Baby too big for car seat but not the right weight.

[ColouredPolkaDots]

So, I have a very small in weight (7kg) but very tall one year old. He had a silver cross 0+ car seat and with the straps the highest they go at the back, the top of the straps begin halfway down his back which obviously isn't ideal. My problem is that he is too small in weight for a size 1 car seat.

So how on earth do I get him a car seat that's safe? Google is unhelpful. I'm looking at a Graco 0+/1/2/3 car seat but am unsure if this will be suitable for DS.

If anyone has any advice I'd be very grateful!

[BertieBotts]

Great! :)

BTW you can usually download car seat manuals from the manufacturer's website :) In case you ever have a query about one and have lost them.

[ColouredPolkaDots]

He fits really well now! Thank you!

[ColouredPolkaDots]

@BertieBotts I would've been caught out had you not said anything so thank you so much! Nowhere on the seat does it have any sign and I lost the instructions way back! I'm so relieved he still fits, and I presumed stupidly that that button (grey bit) was for the isofix that I don't have so had no idea there was a compartment in there. Yeah he's a tall but skinny lad, completely the opposite of me! He eats great but just seems to be saving it all for shooting up and is so ribby and boney. We've seen dieticians and paediatricians but all just say there's nothing wrong, he's just growing a bit differently!

[BertieBotts]

Also, my turn to admit stupid mistakes - I read your first post thinking he was 7mo. Which would be 9th centile at 7kg, but absolutely off the scale if 80-86cm for height. At a year old, that makes so much more sense

[BertieBotts]

No! You're not at all! :) That lady is a car seat expert and she reckons loads of people get caught out by it. TBH the only reason I know about it is because I've followed her on YT, and I watch every car seat video going. I also think it doesn't look very intuitive - I would never have thought to open a compartment at the back Not very good design really! You would think they would at least print a symbol on showing that's where you make adjustments.

[ColouredPolkaDots]

He's smack in the middle of the 50th and 75th lines. He fits in 12-18 clothes really snugly for height but the trousers don't stay up, hence sleep suits saving my sanity!

[ColouredPolkaDots]

He's 60th!!

[NameChange30]

🤣

Well that's a relief!

What centile is he for height, out of interest? Given how light he is I'd be surprised if he's >50th centile for height?

[ColouredPolkaDots]

Hell not he'll. Clearly I've lost the plot

[ColouredPolkaDots]

@BertieBotts Oh my god I feel like the biggest idiot going!! I didn't know the harness moved up at the back!!! Fucking he'll I'm sorry I have no bloody brain! He fits!! Thank you so so much, you've saved me a lot of trouble! Honestly feel like the most stupid woman ever today!

[ColouredPolkaDots]

Thank you! I'm going to check the car seat for removable wedges. He really is a beanpole and he's just turned one but weighs 7kg. He's in the 0.4 cent old for weight too.

[BertieBotts]

Have you done this?

It just sounds strange to me that his head is so far from the top yet the straps are halfway down his back. And outgrowing a baby seat is around 80-86cm but 7kg would make him a bean pole! Not impossible but thought best to check :)

If you defo can't move the straps up any more then it is outgrown, it's not safe to have them so low behind his back as they will start to slide off his shoulders sideways at the slightest pressure meaning he could be ejected from the seat.

You could look at a 25kg seat if he is tall, but at 7 months he's likely to look lost in one, so I'd probably recommend you a 0+/1 seat for now. Personally I wouldn't look at the ones which incorporate a booster seat later as well. They tend to have compromises in safety. The only one I would consider is the Joie stages but I would recommend you forget about the booster mode as it's very short lived; you'll certainly need to buy another high backed booster after that anyway.

The newer versions of the britax dualfix and Cybex sirona have taller shells than the originals so they don't have the early outgrowing problem any more but be careful of old stock of the original models which may be sold off cheap. There are still a few around.

[Landlubber2019]

Look at the rospa website for more information but I'm would not change his car seat particularly as he i s below 9kg

[Landlubber2019]

His head is about 2 inches below the top of the seat this suggests the car seat is fine currently.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Have you taken the removable wedge out under his bum?

[NameChange30]

What infant seat do you have? Have you removed all the newborn inserts (sometimes they are hidden inside) and cushions? Have you pulled his bum right down to the crotch strap?

[ColouredPolkaDots]

His head is about 2 inches below the top of the seat but close. It's that the strap holes are level with the bottom of his rib cage on his back if that makes sense? I've got the strap setting at the highest it will go.

H&M is my saviour and when we're home DS lives in their footless sleepsuits as these fit him well as they can ride up!

[NameChange30]

Nooooo not the Cybex Sirona! We have that seat and it has a really short shell! DS is only average height and will outgrow it before he turns 4.

[NameChange30]

H&M is good for tall skinny kids clothes.
Zara is quite good too.

[randomsabreuse]

Have a look at the Cybex Sirona. Took my DD from a dainty 8 months (9th centile for weight) to 4 years old.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Is his head near the top of the seat? The straps are meant to start down behind the shoulders in a rear facing seat so that alone isn't a concern. But once his head extends over the top of the shell he is too tall for it.

[ColouredPolkaDots]

@NameChange30 He really is tall! I have issues finding him clothes that fit his height but don't fall off him!

[NameChange30]

👍

[ColouredPolkaDots]

@NameChange30 I'll avoid Halfords, thank you!

[NameChange30]

John Lewis won't have a huge range of ERF 18/25kg seats. Worth a look but a specialist retailer would be better.

The seats that are advertised as rear-facing until the age of 4 are 18kg seats, this claim is based on the average height/weight of an average 4yo, and your child will outgrow them way before he turns 4, because he is much taller than average.