What 2 new seats to buy?

[chicagojo]

DH has FINALLY agreed that his beloved post-college Acura Integra hatchback has to go and he's now in the market for a new Honda Accord sedan. Because we want flexibility for the kids to be able to ride in either car, we are planning to buy 2 new carseats. Here's my dilemma: my original plan was to move their current seats (MA for DD age 3.5 and RA for DS age 21 mos) to the Accord and buy 2 Regents for my Honda Pilot (the primary car the kids ride in). But now after reading other posts in the archives I'm a little worried that DS will be swimming in the Regent at this point (I have no idea how tall he is; he just weighed in at 27 lbs). I'm also concerned that if I put 2 Regents in the second row of my Pilot, an adult or older child passenger won't be able to fit in between, which is an arrangement we sometimes need. So I'm trying to figure out what my options are. Should I still buy 2 Regents and put one in each car for DD, and use the MA and RA for DS in the 2 differnt cars? Is there anything out there that can accommodate as much growth as the Regent but isn't as bulky? It sounds like the Radian 65/80 and the Go are the other options people mention, but it doesn't sound like they can accommodate as much height growth as the Regent. Whatever I do, I DON'T want to end up buying another primary carseat down the line and I am a little neurotic about wanting to keep my kids in seats vs. boosters for as long as humanly possible. Any suggestions? Also, any thoughts on whether the Regent will/won't be too big for DS or anyone who knows whether a passenger can fit in between 2 Regents installed in the 2nd row of a Pilot? Thanks & sorry for so many questions.

[bubbaray]

Your DS is super young for a Regent. Does he still fit in his RA?? Is he FFg? If he's RFg, the Regent won't work anyway as its only FFg. The other issue is whether your current seats are expired or not. I'll assume they aren't given your DDs age, but you should check.

I suggest moving the RA to your DHs car for your DS. Your DS gets your DDs MA in your vehicle.

If you really REALLY do not want to buy another seat for your DD down the line, get 2 Regents for your DD, one for each car. However, if she still sleeps in the vehicle, she might not like it (then again, she might not care). The Regents you buy now might not last for how long you need them to last for your DS, though, so you might end up buying more seats anyway.

If you are concerned about getting an adult between the seats in your Pilot, you should look at the Radian. It has higher top slots than the MA, but not as high as the Regent. You could put both your existing seats in your DHs vehicle and get two Radians for yours. But, the RN isn't necessarily the best RFg seat and needs a ton of room RFg, so I'd try it IRL first if your DS is RFg. For that matter, your DD could still be RFg depending on her size.

I would probably buy Radians now and plan on getting Regents down the road. I can't see how you can get around that with expiry dates anyway -- you've probably got only 2.5 years left on at least one of your existing seats. Plus, your DS is going to outgrow the RA sooner rather than later. If you get Radians for your DD now, when your DS is out of the RA, he gets one of her RNs and she then gets a Regent. Then, when he's out of the MA, he gets her second RN and she gets another Regent. You'll probably get at least a year extra in the RN over the MA as it has higher top slots. That pushes your Regent purchases down the road and staggers them so you aren't buying 2 at the same time. Once she's in the Regent in your vehicle, you'll still have 2 RNs for those times that you need to fit an adult in your 2nd row, so you could swap one for her Regent.

That made my brain hurt.

HTH


Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[o_mom]

Ah, the Integra. :-) DH loved his, too. We should have kept it longer as the cars we replaced it with ended up costing us way too much.

Anyway, how much does your DD weigh? How old are your current RA and MA?

I think at this point, I would lean toward getting a Regent for your DD and moving your son to the MA in the Pilot. Then when DS outgrows the MA (age 5-6), you can either move him to the Regent and DD to a booster or just get him his own Regent. If you get him one now, he will be small in it and it will expire in 6 years well before he outgrows it (usually age 9-11).

For the Accord (which we now have, too), keep DS in the RA until he outgrows it. Then you have the dilemna of what to get DD there. If you really want her to be harnessed as long as possible, then the Regent is the only real choice. Get her one now and then get DS one when he outgrows the RA (you could then swap his MA from the Pilot)

If you would be OK with her in a booster in that car in 2-3 years, you may have some other options. If she is lightweight, a Recaro Young Sport would harness until 40 lbs, about the same height as a MA, and then makes a great booster. Or, somthing like a Graco Cargo w/front adjuster for her to use to 40 lbs in the harness and then pass it down to DS. If she is close to 40 lbs, I would lean toward another MA for her there with the intention of passing it to DS when he outgrows the RA or it expires and getting her a good dedicated booster at that point - there are new ones coming out all the time and there may be something great by then.

This is probably all the same stuff Melissa just said, but there it is anyway. :-) I think the idea is to maximize the use of your current seats and not to buy something too soon that will expire long before it is outgrown.

[bubbaray]

My brain still hurts from last night's post, LOL.

The Cargo might or might not work, depending on her DD's torso height (and weight, of course). The top slots are lower than the MA and sigifnicantly lower than the RN (and, of course the Regent).

My DD#1 is about the same age (3.5), super lightweight (I call her my Chia Pet as she lives on air, sigh -- she's about 30lbs), only about 75th% for height, but has a long torso. She's pretty close to being out of her Evenflo Vision (Chase/Generations) at daycare and it has higher top slots than the Graco Cargo. She's on the 4th slot in our MAs, but still on the 3rd slot in our RNs. I don't think she's nearly mature enough for a BPB and hope to get her to age 5 in the RN. She won't make it to age 5 in the MA unless I used it when her shoulders were higher than the top slots. I'm probably getting her a third RN for daycare soon.


Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[chicagojo]

Thanks so much to both of you! Now my brain is hurting too. I will have to read your posts more thoroughly later and digest it all but you've definitely made some great points that will help guide my decision!

[Joolsplus2]

Matching Radians? RF for the little guy, FF for the big girl...should fit till age 6-7 and be plenty narrow enough to put another person next to or flip the seats forward. (Sorry, didn't read the other posts... I don't think the Regents are a good choice, honestly...they will expire before they are outgrown). You can put the Radians in the second car when the MA and RA are outgrown and shop for another set of seats later... seriously, you have a good 8 years of seat usage ahead of you, so don't try to be on 'the last seat' just yet.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/Leah.aspx

[chicagojo]

Thanks, I guess I was premature to be thinking about Regents at this point - was just hoping there was some way to avoid buying another round of seats down the line but I guess there's not. DD is tiny anyway (barely 3 feet and 30 lbs and she'll be 4 in Feb) so she wouldn't be outgrowing the Radian anytime soon. Sounds like that is maybe my best option for now - I can always move DS to the Radians later and get DD Regents if either of them outgrows any of the current seats. Thanks to everyone for your help with this!