Car seat for Europe trip

[philyre]

So, we just bought tickets for a trip to France this summer (hence that super-happy icon!), but we still need to figure out how we're getting from the airport to our island cottage. (Once we're on the island, we're exclusively traveling around on bicycles and generally not doing much travel, maybe taking the bus once.)

What seems like the most likely possibility is that we'll do a rental car for a day to get from the airport to the island. That begs the question, what do we do with the carseat issue?

My eldest will have his Radian that he'll sit in on the plane, which we would just install in the rental car, easy. My youngest is going to be a lap infant, though. (I know this is not ideal, but with the cost of international travel, we just can't afford to get him his own seat on the plane.)

So, for our youngest, our choices are:
-- Europcar does PROVIDE carseats... but we've been very very wary of rental car seats, and I'd worry that their 9 month - 2 year seat (as listed on their website) might not fit our gigantic baby (currently 4 months, 22 lbs, around 29", wearing 18-24 month clothing).
--We could check his seat (he's about to move out of the infant seat and into a still-to-be-determined convertible seat), but the impacts a seat might sustain when checked would make me nervous, too, especially with a more expensive forever seat.
--Alternatively, we were thinking of getting a cheap convertible seat for our youngest for the trip, perhaps leaving it in the box and then checking it as a big protective boxed-item to unpack at the airport and install in the rental car?

Any thoughts about these choices? And if the last option (buy a cheap seat for travel) - what exactly would be the best seat for our situation? Our youngest will be 7.5 months old at the time of the trip, so he definitely needs to RF in a convertible seat.

[nfowife]

Buy a scenera. We traveled all over Europe with it when our DS was 18m-3 years. Also how old is your oldest? What carrier are you flying?
Request a bassinet for your baby. Even if you don't use it it will ensure you get bulkhead seating which is very nice. Our DS even slept on the floor with blankets and pillow in the bulkhead leg room- it's that roomy.

[hillview]

Buy a scenera. We traveled all over Europe with it when our DS was 18m-3 years. Also how old is your oldest? What carrier are you flying?
Request a bassinet for your baby. Even if you don't use it it will ensure you get bulkhead seating which is very nice. Our DS even slept on the floor with blankets and pillow in the bulkhead leg room- it's that roomy.

Second the scenera. Keep in mind that many rentals in Europe do not have a top teather.
/hillary

[edurnemk]

Do you think he'll still fit in the infant seat by then? We had a Graco SafeSeat (now known as the Snugride) with a 30 or 32 lb weight limit, which we stopped using at 11 months, but continued to use for travel until DS was 2 and finally outgrew it by height (though not by weight). It's soooo much easier to travel with that, since it's lighter. So if he fits, I'd take that one and be less worried about damage than with a new seat.

If not, I second the Scenera. If you go with the rental seat, just make sure the 9 months to 2 years can RF.

[Multimama]

I would definitely skip the rental seat. Not only do you not know the history, but in France a seat for 9 months to 2 years is almost certainly going to be a forward-facing seat. (There are *very* few seats beyond infant buckets that can RF in France.)

What are the stats of your older child?

[philyre]

Do you think he'll still fit in the infant seat by then? We had a Graco SafeSeat (now known as the Snugride) with a 30 or 32 lb weight limit, which we stopped using at 11 months, but continued to use for travel until DS was 2 and finally outgrew it by height (though not by weight). It's soooo much easier to travel with that, since it's lighter. So if he fits, I'd take that one and be less worried about damage than with a new seat.

If not, I second the Scenera. If you go with the rental seat, just make sure the 9 months to 2 years can RF.

No way is he going to fit the Safeseat (the Snugride 32 now) then... he's just about to outgrow it now (even though he technically is under the height limit for a bit, he's about 1.5 inches from the top of the shell thanks to his long torso), and he's been growing at a rather rapid clip... so while we'd been HOPING that the Safeseat would take us to age 1 or beyond, there is no way that is going to be happening with this kid. I think we'll be lucky to get it to 5 months, and are currently shopping around for a new forever seat.

We have a Scenera at the grandparents' house on the other coast, so we even know how to install it already, so that is a great plan!

Should we gate-check it or do you think we can check it with the regular luggage to avoid hauling it all around the airport?

[Multimama]

I'm still curious what the stats are on your other child. If your other child is old enough to use something like the Ride Safer Travel Vest you could carry that on board and then use the Radian that your older kiddo is sitting in for the baby at your destination. Then you wouldn't have to check any seats.

[philyre]

Multimama - Sorry it took so long to reply - I need to wait for my son to get back from the grocery store with his other parent to get his height, since it had been a while since our last well-child check and he's had a bit of a growth spurt in height.

Older son will be a month short of being 3 at the time of the trip, and is a long, skinny guy - currently 27 lbs, a weight he's been at for a while, so I think it's likely that he won't be eligible for the Travel Vest... unless there's another product that could work? We would LOVE being able to skip hauling a second carseat with us on the airport if it's at all possible, but I also don't want to be doing something flagrantly unsafe for a longish car ride.