Baby outgrows car seat at 6months, now what?

[murphy36]

He's 90odd%ile and his head is just reaching the top of the head rest.

I've been given 2different car seats, both forward facing and one tilts to several different positions.

Anyone else moved them into forward facing at this age? Or do I have to bite the bullet and spend 200-300 on rear facing?

[GoodEggy]

How much does he weigh? What weight does the seat go up to? My 91 centile height and weight 1 year old is still in his first seat. It goes up to 13kgs. He's approx 11kgs. What seat have you got?

[SweepTheHalls]

Don't turn him round, he's much too little. Get a group 1/2 seat that can be rear facing and then forward facing.

[beccajoh]

It's his eyes level with the top of the seat, not his head.

[PenguinsLoveFishFingers]

www.maxi-cosi.com/products/car-seats/how-to-choose.aspx

It isn't head reaching the top of the headrest according to maxi cosi....

[Clargo55]

Please do not forward face yet

The laws are going to change soon about keeping babies rear facing for longer, there must be good reason for it to be changing.

I also wouldn't use the second hand forward facing ones anyway.
The plastic starts to degrade around 5 years old and are not supposed to be used, can you find the manufacturing date on those seat?

Also agree its the eyes at the top of headrest not the top of the head.

[DharmaBumpkin]

My 99.6% centile DD outgrew hers at 5 months. We were advised to jam her in there as long as possible, bend legs etc, then move to the next stage... Which was forward facing, we didn't have another choice. It was fine, though I drove very carefully for a couple of months!

[breatheslowly]

I think you are mean to look at the top of the ears, rather than top of the head. And is the head rest the top of the car seat or some sort of insert?

[SixImpossible]

I think you're measuring him wrongly against the car seat. My dc3 has always been above 95% centile, yet fitted the group 0+ car seat until nearly 12m.

[HappyAsASandboy]

He can stay in the rear facing seat until the seat is level with his ears, so that might buy you a bit of time.

After that, I'd opt for a britax two way elite. They're just I've £200 but last until 25kg, so it'll last a good while. I would use it rear facing until 25kg, but you could turn forward facing earlier with the two way elite if you wanted.

[BikeRunSki]

The top of his head can stick out. You need yo change seats when the baby's eye level is at the top of these at. That Maxi Cosi link says top of ears, but that's much the same.

Ds is 91st centile and was in his infant seat until 10 months.

[Clargo55]

Dharma there are quite a few car seats now that continue to rear face for older/bigger children.

[MoominsAreScary]

You can buy seats from 0-4 that you can put in rear facing position until 13 kg.

Although I doubt very much the seat you have is too small for him

[Artandco]

They should fit much longer. My off the scale in height ds2 fitted in maxi cosi until 16 months

Otherwise look at the cybex sirona. Suitable rear facing newborn- 4 years

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

What car seat is it? I thought dd had outgrown her recaro at that age til I went online and realised I could adjust the back so it pulled up another couple of inches.

I then got an ERF seat (Britax two way elite £220), which will see her til she is four.

[PenguinsLoveFishFingers]

Oh, random thought, you have removed any newborn booster wedge haven't you?

[murphy36]

It's a maxi cosi Pilko.

Thanks for the link as something else I read says top of the head. But that's good. Will be leaving him in there!

But when he does outgrow it hopefully 9-12m seems like a shame not to reuse the seats I've been given. They're all less than 5years old

[MotherOfInsomniacToddlers]

My 98 centile for length and weight baby still fit in his til 10 months........ Is your seat an exceptionally small one? I had two and one was much smaller than the other.
Or you can by seats that still rear face but are normal seats and aren't the extended rear facing ones

[ilovepowerhoop]

maxi cosi dont have a pilko/pliko seat. Is it maxi cosi or mamas and papas seat you have?

Rear facing seats are the top of the head and with forward facing seats it is ear/eye height. He is too young to forward face btw.

[ForTheLoveOfSocks]

I have this one for my DD. I bought it for when she grew out if her first seat as I wanted to continue rear facing but couldn't afford to pay an extortionate amount

www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/1022939.htm?CMPID=GS001&_$ja=cgid:12415151430%7Ctsid:41361%7Ccid:166591830%7Clid:50979077550%7Cnw:g%7Ccrid:43582517790%7Crnd:12532082562947969973%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:1o2

[ilovepowerhoop]

www.childcarseats.org.uk/types-of-seat/rearward-facing-baby-seats/

[murphy36]

Mamas and papas yes not maxi cosi.

Rear facing so it is top of head?

[beccajoh]

Taken from that website

Rearward-facing seats provide greater protection for the baby's head, neck and spine than forward-facing seats. So, it is best to keep your baby in a rearward-facing seat for as long as possible. Only move them to a forward-facing once they can sit up unaided and they have exceeded the maximum weight for the baby seat, or the top of their head is higher than the top of the seat. Or, you could consider using a larger (group 1 or group 2) rearward-facing seat.

[RuthlessBaggage]

Both my later babies were too long in the body for infant carriers by 3mo (straps didn't do up). In addition, DC3 was 9kg at 4mo.

DC2 went into a Britax First Class - he was over 2.6 before he was too heavy to rf in that. DC3 has a Safety First Primeofix IIRC which is very similar but Isofix (we have changed cars).

[RuthlessBaggage]

Google "internal decapitation" for a very clear idea of why babies should be kept rear-facing while their heads are proportionally heavy.

[Parliamo]

I have that car seat, and think it willstill fit. Is there a little pad under the bum you can remove? Also the head rest bit slides up, and i think the straps with it so more space for shoulders. look for a little button at the back