Thanks moms for your help, I did not realize that our 3-in-one seat was not a convertible seat. I thought it went infant seats to convertible seats and they all had rear/front facing capabilities. That's what I get for buying something because it was on sale at Babies R Us, on a Saturday - when there was no one there to answer our questions! So my main concern with getting a convertible seat and having it rear-facing is the room issue. We currently have a Graco Snugride and in my car and my husband's it's pretty "snug". My car is a 2002 Honda Civic (4 door) and my husband has an FJ Cruiser. Do the rear facing convertible seats typically take up more room than the infant seats? I know it probably varies from brand to brand, but just wondering what most of you have say - on a general basis. Thanks!
We had the evenflo elite (I think that's what it was called) and it was pretty slender. BUT, since having a Britax, I would never go back to anything but it.
Just get it from a store that will let you try it in your car. Our britax boulevard convertible seat fit easily rear facing in an 05 Honda civic 2 door!
Most convertibles are bigger. According to their customer service standards, BRU should have a sample that you can try out in your car. At the very least, you should be able to return it if it doesn't fit. I think the post about the smaller cars have a point. Maybe something like the SUV size Prius would fit the car seats, but even our Camry had it's issues. Add twins, and it was a minivan for us. Even then, it still was tricky, and not all seats would work in combination with the others. It's a fun puzzle. :)
Go to the store and bring the car up.. and try it out.. Our Babies R us let us do that to see that it would fit in the car before buying it.
Good luck
Yes, the rear facing full size ones will make you move your passenger seat up to the dash all the way. As it reclines the tall part will push on the back of the passenger seat and it is not safe if it's not installed correctly.
Call your local car seat inspection place and ask them. 1) they can make an apt. to have your seat installation checked and 2) they can give you ideas on what seats are better for what cars.
I will say that my Marathon fits in the middle of my Saturn SL1 - not a big car. Sometimes it's a matter of placement. (FWIW, I can also fit my friend's 4 yr old's FF booster next to her and we fit two Britax Frontiers RF in my friend's Crosstour. A little snug for a 3rd adult between them, but the kids were behind the driver/passenger seats and the driver was fine.)
Can you put the seat in the middle seat?
That is what we did when we drove a sedan (Camry) and had 1 kidlet.
They don't necessarily take up more room, but they come up higher.
We had to purchase a new (used) vehicle when baby #2 came along.
Because DH is 6'5" and has to have the seat fully extended.
Go back to BRU and see if they will let you try the seat out in your car.
They should if they want your business.
Grrr. They drive me nuts. ;)
Victoria? Have a bone to pick? lol Not sure where you were going with that rant. There are hybrids of SUV's you know.
The convertibles in my experience do take up more space, but if you are able to move the seat to the middle, things will generally work better.
I don't know the exact answer, but I was wonder the same thing after reading the "new" regulations/recommendations. We had a tough time fitting even an infant carrier (rear facing) in our small Honda back when our kids were babies. So all the "green" folks out there who think that mamas don't need a gas guzzler and should buy a compact gas sipper are going to have to come to grips with the fact that car seats won't FIT into those tiny things. Not unless the passenger in front has their face in the airbag during the ride.... And goodness knows that if you are so selfish (considering the state of mankind's impact on the planet) that you have more than one kid, you can't actually DRIVE the car with your seat all the way up and your face in the dashboard.....
That's what I'm wondering..... is every mother now going to be forced into a minivan??? ;)
Oh yes, they take up much more room than a infant carrier! My husband has a four door Mazda Speed3, about the size of a civic. We got a seat thinking it would fit, and it did...as long as both the front seats were all the way forward! Since my hubby and I both have legs, this did not work for us. We returned it and brought a whole slew of the display ones at the store out to the car to try (Buy Buy Baby, the were happy to let us we just had a sales guy go with us) and finally got a Evenflo Symphony. It fit the best, although it has to go behind the passenger seat (none would fit in the middle and give the driver any leg room) and the passenger seat does have to be scooted up (just not all the way). Needless to say, I will be happy when our little one is big enough to be front facing!
And Victoria-It fits with no problems whatsoever in my Mom's Prius. Perhaps you should try to ride around in a "gas sipper" and then you can see that they are pretty darn similar to regular cars!
