Car Seat Safety's making me crazy!! HELP!!

amother

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 7:59 pm

AHHH I'm so stressed out figuring out how to fit 1 car seat and 2 boosters in my Jeep Cherokee. I can fit a car seat and booster on either end of the back seat, but the middle seat only has a lap belt so I cannot put a booster in there. (a regular car seat does not fit well in the center either)
My son is 40+ lbs and 4 yrs old.
Is there anything that can convert a lap belt into a shoulder/lap belt so that I can put a booster in the center seat?
Or do I have any other options?

amother

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 8:19 pm

amother wrote:

Not sure but can you get a minivan? Smile

or is he big enough to use a backless booster?

Right now we only have this car to figure out how to work with. I do have a backless booster but it still requires a shoulder belt to use it with.

amother

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 9:06 pm

I have a Britax Roundabout carseat that goes up to 40 lbs. as well as a backless booster and a booster with a back.
What exactly is a harnessed combination seat and how would that be different than a car seat than goes up to 70 lbs (like the Britax Marathon)? My son would be okay being harnessed.

Besides for the fact that my son is over the weight limit,the Roundabout can't even fit properly in the center seat because the center seat is smaller than the outer seats and the car seat can easily tip over - it does not feel secure when it's buckled in the center seat. Is a harnessed combo seat as large as a Britax Roundabout carseat?

Do I need to contact a Jeep dealer about adding a shoulder belt or can any place do it? Also, do you have any idea how much that would cost?

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 10:05 pm

I can't see much in that article to help the OP. Was there something in there that you found helpful?
Narrow boosters won't help her; a ride safer vest won't help her (I highly doubt she has a tether in that seat).

I'm trying to ascertain just how old the kids are that are being put in the seats. The Roundabout is a large seat on the outside but not a large seat in terms of maximum weights and heights on the inside. Combination seats like the Maestro may work harnessed in the middle seat, but I need to know what else it is puzzling with.
car-seat.org has lots of posters with experience and they do help frequently with 3 across scenarios as well

calaflower

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 10:17 pm

I'm really sorry, op, I had a similar question, called the car company and was told they Do Not attempt to convert a lap belt seat into a shoulder lap belt...they even contacted a dealer for me to confirm it ...in my case , we put the convertible (latch) car seat in the rear middle, have one booster seat on one side, and my oldest who doesn't need a booster seat, is a little squished.
If you can't fit the seats in, and no one is ready to move out of a car seat, seriously consider getting a larger car/minivan, even used...

amother

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 10:37 pm

Thanks everyone for all your help.
This is the exact situation:
I have a 7 month old so I keep her car seat base (as part of a travel system) on one end of the back seat
Then I have a booster on the other end of the back seat (which is fine because I have the shoulder belt there) and I use it for my 4 year old.
The problem comes up when I do carpool. I have a center seat that only has a lap belt and I cannot put a booster there and my Britax Marathon both does not fit securely in that seat either bec its particularly small, or rather shorter than the other ends of the back seat.
Here's an image to illustrate -
image

amother

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 10:44 pm

That's actually a really good suggestion. I'm not sure how well it would work because 1. do you think the car seat base would be safe in the center seat if the seat is so small? It seems like it would shake around
2. It is a huge pain to transfer the car seat in and out of the car if the base is in the center
3. I am going to be changing her into the Britax carseat very soon because it's getting way too hard to hold the carseat from the travel system

Anyways I'm looking for a more permanent solution like putting in a shoulder belt or buying some kind of booster than can be used with only a lap belt. If none of those are possible, I may have to move her base into the center seat for as long as I can keep her in that travel system!

bamamama

Wed, Feb 20 2013, 11:21 pm

1. Cpst people: if op's going to put a ff seat in the middle, doesn't it HAVE to be tethered? OP, call and ask if you can install a tether point behind the middle seat. If you get something like a Diono, it is very slim and should give you more room. I'd be very surprised if a 4 yo still fit in a ff Britak Marathon (by height, anyway).
2. Your infant seat is safest in the middle. It will move around in the event of an accident anyway. Having it behind the driver or passenger seat won't change that.

AlwaysGrateful

Thu, Feb 21 2013, 9:51 am

amother wrote:

1. HY should be able to answer this question. I would guess the answer is that it's fine, but I'm no expert on this.
2 and 3. Taking the two of these together, why not keep your baby in the current carseat but just not take it in and out? It will fit, right? And you're not planning on taking it in and out anymore starting "very soon" -- so it seems like that would be perfect.

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Feb 21 2013, 9:59 am

Yes, most of the 3 across configurations I have seen mentioned with a Jeep Cherokee include the infant seat in the middle. Depending on the seat (the base of the snugride 35 flares out more than other snugrides, for example) it should fir best there as it's really skinny. Also the seat with the base has the seat higher which helps "puzzle" it with other seats, and also makes it easier for kids in boosters to buckle.

If your baby still fits in it, I'd leave her in it and just leave it in the car as AG said. I hardly use the infant seat as a carrier since it's soooo heavy, and if you were going to move her out only for that reason, there is no difference in leaving in the infant seat and not using the carrier option.

If the base doesn't fit well, you can keep the seat itself strapped in without the base.

I actually find it easier for me to snap a carrier in the middle seat with a booster on the side than for me to have to have kids climb under the infant seat. I have my infant seat in the middle. I don't use the carrying feature, so what I do is I put the booster next to it on the floor, sit in the car, buckle in the baby, come out and plop booster back in that empty seat.

amother

Thu, Feb 21 2013, 11:33 am

Thanks HY and AG for your help! This is such a stressful issue for me bec. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, so I really appreciate your time and advice.

I decided that I am going to transfer the baby's car seat base into the center seat. Two questions about that:

1. You're sure it's okay if the seat does not just as much forward as the other ones, it's still totally safe for the baby's base to be strapped on it?
2. HY - I want to try your idea of leaving the car seat in the center and just taking my baby in and out and holding her instead of using the carrier. But - the grip on my car seat is a huge pain to pull back (I have this Baby Trend car seat - terrible! http://www.walmart.com/ip/1552.....h=sem )
Can I always keep the handle pulled back? I always return it to the center carrying position because I just figured that's the way its supposed to be when driving - but would it be safe to always have the handle pulled to the back position so I can easily buckle the baby in and out?

bamamama

Thu, Feb 21 2013, 11:37 am

amother wrote:

The handle is NOT supposed to be in the upright position when driving. It's supposed to be stowed back!