Third car seat questions

[berries123]

I have three children: 4, 2, and 12 wks. The 12-wk old screams in the car, so I want to switch her to a rear-facing convertible to see if that makes a difference. Which means we need to get my 4 year old a new car seat. We have them three across right now in our van: Marathon, Graco infant carrier, and Marathon. I have several questions:

1. If we get a new car seat for my 4 yr old (who is very tall, but only weighs 35 pounds), should we get a booster or a 5-pt harness?

2. If we get a 5-pt harness, I'm assuming our only option is the Sunshine Radian because of the narrowness of it, but will it work in the van with one MA, one Sunshine and then a rear-facing MA?

Thanks in advance!

[Joolsplus2]

Radian should work next to another seat just fine. I wouldn't use a booster full time for a 4 year old... both because harnessing is safer AND because buckling a booster next to other seats can be very hard to do, you want to put it off as long as possible for your own convenience (sounds counterintuitive, since buckling a belt is so easy for us adults to do, but there's reaching and leaning and squishing your hand in to buckle...it's really a pain to deal with young booster riders!). Britax Frontier may also fit in there, it tends to puzzle nicely next to other Britaxes, and the harness is a bit taller than the Radian. Anywhere locally you can try your kid in these and even try them in your car? Frontier you can try in your car at Babies R Us, Radian's a bit harder to find in local baby gear stores.

[MizMojoLaveau]

Not sure if it will fit or not (but should be easy to find at a B&M store and try it), but have you thought of a Graco Nautilus? It would be a good seat for a tall 4 YO.

[AnnieW625]

Also look at the Frontier if you have room for a Nautilus.