A Few Questions...

[randomkid]

I have a three questions, so thought I'd just put them all in one post.

1) We just purchased a new Toyota Sienna with captain seats in the second row. We had a 12yo van previously and had to use seat belt to install due to no LATCH. DD is 3 years 5 mo still RF in BV at 26 pounds. Don't know if her seat was too reclined in our old van, but she could fall asleep comfortably. In the new van, her seat is definitely more upright (although somewhat reclined and tethered) and her head falls forward when she goes to sleep. I'd like to keep her RF as long as possible, but she can't sleep like that. Need suggestions.

2) When do I turn DD FF in BV? I'm tempted only because she is getting older and bigger, but really she is small for her age. 27 pounds and probably 35-36 inches. If I keep her RF for now, how do I know when to turn her FF? I think it will be quite some time before she reaches the weight limit.

3) When do I move from convertible seat to booster? I've been reading about the Frontier here, but not sure I'm interested until it's been out a little longer. DD's seat is 3 years old, so we could get a couple more years out of it. Should I just keep her in the BV until she is 5 and/or it reaches expiration?

Thank you!

[KrisM]

1. You can pull on the tether strap to increase the angle the seat is at. More upright is safer, but having it a bit reclined for comfort is fine.

2. I'm tempted to say until she outgrows it, but if she's that small I'm not sure. I can't imagine rear-facing a 6 year old, you know?

3. I would definitely keep her in the BV until it expires. Boosters aren't recommended until age 5 or 6 at a minimum anyway, so you have quite a while. Save the money for now and get what's out in a few years.

[Joolsplus2]

1) Yup, just a little tug on the top tether should get it more reclined. The videos at www.carseatsite.com are all in a Sienna, so you might get tips from there, if you need them.

2) You can keep her RF till the top of her head is about an inch from the top of the seatback (not the headrest, but the solid seatback) or 33 pounds, but yeah, she is really tiny... If you're going for the RF record (ok, it's not official, but some of us DO keep trying to outdo each other with our skinny kiddos :ROTFLMAO: ) you might easily get to age 5, but I wouldn't feel bad going FF younger... maybe 4? Whatever you're comfortable with.
2a) When you do got FF, you need to switch the LATCH connectors to the other side of the seat...they slide along the bar and through each other's loops so that they can be upright when you install it.

3) Keep using that seat until it expires, unless you have a compelling reason not to (some very heavy kids can be a pain to heft up into that high up seat... I never had a problem, we used the MA till age 6 happily).
3a) The Frontier (or any 'harnessed booster') is as safe as any convertible seat when used harnessed, and it has taller top slots than the BV so you can keep her harnessed longer, then it becomes a belt positioning booster... if nothing even better comes out in the next couple years, you might start looking for sales on it...we love ours! Or if she's 6-7 when the BV expires, you might be fine just going to a regular belt positioning booster, like the Sunshine Kids Monterey.

Good luck getting that recline angle worked out!

[Wife_and_mommy]

Another thing to consider is that she might outgrow RF by height. My dd did that at almost 3.5. She only weighed 28# or so. I had just replaced an expired seat with a MA to keep her RF so it really ticked me that she only used it RF for a couple of months. I do love the cowmoo, though.;)

[randomkid]

1. You can pull on the tether strap to increase the angle the seat is at. More upright is safer, but having it a bit reclined for comfort is fine


Did that - pulled down on it pretty tight and still the seat is rather upright. How hard can I pull down on the seat? Is there another way to recline her a little more? I really don't know if I want to dig the BV down into the *new* van seat, KWIM?

Thanks for all the info!

[lorinick]

Did you try using a rolled towel or pool noodle? RF with the noodle helps my BV seat more reclined. I also have it teether rear facing. Try the towel or pool noodle. Let us know.

[randomkid]

That was my next plan - hate to have to uninstall the seat, but looks like I will have to do that. Will probably try a towel first since I think the noodle would be too much. I think I only need about 5 more degrees of recline for her head to stay back.

I'll let you know if it works - thanks!

[Joolsplus2]

Don't worry about digging into your pretty new van seats... the dents won't stay (I'm on my 5th year of carseats in my van, including some wicked-tight installations and lots of sharp bases, and dents in the seat leather are absolutely the smallest of the kid-induced problems back there... the seats look great, it's the milkshake stain in the carpet that makes things look bad :( )

[KrisM]

That was my next plan - hate to have to uninstall the seat, but looks like I will have to do that. Will probably try a towel first since I think the noodle would be too much. I think I only need about 5 more degrees of recline for her head to stay back.

I'll let you know if it works - thanks!

For 5 deg., I'd pull harder. Mine is pretty upright when installed and I would just yank hard until it's where I want it.

I'm also on year 4 of carseats on the leather seats in my car. I take them in and out fairly often, as it's the largest of the cars and I'm always the one who has to shop for the big things :). So, I do notice that if I leave them out overnight even, the dents pop right out.

[randomkid]

I cranked on it and now, I think it may be too reclined - lol! (It's really digging into the seats which are fabric. I'm guessing fabric will pop back as well as leather?) I'll have to measure to be sure, but will test it out with DD today. I have errands to run and with this late start I'm getting, she is sure to fall asleep in the car today. What do you think is a good angle? I know 45 degrees is for an infant, but for a 3yo, what would you do for a max angle?

Thanks so much for all your input.