Newborn and car seat

[Hfs97]

I have recently had a newborn (5 weeks) and I have the enfasafe superia 360 isofix car seat. I wanted to know if anyone else has this car seat and how they found it with their newborn.
I'm worried he looks like his head it tilting down in the car seat, which I don't want as it could block his Airways.

Although advertised as such, it is not suitable from birth. It’s a pretty poor seat in general. Minimally tested and unsupportive inserts, hence why your baby isn’t fitting properly. I’d advise you get a supportive infant carrier. The Maxi Cosi Cabriofix isize is a good budget option, or the Avionaut Cosmo Smart.

I'd have to agree, I'm afraid. These multi stage seats often give a poor fit for newborns. It's often better to start out with a seat designed for the age 0-15 months.

Did you get an infant carrier seat with your pram? You could use that for a few weeks until your LO is bigger. Or possibly ask around friends and family to see if anyone has one you could borrow?

Otherwise Halfords currently have the old Joie Juva on clearance for £40 which is a good price. It won't be compatible with a pushcair but that might not matter - you could always leave it in the car.

I have an infant carrier seat already but wanted to start using my 360 one. I'll just continue to use the carrier for a but longer.

Generally is safest to only move them to the next stage seat when they outgrow the last one, rather than moving as soon as they meet the lower limit.

I originally bought the 360 one as it said from birth. But when I went to put him in it as its in my car not my partners. He just didn't look right. So I'm going to have to swap car seat each time. That's the only reason.

That is a bit annoying, but I think it's why the carrier types are easy to swap - you should be able to fit it without a base, using the seatbelt? Most infant carrier seats you can. TBH, under 6 weeks some newborns struggle to get a good fit even in an infant carrier, so it is very early to get a good fit in a multi stage seat. (Not a blanket rule - some seats are better than others at this).

It's possible he'll get a better fit in the 360 seat by about 3-4 months, once he is better at supporting his own head, but if it's very tilted upright because of the shape of the seats in your car/position of the isofix points, then you might need to wait until he's sitting up with less support. The infant insert stays in until 75cm which is car seat industry shorthand for about 9 months and/or ability to sit unaided.

If the back seats in your partner's car are flatter, or the isofix points are higher up compared to the sort of corner of the vehicle seat (if that makes sense), the Enfasafe seat might get a better fit there. If you choose a different seat for your car, find a shop you can try it out before you buy to make sure it's not too upright - it can be a problem if you have the combo of isofix points right down at the very bottom of the backrest plus tilted back angle of the seats.

Check that the support leg isn't overextended as well. If it's set too long, then the seat will be tilted further back. The child seat should rest on the edge of the vehicle seat, where an adult's knees would go. If you can push your hand under there at that edge of the seat, try shortening the leg and see if it improves the angle.

Thank you. That's very useful information.

I have this car seat and I used it from day 1, my wife was quite anxious and sat in the back for a while for the same reason as you said and we actually have ended up moving up stages a couple cm before it said to as L/O was looking a bit squished, feeling tight to get in and seemed increasingly fussy and the change made a massive difference. Besides the anxiety, L/O has been perfectly fine and generally enjoys being in the seat... Almost 1 now

It's OK to remove an insert a couple of centimetres early if LO gets a better fit without it, but it is important to keep the seat rear facing up to a minimum of 15 months, that one is not just a recommendation, it's the law. Younger babies are much more vulnerable to neck and spinal cord injuries in a crash if they are placed in forward facing seats. 15 months is given as the line where it's considered so dangerous it's actually illegal to transport younger children forward facing, but there is still increased risk for e.g. a 15 month old compared with a 2 or 3 year old, so it is recommended to keep them rear facing as long as possible. This seat is allowed to stay rear facing until the child is 105cm tall or 18kg.

I realise you didn't specify which stage you moved up to, so I just thought I would add this note as not everyone is aware of the risks of forward facing too early.