Help!! Car seats and gigantic baby

[stripytroubletrousers]

I really need some help - DS is 6 months on Tues. He is currently in a Britax Rock-a-tot which goes up to 13kgs, but his feet are sticking right off the end of it. So, I bought a Britax First Class Plus: Robbie - Group 0+ and 1 which faces backwards, as it says they can until 13kgs. It's huge! (I have a ford focus.) I'm really worried about getting him in without banging his head. It says in the manual that they can face forwards from 9kg, with an estimated age of about 9 months. This would be easier to get him into. DS will weigh over 9kgs now (He was 8.75kg 6 weeks ago at last weigh.) But, he can't sit unaided yet and he's still very young.

So, I'm at a bit of a loss as what's best to do - keep wodging him into the rock-a-tot, try not to bash his head getting him into rearward facing first class plus seat, or seat him facing forward even though he's much younger than the recommended age?

It's such a minefield!! Any help or advice would be wonderful. I hope I don't sound really stupid asking this , I just want to make sure I'm not putting him in harm's way.

Thanks

P.s. He's very tall as well as heavy!

OK.

He is safest being rearward facing for as long as possible (i.e. 13kg).
Use the Rock a tot as long his head isn't over the top - his feet won't be as uncomfortable as you think.

Oh and recommended age is also important (though slightly less so than weight).

He is not old enough to go forward facing until he can comfortably sit unaided for at least 20mins. (I think).

Thank you for replying. I think that sounds like the best course of action. The new seat is really roomy when facing rearward, but it's just so close to the top of the car that I'll end up bashing him trying to put him into it. Thanks again .

its safer to keep him rearfacing for as long as possible

It doesn't matter if his feet are sticking out. It's only if his head is sticking over the edge that the seat's too small for him.

Keep him in the first seat.

you should keep him in the baby car seat and then look at a rf car seat to 18/25kgs. they are so much safer than ff car seats. we have the britax 2 way elite and ds loves it at 14 months hth

Keep rear facing as long as you can.We have rear facing seats for both our girls still-(they are two and four),they are ones made for the Swedish market by Britax,(there is more info on larger size rear facing seats on rearfacing.co.uk) he is much too young to go into a foward facing seat-it is not the overall weight that is the issue,it is the weight of his head in relation to his body that is the concern safety-wise and that will be governed by his actual age not size.

My ds is nearly a year and a big baby too, we also have a rock a tot. They are absolutely fine (and safer) in it until they exceed the weight limit or their head is higher than the seat, it doesn't matter how much their legs overhang.

Thanks everyone! We went out with the rock-a-tot again today, and will stick with that, though I think my days of lugging him around in it might be over!! I definitely want him to be as safe as possible, and prefer rear-facing, I was just very disappointed that the new seat was that high that I risk banging him putting him into it, because it is much roomier for him. Maybe when he's a touch more sturdy I might be able to get him into the rear-facing larger seat easier, but for now we'll stick with rock-a-tot. After reading this, we certainly won't be going forward for a LONG time to come. Thanks again .