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Original poster

long car journey - should we use cabrio baby seat or upgrade for 11 month old?

14 replies

romilly · 04/03/2007 12:01

we have just upgraded our car seat to the maxi cosi priory xp for our 11 month old dd. she looks a bit lost in it - even though she is very tall and her head is poking out the top of her maxi cosi cabrio baby seat. which would be safer to have her travel in next week for a 6 hour car journey? i have heard you should keep them rear facing as long as possible, but am concerned she wont be comfortable for that long in the smaller seat.

anyone got any advice for me?

OP posts:

Skyler · 04/03/2007 19:16

How much does she weigh? I think the Priori XP is the better choice as long as she is over the weight limit. If half her head is poking over the top of the cabrio this is not safe anyway. Recline the XP and she wil be well comfy and enjoy looking out of the window. HTH.

divamumplus · 04/03/2007 19:26

you can stop couple times and have a break, let your dd have walk, if she started toddling if not gve her little hug.
if she is over the weight limit, i would go for upgrade, which is you will still need it anyway.

Ceolas · 04/03/2007 19:29

They always look lost to begin with. Wait til she goes into a bed!

As long as her weight is OK, I'd go with the bigger seat reclined.

Original poster

romilly · 04/03/2007 20:01

that is very helpful, as you all seem to be agreed on the bigger seat and you all sound like smart mums to me. her weight is approx. 8.5 kgs although i havent weighed her for a bit, but she is off the charts height-wise, 100%+ percentile.

i agree with you skyler about the looking out of the window option for her, and divamumplus i like your hugs idea . am hoping to be able to stave off any carseat meltdowns obviously.

ceolas, i remember her looking lost in her big cotbed when she was 2 months old and now she takes up three-quarters of it already. dont think the bed thing is that far off!

OP posts:

Skyler · 04/03/2007 20:17

I think the min weight for the Priori is 9kg but if her head is over the top I think that is more unsafe if you see what I mean.

divamumplus · 04/03/2007 20:22

hey i went scotland took as 8 hours may be more. dd was 5m old and she was in combination britax first class, facing rear.
we stopped every 2 hours for milk, nappy chane and some cuddlegood luck

Skyler · 04/03/2007 20:32

I should have said half her head

tassis · 04/03/2007 20:38

I believe weight is the key thing here not length

it used to be 20 lbs that they had to be to go into next stage seat (but I'm about 3 years out of touch so don't quote me on that)

Original poster

romilly · 04/03/2007 20:58

i'll have to try and feed her up a bit this week then so we get to the 9kg benchmark!

the main thing that concerns me is how safe it is, they seem so much more vulnerable in the front facing seat - but as skyler says it cant be safe once they are taller than the seat

OP posts:

Pannacotta · 04/03/2007 21:14

I heard too that if the baby is too tall/long for the seat it's no longer safe. I can't see that being 500g less than than the suggested weight can make that much difference so would personally also go for the new seat. The next size up are generally more comfortable too (than the baby seats) and it seems like the safer option. Hope the journey is ok.

Skyler · 04/03/2007 21:30

I have just moved my nearly 4 year old into the booster style Maxi Cosi Rodi XP. I found it really scary driving with her in that to begin with. She had always been so securely strapped in and suddenly she was using a grown up belt .

willowcatkin · 04/03/2007 22:31

Difficult - the weight thing is supposed to be about the strength of the child's 'frame' to withstand the pressure of the seatbelt / harness if the worst happens and there is an accident.

So if she is only 8.5 kg the right answer would be stay in rear facing. However, I had the same dilemma with my then 15mth old dd and compromised by putting her in a thick coat so that, in clothes, she was over the 9kg and was well cushioned.

Original poster

romilly · 04/03/2007 23:04

willowcatkin now you have me wondering again. trouble is she gets hot and bothered in a coat in her car seat, not good for a long journey methinks

skyler - you sound just like me. the next stage will freak me out too - just a seatbelt yikes!

can you tell i would have her wrapped up in cotton-wool given half a chance, lol...

OP posts:

willowcatkin · 04/03/2007 23:23

Put the window down? lol

If you are really worried you could speak to either Maxi Cosi customer service or the local road safety people who are the experts.

I have the Maxi Cosi Rodi and it is great, but i agree it is an interesting transition especially with escapologists like my ds. He is a big boy so was in it at under three and not really old enough to fully understand about safety - luckilly dd more than made up for him and would always tell me when he had wriggled out / undone the belt

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