As ridiculous as it sounds, would it possibly be easier to fold one of the rear seats down, remove the cargo cover, and put the baby in the seat through the hatch? I'd love to see the look on other's faces when you try it in a parking lot.

 

and it doesn't work to well. I found the best way was one foot in, duck the baby in, duck my head in, buckle the sucker in, and back out!

But I was luckier than most. Alison is short, so she did the rear facing Peg until she went into the BMW front facing seat.

Matt

 

As I posted this when this thread started, we started doing that when my son was still in the carrier. We had the base (and now full car seat) in the rear passenger side seat and had the driver passenger seat down. I thought that it worked out real well and made life a lot easier. Plus the looks on poeple's faces are better then your probably thinking. This also makes more room for the stroller, pak-n-play, toys, and/or whatever you need to take.

 

That's a very interesting loading technique. Can you elaborate a bit more?

My baby boy is 12 pounds and 23 inches long. He is already a heavy boy for his age (9 weeks old). I would say in 2-3 months he is going to outgrow his Combi Centre EX car seat "basket" and he will need to start using his new britax roundabout rear facing car seat. I am just trying to picture in my head loading him up through the hatch

Great suggestion, but more details are needed

 

WannaMini I am glad to hear everything is good and that you got to keep your MINI.
I have only had KPMINI since Thanksgiving weekend, however, I have 2 little boys (10 months, and 3 Years) both in car seat/booster seat. My only concern before I ordered was that there was enough room for everything that goes with a baby.
I just so happened to be looking at an X-3 but the MINI was just to much fun and just as safe. I am very happy with my decision to get a MINI, my wife love driving him also. That has made us think about her getting her own MINI, and she wants a Convertible.
Again happy everything worked out.
Happy Motoring.

- KP

 

It's actually very easy . We just kept the left seat down and then lift him through where the seat would be and placed him in his car seat (or put the carrier in the base). We where even able to then lean over the back of the right side back seat (the one that he was in) and buckle him into his seat. We did this the majority of the times until we turned his seat around at about a year old. He's know 15 months old and loves being turned around and looking out the windows more.

 

C4 - I hadn't seen your update post to this thread! Congratulations on your baby boy!!!

Ben is now 9 months old and is 22 pounds. WOW. They grow SO fast. Surprisingly, I still have no trouble getting him in and out. He is still in his Graco Snugride, but not for long. His feet hang out the bottom. hahaha

Unless Dr.Obnxs has another German contact to get that BMW/MINI carseat, Ben will be getting a Recaro toddler seat, which is good for 20-80 pounds.

Thought I would post an update!

 

WannaMini,

Congratulations on the new baby boy!
Check out the Honda Element, which was the vehicle that I traded in for my MINI just 2 1/2 weeks ago. I have to say I do miss it, it is also a blast to drive, with 5 star safety ratings as well. Also there is quite a following cult in which I will miss myself for the Element. Check out http://www.elementownersclub.com/

It is a great club, as well as a great vehicle just like the MINI and NAM.

 

Thanks, Shanes! But I actually kept the MINI with no ideas of selling!

As far as "family" mobiles go, I do like the Element though, and I really despise SUVs (nothing against you SUV owners). I also like the Scion Xb (I think it's the b - the boxy one). But I just like unique vehicles.

But nothing compares to the MINI!!

 

100% Agreed!
[whispering]Oh - and don't tell Chows about that SUV thing... he loves his Rav4...[/whispering]

 

Oh yeah...I said I despise SUVs. Not SUV owners. Big difference. Chows is a great guy...

 

My sister did this every time she had to put her baby into my MINI. She found this far easier than going through the door.

On a related note, now that he's too big (8 months) for the removable infant car seat, I'm trying to find a suggestion on what model of convertible (ie, rear- and forward-facing) child seat fits best in the back of the MINI (I have a 2005 Coupe.) Since I'll only be transporting him occasionally, I'd rather not spend a fortune, but obviously want something safe. The only suggestions I've found that specify actual models are for infant seats or strollers, not for seats suitable for children 20-40 pounds. Any ideas?

 

I think it's referenced somewhere in this thread if you look back... but, the Britax Roundabout. It fits well and is convertible. However, it is on the pricey side at about $220. I just got one recently for my son and it has worked out pretty well. It might be overkill for just the occasional use. But I don't know of anything similar that you can get cheaper.

 

I have been dealing with this all afternoon. I am needing a seat for grandchildren. My son and his wife have a Britax Marathon and it doesn't fit well in my opinion (could be because of seat position). Does anyone know if the Roundabout fits better, goes out front less? I hate to put out that much money for a seat that will be used only once or twice a month! augh! For those that do use car seats currently I have a couple of questions:
1) Does the seat base fit down against the seat in both the front and back? The bucket seats seem to make it gap in the back. What do you do about that? Stuff it with something? Or force it down making deep creases in the front of the bench?
2) How much room do you have in front of the car seat when it is forward facing? Everyone that sits in the passenger seat is tall and they need the seat back, comfortably it can be a couple of notches forward but not much more. Is there enough room for a kid's legs with the seat back that far?

 

I bought this seat and it's held up well. Costs around $60 from Target. I used a seat protector beneath it so it wouldn't dent my leather seats--I have cloth now (second MINI), and the protector mostly protects against spills. My son who will be turning 3 in April has been in this seat (one in the wifes Murano) and one in the MINI since he outgrew his Peg Perego infant seat around 6 months if my memory is correct.



More Info
http://www.epinions.com/content_1654...kin_id=8003929


All the seats you install will require the seat in front of it to be pushed all the way forward and inclined nearly vertically. Read the warning stickers on the MINI---the safest place for an infant/child is in the back seats--not the front.

Richard

 

Believe me, I'd never put a kid in the front seat. We were using car seats with our kids 30 years ago when it wasn't the normal thing to do so car seats are not new to us... just fitting them in a MINI is new. The grandson is about a year old and soon will be able to turn around (around 30 pounds) so I'm just planning.

So with your seat (I actually looked at the one you posted) does the base fit down snug against the seat in both the front and back?
Even with the seat forward facing and upright you can't have the front seat back much?

Hmmmm... my husband and his 38 inch inseam might not like ANY carseat......

 

It does fit snug. You just have to attach it correctly. In forward facing mode, you just slip the seat belt through the back and into the locking receptacle. Then pull the seat belt all the way out and let it retract (ratchet lock). Now lean into the car seat using your body weight--which will cause the seat to sink further into the seat, and continue to feed any slack of the belt upwards towards--since it's ratcheting, it won't have any slack. The seat will be very snug, and won't move around.

I also have the tether attached to the anchor on the seat back.

You will gain a lot of room when in forward facing. Atleast a couple of clicks and the seat won't have to be completely vertical--that is until the child's leg grow long enough to be able to kick the seat back--and now you will want to scoot the seat forward and out of reach again--and find that making it vertical gives you just enough room to be out of reach! I know it's a losing battle and eventually he will be able to reach the seat backs again, but I hope that he will be old enough to resist that temptation.

 

Not true. That's the nice thing about the Roundabout. I can have front seat passengers still. The seat is moved up a little closer than they may like but they fit in nonetheless. It is not all the way forward. That is why I chose it. The Marathon is a little bit taller and would have required the front seat to be moved forward even more when the Marathon was in the reclined position.

The tradeoff is that I'll have to buy a booster seat in a few years. Whereas the Marathon is good for an additional 20 lbs I believe (60 instead of 40).

 

Congratulations and make your hubby drive in his car with the newborn, while you keep motoring in your Mini.

 

Is that in rear facing mode or forward facing??? That's great if in rear facing mode, the front seat doesn't need to be moved all the way forward.

Richard

 

I am glad this thread was resurrected. Not planning on having babies anytime soon, but it was great to see all the discussion about safety which was one of my main concerns when getting the mini.

It is also cool to see that people keep their minis when the babies are born... all that "gotta buy the SUV/Minivan now that the baby is on the way" drives me crazy :impatient

 

due early May, and I'm keeping the Mini. But the Britax seats are "bigger" in the base, and backing, than many other models. The one OG posted looks like it sits lower and farther to the seat back than the Britax, and that is the very same reason that I grey marketed a BMW seat. It really follows the contrours of the bucket as well or better than any other I could find, and this is about 1"-3" more distance until Alison can kick the seat back.

I'm not down on Britax. My wife did lots of reaserch before Alison popped out, and chose the Britax on rep and safety features. Too bad she didn't read any of the Mini posts on baby seats! She was PISSED when I said I'd have to buy another because of the space the Marathon took. The Marathon wouldn't even really fit in the car, I'm sure the Roundabout is smaller, but Britaxs design philosophy doesn't result in the smallest package for the function.

Matt

 

Cosco Touriva v. Britax Roundabout

First of all thanks for the great and fast responses! I guess now I'm torn between the Roundabout (BizRate claims I can get it from one place for $170) vs. the Touriva. Aside from the $110-$160 price difference, factors I'm mainly considering are:
1. The Roundabout seems to have univerally good reviews on Epinions. The Touriva is more mixed with some *very* negative reviews. However, many people say it's a 'great second seat.'
2. I do often drive with my husband in the passenger seat and I do NOT want to take the car seat in and out-- I was planning to let a professional install it and forget it. So front seat room is important, but if it's only a matter of a few months until the kid goes forward-facing, we can always use my husband's car when we go out together.

My nephew is just over 8 months old, weighs in the low 20lbs, and kind of tall for his age. I have no kids of my own so I don't know when he'll be ready to face forward. If anyone has any additional advice based on these factors I would love to hear it. I babysit the nephew every Friday and don't want to be stuck never going anywhere for lack of a car seat! But I also wouldn't trade my MINI in for anything-- unless they come out with a plug-in hybrid MINI, of course.... hopefully in purple.

 

Its very likely that the negative reviews on the Touriva are on the model with the bar that pulls down in front like a roller coaster.

The Cosco Touriva comes in two models..the one with the pull down bar is dangerous. I initally had it and liked how it fit the MINI but over time it was obvious that it didn't provide enough support to my sons neck. I found when he fell asleep, his neck was torqued in a very uncomfortable position..the bar just didn't hold him in securely..then I read in Consumer Reports about the danger of those seats.

Then I discovered the model without the pull down bar. It was cheaper by $20 had more restraints, and still had the same base so it fit the MINI very securely.

The only complaints I've seen had to do with the thickness of the foam not being as thick as other bulkier seats.

The positive about a lighter seat is that it travels well too.

Richard

 

I plan on getting the Recaro racing seat for Ben. These are spendy though at $250, but it converts to a booster seat (one less seat to buy), it supposedly fits the MINI well, and hey - it looks cool. Ben will ride in style. I can't wait until he can say "faster, Mommy!" hee hee hee (disclaimer: no, of course I do not speed when Ben is in the car with me. ) BUT, this seat does not face backward. But Ben is already 10 months and 23 pounds, so he can ALMOST face forward.