gisele_hom
what kind of car seat/bran name/style do you segest..please help
Answer First off, don't ever put any hard toys on a baby's seat, nor a TV! OUCH in a crash or even a speed bump. My first question would be how reclined is he? If he is still in an infant carrier, you can't change the 45 degree recline angle, but in a rear facing convertible car seat, you can adjust it a little bit. Newborns must have a 45 degree angle recline to prevent their head falling forward and closing off their airway, but an older baby only needs 30-45 degrees recline. He may want to be able to see more than he can right now. So I'd look into that first off. Put some static clings on the rear windshield and back side windows to give him something to look at. Play
music for kids, or better yet, talk and sing to him. He may just not like his seat, he may be bored, he may be scared b/c he can't see you.
Put one of those mirrors so you can see him. I had a mirror securely attached (with several safety pins to make sure it would not become a projectile in an accident) to the rear headrest so he could see himself, also, I put on of those baby view mirrors below my rear view mirror so I could see his reflection in his mirror in my mirror without turning around while driving (which isn't safe!) You may have to try several different models of mirrors (for his headrest) until you find one that works securely with your car.
He may really just not like car rides right now. In that case, minimize travelling for a little bit till he gets over it, which he soon will! Aim to travel at his best times of the day, morning for most babies, only go when he's eaten, well-rested, and in a good mood. It will make the trip easier for both of you.
Please DON'T get the Safety1st 3-in-1/Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in1 seats. These are all the same company - same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That's what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too short a shell to really go to 40lbs. And they do not make good boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they're at least 8 years old. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you'll ever need to buy. Not a good choice.
If you think padding might help, some great choices (and best bang for your buck, too!) are:
The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17", harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has little less plush padding. Wide open belt path, easy to install, though it doesn't have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don't have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It's one of only 2 seats that does this (The Britax Boulevard is the other, I believE), and it has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. No more tugging straps to tighten them either. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. As a major bonus, it can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode. Awesome for kids who still sleep in the car. I LOVE THIS SEAT! LOL My son, who is too big for every other car seat at Walmart has the same amount of room in this as the Britax Marathon.
The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different variances of luxury additions, with the Marathon being the cheapest base model) can be found for regular price of $269, and on sale at Albee Baby online for $209-$219. The Marathon a wide open easy to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot easier, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. I can get it into 4 different vehicles in under 2 minutes. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats (all car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture) lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years old, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years old. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years old.
Whatever you do, don't turn him forward facing! It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (see sources) that ALL babies stay rear facing as long as possible, up to the weight/height limits of their seat. Most seats go to 30lbs rear facing, some go higher, check your manual. They are too tall for an infant carrier when the head is within an inch of the top of the shell. Too tall for most convertible seats when their ears reach the top of the seat. Has nothing to do with how long their legs are! There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. They are safest rear facing b/c their bones have not yet completed the ossification process that bonds/hardens them like adults. They need the bracing support that a rear facing seat offers to withstand a crash. 20lbs AND 1 year is the bare minimum as far as the law is concerned, but the law is the bare minimum of safety, and who wants to do the bare minimum for their child? A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
Best convertable infant car seat for compact car?
T P
My daughter is 9 months and about 18 pounds(preemie) and is quickly outgrowing hergraco carrier.I have a small car- a 2 door hatch back Ford Focus,so my main issue is finding one that will fit my car.
Anyone have any suggestions for a good,small convertable car seat? Id like to be able to use it for a long time and dont want to have to buy another any time soon.
Thanks!
Answer
Car accidents are the #1 killer of children under age 12. Another person said that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends to age 2 and the NHSTA recommends until age 3. I believe that all children should rearface as long as possible. This also means that you should keep on buying a higher weight limit rearfacing seat.
5 children in the United States die every single day due to incorrect use of car seats or not using car seats at all.
I would recommend any car seat that fits your vehicle, your child, and is used correctly each and every time.
To achieve this, car seats must be installed with less than one inch of movement from side to side. 1 inch is the maximum amount of movement. I would get the car seat in your car rock solid. The car seat fits your child (when rearfacing) when the harness straps are at and below your childs armpit level AND when the child's head is one inch away from the shell. If the child's head is above the car seat, then the child will be exposed to injury because our American seats are not tethered rearfacing and they do not have foot props to prevent downward rotational force.
Please note that since your daughter is now 9 months old, her convertible car seat can be installed at a more upright angle.
I would recommend the Radian RXT or R120 as this can rearface up to 45 lbs and has a top slot of 17.5 inches. It is an extremely narrow seat, so if you ever need to fit three car seats in a row, this is the car seat for you. But anyhow, the amount of room it takes up is a little extreme, which can be remedied by installing at in at a more upright angle in the middle seat as the car seat could fit between the 2 front seats, but the downside is that you may be unable to install the car seat in the center seat with LATCH. LATCH is basically metal hooks that hold crash forces of a car seat and the car seat is attached to the car by these hooks, instead of using the seat belt. If your car manual doesn't say that you can use latch in the center seating position, then you CANNOT use latch. Latch anchors are connected to each other and will fail. I would go to toys r us and test out the seat in your 2 door vehicle.
Rear facing seats:
Radian RXT (45 lbs rear facing)
Britax Marathon, Boulevard, or Advocate- (16.75 inch top slot as advertized by britax and up to 40 lbs rearfacing) I'm not sure if I would recommend the use for a small car because they are extremely bulky, but if you could get it to fit, it would install like a breeze due to the lock off it has built in.
Safety First Compass True Fit- has an 18" high top slot (up to 40 lbs rear facing)
I wanted to let you know that the Swedish have the lowest child fatalities in car accidents because of their rear facing car seats. They rear face their children up to 4 or 5 years of age or whenever the child outgrows their rear facing seats. Their seats go up to 50 or 55 lbs! They accomplish this by having 2 rearfacing tethers and a foot prop to accomodate larger taller children. Because of the foot prop and tethers, taller children are able to use the seat until the tips of the ears are even with the headrest or shell. American seats will never be able to accomplish this weight limit because they are not allowed by US Standards to have support from the seat with tethers and foot props. The rules is that the seat must be able to measure up to standards with only the seat belt supporting it. There have been only 5 or so cases of children in Sweden who have died in a car crash in a span of 2 years! Rear facing is safest and is meant for everyone!
Also, Swedish car seats can be installed at up to 10 degrees from vertical, to allow more room. It is actually slightly safer to be at a more upright angle. The only reason why newborns are at 45 degrees, is to support their necks.
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