8mo hates car seat... time to move up??

[meadowkoa]

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice please. My 8mo is still in her car seat carrier and hates it. She's been in it since she was newborn. She can tolerate 10-15 mins or so but longer journeys are hard. I have to let her watch Ms Rachel or dancing fruit so she won't have a meltdown! I have tried sitting in the front but that makes things worse.

She still has plenty of space in her car seat carrier which she has had since newborn but I was wondering if I got a big car seat would this help? A more upright one?

She's pretty much hated the car since she was born and it has gotten better but it's proving really difficult to even go an hour away without a meltdown. Has anybody expierenced anything similar? I wanted to know if bigger, more upright car seats have helped before I go spending a lot of money?

TIA XX

Bump

Have a look at the ERF extended rear facing car seat group on Facebook if you can. They have a lot of info about the best seats and when best to move from carrier to new car seat.
I think the general guidance is that if they fit in their baby carrier then it’s safe to continue to use. But, a lot of the car seats are also safe to use once baby reaches the lowest weight limit.
We moved our son into a new car seat when he was about 7 months old - we got the Axkid minikid 2 and it’s great. He enjoyed it a lot more than his baby carrier as he can see out the window a bit more and it’s more upright.
The seats can be expensive so I kind of think if you’re spending ££ then you may as well use it from as early as sage to do so, to get more use out of it.

In the abstract, as long as they fit the height/weight limit of the infant carrier, that's the safest seat for them. If you have one that screams relentlessly in the car, that might not be quite so true in the real world.

An Axkid Minikid was a game-changer for DD2 (reflux plus a high need for stimulation – the baby carrier was both painful and boring for her). I stretched it out to nearer a year before we switched, but mostly by avoiding driving with her, which obviously isn't possible for everyone!

I'd agree with looking at some of the extended rear facing seats that go to 125 cm and 25/36 kg rear-facing if you can. I'd see if there's a car seat specialist retailer near you – they'll usually let you try out the different seats, advise on fit in your car, and let you see how your daughter fits in the different seats.

It's OK to move her as long as you stick with rear facing.

The more upright position might help, especially if you went for something like a spin seat which sits quite high up. Take the car headrest off so she has a clear view out of the back window.

But honestly at that age she might just be bored - they are usually on the go and they don't like being contained and strapped down in general. So the type of seat might not matter. How often do you need to drive an hour away? Can you try to coincide longer drives with nap time, so she falls asleep?