CAR SEAT TECHS:SEVERAL QUESTIONS!!!

[mama2be]

Thank so much for all you guys do for us!!!!

I have a Marathon in my Lexus SUV (the big gas guzzler one-UGH) the 450...
It is middle located and houses my 4 1/2 month old who is about 18lbs

I am expecting baby number 2 and want to get another Marathon.

Several Questions:
*do you know if one can me middle and one on the outside in this vehichle...
*since they will be 13 months apart are there stats on who should be in the middle and who should be on the sides...which seat should they be behind....
*If my 13 month old can fit "rear facing" at 13 months (keep in mind larger than a lot of kids) can I still keep him rear facing or are there stats showing at that age he should be forward. In otherwords even after the year of RF is it safer to FF or stay RF...

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated :)...
Thanks so much!!!!

[Calmegja]

The techs will answer you, but just know that it is not only safe, it is highly recommended to keep your baby rearfacing for as long as you can. As for the positioning of the seats, you should have a seat checkup when you obtain the new Marathon, and the techs can tell you what's the best fit for your car. In my experience, it would be very difficult to get two rearfacing Marathons side by side, but every car and seat configuartion is different, so it's best to have a tech check in person.

I turned my 3 year old around right before her 3rd birthday, and my 14 month old has years to go before he's going forward. With my older children, they were turned around before they were two, but had I had the higher weight limit seat that I do now, they would have remained rearfacing, as well....

The http://www.car-safety.org site has lots of links on extended rearfacing for infants/toddlers.

Hope that helps! ;-)

And congratulations on that #2!

[Momof3Labs]

Neve,

The website www.cpsafety.org has a lot of the information that you are asking about - except probably the position info. I'll be curious to hear if there are any stats about middle+driver's side or middle+passenger side (or you may have to put both outboard) because I haven't read about any yet.

[Joolsplus2]

It's true, RF is always safer than FF..*to the limits of the seat*...I bought a Marathon just so my 29 pound, 37" DD could rearface almost a year ago now, and she's still only 31 pounds and ~40" now at almost 4, and still rearfacing (and will till she's 33 pounds in my car...in DH's car, she's been FF since 16 months and 20 pounds).
A tech friend of mine got 2 MA's rf next to each other in a Ford Focus wagon, so it seems highly possible that you could do it in a huge Lexus!
As for which side, I've read CPSDarren say many times that any seat in the back is safe, center safest, other sides vary from year to year a tiny statiscical amount, but that passenger side is preferable for parallel parking (easier to load/unload), and since the passenger side is often not occupied, it may be a smidgen safer in a rear ender where *sometimes* seats are known to collapse backward if there is an adult in them (rare, but something to consider).
Maybe you could get a Wizard for the baby or whoever you put on the outside seat? If you go with an infant seat for this one (I'm not a fan of them, but man, with 2 tiny kids, it was a lifesaver for me!...and the new latchloc is coming out, goes to 22 pounds and is bigger than most other seats).
I was glad to hear that ANY seat in the rear is VERY safe, because I had to keep my 2 separated, lest the toddler "help" the baby and hurt her in some way...ugh!
Congratulations on your impending arrival! You are going to by one busy mama!

[CPSDarren]

I agree everyone else:-) If both kids are rear-facing and the carseats both fit well, then choose whichever arrangement is most convenient for you.

Once your older child is front facing, you may wish to put him in the
center. Rear-facing seats may offer a bit more side impact protection, so the rear-facing child could be the one placed outboard. Our daughter is 3 years old and about 31-32 pounds and fits rear-facing in a Wizard, so you might have another year or two before this happens. Good luck!

Darren
www.Car-Safety.Org

[mama2be]

Thanks everyone!!!!:)