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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
riserst
member
New Conv Carseat Does Not Fit Rear Facing in Family Car
riserst
member
Our son is a little over 9 months, 24.5 lbs, 30 1/2 in.
We just purchased the Evenflo Momentum 65 Conv Car Seat over the weekend. We spent the remainder of the weekend trying to get the car seat installed rear facing. We tried everything we could to make it fit securely and could not get it to fit properly. We ended up installing the carseat forward facing and got it secured firmly and it fits great. (I drive a Lexus IS 350 sedan - 2006).
Anyway... I will try to make this short. Being aware that the guidelines say rear facing until 2.. there is some concern about our son's safety. I drove the car/carseat and the kiddo to the fire station up the street to have them check it out and see if possibly we were doing something wrong and could get it fixed. After 3 firefighters worked on it, they were in agreement that it could not be installed rear facing. They also were in agreement that my son was as safe as he could possibly be with the car seat forward facing in the car we currently own. We THEN notice on the car seat sticker that it says to NOT have child rear facing after 1 year OR 20 lbs. (KIind of contradicts what we read about the car seat when we were comparing them in BRU).
We are not in the financial situation at this time to go purchase another car. When we do we will be insuring that the car seat will fit rear facing in the car we select.
I am going to go look at BRU again to see if there is anything smaller that we can swap for to see if it will fit. I am guessing we are going to not have much luck because most of the conv. car seats are approx the same size.
Has anyone else ran into this problem? Are you driving with your child forward facing? I am eager to hear. Flame me if you feel compelled. I can handle it.
Gotta feed the kiddo and get him down for a nap, but I will be back.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: New Conv Carseat Does Not Fit Rear Facing in Family Car
I hope no one flames you, you've done all you can to get your child rear facing, including planning on looking again at BRU to see if there's a different seat to swap the one you bought out for.
So even if you have the passenger seat all the way up, you still can't fit the carseat rear facing? I myself would not even think to put my child forward facing until at least a year old. If this is the case, I would be looking to swap for another car seat.
Exchange it.
However, the wording on the seat is often misread. It definitely does not say that it can't be used rear-facing after 1 and 20.
Definitely exchange it. There will be something that fits. You can try out the seats at BRU in the parking lot to make sure it does. Something like a Britax Roundabout should be smaller.
And I'm surprised the firefighters were so lax in saying your son is safe FFing at 9 months. That's upsetting. They should have insisted you exchange the seat.
Page EmilieMadison. I think she is a carseat tech and I bet she'll have some great advice for you she also has price friendly information should cost be an issue.
We have a sedan so size of seat was a concern for me as well. My seat is on it's way and it will be rear facing otherwise it's going back.
I agree, you shouldn't have to get a new car, but I also don't think you should take what the 3 firemen said as final word either. It sounds like you want it rear facing so continue to pursue that route.
Texas' Department of Transportation website says right on it to keep them rear facing until at LEAST 1 year AND 20 pounds. I'd, at the very least, follow the law.
That being said, there are car seats made for smaller cars. Research and find one that fits.
It doesn't matter where you put the seat in the back. The back seats are bucket, so it is not fitting securely to the seat and wobbles ALOT. We tried leveling it out with towels or blankets as suggested in the car seat manual, but we still could not get it to stop moving around. Forward facing the car seat does not budge.
Yes... we will be looking to see if we can swap. We chose one of the smallest available at the BRU we were at because we were concerned that it would be a tight fit.
I copied this word for word right off the sticker on the car seat.
"WARNING
Use only in a rear facing position when using it whit infant weighing less than 20lbs (9 kg) or less than 1 year of age."
Apologize for my delays in responding.. I am in and out of here and am checking in as time permits.
uhm..but from what I understand it's illegal for your under 1year old to be front facing.
We returned a carseat to BRU no problems.
Believe it... that is what they told me.
I am also stopping by the police station tomorrow morning to see what they say. (Forgot to mention that earlier when I first posted this).
Yes, so they are meaning that you should not use it forward facing for a baby less than 1 year of age or 20lbs. It can be used for a baby rear-facing longer than 1 year.
Definatley exchange it and get a smaller seat. There is NO way I would put DS FF at 1 year. He will be RF'ing as long as he can.
There is a seat that will fit in your car.
I also specifically asked the fire fighter if it was against the law to not have him RF in his car seat. He said it was only a guide line. The law is that they have to be in a car seat. I have not even looked at the law. My main concern was child's safety and to make sure it was installed correctly.
Regarding Texas Law, this is what I found. Not saying it is right or wrong, but apparently it is not LAW to have infant rear facing. It is a recommendation or a guideline as the fire fighter said. (I always had thought it was the law too). Guess he was right about the law at the minimum.
Four-Phase Program
Though Texas does not specify what type of seats to use for children or the location of the seats, the state does provide a four-phase series of recommendations for these areas. (1) Infants weighing up to 35 pounds should sit in a rear-facing seat in the back seat. (2) Children should then use a forward-facing seat in the back seat until they reach four years of age. (3) Children between the ages of four and eight years should use a booster seat. (4) Once children reach the legal height (four feet, nine inches) and age (eight years) requirements, they should use an adult seat belt.
I don't know if anyone else said something, but this means to use it rear facing when your child is under 1 or 20 lbs. It doesn't mean to stop using it RF once they are 1
???????
What is confusing you?
She said basically the same thing that I did. The wording can be confusing, but it means that you should NOT use if forward facing for a child weighing less than 20lbs or being a year old. It is fine to use rear-facing until 40lbs.
We have bucket seats too. We use a foam pool noodle and rolled up towels to fill the bucket, so to speak.
"Use only in rear facing position . . ." means: Do not put your kid in this carseat forward facing if he is less than 20 lbs or 1 year. This is not hard to understand.
Sorry, but I disagree. This is a totally flamable post (although she is lucky she really isn't getting flamed). It is nonsense that she even thought to put it fwd facing. 9 months is wayyyy too young/little. Come on...
Please go back to BRU and find a new car seat. Test the ones out that they have in the store until you find something that works.
Please don't FF your <1 year old.
In addition to risks during an accident (i.e. internal decapitation), it may also be illegal in your state!
You're doing the right thing by checking on a different carseat. I have a Britax Marathon which seems normal size, a Boulevard which seems bigger, and for my in-laws, we bought an Evenflow something-or-other. That one is a totally normal size.
First, I know how confusing this can all be. Now, to clear up confusion:
As other have mentioned, your seat DOES rear face to 40 lbs. The sticker you are looking at is confusing, but it's telling you that you're not allowed to use the seat forward facing for a child less than a year old or less than 20 lbs. Once a child is OVER 12 years and 20 lbs, you are allowed to FF them, but you are encouraged to keep them RF until the limit of your seat, which is 40 lbs.
I realize that many people go to fire stations for help with car seats, and shockingly, the fire fighters- while well intentioned- are very rarely TRAINED to help parents install car seats but help anyway. And what happens is what happened to you. They dont know/understand anymore than you do and often do more damage than good. Not only do they not know how to install car seats, they dont know the law or understand the repercussions or consequences of going against manufacture's instructions, which is exactly what they've told you to do. You MUST use your seat rear facing. Your child does not meet the age nor the weight requirement to be forward facing.
Your seat DOES fit RF in your car. I've installed the Momentum65 in 2 door compact cars and it fits. I know it fits in yours. But there are tricks to making it work. You need to find someone in your area who is certified who can help you figure this out. This LINK will let you search for someone in your area who can help you.
For now, until you can have it checked, go to your car and move the front passenger seat as far forward as needed and install the car seat on the passenger side in the back rear facing. Remember that since your child is not a newborn and has good head control, you do *not* need to install the seat at the angle indicated on the seat (45 degrees). You still need to have it in the recline "mode", but you can install it slightly more upright by putting pressure on the part of the seat where your LO's feet are while you tighten the LATCH or seatbelt strap.
If you have an adult passenger, they will ride in the back seat behind the driver for now. But I promise you, the seat will fit AND allow an adult to sit in the front with room.
My DH has a luxury car with bucket seats, and easily fits a carseat RF.
I would find someone else to install it, or find another carseat.
I would find someone who is certified to install carseats, it doesn't sound like those fire fighters were. Try this site https://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm
I would also look into this seat. It is promoted as fitting in small cars https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3499743
I have a VW golf (2 door!) and I can fit a britax roundabout fine.
Also, I don't understand why you didn't put the infant seat back in? I wouldn't feel comfortable driving with DD ff yet.