Anyone have the Joie 360 spin car seat?

[AKT22]

Anyone else have the Joie 360 spin car seat for newborn - age 4?
I cannot work out when to take out the newborn insert? The headrest insert came out ages ago as DDs head is 98th centile and it was preventing the straps from staying on her shoulders.
but I can’t find any info on weight limits for the newborn insert, she’s 7 months but on the smaller side at about 14lbs 7/8oz, she is starting to look a little squashed at the sides but take it out and she looks ridiculously unsafe with all that extra space, the only thing I’ve found is to take it out when they look like they don’t fit anymore but it seems like there needs to be another one in between the insert and no insert because neither seems right

There's no hard and fast rule. I took the newborn insert out for my DD when they started to look squashed round the shoulders and clearly felt uncomfortable in it. It does look roomy initially but it's fine and it's not unsafe.

There's not a lot of info on the inserts i guess due to different sized babies. Just have a play around and see what your baby looks comfortable with. If you think there's too much padding, take something out

This was exactly the same for me

Joie are pretty helpful if you contact them on Facebook messenger with pics they might advise.

My 1 year old has the inserts still in. The inserts should full up the gaps between child and seat and give a really snug fit.
The wedge is the absolute last thing to come out. Attached a guide that might help.

My baby is 7 months and still has the newborn bit in place. Shes 16lbs and seems fine in it.
Can you contact the manufacturer? With my son I just did it when he looked big enough and had enough support etc to still keep him safe.

It comes out in three parts.

The head part once the child can sit unaided and has headcontrol.

Next the body insert once the child is too snug and the final wedge once you struggle to fit the child and the straps are on the leg's not the belly, can be two years old plus depending on the childs size.

It's a weight limit seat of 18kg so don't go by the age on car seats and it's safer to use it rear facing for the whole time of use as well.

I think some of the groups are a bit over obsessed with keeping the inserts in as long as possible when even Joie don't actually advocate for that. If you want a definitive answer, I would take photos of her both with and without the insert that you're unsure about and send them to Joie either on one of their social media channels or through their website contact form. They are generally really engaged and will respond fairly quickly.

However, I still have both wedge and body insert in for my 1yo (pictured), who is about 80cm tall and weighs 10kg ish (22lbs). I took both out for DS2 when we got the seat and he was only 10mo - I think in hindsight it was too early. You do need to keep them in longer than with other seats, it's a bit of an odd seat. This guide is from Joie, and I think it's a good guide. It's more helpful than the one in the manual. I will also attach a video which I found helpful for deciding whether inserts are needed.

Most likely IME what you need to do is raise the headrest up and sit her up slightly higher in the seat, that usually fixes the issue of inserts looking wrong.

Thank you all 😊 I will take some photos and contact Joie.

Resurrecting this…

I am still quite confused about the seat. When they get to about 18 months old - is there an insert that’s supposed to come out then? It feels like the headrest isn’t in a very comfortable position with his shoulders now?

The insert is massive and chunky so you'd know if you had it in, I think. See photo in @MikeWozniaksMoustache post. It just sits loose in the seat, it's not hidden under the cover or anything.

If you bought one of the newer versions they sell them cheaper without inserts, is it possible you've had that one?

Have you watched the video I linked above, can you see the inserts Margaret is using there?

You say the headrest position is uncomfortable, are you aware that it moves up? Again look at video for a demonstration if you have not found this :)

We are at 18 months now and no inserts any more. Headrest is on not the smallest position. I would guess 2 or 3 out of 6.

Actually maybe even 3/4 out of 6

We had this after an infant carrier so DD moved into it aged 12 months and we didn't need any of the inserts at that age.

I agree with @BertieBotts about checking the height of the head rest. Sounds like it may need to move up?

I didn’t realise headrest was covered in the video! So stupid of me. Have now fixed it - hurray!

Thank you!