Rear facing car seat and 'carry on' car seat problem? 😕

[LuckyAugust]

I've put DS1&2 in there car seats which stay in the car from about 3/4 months old (rear facing until after 9 months as advised???). With DS1 I got a bit of a bollocking off the Health Visitor who said he looked too squashed in his carry on seat which is why I switched seats. I had a bigger car then so rear facing wasn't an issue. I changed my car to a ford ka before having DS3 and now having a nightmare as the car seat is too big to fit securely on the actual car seat if rear facing!!! Argghhh!!!! Its because the seat is reclined back so much and fits fine if forward facing. DS3 is only 11 weeks old so will be able to use his carry on seat for a bit longer but I suspect he'll have outgrown it long before he reaches 9 months. Is it a legal requirement that children before reaching 9 months need to be rear facing? Obviously safety is my biggest concern but thinking if I can keep him in his carry seat until at least 7 months could I then have him forward facing? If only changing my stupid car was an option .

The law has recently changed and babies up to 15 months old should be rear facing . (Although this is just with isofix seats) 7 months would be far too early to turn forward facing as your little one would not be able to support them selves properly. It would be dangerous actually!

Thanks for replying. To be honest I wouldn't of felt comfortable anyway having him forward facing at such an early age. Looks like we'll be walking everywhere once he outgrows his carry on seat!!

Would the bigger seat fit in the front with the airbag off?

Afraid not, its the size of the actual seat in the car thats the problem so when it is reclined and rear facing its hanging off the seat. Thanks anyway

What infant carrier is it? most are ok until 13kg which is around 29lbs.

Also they are not too big for the seat until the top of their head is above the back of the seat. It is ok for their legs to be over the front of the seat.

Thanks dementedpixie, thats really useful. I never considered what the maximum weight for this carrier could be but it is 13kg so he technically has to double in size yet before he's considered too big for it. After my bollocking from HV I think I've just assumed that once they start to look a little bit squashed its time for the next seat. Thanks again

I think your hv was probably talking rubbish and was projecting her own feelings rather than thinking of your child's safety.

There is no way that a 3/4 month old should be outgrowing the carrier type seat. Ours is a basic maxicosi and it has lasted until well past 1 each time.

If it has one, you have taken the newborn insert out haven't you?

Don't take your HV's words to heart. If your lo is under the weight and not too tall then they are far safer rear facing.
I'm constantly getting moaned at by people, including my HV, because my lo has long legs. He's still several kilos to go before he's too big and his head isn't anywhere near the top yet.
It's much, much safer to have slightly squished legs than to be FF too soon.

Could you sell your current RF seat and replace it with one that fits better? I changed car between DD3 and DS2 and had to replace the seat because it didn't fit.

I was at a car seat talk and the expert said squashed was fine, provided the ears don't stick out the top, their legs can go up the actual car seat if long. Dd is 13 months and still plenty of space in her first stage seat.

Also, check the seat, mine had a big foam wedge which made a big difference when removed.

for rear facing seats the seat is outgrown when the top of the head is over the headrest rather than when they are at ear level. Forward facing seats are outgrown when the ears are level with the back.

As others have said have you take newborn inserts out. - mine had a foamy cushion on the top of the covers and a polystyrene one under the covers. Check the manufacturers manual.

My DS got too tall for his at 9months and was off the charts for height - legs had been over the end for a while but that doesn't matter. He was on 75th for weight and had plenty of space width ways at that point. So for most big DC I'd expect them to last until nearly a year before they had truely out grown it and average DC should get past a year.

I have a Britax 2-way elite which fits in my small 2 door Clio... It is only for an older child but I also can't see how yours has grown out of their baby carrier - mine was in the baby carrier (up to 13kg) until 11 months and he's quite tall.
The in car safety centre specialise in rearfacing seats and have a wide range if you're anywhere near one of their outlets - as the Ford ka is a common brand you might even be able to phone them and ask their advice.

incarsafetycentre.co.uk/

Thanks everyone, feel much more reassured by your comments. A great tip too about removing the underneath inserts, there are two which can be removed as he gets bigger which will certainly create a bit more space. This problem though did get me thinking about my little car and potential problems with having three growing boys and DH has agreed we can change it later in the year (yay! ). Its not even as if I'm driving about much anyway and if I didn't need it for when I go back to work (work in a different town) we would probably just have the one car. DH has the bigger car which isn't a problem for fitting our seats in at all and we always use his car when having trips out. He takes some of his colleagues into work otherwise we would have just swapped cars. Thanks again everyone - feeling more chilled out now and super excited about a new car!

Just to add, it's all children under 15 months that must be rear facing, not just isofix seats. Another vote for the incar safety centre, they were brilliant!

The new regulations only apply to new isize seats that are isofix. The old regulations are still in force for older seats and both sets of regulations will run side by side for a couple of years.

It is therefore not compulsory for all children to rear face until 15 months as it only applies to the isize seats so far.

www.childcarseats.org.uk/types-of-seat/i-size-seats/

Unfortunately demented is right and legally a 9kg can go forward facing.

However its not the safest and not at all recommended. Health visitors arent car seat trained and most haven't got a clue about extended rear facing.

My daughter comfortably sat in her rear facing group 0+ car seat until she was 22mths and then her head was starting to come over the top.

What car seats do you have?

Feel free to highlight this article to your health visitor too.

www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b1994

As part of her registration she should be keeping up to date with continuing professional development and that article is 6 yrs so rear facing is hardly new in the uk

www.rearfacing.co.uk

Apologies, it's all just so unclear on some sites how it's worded!! DD was out of her infant carrier at ten months, she's incredibly long!! A lot of people we know think we are mad for keeping her rear facing. But DH used to work with crash testing, so it's one thing that is non-negotiable!

My 91st centile, 11+kg 1 year old still just about fits in an infant seat so you should be alright for a while yet.