Urrrghhhhh - cant believe we are back to square one - carseats! | ExpatWoman.com
 

Urrrghhhhh - cant believe we are back to square one - carseats!

276
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 March 2013 - 19:42

We did lots of research into what we were going to buy initially for our newborn and decided in the end to go for a Graco with carseat that fits in the buggy which is very practical!
Our LO is now 3.5 months and has almost outgrown her car seat!!!! I CANT BELIEVE IT! Im sure we were told it would do for the first year! She's a big baby but not THAT big! LOL!

So we are back to square one. Does anyone know with Graco if we can just buy the next seat up - will it still fit the same base and buggy or do we have to buy a whole new set? Otherwise, any advice please of which would be the best one to go for? I cant bear looking at all the internet info all over again - I thought we were good for at least a year! :(

1618
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 12 March 2013 - 12:31
How tall is your baby? When my son was born he was 10 pounds and 24inches tall he fit in the first seat belt notches till he was 4 months at which point he was 27inches. We then moved up the seat belt which he happily stayed in until he was 30lbs.
849
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EW GURU
Latest post on 11 March 2013 - 09:35
We have already moved the main straps to the largest adjustment so will check out how much extra room we have now with the crotch belt moved. She is quite tall though and although nowhere near the 30lbs mentioned on the notice (she is around 16lbs) she is tall so her shoulders are quite close to touching the top of the seat. With a rear facing infant seat, the straps need to be BELOW the top of her shoulders and come over her shoulders from the back. When you turn them forward facing (recommended not until 2 years of age), the straps need to sit higher than their shoulders. If she's only 3.5 months and already on the highest setting, I wonder if maybe you've got them sitting above shoulder height? Even if she's quite tall and with a long torso, I doubt she'd be outgrowing a Snugride 30 at 3.5 months. My DS was at the top of the height charts and all torso (short legs) and we switched him to a convertible car seat at about 6/7 months and he probably could have handled a couple more months before he absolutely needed to be moved. Bottom line: you need at least 1 inch of space between the top of her head and the end of the seat before she needs a new seat.
984
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EW GURU
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 22:50
PS Where did you all buy your Maxi Cosys and what budget approx please? It seems to be the most popular here.... I got mine from Mom&me for 700dhs on sale, its also available from Mothercare for 1050dhs!! Quite a price difference.. Babyshop stocks them too if you go at a sale time I'm sure you can get a good deal on all the Maxi Cosi seats. The Maxi Cosi I got from them now in the bigger size was 25% off, so a pretty good deal!
276
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 22:11
Thank you ladies, we have the SnugRide 30. We have just noticed now after looking through the booklet that we can change the position of the crotch belt so that should give us a little extra room. We have already moved the main straps to the largest adjustment so will check out how much extra room we have now with the crotch belt moved. She is quite tall though and although nowhere near the 30lbs mentioned on the notice (she is around 16lbs) she is tall so her shoulders are quite close to touching the top of the seat. Will check it out tomorrow once she's up and about! Tnx again! PS Where did you all buy your Maxi Cosys and what budget approx please? It seems to be the most popular here....
984
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EW GURU
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 19:58
We had the Maxi Cosi Pebble which is meant to last till 6 months, but at 4 months I felt DD was too big for it and her shoulders were too confined (she's quite big for her age, height is the 95th percentile mashallah!) I stuck it out but by 5 months we had to get a bigger car seat (still rear facing though) since she would scream when we put her in the small one, and she is SO comfy in the big one so no regrets, but I wish I could have gotten longer use out of the Pebble. Point of my story is, some kids outgrow the small 0-6m carseats pretty fast!
849
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EW GURU
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 10:24
Which Graco model do you have? We purchased ours in the States, but it can go to 35lb (just under 16 kilos) and until baby's head has no more than 1" (2.5 cm) from the top of the shell. They do, however, sell a smaller model that is only supposed to be used to 20lbs (9kg). Did you happen to purchase one of those? Even if that's the case, you'd have to have a pretty HUGE 3.5 month old to have already reached the max weight for the seat! My daughter is 10 months and still fits well in hers. Yes, her feet reach the seat of the car, but they will for a long, long time as it's recommended to keep children rear facing in car seats until they at least 2 years old. Younger than 2 and their necks can't withstand an accident.
743
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EW GURU
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 09:51
I agree with everyone else there is no way your child could have outgrown his seat now. I had graco with my first two and they were in there til they were 14 months old. We got a graco snug ride for this baby and even though its more compact it should still hold him for the full year. Why do you believe your LO has outgrown their seat?
345
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 08:53
the first stage rear-facing car seat should last at least 8-9 months, if i remember correctly. Defo shouldn't have to change at under 4 months. check Graco website or customer service (we used maxi cosi so am not familiar with Graco, sorry).
72
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 08:49
Please feel free to correct me. From what I understand, babies are to be in the group 0 car seat until they reach 13kg. At 3.5 mths old, I think they still need the newborn insert to keep the head and body in place. I believe the advice is too keep them in a rear facing car seat as long as possible. My ds is 11mths old, weighing in at 8kg. He has long legs which hit the back seat, but until he's much much bigger, he won't be coming out of the car seat just yet. Hope this helps a little.
 
 

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