[baronfamily2006]

Hello all! I'm new to this board, but not new to JM. My 10 month old baby girl is about to outgrow her infant seat. I have been reading and researching as much as I can. My husband really, really likes the 3-in-1 combination seats. There for a little while I was set on the Diano Radian RXT. But now I'm second guessing because I am worried about it fitting in our car and also I've heard that combination seats are often outgrown in the forward facing harness mode due to height before the child is at the recommended weight to sit with the car seat belt and booster mode. Mean, the seat is rendered useless for awhile until the child gains more weight. Does anyone have any feedback on that information? My daughter has so far remained in the "average" as far as height and weight goes. Everyone who sees her says how small or petite she is for her age. That can obviously change as she gets older... But it makes me want to hope that she won't be the tall child who outgrows the forward facing harness mode before she is even able to use the seat as a booster. Help please!

Also would love to know more suggestions of seats to look at. Thank you all SO much!!!

[amylynne01]

Before I answer any of your questions, what is your daughter's height, weight, and onesie size? What is your budget? What vehicle(s)? What does your son ride in?

I would never recommend a 3-in-1 seat (except the Radian, and I'll get to that). None of them should ever be used as a booster. They position the seat belt over the soft part of the belly which can cause serious internal injuries. The Radian as a booster is essentially useless. It has a 50lbs minimum, and it does not adjust any higher, meaning a child will outgrow the harness and the booster at the same time. So the Radian is an awesome convertible, and I would consider its booster function to be non-existent.

That being said, there are tons of other seats on the market (Radian included) that will get your daughter to a safe booster age (5-6yrs). You want to focus on RFing until age 3-4 and harnessing to age 5-6. A booster is so far away for her that it shouldn't be on your radar yet. Get a good convertible that will get you to boostering, and then worry about that.

One more thing about the Radian. It does fit in most vehicles with the help of the angle adjuster. That separate purchase ($10-$12) is approved for use with the Radian, and it allows it to sit much more upright. Some vehicles don't need the angle adjuster to make it fit, and others require it.

[1stTimeParent]

Keep your child in a rear facing seat as long as possible, the 3-in-1 car seat while a good choice for an older child, isn't a very good choice for a child under 2 years old because their spine are still developing and will easily snap if stretched.

The Diodo you are referring to is very upright for a 10 month old, am not saying it's the wrong choice but seriously consider how often you'll use this car seat in high speed travel like on highways because a rear facing seat will save your child's life in case of an accident because it'll support your child's head and spine better and it'll not snap forward that will stretch the spine.

Most rear facing seats will support children until they are at least 35 to 40 pounds, so if you're child is average, he / she should be around 2 or 3 years old when he / she will exceed the limit. The most important thing in buying a car seat is to make sure it will fit the car and your child will fit comfortably on the seat.

Check out these articles for a detailed explanation (My husband created these sorry for the plug)...

Baby Car Seat Reviews 2013
Best Car Seats for a 1 Year Old

[amylynne01]

If one already owns a 3-in-1 seat and uses it RFing, it's perfectly safe. I would certainly purchase another convertible to RF to as close to 4 as possible since no 3-in-1 (except the Radian) allows for that.

What is wrong with the upright angle of the Diono? From many techs, I've heard that an upright angle is safER for older infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Not sure what high speed travel has to do with the angle of the seat...

Your husband's article is severely lacking. What about combination seats? Some kids need that between the convertible and the booster. The Britax Marathon he featured is a great seat, but not good for tall babies or those with long torsoes. It is shorter than many other seats and outgrown around 3T shirts, not an ideal option if you want to rear face to 4. He also has the Graco Nautilus listed as a convertible, which it absolutely is not. It does not rear face and is NOT an option for a 1 yr old. The Marathon is not the safEST seat - there are no safety ratings. Seats either pass and are allowed to be sold in stores or fail and are not on the market. We don't know the the Marathon performed any better than a $40 Scenera.

Your husband's heart is in the right place, but there is a lot of misinformation on his articles.

[KMH]

Originally Posted by 1stTimeParent

The Diono you are referring to is very upright for a 10 month old,

I suppose it depends on the vehicle, but our Radian is not upright at all. It had plenty of recline for a 6 month old (that is when I switched our twins to the Radian).

We have the Radian RXT for all 3 kids and love it!

[1stTimeParent]

Originally Posted by amylynne01

If one already owns a 3-in-1 seat and uses it RFing, it's perfectly safe. I would certainly purchase another convertible to RF to as close to 4 as possible since no 3-in-1 (except the Radian) allows for that.

What is wrong with the upright angle of the Diono? From many techs, I've heard that an upright angle is safER for older infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Not sure what high speed travel has to do with the angle of the seat...

Your husband's article is severely lacking. What about combination seats? Some kids need that between the convertible and the booster. The Britax Marathon he featured is a great seat, but not good for tall babies or those with long torsoes. It is shorter than many other seats and outgrown around 3T shirts, not an ideal option if you want to rear face to 4. He also has the Graco Nautilus listed as a convertible, which it absolutely is not. It does not rear face and is NOT an option for a 1 yr old. The Marathon is not the safEST seat - there are no safety ratings. Seats either pass and are allowed to be sold in stores or fail and are not on the market. We don't know the the Marathon performed any better than a $40 Scenera.

Your husband's heart is in the right place, but there is a lot of misinformation on his articles.

Hello Amylynne,

Oh my am very sorry for this, thank you so much for pointing it out. I'll tell him about it so he can address this.

[1stTimeParent]

Amylynne: thank you for pointing that out, I'll tell my husband to update it with the correct info. So embarrassing