Car seats - who knew it could be so difficult!

TacoSarah · September 2015

I have a travel system and thought I'd go out to get the isofix base for my car. Oh silly Sarah thinking it would be that simple.

2 hours later and apparently I need a new car!

I have an Audi with sports bucket seats and tried 6 different car seats and none of them would fit. The angle of the seat was too high for a newborn.

So a word to the wise, if you've never fitted a car seat into your car before, you might want to go sooner rather than later and make sure you can get one that works.

Squirtgun · September 2015

Do you have a place you can go to get it installed professionally? Here we hae the health department and the fire department who do so for free. My seat would not go in at the correct angle, and they used pool noodles to position the seat at the correct angle.

TacoSarah · September 2015

Yeah, I went to a national baby store and 4 of them had a go and all agreed that all the seats were unsafe. They also don't condone using anything under the seats to fill in the gaps. It's very frustrating.

My sister has used pool noodles to make hers fit properly (she's in Canada) but TBH I don't think that would help, the bottom of the bucket seat is just too deep.

sheri0102 · September 2015

That's why I love my Chicco. It has a leveling base which makes it fit in almost any vehicle and I don't have to put anything under it. The base even has the bubbles like a normal level to easily see if the base is installed right.

Squirtgun · September 2015

@TacoSarah sorry, that's really frustrating!! My carseat's instruction manual actually says to do the pool noodle thing, but my seat isn't that tilted to begin with.

Ceridwen77 · September 2015

sheri0102 said:
That's why I love my Chicco. It has a leveling base which makes it fit in almost any vehicle and I don't have to put anything under it. The base even has the bubbles like a normal level to easily see if the base is installed right.

Agreed, I have a chicco and had no problem installing it with the leveling based. My DH and I both drive sports cars and it wasn't an issue in either.

RNmommy13 · September 2015

So I would go to a fire department or a children's hospital that does it. We went to a children's hospital that all they do is car seats and bike helmet fitting and they did pool noodles. And I went to another place because I am a freak and wanted it checked again after taking it out to clean it and this place used them too

MargaretC5 · September 2015

The police station told us to use pool noodles also.
Do you have a store that will let you try the car seats in your car before you buy them? I know baby r us does in the US. Or maybe try calling the dealership and ask what car seats ffit in your car.

dogsombrero · September 2015

There is a blog I think called the car seat lady that has lots info on fitment of seats. That's where I found a comprehensive list of vehicles that can take 3+ rear facing seats when we knew we had to upgrade to something bigger because the twins.

I agree with PPs we used a rolled towel as specified in our car seat manual to get it installed correctly. You may want to google car seats for your specific make/model to see what has worked for others.

TacoSarah · September 2015

It seems that the safety regulations in the UK for fitting car seats are different. Retailers cannot install it for you any other way. The base must be flat against the seat. Audi makes a car seat but it requires an isofix base so still going to have the same problem.

I think I'm just going to have to get a seat that I can secure with just the belt and install it myself, then bump up the foot using pool noodles so it's in the right position.

I wanted the isofix base so I can take the seat in and out as my car is only 3 door, but I'm just going to have to leave the seat in the car permanently and climb in the back to put the baby in.

dapoint23 · September 2015

Just a friendly suggestion and reminder, as some of us are approaching only 4-5 weeks left, that you can contact your local police or fire department to make sure your car seat is in correctly! Also, don't make the same mistake I did with DS and assume someone at the hospital would tell me if he was in it correctly. I still hate myself when I think about how poorly he was strapped in for his first car ride home in the snow. Do your research!

nmwheel1 · September 2015

I've heard of people taking the car seat base to the dealership and getting help when they thought they'd need a new car seat. Might be worth a try?

MoonUnitNugget · September 2015

TacoSarah said:
It seems that the safety regulations in the UK for fitting car seats are different. Retailers cannot install it for you any other way. The base must be flat against the seat. Audi makes a car seat but it requires an isofix base so still going to have the same problem.

I think I'm just going to have to get a seat that I can secure with just the belt and install it myself, then bump up the foot using pool noodles so it's in the right position.

I wanted the isofix base so I can take the seat in and out as my car is only 3 door, but I'm just going to have to leave the seat in the car permanently and climb in the back to put the baby in.

I drive a bmw and had the same issue. We had to purchase the Cybex Aton 2. Come to find out it is also German made. German cars want to keep you purchasing other German products I suppose.

ooooner · September 2015

Ew that's a sucky situation. I can relate as I have a Ford Mustang which also has bucket seats in the back. Since I've been pregnant everyone has been asking me "When are you going to trade it in?" My response is "I'M NOT!!" My bf has a four door Jetta which we plan to use as the primary car for baby, so it wasn't a problem finding an infant car seat to fit in that back seat. However, I also wanted the car seat to fit in my Mustang as well in case of emergencies or the occasional time we may need to use it to travel with the baby.

Before making the decision on which car seat we wanted, we went to Babies R Us and they allowed us to take different models out to my Mustang to test fit in the back bucket seats. All I had to do was leave my driver's license with the customer service desk while we brought them out to the parking lot. We didn't need to try very many though... we tried the Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant car seat first and it fit like a charm, so that went on the registry months and months ago.

We plan to get an extra base, too... one for my car and one for the other, so we don't have to deal with switching it all the time.

So, if you haven't tried the Chicco brand, give it a try. Good luck to you!

Novvbaby · September 2015

I also have a Chicco travel system and car seat I love it , it was a little in the pricey side but It's worth it !

BlondeMomma92 · September 2015

I haven't gotten a car seat yet, my parents and I are still researching-- my mom thinks I should just get a convertible car seat-- but I don't think those will attach to a stroller.. I'm not worried about the car seat not fitting in my Chevy Cruze, or my momma's suv. (I used to nanny so I've had children's car seats in both of those cars) my concern is making sure I've picked out the right item for my child.

VexedMommy · September 2015

If you intend to attach the car seat to the stroller, you can't use a convertible car seat from what I understand.

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Car seats - who knew it could be so difficult!

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