Please help me ERF - outgrowing seat

[Layney82]

UPDATE (07-18-2012):

Here he is in the new Radian. It's easy to see he's got a ton more room in it than in the Britax. While I loved the Britax for ease of installation and comfort, the Radian wins for longevity.



UPDATE (07-17-2012):

So I think DS has outgrown the Boulevard now. We did get 8 more months out of it, but I don't think we can use it rfing anymore. So I have a question for you. Would you turn him around now (29 months) or buy a different seat? Would a radian have enough extra room? He's currently at least 40" tall, possibly taller but we can't get him to stand still long enough to measure well.

Here he is in the Britax:





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I haven't spent much time in this part of diaperswappers yet, but I would love some advice on how to keep rear-facing my son.

He's 21 months old, 38.5" tall and 31lbs right now, in a new Britax Boulevard (in Canada it's called the Boulevard 65, but I believe it's the same as the Boulevard 70 in the US.) We're having three problems:

1: I'm having a really hard time getting him in the seat. Our car is a Chevy Cavalier so there is not a lot of space in the back seat to begin with. We have the seat installed in the centre, so leaning in carrying all 31+lbs of him is doing a number on my back.

2: His legs are causing serious fit issues. I know that having bent legs isn't a problem, but when he's in the seat, his knees are up at his chin...those long legs of his really don't fit. He's got 2" left before he outgrows the seat by height (he's got 3" of hard shell above the top of his head, measured correctly) but he seems to have outgrown the leg space.

3: He's outgrowing the straps. I think this problem is related to the legs; since he can't put his legs down straight, the harness straps go up over his thighs and prevent me from getting them tight against his body. There's no way I can get his thighs down flat against the seat because his knees go all the way to the seat back, leaving no room for his calves, feet, etc. From all the way slack to all the way tight, the tightening strap only gives about 4".

It seems pretty clear that there is no hope for this seat rear facing, but I'm not sure whether to just turn him ff or to get a bigger seat for rf. My concern is that his legs are going to cause problems no matter what seat we get. We can probably make it until 2 in this seat (3 more months), but I'm not sure that we can go any longer than that. I don't want to spend a ton of money since we only drive 2-3 days per month.

Thanks in advance!

[Greenbabybottoms]

We had the exact problem with my 2nd rearfacing in her britax marathon. She is all legs and I had the hardest time even getting her buckled in. We got the radian 80 sl and it has been great. It has been about 8 months and she obviously still has tons of room in the radian compared to what she had in the britax.

[mommyfrog]

He'll have more leg room in another seat. Britax seats seem to have very little leg room. I'd look at the Radians and the Graco MyRide65. I'm sure there are some more that offer more leg room and go to 40+ pounds rf, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

[Layney82]

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at the radian and love that it works as a booster, so that's one less thing I'll have to buy, BUT the price!?! I'll have to find a couple more students to justify buying it (I'm a tutor.)

Could you tell me about the installation? Our car doesn't have latch, so I'm interested in the seat belt installation. Is it as easy as the Britax?

[CrazyBoysMamma]

Originally Posted by Layney82 Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at the radian and love that it works as a booster, so that's one less thing I'll have to buy, BUT the price!?! I'll have to find a couple more students to justify buying it (I'm a tutor.) Could you tell me about the installation? Our car doesn't have latch, so I'm interested in the seat belt installation. Is it as easy as the Britax?

It depends on the vehicle. Radians have their quirks, and in some cars they're easy as pie, others damn near (or actually) impossible. I actually prefer seatbelt installs to LATCH, even though LATCH was supposed to make things easier.

[luvsviola]

The Radians also don't make super fabulous boosters, and they are insanely heavy (25+ pounds) so you'll probably want to buy a booster later anyway. However, my 4 year old still fits just fine RFing in hers. The sides are low, so they can dangle them over the edges.

[Dory]

I don't know about Canada, but here we are still able to get a good deal on the older style (Sunshine Kids) Radian. If you could find one of those, that would help the price.

I don't have LATCH either, so I don't use it when I install in other cars. I had to rush to get my seats in my mom's car the other day and the Radian was much easier to get into her car than our older style Blvd.

In the meantime, instead of trying to put his legs out straight, have you tried putting his legs in what I've always called/heard Indian style? That way his thighs lay flat. Buckle him, and then he can do whatever he wants with his legs.

[Layney82]

Originally Posted by Thing1 & Thing2 I don't know about Canada, but here we are still able to get a good deal on the older style (Sunshine Kids) Radian. If you could find one of those, that would help the price. I don't have LATCH either, so I don't use it when I install in other cars. I had to rush to get my seats in my mom's car the other day and the Radian was much easier to get into her car than our older style Blvd. In the meantime, instead of trying to put his legs out straight, have you tried putting his legs in what I've always called/heard Indian style? That way his thighs lay flat. Buckle him, and then he can do whatever he wants with his legs.

That was a great suggestion! I looked around, but unfortunately, none of the Sunshine Kids models were enough on sale to make up for the older DOM.

I tried to buckle him in cross-legged this afternoon, but the sides on the Britax are too high. I think the Radian will be the best fit for us and for him, so maybe we'll get it for him for his 2nd birthday and make do with the Britax until then (Feb.)

[cacasey1981]

Why lift him into the seat? We let our son climb in and sit on his own. There were times that we'd lift him all the way in if we were in a hurry but otherwise its just a hassle

[mumtwiceover]

Where are you in Ontario - I have friend who is a car seat tech looking to sell her Radian... it's flora but you could get a different cover if that is a problem.

we have our radian in our cobalt - similar to your car and we love it in the middle seat - it can be braced against the front seats so it fits perfectly between the seats. We install with the UAS.

I would personally try to get a Radian since the leg room is amazing since kids can just flop their legs over the sides. Otherwise the Myride 65 (if you can find one right now - 2012 reg's made them sell out and I'm not sure the news are on the shelves yet) would probably work as well - my friends 3 year old - very tall but thin kid sits in it RFing no problem - it's a depper seat then the Britax's so there is more leg room for them.

I have a Myride 65, a Marathon and a Radian for my 20 month old 32ish lb tall kiddo (I know all for one kid Iso nuts) and I LOVE my Marathon right now but I know there is a end in sight for that seat - I plan on having another so will just use it for that baby but our MYride will be the next step for RFing if I keep the car I have now since the radian doens't fit in my car (I plan on RFing until he moves out of the house LOL). Our Radian is in our secondary vehicle but once I get a new car (hopefully in the NEw Year the Radian will probably become his next seat in there and that will keep him until either a new seat comes out that will RF to 50 (or 55 in my dreams) or we have to start FFing...