Carseat Recommendations - Position, Not Brand

I kept the older one in the middle until #2 came, like other said, it's the safest. Our carseats won't fit next to each other and I didn't really want them buy each other so that older child can't hurt the younger one. So we have the older on the driver's side and the younger on passenger side. At first we would just set the baby carseat down while I put in the older child because the baby can't run away and I didn't trust the older child yet. However, now the baby is 13 months and I can't set her down, but the older is a bit more trustworthy. But when we are in a parking lot or next to a road I still put the older in first--at least in the car with the door closed and sometimes he gets in his seat and sometimes he likes to climb to the front (which I don't like, but better than the street) and sits in the middle until I have the baby in.
That's what we do. Hope it helps.

Aren't car seats fun? Are you sure the infant seat can't fit behind a driver or passenger seat? I have an Odessey and I know mine fit either way. You also may prefer the baby in the middle, which I understand.

IF you can/want to move the infant seat to a side, I'd recommend putting one behind each - near the door. You'd then put them in on each side vs. one.

If you can't/don't want to move the infant seat out of the middle, I'd put the infant in the middle, and the convertible behind the passenger seat - your can better see and reach the toddler. I would still recommend letting him in on the driver's side, then you don't have to reach across the baby to buckle him in.

Good luck!

Keep him in the middle until you have to move him for the other carseat. It's the safest place. And if he's too big to comfortably fit rear facing, it's probably safer for him to turn around anyway. Pediatrician's suggesting is 12 months and 20 pounds before forward facing, and it sounds like he's definitely beyond that.

The recommendation is (not law ) is to wait until they are 2 or over the weight/ height limit of the car seat. The Britex goes much higher in both, but the average car seat can be back facing up to 35 or 36 inches and 35-40 lbs. I read that one woman had her child back facing until she was almost 4. She just crossed her legs. The theory is that it is better to have a broken leg then to have your child die in a bad car accident. Neither sounds good to me. When they are back facing it protects them from the impact and the seat is designed to flip into the back seat to reduce or prevent wiplash and back injury. My 4 year old is just 35 lbs., but I only qestioned when to reverse the seat with my second child. She is almost 21 months old and is still back facing. Of course she just toped 20 lbs., but she is over 32 inches tall. I figure as long as she does not complain then she is fine back facing. It is your judgement call. My first child was forward facing at 12 or 13 months old. Of course she screamed every day I put her in the car seat back facing. It was less often forward facing (she hates any car seat period). Every child is different.

The center of the car is the safest spot for the car seat. I would put your little one there until #2 arrives, especially on a long trip and through the winter. Not sure who to put behind the driver when the second arrives though. My older one is behind me and my youngest is behind the passanger seat. That way just fit better for me.
Good Luck.
K.

My husband went to one of the transportation safety sites that checks to ensure your seats are installed properly. They told him the safest spot is always the middle, and that the second safest is behind the passenger.

First of all, congrats for keeping your son RF for this long. He has been so much safer than if you had turned him at a year! If possible, it is best to put your safest seat (rear-facing) in the least safe position (outboard), and your least safe seat (FF) in the safest spot (center). Our baby bucket seat and our RF toddler are on the outsides, and our FF preschooler is in the center seat. All three are in one row in our van, because that's easier than trying to buckle from the back of the van. My oldest just ducks under one of the other seats to get in.

Rear facing is much safer than forward facing. In a side-impact crash (the most dangerous kind of crash), a forward facing child is 5x more likely to suffer a fatal injury. This is true across the board, regardless of the passenger's age. Even adults would be safer rear-facing, although that would make it kind of hard to drive!

As far as him being squished RF, have you taught him to cross his legs when he's in his seat? This really helps my monkey. Also, little ones are actually comfortable on a long car ride when they are rear faced - forward facing, their legs are hanging off the seat. If you have ever sat on a tall stool for a while where your feet couldn't touch the ground, you will remember how uncomfortable it got, and how your legs fell asleep. If you have a Boulevard, you can forward face it pretty quickly (and I think you can adjust the straps w/o rethreading?). Maybe consider starting the trip RF, and if he seems to get uncomfortable that way, then stop at a rest stop and turn him forward facing.

Once he's forward facing, I would put him behind the passenger seat. My toddler always kicked my seat while I was driving, which drove me nuts! I guess I'm not seeing the problem with having 2 door entry (although I'm at the point where I *have* to). If you set the baby seat right next to you while you fasten/unfasten your son, what would the problem be?

Best of luck,
S. L

Hi Gillian,
Once our baby came, I had to move our daughter too. I ended up putting her behind the passenger seat. That way, I could still hand her things and it was quick and easy to look back there and check on her. Also, she could hand the baby his binky and sing to him and tell me what he was doing. Also, I would put the baby in first, then while I was putting him in, I would make sure that she was always holding onto my jacket, purse, or touching the car. We made a game out of it at first, so it would be fun for her to stay right where I put her while I was putting in the baby. Good luck and congrats on #2!