thatwill fit all three safely.
Does anybody know any narrow carseats that are still safe?

[TiredX2]

A few things:

#1 DS1 should be out of the Roundabout asap. It only has a 40 lb limit. The height is not an issue--- a car seat is outgrown (forward facing) for height when the top of the ears (not the head) go over the top.

#2 Even though DS2 is only 20 lbs, he has probably already outgrown the snugride. It is up to 20 lbs AND 26" and most one year olds are well over that height.

#3 Car seats expire 5-8 years after manufacture date, so if you bought the snugride new for DS1, it should be fine for #3 (unless, of course, it has been stored either in extreme hot or extreme cold--- or been exposed to those temps regularily).

#4 Edmunds lists the rear hip room of a PT Cruiser as 46.7 inches. That is REALLY small for three seats so if you want them to fit you are going to have to get creative. Here is the car seat measurement database:
http://www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html You can see how wide different seats and and guess if they will fit. This is not exact though--- because of how different seats fit, sometimes you can get more car seat than "should" fit (for example, Britaxs sit really high, so sometimes if you have a really low seat you can kinda slip it under the other seat a bit, adding an inch or two).

Last option: talk to crystler about disabling the air bag and put your four year old forward facing in the front seat in a Britax Marathon.

Good luck!

[uccomama]

Ditto to TiredX2's points you need to address.

There is a new 65 lb rated car seat that is due out soon, I am thinking November, but I will check for you called the
Profile (http://www.mightytite.com/Pages/profile1.html) and it is extremly narrow, so a couple of these and an infant seat may fit in your car. I know someone who has seen these seats at a recent baby products trade fair and was very impressed. I might be included to buy three and put the new baby in one from the beginning too. But the problem is you need two new seats now, so waiting isn't really an option.

So given that your current options are two of the a 65 lb harnessed seats by Britax, Marathon/Decathlon/Boulevard and Wizard which is being discontinued you you can get some good deals on the. I have seen them on sale online for $199. You will get the full six years of life from these seats as one can be passed down to the new baby. I also am not sure you could fit an infant seat in between two of Britax seats.

If you aren't able or willing to spend $400 plus on two Britax seats, then the budget option would be a booster for the four year old, (if you think he is mature enough to sit in one) and a budget convertible, the Cosco Scenera/Scenara is a great option, narrow, tall harness slots, easy to install and use. As for boosters, I really like the Britax Parkway, but the Graco Turbo booster is a good too.

I am not very well up on infant seats, so I wil ask around for some recommendations for narrow ones and post back for you.

Profile (http://www.mightytite.com/Pages/profile1.html)

[uccomama]

Okay I'm back. I was rushed when I replied the first time -- I had three children badgering me to use the computer!

I missed one obvious solution which is there is no need to ditch the Roundabout, just move your 12 month old into it, rear-facing of course. If you don't know the importance for rear-facing for as long as possible, check this link out Rear-facing - Unmatched Safety (http://cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx).

I have checked around with my fellow car seat junkies and they came across this new Cosco infant seat, that has a very, very narrow base. It seems like a good basic seat with a front adjuster, Eddie Bauer Caress Infant Car Seat (http://cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx).

[crittersmom]

Thank you very much, both of you for giving me such quick info.Only a couple more days and I can make the switches.I'm hoping that we will have it in our budget to get a bigger car by the time we have the 3rd baby but its best to get ready now.Thanks again!

[flapjack]

Querying one of TiredX's points- why would you put the oldest child with the least protection in the front seat if the airbag is disabled? Surely you'd put the one with the most protection in front?