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Parenting

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Original poster

MOving from a "baby" car seat to the next stage?

77 replies

chloemegjess · 01/12/2008 17:42

Hi. My DD is 11 months old, so OLD enough to go in the next stage car seat, but she is small for her age so I have held out for now.

I haven't hqad her weight for ages, so don't know how much she actually weighs, but she was nearly 17lbs last time and I can see she has put on quite a bit as she has realled filled out. Since getting cold, I have been having trouble getting her into the seat. She sits in it fine, and doesn't look too big. BUT I really struggle to get the straps on properly. They are as long as they go and I have to really put effort in to get them on. But I know if she didn't have the coat on then she would be fine.

DO I need to take her to get weighed? To make sure? Or is it ok to move her now? We have the car seat already (britax).

what do you think?

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Original poster

chloemegjess · 02/12/2008 16:47

I have 2.

One is a Britax Eclipse and the other is a britax duo isofix.

I am not sure which is better? To use as the main one.

I was given them both. They are second hand, but given from a Mum at the school and have not been in any accidents etc. Practically brand new, you couldn't tell by looking at them that they have even been used. I have the instructions etc too.

Are they ok?

They are 9kg/9months +

I am hoping to get DD weighed tomorrow although the clinic times clash with her nap which is always so annoying as she is then grumpy at the clinic. I hate getting her weighed! The HVs round here are all fruitcakes and usually give me some complely wrong, useless advice that wasn't asked for.

I did the school run with DD with no coat and the straps were a bit loose so I think you are right there. BUT even when i tightened the straps, I can't get them to stay on her sholders properly, I have no idea as it used to be fine. so it is a recent problem. She does move about in her seat as much as it allows her to and is always desperate to see the mindee that was in the car. She can't see her very easily in this seat which is what upsets her. She is a bit obsessed with children! Lol. Lets just hope she likes her little brother or sister as much when he/she arrives!

OP posts:

TipsyFairydifferentID · 02/12/2008 16:55

do you have isofix points in the car? if so, use that one as the main one.
See how she goes tomorrow.

Original poster

chloemegjess · 02/12/2008 17:01

To be completly honest, I am going to sound extremly dumb here. I don't even know what isofix is

We would obviously have double checked the seat was 100% safe/suitable for our car before using it and looked all this up. We just haven't got round to it as we haven't needed to use it yet

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TipsyFairydifferentID · 02/12/2008 17:04

what year is the galaxy?

ThePregnantMerryYuleWitch · 02/12/2008 17:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

chloemegjess · 02/12/2008 18:32

The galaxy is an x reg.

Thank you very much for all your help. How do you tell if a car has isofix? I was hoping to use which ever car seat I don't use for DD, either as a spare for childminding or to put in my mums car for the odd occasion she has her. (Or give to my mum until I need it for CM). But if her car doesn't have Isofix can I not use it? The lady who gave it to me said it fits any car, but obviously that is not garanteed. My Mum has a fiesta, quite old, about an s reg I think (can find out)

What actually is the isofix all about?

OP posts:

TipsyFairydifferentID · 02/12/2008 19:58

Those wont have isofix, either of them.
more info here
Isofix seats can still be fitted using the standard 3-point belt.

mumof2andabit · 02/12/2008 20:08

I asked my hv about this as dd is very small as was ds but he grew too tall for his car seat months and months before he reached 20lbs but I decided his head poking over the top was not safe so into a bigger seat he went. dd seems to fit into her seat fine for now so I wont get her a bigger one untill she grows too tall. My hv said that with ff seats one of the main things securing them is the childs weight which they specify to be 20lbs so if you are going to use one before baby is 20lbs you need to be quite sure that the baby seat really isnt a safer alternative. If that makes any sense?

Original poster

chloemegjess · 02/12/2008 20:43

To be honest, I really do not know what is safest. I know RF ones are safer in general, but if I crashed and the straps were not on properly then I am unsure if it really is safer?

I will get her weighed tomorrow anyway hopefully and will report on here how much she weighed.

OP posts:

TipsyFairydifferentID · 02/12/2008 20:48

Horton · 02/12/2008 20:55

I really don't think my daughter could possibly fit into a rear facing seat. What do they recommend for insanely skinny children who are an average height?

I suppose she's not far off 20lbs so it won't be a concern for more than another few weeks but I am slightly sceptical that FF seats can really be as bad as all that. Frankly, when I was this age, I was crawling around unrestrained in the back or in a carrycot so any seat at all would be an advance on that!

I don't really get how the child's weight keeps a FF seat secured? Surely the seatbelt is doing the securing? Or am I being v thick?

TipsyFairydifferentID · 02/12/2008 20:59

how tall is your dd horton? she's not considered to have outgrown it until her head is over the top of the seat.
It's the harness that's the consideration for ff. If she's not at least and preferably more than 20lb, if there is a violent accident then the force could be enough to slip her through the shoulder straps especially if she's wearing a coat which means the straps wont be as tight as they should be.

Original poster

chloemegjess · 02/12/2008 21:14

That is what I worry would happen to my DD now in her rear facing one, as the sraps are not sitting right, but I can't work out what is wrong with it! All looks fine, have been using since birth with no problems until now. Just can't work out what is wrong.

OP posts:

Horton · 02/12/2008 21:34

She's about 80 or 90cm (she's a few months over two but v thin so nearly 20lbs at the moment). Definitely too tall for our rear-facing seat. When we bought the FF one, there were no RF options in the shop as far as I remember. That was about a year ago. Nobody suggested that we should look for a rear-facing option. Her head was at the top of the seat when we switched to the FF one.

ThePregnantMerryYuleWitch · 02/12/2008 21:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

arabicabean · 02/12/2008 22:13

We've also started the process to move our baby to the next stage seat (currently in a 0+). We are going to try some group 1 rear facing seats (have 5 to choose from). If nothing fits my coupe, we will consider changing the car. Rear facing group 1 is supposed to be a much safer option.

Lurcio · 02/12/2008 22:26

arabicabean 5 to choose from?
I've been really struggling to find information on rf carseats. If In get a RF over the internet can I take it to Halfords or somewhere to get it checked? I can't find anyone who stocks them that's not online

Tangle · 02/12/2008 22:42

Lurcio - have a look at the rearfacing website. There's also a forum where you can ask for suggestion on where to buy RF Group1 seats local to you. These seats are designed to stay RF throughout the Grp 1 stage - so to at least 18kg (Britax make a couple that have been tested to 25kg).

Best place to go, though, is the Essex County Council Road Safety Centre in Rayleigh, as they're about the only place in the UK that have most of the RF Group 1 car seats and know how to fit them (details on the link above). Even if you're no where near Essex its still worth giving them a call - they may know what fits in your car, or they may be coming to a town near you soon (the Essex team do a lot of the free car seat safety checks at fire stations). I would be wary of asking retailers that don't stock RF Grp 1 seats to check the fit, as they have no experience - the good news is that more and more retailers are stocking RF seats and so, presumably, are competent to fit them (although Halfords and Mothercare are notable for their absence from this group at the moment...).

Any correctly fitted, weight/age appropriate seat will be substantially safer than nothing but a RF seat is generally safer than a FF one, mainly because they provide much better neck protection in frontal collisions (which make up the vast majority of impacts, especially heavy ones).

Original poster

chloemegjess · 02/12/2008 23:00

God it is so confusinG!

OP posts:

Tangle · 03/12/2008 09:42

chloemegjess - where do the straps come out of the seat-back relative to your DD's shoulders? What you describe sounds like what happens to my DD when she has a growth spurt - suddenly her shoulders are above the tops of the straps and it all starts to go pear-shaped. On our seat you can adjust where the straps come through and, usually, we can make it all look a lot better again by moving them up. I don't know if that's how your seat works, but it might be worth a try - mothercare should be able to help you if you can't find the instructions or aren't technologicaly minded!

wrt being able to see, a lot of the Grp 1 RF seats we looked at sit much higher in the car than infant carriers - DD will be able to see out fine, just looking backwards rather than forwards.

Original poster

chloemegjess · 03/12/2008 10:05

Yes the straps come out below her shoulders. We have moved them to the highest one but she is still a bit too tall strap wise.

As I said. I can't afford to buy a RF group 1 car seat as we already have the group 1 FF.

I am aiming to get her weighed this afternoon but it is annoying as it doesn't fit in with DDs naps at all so trying to work out a plan!

If she does weigh over 20lb do you think I should move her? Still a bit confused

OP posts:

Tangle · 03/12/2008 11:56

I honestly don't know - I'd recommend you call the lovely ladies in Essex and ask their opinion. They're first and foremost passionate about child safety, and whilst they'll hapily chat about RF if that's what you're interested in they won't labour the point if its not an option (and I doubt they'd bring it up at all if you ask the question you've asked here "the straps in my DD's infant carrier don't seem to fit anymore, she's XXX lbs and YYY months, we already have a Britax FF Grp 1 seat - is she safer staying in the RF infant carrier or going FF?"). They may also be able to advise on which seat would be better to use.

Their number is 01268 297593 - and they do return calls if they're not around.

Original poster

chloemegjess · 03/12/2008 12:15

Thank you. Don't suppose they have an email? If not, no problem I will call them. I am just a bit rubbish on the phone! I forget what to say, will say wrong weight etc! lol. And if I can email, I can do it after dinner, when DD is in bed and I have time/space to think properly!

OP posts:

Tangle · 03/12/2008 12:53

Their try before you buy web page gives this email: [email protected].

Hope they can give you some good advice

Horton · 03/12/2008 14:16

Thank you, YuleWitch.

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