Need 2nd car seat for infant outgrowing SnugRide

[MicheleS]

Hello all. My head's spinning over all of my choices! My oldest daughter has just turned 3 and is a bit small for her age (even wears some size 2 clothes) - I don't know how tall she is but she weighs about 30 lbs. She is in a Roundabout. My youngest is 8 mos and is now outgrowing her SnugRide, about 20 lbs.
Question: what car seat would you recommend? I've read all the posts about Marathon vs Radian vs Roundabout vs etc etc... I drive a Honda CRV and would really love to still have room in the backseat (in the middle) for someone to sit if need be. Do I move daughter #1 to a different seat (and which one? I'm daunted by the size of the Marathon) and give daughter #2 the Roundabout or ... I really love the Britax seats (who doesn't?) but it doesn't make sense to buy another Roundabout especially if daughter #1 will outgrow it in a year or so.
Comfort is important to me, but cost is not a factor. We hardly do any air travel now.
Would appreciate any suggestions at all. Thanks so much for your help/advice.

[o_mom]

I thkn you are best off giving the Roundabout to your younger one and getting a seat for the older one.

Is your older daughter forward-facing? If so, then you could look at a combo seat like the Recaro Young Sport. It harnesses to 40 lbs then becomes a good booster. It sits lower on the seat, so it might fit next to the RF Roundabout better. If you would like a higher weight seat, the Cosco Apex would be an option, but it requires a vehicle seatback or headrest behind it as the back is not reinforced.

You could also look at something like a Graco Cargo which is very narrow and has tall top slots. It also only goes to 40 lbs, but at her weight, she will probably be 4.5-5 before she outgrows it and you can assess her booster-readiness at that time. It is only $80-100 so not a huget investment. It does become a booster, but not a very good one, so you will probably want to get a dedicated booster after that. Look for one with a front adjuster and lots of padding.

If she is rear-facing, then a MA would be your best choice, but it will take up some room. You can go to BRU and try one out to see if you could make them work. The other advantage of a MA would be to allow your younger one to rear-face much longer than the Roundabout.

[mommyto4]

I would check out the Radian for the 3 year old. It harnesses to 65 pounds, has a high back and high top harness slots, and is very narrow. It also sits low in the seat making it easy for little ones to climb into themselves.