Help please :)

[flotoller]

Hello. My son is nearly 5 months old and rapidly growing out of his car seat which attaches onto his pushchair. My problem is that I have absolutely no idea how long they're supposed to travel like that. He's not yet sitting on his own but sit pretty sturdy when supported. Do you think I would be ok sitting him in the stroller (it has a fold down back rest so he can lie down.)? What car seat would you recommend for him afterwards? I currently have a Graco and really like it :)

Hi
I seem to be having the same problem with my 6 month old and was wondering the exact same thing, so im going to stick around and hopefully get some advice

He absolutely should not come out of the car seat until he reaches either the weight limits of the car seat or height wise, he is ready for it. Feet will overhang long before a child is big enough to come out of the car seat. My 2 year old is STILL under the weight limits for an infant car seat, so in theory could still travel in an infant seat (plus height wise he is also still ok!)
A baby should not really be travelling regularly in the car seat on top of the pushchair either.
At 6 months it is usual for a child to move into a pushchair seat.

I am going to send someone here to talk car seats with you, as its not my area of expertise - but absolutely do not consider another car seat yet PLEASE!

Eek, I'm half asleep so will be back to reply tomorrow. But Tiggy has made good points.

Thanks tiggywunkle i have got my new seat but it is not yet in use.

A 6m old is nowhere near developed enough to ride ffing in a car - there is a new law coming in later this year (Europe wide) that will ban ffing for babies under 15m. That law is generally considered a step in the right direction but not far enough as rfing to 4y+ is the safest way for a baby/small child to travel.

Legs over the end of the seat is find - DD4's legs are bearing the edge of her Britax Baby Safe SHR II and she's 11lb & 15w so she is really NOWHERE near being ready to ff! DD3 is 3y 3m 15kg & 94cm (IIRC!) and is rfing happily in a Britax Hi-Way II and DD1 & DD2 both rf to ~4y+ in a Britax Two Way Elite. DD2 is ffing in the TWE & is 19kg & ~116cm as it can be used ffing to 25kg with a harness.

If your baby is looking snug in their car seat, check the manual to make sure there isn't any padding/insert that could be removed to make it more suitable for a bigger baby as some seats have newborn inserts to pad out the interior to make it smaller for a little baby.

Also baby shouldn't be in a padded/thick coat even in winter as the padding can stop the harness from restraining baby in a crash - thin layers & lots of blankets over the harness as needed or a cosy toes made by the car seat manufacturer to fit that model (e.g. a Maxi Cosi Pebble car seat cosy toes can only be used in a MC Pebble car seat not in a Silver Cross Voyager as it will have been designed so the straps aren't obstructed).

A group 0+/1 seat like a Britax First Class which rf to 13kg then can ff to 18kg might suit you (be wary of the cheaper combination seats as they are usually group 0 /1 which rf to 10kg then ff to 18kg - they won't keep baby rfing for long).

Or you could get a Group 0/1 or group 0/1/2 rfing seat - the BeSafe iZi Kid X3 or X3 ISOfix (6m - 18kg rf only) or the Britax MaxWay or Hi-Way II (9kg/6m - 25kg rfing only) that can be used until the child is ready for a high back booster. There are also seats that can rf or ff to 18kg/25kg as well (the Britax Two Way Elite is rf/ff 9-25kg).

Hope that helps :-)

As to growing out by height check your manual for specifics but as a general rule baby rfing seats are out grown when there is less than 1" of car seat back (aka 'shell') between top of baby's head and the edge of the shell.

The bigger rfing & ffing seats are generally considered out grown when the tips of the ears are level with the top of the shell but check the manual in case your seat has different instructions.

I know this is not my post but i also appreciate the answers i am going to search for my manual now

Truth is the high priestess of carseats! I'm just wondering how tall and heavy your babies are. My daughter is 2y4m, 83cm and 25lb and still fits well in a Britax Baby-Safe and BeSafe Izi Sleep. Her legs are well over the edge obviously but she has about 3cm above her head in both seats. I think the Graco seat I once had (I'm a carseataholic!) was on the short side although I seem to remember thinking it was quite roomy wodthways.

I mainly use a Klippan Kiss 2 and a BeSafe Izi combi X2 for her. I wouldn't recommend the BeSafe until about 9 months as it's reasonably upright, but I love the Klippan! It's RF from birth to 18kg but has a removeable infant carrier up to 10kg which also has wheels and a pull handle! That may be too small to use on its own in the car quite soon but it's really useful for carrying the baby inside without waking them so they can finish their nap (depending on how long they've been sitting in it as they shouldn't be in them for more than 2 hours).

However, they are a lot of money (you can buy extended rear facing seats for £200) and I can understand not wanting to spend that amount. The 0+/1 seats are a great compromise on RF as long as possible without the huge price tag. I have no experience of them though so can't recommend any in particular. Britax do safety testing beyond the requirements in this country so I imagine theirs are decent. I would absolutely not recommend a Nania or ownbrand seat. Although I think Mothercare do have some Maxi-Cosi rebranded ones, the also do Nania ones.

Something interesting I've just read here is that the removeable infant carrier can also be used on most Graco pushchairs. I previously heard that it might be but not seen anything specific. The Klippan Kiss 2 and Akta Graco Duologic II are the same carseat.

Thanks so much, I feel a lot less stressed now because DS is very long and skinny so has plenty of width room but the length was my major concern. Am off to read the manual :D Thanks again for all the advice, really appreciate it.

I think in Skandinavia they have their babies and young children in rear facing seats for much longer than we do in the UK. Rearfacing is the safest way to transport them and nowdays there are more options for rear facing seats. Truth knows her stuff and talks a lot of sense :).

Truth is definitely the car seat goddess. That's why I thought this was one for her to answer! Thanks Truth!

aww you guys

Thank you everyone