Carseats for a small car (infant)

[missrachelk]

Hi Everyone - Just a shout-out to get some advice on an infant seat good for a small-ish car. DH and I have a toyota corolla and a scion XB. I don't think we'll have any trouble with the scion which I drive, but the toyota may present a bit of difficulty as the backseat is quite narrow.

I'm also assuming it's worthwhile to get the extra base for DH's car so we don't have to switch back and forth? Or since we do switch cars quite often (I'll regularly take his when I'm out of gas!) maybe 1 will be enough?

The stroller we're planning on is the Uppababy Cruz so it's compatible with the major brands.

I also was thinking of getting a convertible seat for one car that's suitable for a smaller baby with an insert but man those things are pricey! I don't love the 'baby bucket' and we see ourselves using the stroller or carriers most of the time rather than the seat. Maybe we'll wait instead!

thanks!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We have a Hyundai Elantra that I occasionally put our infant carrier in. We have a Chicco Keyfit 30 and it fits just fine. I think we do have to move the passenger seat up a little, but it's not really an issue.

Having an extra base is handy. We use our extra base for the second car, the in-laws' car, the babysitter's van. And the infant carrier is always handy. Even if you did use a convertible car seat from the get-go, a newborn is still too young for a stroller, so you'd have to wear or carry the newborn when you were out and about. I always brought our Ergo if our newborn was awake, but if she fell asleep in the car I just placed the carrier on our stroller without waking her.

Anyway, I think most infant carriers will fit in the Corolla--it's a popular model, so I'm sure many families have been in your shoes!

 

[baby monster]

I have a Corolla and it was hard to find carseats that fit. My Graco infant seat was set up behind passenger seat because we had to push the front seat all the way up. The passenger would then have to sit in the back behind the driver but I typically drive alone with baby. Infant seats extend pretty far horizonally but I still thought it was easier to use the infant seat than to transfer baby in and out of carseat. My LO always fell asleep in the car so it was much easier to just stick the infant seat into stroller and wheel that inside.

I have a tall baby so we had to move to a convertible seat at 9 mos. Again, I basically looked at almost every seat on the market to find something that would fit in a Corolla. Had a spreadsheet going with all of the dimensions . I settled for Alpha Omega Elite 3in1. It was the best combo of safety/height/width/features. I have it set up on passenger side rear-facing. Front seat can be pushed back comfortably but not all the way. Sides don't touch the door, which was a big problem with wider seats. Pretty easy to set up and get in/out.

HTH!

 

[Puppmom]

DH and I both drive Corollas and used the Chicco Keyfit. I don't think you'll run into much trouble with infant carseats. Most convertibles will be okay too but that's where you're more likely to run into size issues.

With the keyfit in the middle, DD (she's 17) could sit on one side and our 90lb dog on the other.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Just wanted to mention that you don't need a base to use a bucket seat, so if it will rarely go in the other car(s), you can just use the seatbelt. If one of you is dropping off at daycare and the other is picking up, then I'd have a base in both cars, but if one car will primarily be the baby-transport car, then I'd just have one base.

I have a Toyota Matrix (same interior dimensions as the Corolla, I believe), and you do have to be careful when choosing a convertible seat because Toyota says that the seat cannot touch the back of the driver/passenger side seat when in the rear-facing position. We have a Sunshine Kids Radian (now Diono) which is the narrowest seat available, but unfortunately it's also very tall, and it touched ever so slightly even behind the driver's side, and I drive with the seat waaaay up. It wouldn't fit behind DH at all.

Do you mean you'll just have the bucket for one car, or no bucket seat at all? I've just got to say that it's nice to have the option to pop the baby in and out of the car without picking him/her up. Babies sleep a lot at first, and if you've got a sleeping baby, you may not want to wake him or her up to get into the carrier, and until the baby can sit up in a highchair or shopping cart, you might like having the seat option for restaurants or times when you need to be more mobile. And if you're visiting at someone else's house, the bucket seat can be a place to put the baby to sleep, etc. But if we're just talking second car here, then I think buying a convertible seat would be a good idea. We have the $40 Cosco Scenera in DH's car and it works fine as a backup.

 

[Munchkin]

We've had Chicco 22 and 30 seats and they both fit properly into DH's Corolla. I am an obsessive over-researcher and the Chicco provided the best balance of safety and size for us. It is also SO easy to install. Seriously, I brought the base and seat to a dealership when I was car shopping and I installed it in a demo car in about 3 minutes. The salespeople were shocked. One man actually wrote down the brand of our seat to recommend to Outback owners! When we first brought our cars and bases to local the trooper barrack to install pre-baby, the woman practically did cartwheels because they are the simplest brand.

I didn't think I would use the bucket much, either, but I was wrong! Foremost, our DS was born too little to fit in most infant seats, never mind convertibles. It was pure luck that the Chicco is safety approved for little babies. Our little man has terrible reflux and there were MANY days/nights where we had to drive and drive until he would fall asleep. With the bucket we had a better chance of transitioning him into the house than having to unbuckle and move. Although, there were nights (including one 2 weeks ago!) when we sat in the driveway in a running car debating just sleeping out there rather than risk the transition! It's amazing what you can rationalize with a lack of sleep...

We have 2 bases because I drop off and DH picks up. My parents also have one in case they ever need to drive him anywhere, but that's overkill as there is a sticker on the side giving clear instructions for a base-free installation.