Please could you recommend a car seat?

[meow1989]

My DS is 5 months old and already 10kg and long. His car seat (cosatto hold) is meant to last until 13kg which they estimate at 15 months but my giant boy will never last that long! (God knows where in his genetics he gets his height from, DH and I are titchy!).

Although his head isn't above the top his shoulders seem quite squished in and I can't see us getting Much longer out of it (gutted as we bought the isofix base too!).

I'm a bit clueless about what to look for next! Please could you recommend a safe, rear facing seat that will last a bit longer (!) and isn't super expensive?

Do car seats normally appear in post Xmas sales?

Thank you in advance.

Go for a 25kg harnessed one (rear facing). It will last you until your child is about 5.

From experience of having a big boy, we bought an up to 18kg seat and he outgrew it when he was 2.5. He was way too young to go into a high back booster at that age so we ended up buying a 25kg seat.

Thank you that's definitely worth knowing re the weight!

I recommend the Greco Milestone. Can be used rear facing now and should last your DS up to age 12.
www.graco.co.uk/car-seats/toddler_junior/milestone-all--in--one-car-seat

You can get it on offer for about £100 on amazon

The graco only rear faces to 13kg, which is no more than your current seat.

The safest option would be a seat that rear faces to 25kg - axkid minikid would be my recommendation.

I second (3rd?) a 25kg seat and would advise you avoid the Graco milestone.

25kg seats are:
Axkidd mini
Axkidd move
Axkidd wolmat
Axkidd rekid
Diono radian 5
Britax two way elite
Britax max way
Britax high way 2
Maxi Cosi mobi
Britax multi tech 3
Besafe izi plus
Klippan century
Cozi and safe Excalibur
Joie bold

Be aware the hour bold is forward facing only so not suitable for you.

Please DO NOT go to Mothercare or Halfords for advice.

We had a rear facing BeSafe Izi Plus as it was up to 25kg and our DS is long in the body so outgrew his Stage 1 car seat very quickly and far too quickly for me to be happy with him being forward facing. The Izi Plus is big though (as are lots of 25kg rear facing seats) so be sure it will fit in your car, we had to move the passenger seat quite a way forward which wasn't a big problem as DH and I are quite small.

DS has just moved out of the Izi Plus and he's 3.5yo. The head bit was on the highest setting and his shoulders were very squashed (and he was complaining it was hurting him). He's now in a HBB.

We had a BeSafe rear facing car seat and would totally recommend it. Definitely get one that rear faces until 25kg no matter what brand you go with.

Whilst as pp said, rear facing seats seem to take up lots of room, from a safety perspective there should be 55cm from back of front carseat to the back of child's carseat when using a forward facing carseat, which is more than most people realise!

Be aware that isofix is only available up to 18kg, anything above that is belted.

We've just upgraded to a Joie 360 spin, which makes getting DS in and out in tight parking spaces a lot easier.

I love my Joie 360 as its rear facing and I can turn it to get DS in and out easily. However he is likely to outgrow it at around 2.5 years when I will have to buy a belted 25kg rear facing seat as he won’t be old enough for a booster.

I take it you've taken the newborn insert out?

My (75th centile for height) DS was in costatto hold until he was 12/13 months.

Car seat expert's - do you go by weight or height running out first

Google the in car safety centre. Definitely worth a visit if you've got one local (Milton Keynes or somewhere in Essex). You can phone for advice too. No hard sell but definitely know their stuff

Thanks shark.

@Iknowthatguy yup, ds is on 98th centile for height but it's his shoulders that are squished forward and not comfortable.

We actually went for the Joie 360 as I reasoned that when current car seat is seatbelted I undo it to turn the seat to face me then turn it and restrap. It's only to 18kg but according to red book (I know not strictly accurate) it should last us till 2 and a half and can use rear facing the. Will suck it up and buy another.

Redken24 depends on the seat ALL seats are outgrown when the weight limit is reached (due risk of harness failure) but different seats have different limits on height- and it's usually torso length, not overall height that matters.

All infant seats are out grown when the top of the head reaches the top of the shell- this can be tested by placing a large hardback book across the top of the seat.

Next stage seats have different requirements, some it's top of head, others when the top is level with the eyes.

meow1989 second stage seats cannot be unstrapped and restrapped as you describe. They need to be strapped in before the child is in them (unlike the infant seat). Most 25kg seats have very low sides which makes getting baby in and out a lot easier than you'd think!

@mortifiedmama that's what I mean, my shoulders and back already ache from lugging him around so the turn seemed easier

We have the concord reverso plus for my 3.5 year old and it can be used from birth. It’s really easy to use and has passed the Swedish plus test which is the ultimate in car seat safety.

It’s safe to use up until 23kg. My DS is a big three year old and he has plenty of space. It’s also leightweight and fits in lots of cars (grandparents etc) I would totally recommend it.

We have an i-size so I think there different after reading. Prepared to be told wrong though.