Which car seat?

[Coffeehouse22]

Hello, my DS is 6 months old and being a tall boy has already almost outgrown his car seat (Maxicose Cabriofix), his legs are way longer than the seat.

I'm researching larger carseats and it's a minefield - getting confused with all the options! Does anyone have any recommendations?

Ideally I'd like a seat which we can use from now until 12 years of age so we don't have to change seats again.

Other things I'm looking for are side impact position, both front and rear facing, a seat that you can use an isofix base or seatbelt to secure it and maybe a seat that swivels when you put it in and out of the car. Not fussed about getting one which reclines flat. In terms of getting a seat to fit my pram...I have an uppababy vista, but not sure if I should worry about that and how often I'd even fit the seat to the pram. Any help would be appreciated as I'm so confused!

You won't be able to get a swivel seat that lasts up to 12 years. The max they go up to is 18kg in rear facing mode. We so have an Uppababy - my DS lasted in his infant carrier until we got a Joie spin 360 aged 15 months. Are you sure he has outgrown it - is it head above the top of the headrest now?
If he is high on the percentile chart for height/weight then it's something like the Joie 360 possibly isn't the best for you as may be outgrown quicker than age 4. You're better off looking for a up to 25kg seat. Possibly the Joie Everystage? Or if you wanted extended rear facing, there are options such as the axkid minikid.
We also have the Joie Stages which lasts up to about 7 years and can be rear faced (which was important to us) up to 18kg then forward face to 25kg.

In his current stage car seat the leg length doesn’t matter only where his head is at and his weight. Check you have removed all inserts too.

The next stage car seats don’t fit into travel systems.

In an ideal world you want him rear facing as long as possible. Aixi kid mini is always suggested. With other brands you need to remember when they say until 4 years old they mean the average 4 year old.

If your not interested in extended rear facing for many years then Joie car seats are often good.

Leg length is not an indicator of having grown out anything in terms of car seats
It is weight first and foremost

How heavy is your baby boy?

Hello, I can't comment on a seat that will last till their 12, but we bought a Joie swivel car seat for our DD from about 6 months, it does both back and front facing, and the swivel part means it's so much easier to get them in and out of the car (especially if you have a small car). However, our DD is 2.5 now, she's on the larger end of the scale for height and weight and we are considering changing her car seat as her legs touch the seat in front quite a lot because of the angle the car seat sits.

Legs don't matter. Is his head at the top? Have you definitely pulled the headrest all the way up / removed the newborn insert etc?

An extended rear facing seat to 25kg / 4yo ish won't come out of the car, they're far too big to clip onto prams. But if he's really tall, I think that's the kind of seat you'll have to look for.

Leg length doesn't matter, it's weight and head height.

Thanks ladies, this is all really helpful. Good to know leg length doesn't matter, his head is just about on the headrest now so will still be an issue. So I'd better order a new one tomorrow so we can leave the house next week. He is 99th percentile for height. X

I'd go Axkid Minikid or Axkid Move.

I don't think there is a car seat that meets all your requirements. If it lasts till age 12 then it won't fit on a buggy, it also may not rear face for very long.

The Axkid minikid or move are extended rear facing until 25kg, adaptable to fit into various cars, dont use isofix so don't rely on that, are plus tested. we have the minikid and really like it!

"? Have you definitely pulled the headrest all the way up / removed the newborn insert etc"

Not done this! I'll have a look tomorrow. I'm so stupid. Sorry. Spend most of my time since becoming a mum just trying to figure out how to use things, assemble things etc. Pram, car seat, cot, walker, other toys etc etc

It's until the top of his head is over the car seat top, can you adjust the headrest? It would be unusual to have a 6mo that long. Have you removed any newborn inserts and made sure his bum is right in?

Duh of course a car seat up to age 12 won't fit on a pram! Gosh I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment. Don't think before I speak or do anything! Aargh. Sorry.

Visit the in car safety centre online they are really good

It is a bit overwhelming so don't worry it's not you!

The ones up to 12 will be a false economy for you as they all convert to a booster seat at 18kg and if your baby is that tall that will be when he is about 2 and a half which is much too young to put them in an adult seatbelt. You'll want a five point harness for longer than that. In any case the combination ones tend to do both jobs a bit worse than seats which just do one job or the other (booster vs 5 point harness).

You'll definitely get longer out of your infant carrier even though he's tall. I'd look to use that for another couple of months minimum. Then he'll be big enough to go into the longer lasting rear facing seats which go up to 25kg which will be about 5 years old. That's a much more sensible age for a booster seat.

If you don't want to be locked into rear facing then you could look at the swivel seats that go up to age 4 (again, read 2.5 for a very tall child) and then when he grows out of that decide whether to get a 25kg rear facing seat or a forward facing one. Unfortunately none of them do both.

Although I suppose in 2 years there might be a seat on the market that does both!

The infant carrier > swivel seat > 25kg seat > high backed booster route is not a bad one if you plan to have children about 3 years apart, as it means you don't need to double up on any stage (except maybe the last) as you can just pass each seat down.

On the other hand if you think you'll have one child it makes sense to minimise the amount of seats you'll need to buy in which case infant carrier > 25kg rear facer > high backed booster is often sensible.

My oldest was 99.8 centile for height. Measured very regularly at the hospital and her first car seat lasted until she was 9 months.

Thanks so much everyone! I removed the newborn insert and it's all fine for another month or so so now I have time to look at the options above. I'll get a rear facing one up to 25kg. Thanks a lot, I wouldn't have known all this from just browsing online x

And thanks for being so nice and not judging despite my stupidity on this! The hardest part of being a mum (which I had no idea about before having my boy) is being judged by others or told you're doing things wrong, so it's great to be able to get advice without judgement on here x

We have the Britax Maxway rear facing seat, just as another one to look at versus the Axkid already mentioned. The Axkid didn't fit in my car at all. The sides are low, so although it doesn't swivel it is easy to put DC in and out.