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Car seats

Moving small weight baby into forward facing seat

28 replies

dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 09:03

We're planning a drive from London to France when my baby is 1 year old. She is however on a low centile and probably won't weigh the required 9kg then, more like 8.5 kg. She's not awfully short though, just slenderish.

But she's really outgrown her MaxiCosi and her legs are bunched up and her head is scraping the back of my seat (erm, should explain that the interior of the sportscar is quite small...)

Her development in terms of holding her head, sitting, pulling up to stand, cruising is early or on target, so her small size hasn't affected any of this.

I'm unsure of whether to move her to a forward facer for this journey or just persist with the rear one (I understand some advise continuing with a rear seat until much older, but our car won't fit a rear facer for an older child.

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dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 09:07

Should explain she's 10.5 months now. Last time I weighed (about 5 weeks ago) she was 7.5 kg. Doubt she will have put on 1.5 kg by 12 months.

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oopsacoconut · 13/09/2009 09:07

I wouldn't move her to be honest. Can you get 0-18kg seat which fit rear and forward facing? Then she can face backwards in a bigger seat until she is older. Also bent legs in a rear facing seat are seen as safer to forward facing at this weight.

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cluckyagain · 13/09/2009 09:07

NO advice on the car seat, but I would give advise on keeping your small sports car - unless you or DH want to be kicked in the back, all the way to anywhere from now on I would consider a larger car!! Believe me - it gets annoying after about 1 minute. lol cx

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cluckyagain · 13/09/2009 09:08

....said with experience!!

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Clayhead · 13/09/2009 09:08

I waited until my dc were 9kg.

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oopsacoconut · 13/09/2009 09:09

My DD is 1 and only 8kgs so is still in her maxi cosi and will be until her head reaches the top.

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:16

The bunched up legs aren't a problem for either comfort or safety, but her head shouldn't stick out of the seat any further than the middle of her ears. If it does you'll have to go for a stage 1 seat. It really is important to keep DC rear facing for as long as possible so if you can keep using the Maxi Cosi then do.

I can imagine that your DD hates the Maxi Cosi by now, my DD was furious every time we put her in ours from about 10 months!

We had a BeSafe iZi Combi (RF stage 1 seat) in the back of our tiny Ford Ka. Do you have 72 centimeters between the back of the rear seat and the back of the passenger seat? If so the BeSafe iZi Combi or Kid will both fit fine.

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oopsacoconut · 13/09/2009 09:19

NN - thanks for that measurement - we are looking at the besafe izi combi for DD and were wondering about space in DH's car before went wasted our time going to the shop.

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dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 09:21

It's a Porsche 911 (yeah, I know it sounds utterly ridiculous...) and the Maxi Cosi is the seat that fits. DH spent weeks researching it.

I'll stick to the rear facer if its safer and check her head, I think her ears aren't poking above it. I didn't know that about the legs though, so thanks.

We hardly ever drive but did yesterday and she was fine in it. I wouldn't say she loves to go in it, but didn't hate it either. Slept in it for 1-1/2 hours too.

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:26

oopsacoconut It's the RF seat that takes up the least space front to back, the next smallest is the Britax 2 way Elite at 83 cm. It fits where most RF seats wont and it's a good seat, does really well in all the tests (the Kid does slightly better than the Combi).

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EyeballsintheSky · 13/09/2009 09:31

I never heard that about ears. I was told that you should lay your hand flat over the top of the seat IYSWIM and if their head touches your hand then it's not safe to use.

at you having a Porsche with a baby seat in the back. Beats my dull old Vectra any day

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:31

hmmmm, I seriously doubt that you'll have 72 cm in a 911. TBH I think you'll probably have trouble fitting a forward facing stage one seat too though, even if you don't mind having your back kicked black and blue.

Maybe it's time to accept you are parents and get a (second?) more practical car?

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:35

IIRC (and I'm pretty sure I do, otherwise I wouldn't have said it) it's ok for their heads to stick out a bit. The people at the Essex In Car Safety Center (01268 297593) really know their stuff and will be able to give a definite answer. They'll be able to tell you which sets are appropriate for any particular car too. You don't need t live in Essex (or even the UK).

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:36

definite definitive

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EyeballsintheSky · 13/09/2009 09:38

Sorry NN, I wasn't picking holes in what you said . Sorry if it came across like that.

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dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 09:45

Can I just ask why you can't have a Porsche and a baby seat in the back?

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dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 09:46

Sorry, it's just I'm always getting grief over it.

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:48

Gosh no eyeballs! It's something that's hard to get a certain answer on. I was having trouble finding a RF stage one seat for our microscopic car so I looked into it, but it was about a year ago... Maxi Cosi told me what you said but I think the final advice was the ears thing.

Anyway, it's always better to check these things yourself than to rely on a random woman from 'tinterweb

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:53

No good reason really Doris it's just quite unusual! They are two things that don't really automatically go, it seems impractical IYSWIM. kind of like wearing Jimmy Choos to drive a tractor or something. Maybe.

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 09:56

I think, also, in a lot of peoples minds a Porsche is more of a second car or something for single people than a family car.

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dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 09:58

"Maybe it's time to accept you are parents and get a (second?) more practical car?"

Well, I've breastfed a prem baby for 10 months for up to 12 times a day, I've not ever bought a pushchair and wear my baby everywhere in a German woven wrap, I co-sleep (and am woken up to 6 times a night because she's a boob addict), I've moved continent so she can be near her family and I've taken a career break.

I think I've accepted I'm a parent .

I drive a car maybe once a week. As long as it is safe (it is) and I can get a few bags in it (I can) then I don't see how that's selfish.

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dorisbonkers · 13/09/2009 10:00

sorry, cross posted.

sense of humour failure. lack of sleep

thanks for the advice. I sort of knew I should keep her in the rear seat but wanted to stick my finger in the air too.

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 10:01

Blimey lass, don't let me upset you! I really wasn't trying to, the [ wink ] was to show it was tongue in cheek.

Damn good work with the BF BTW, that must have been quite a commitment.

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norktasticninja · 13/09/2009 10:01

x! NAK you see...

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usernametaken · 13/09/2009 11:08

My DD did a 3000km round trip at 18months facing backwards in her Britax First Class Si car seat- if this seat fits in your car then I will highly recommend it. When she was 2, we turned the seat around (it FF and RF) and at the age of 4.5yrs she still fits in it easily. Like your DD, mine is very light (7th percentile on a good day) so we've had years of use out of it.
Have a good trip!

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