I told you how Michelle fell last week and sprained her ankle, right? Well, my body must really be into the idea of sympathy pains because this weekend we were just walking on a nice flat little path and I managed to roll my right ankle! Seriously! Besides our little stumbles of late, we have run into a baby prep stumbling block. We haven't found a solution to the car seat dilemma! I've done a TON of research on car seats and settled on two options, the Graco Snugride and the Chicco KeyFit. The Graco is cheaper and we had 20% off so, after doing a test installation with Jess at Babies-R-Us, we bought three Gracos. I did another installation on Thursday night and then went to meet with Nick, a very nice police officer at Penn State who does safety testing. They weren't tight enough when I put them in and when he secured the bases they were too close together and we couldn't get all three seats in. We spent an hour working on this trying every trick he knew and we still couldn't find a way to get all three in securely enough. It drove Nick crazy that he couldn't find a solution for us so he contacted the "car seat guru" who trains the police and others to do safety checks. She is going to meet with us next Monday or Tuesday to see if she can make it work. If not, we'll try the KeyFit which should give us an extra 1.5" in extra wiggle room, but I'm worried that still isn't going to be enough. It makes me a little nuts because we have read other triplet blogs and have seen other people make the Snugrides work, but it isn't easy! The KeyFits are more expensive which is a bummer, especially since we won't have the 20% coupon, but spending an extra $150 on car seats is still a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new car.
Just in case, we have been casually perusing the internet for used Toyota Highlander Hybrids. But our Rav is only worth like $6,000 at this point so even a 2006 or 2007 Highlander would involve some pretty significant moola. And I don't know that we can afford that right now. My student loans have been in deferment but now that I'm almost done with school those payments are starting up again which is not great timing. There have also been some annoying changes at work that are impacting our finances too. I figured we could spend an extra $200/mo in rent because we'd save that much in commuter gas, but now work isn't reimbursing mileage for the first 25 miles even though I live 4 miles from work so there goes that savings! Oh and then there is the cut in days off! I was under the impression that I would be getting about 20 days of PTO this coming year and recently found out I'm only getting 12!! Sooooo...this time off after the babies come is going to hurt a lot more than we thought it was going to. =( Needless to say things are going to be tight and buying a car or having a car payment is less than ideal. It also means we are continually grateful for all the baby things people have been giving us because all those little purchases can add up quickly! The cribs and car seats alone add up to about $1200! Here's hoping we can find a safe car seat solution and that the Rav has another few years in it!!
Just in case, we have been casually perusing the internet for used Toyota Highlander Hybrids. But our Rav is only worth like $6,000 at this point so even a 2006 or 2007 Highlander would involve some pretty significant moola. And I don't know that we can afford that right now. My student loans have been in deferment but now that I'm almost done with school those payments are starting up again which is not great timing. There have also been some annoying changes at work that are impacting our finances too. I figured we could spend an extra $200/mo in rent because we'd save that much in commuter gas, but now work isn't reimbursing mileage for the first 25 miles even though I live 4 miles from work so there goes that savings! Oh and then there is the cut in days off! I was under the impression that I would be getting about 20 days of PTO this coming year and recently found out I'm only getting 12!! Sooooo...this time off after the babies come is going to hurt a lot more than we thought it was going to. =( Needless to say things are going to be tight and buying a car or having a car payment is less than ideal. It also means we are continually grateful for all the baby things people have been giving us because all those little purchases can add up quickly! The cribs and car seats alone add up to about $1200! Here's hoping we can find a safe car seat solution and that the Rav has another few years in it!!
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| our attempt at BabiesRUs that made us think it would work |
It's no wonder you have a headache today, Mari.
ReplyDelete:-( Keep trying! We managed to fit 3 across in our Subaru Outback (granted, it was a snugride and 2 Radians, not 3 snugrides).
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the snugrides without the bases? I know that is an acceptable way to use them and might be narrower? I know that some infant seats in Europe don't even come with a base (Daniel's sis and her wife live in Germany and their's didn't have bases.)
The Radians are terrific. M&M were in them until 2nd grade and Seraphina is in one now. They are heavy and sturdy as heck and NARROW.
Do you know this website: http://thecarseatlady.blogspot.com/2010/07/they-said-it-was-impossible-fitting-3.html
-- Gina
I'm sure you've done a TON of research but have you looked into just starting off with a convertible like a Britax? They start at babies who are only 5lbs and I know that often hospitals will rent out preemie carseats before they hit that weight limit. I just know that some babies (ours included) HATED the Keyfit infant bucket seat as we think she has motion sickness/sensory stuff and she much prefers to be in a more upright position (albeit still rear facing). Just a thought. About the same price point and you wouldn't have to buy two sets of car seats!
ReplyDeleteHopefully baby guru has an idea or can let you borrow from the state! :o/ Definitely lots of unwanted frustrations though.
ReplyDelete