Rear-Facing Support, Questions & Answers

[Eala]

Thank you! Is there a big difference between the I and II? I definitely like the Isofix advantage - I am not so good with seatbelt fidding!! Seat does get moved around a bit...

Does the DL turn FF at any point? Just wondering as Lizzie gets older...Not a big point, but more a 'wonder'.

Hakan is very helpful, isn't he? DH and I have been so impressed.

As far as I can tell, the only difference between the I and II is that in the II, the actual "seat" part also acts as an infant carrier. So it attaches to the base (which is the part that belts/Isofix's into the car). I *think* the I is all one piece - Mary Jo could probably answer that one My LO is still small enough that we have occasionally taken the seat off and taken her into the house like that. And I do have to admit to having wheeled her into the house as well The infant seat part has wheels, and a telescopic handle, and it was too cute not to use at least once

The DL doesn't turn FF, no. It's rear-facing til 18kg (which will be when my LO is about 5 or older )

Hakan is an absolute star. He is just so knowledgeable and pleasant

 

[TennisGal]

Thanks, Eala!

We ended up going for the 2-Way...annoyingly, our car has got storage compartments underneath, so Hakan said we'd need to get styrofoam fitted for the other two. Not a big deal, but it got me a bit uncomfortable if the foam got worn...wasn't in place properly.

Still, love the look of the 2-Way. Am so chuffed - RFing until 6!

Got to say, think it's a disgrace we don't promote this more in the UK. Although, I'll be doing my own bit for Hakan's site!

 

[ellie]

hi again :wave:

i got in touch with hakan and he sent a really helpful email but OH is really against us spending so much money on a car seat!!!!! And he really can't see why I am so keen to keep LO RF. Annyyyywaaayy......
I thought I'd tracked down an OK compromise which didnt cost a fortune - the britax first class plus, which is RF till 13kg then FF, but as LO is tiny and not yet 9kg i reckon he wouldnt be 13kg till he was at least 2.5. It looks pretty good to me, I know that some reckon the 'combi' seats arent as good but I think in europe it gets good reviews?
Does anyone have any experience of this one?
we only have a small car and dont have isofix etc so I thought I might persuade OH to go to the sellers in Bristol to check it out ( the nearest one to us).

 

[Eala]

Ellie, my friend has the First class plus (they've been using it since birth) and he really likes it. Seems like a good, solid seat, and Britax are a good make

TennisGal - yay that you've decided on a seat The two-way looks lovely - what colour did you go for?

 

[twiggy56]

decided (after contacting Haken) to go for the Britax Multi Tech!

Will fit in our car fine with leg room..it will grow with abigail so will last us ages and will RF until shes around 5 years old!

Looks well comfy too! Here is one of the pics he emailed me of the multi-tech in a Golf!!

 

[Tsia]

I have a britax two way cos after reading the stats and horror stories/videos .. I do ALOT of driving with Mylo in the car and wanted him to have as much protection in a crash as possible.. hoping I never have a crash with him in.. but still. my family live 100 miles from me.. and we live in the midle of nowhere with narrow roads and country lanes so a bit more risky fr head on collisions etc.
I have to get a pic of him in it tomoz and load it on here. We got it brand new off ebay for a bargain £120 delievered..considering theyre £200 RRP..a bit tricky to fit in.. but now on the look out for another for OH's car!!

 

[lynnikins]

if only i had the money id be buying 2 multitech and taking them with us to australia ( i know the law out there is stupid already and fully intend to fail to abide by it and on my own head be it if my children are injured ERF ) i have the First Class Plus and like it but with EJ being so big ( need to get him weighed actually ) not sure how much longer i'll be able to have it RF but i can put it and the MC Priorfix in the back of my golf and still get myself inbetween ( 5"8 and size 12/14 ) with my 6"6 husband driving so the front seat is pretty far back.

 

[redpoppy]

Hi guys! Anyone have the Britax Multiway or the Besafe Izi Combi?

I contacted Hakan and he said the reclinging positions on the Besafe weren't great as the seat needed to be kept in the full recline position for baby to be able to fall asleep and their head not fall forward.

Anyone have the Multitech and find that a problem in that? I hate it when LO's head rolls forward and I can't do anything about it (except hold it gently if I'm sitting in the back which usually results in her waking! )

Thanks guys! I really need to buy this as LO is really squeezing into her seat. Please helP!

 

[Rachel_C]

We have the BeSafe Izi Combi and I really like it. I think the head thing would probably depend on your car's seats. I've seen photos of the seat in cars where it looks absolutely fine even when not reclined but we have a Golf and the base of the actual car seats seem to tip back quite a bit so that the child car seat doesn't recline that far (hope that makes sense, I mean that the car seat seems to tip the child car seat further forward than in other cars, so the child seat recline doesn't make as much difference as it should). I've heard from someone with a Polo that the same is true in her car. For us, LO's head can sometimes tip forward even when she's reclined as far as possible so I wouldn't buy one unless you can try it out in your car. Apart from that though, it's a great seat and LO seems very comfy.

 

[sun]

Just popped into Natural Parenting to ask a question about my new RF car seat - and what do you know this thread is here!!! I just got a new car seat (WOOOOOO!!!) Bun can no longer fit in his Graco Snugride 32 and I have been looking and looking for a car seat that we can do RF and still fit in our car. We ended up getting the Sunshine Kids Radian XT since we can manage to squeeze it into the middle of the back seat RF.

I ordered it online and haven't opened the box yet because OH is unhappy about the complete lack of space while LO is RF (he is 6'-2") and is really crushed in the front with the seat RF. He only wants to do it for a short time, then switch to front facing. We have a Mazda 3 car which isn't tiny, but the car seat retailers roll their eyes and say we need a minivan or SUV to RF a regular seat?? Any of you have "small" cars and RF?

Thanks!

 

[Kaites]

Just popped into Natural Parenting to ask a question about my new RF car seat - and what do you know this thread is here!!! I just got a new car seat (WOOOOOO!!!) Bun can no longer fit in his Graco Snugride 32 and I have been looking and looking for a car seat that we can do RF and still fit in our car. We ended up getting the Sunshine Kids Radian XT since we can manage to squeeze it into the middle of the back seat RF.

I ordered it online and haven't opened the box yet because OH is unhappy about the complete lack of space while LO is RF (he is 6'-2") and is really crushed in the front with the seat RF. He only wants to do it for a short time, then switch to front facing. We have a Mazda 3 car which isn't tiny, but the car seat retailers roll their eyes and say we need a minivan or SUV to RF a regular seat?? Any of you have "small" cars and RF?

Thanks!

We were in a similar situation (hubby is over 6' and we drive a Sunfire). In the end we got an Evenflo Triumph- it doesn't go RF for very long though (I think the seat says up to 30lbs, which Emma isn't far off ) but we had bought and returned enough seats before finding one that fit in the backseat. From my experience, all the Safety First seats are too tall (Alpha Omega I think is the line of seats they do). When I searched online, Britax was recommended but when we compared them to the ones that we had already tried to fit, they were almost as tall as the Safety First seats so we didn't persue that option, but you have a different car so maybe that would be an option We got the eye rolling when we shopped for ours too- Toys R Us flat out told us that they didn't have anything for "small car owners" Good luck!

 

[mandarhino]

My (Canadian) parents have some sort of Group 0-3 car seat in their car which can be rear facing to I think 13 kgs. They've got a Mazda 6 though so not sure if it would fit in a smaller car. They keep asking it they can turn it round and i keep saying no, she's nowhere near the weight limit.

We've got a Honda Jazz (or Fit in North America) so a small car. We use a Britax Two Way Elite which fits fine with no impact on front seats. We have it installed in the middle. I suspect it is not available in Canada though.

 

[Rachel_C]

Just popped into Natural Parenting to ask a question about my new RF car seat - and what do you know this thread is here!!! I just got a new car seat (WOOOOOO!!!) Bun can no longer fit in his Graco Snugride 32 and I have been looking and looking for a car seat that we can do RF and still fit in our car. We ended up getting the Sunshine Kids Radian XT since we can manage to squeeze it into the middle of the back seat RF.

I ordered it online and haven't opened the box yet because OH is unhappy about the complete lack of space while LO is RF (he is 6'-2") and is really crushed in the front with the seat RF. He only wants to do it for a short time, then switch to front facing. We have a Mazda 3 car which isn't tiny, but the car seat retailers roll their eyes and say we need a minivan or SUV to RF a regular seat?? Any of you have "small" cars and RF?

Thanks!

Can't your OH just sit in the seat that doesn't have the RF child seat behind it? If he's driving, sit LO behind the passenger seat and if he's not driving, he can either go in the front passenger seat and move the RF seat to behind the driver's seat (if you're small enough to have the seat far enough forward to fit the child seat behind), or he could sit in the back. We have a BeSafe Izi Combi isofix and it's so quick to fit that it really wouldn't be a problem to move it if you needed. That seat is supposed to fit in a Mazda 3, although that doesn't mean much - the manufacturers don't consider if the front seat will be useable.

When my OH was questioning whether it was worth paying extra for a RF seat, I told him that the seat would be cheaper than buying a wheelchair and other equipment if she was internally decapitated in a crash (if she managed to survive at all). I know it's a very dramatic thing to say, but you'd have less space with a wheelchair crammed in your car! It did the trick with my OH anyway.

Oh, we have a VW Golf, I think you'd call that a medium-ish car?

 

[sun]

Thanks Kaites - I will check out the Triumph, but I do like that the seat I got does RF to 40lbs. Bun is only 21lbs though, so he would probably RF in that seat for a while. The seat does fit in the back middle, but I don't know how long OH would be ok with the space in the front. I thought our car was roomy actually, but the salespeople acted like we drive a smart car! lol

Rachel, I think the seat will only fit behind the passenger if the seat is pushed all the way forward. Meaning no one could fit there!!!! But I guess if it becomes an issue I can sit in the back if both of us are in the car. I will look for the seat you mentioned, but I haven't seen that brand here. Our old car was a VW rabbit (same size as the golf) and our mazda is almost the same size. I would consider it a normal sized car, but apparently it is considered a small "compact" car here!! dang!

 

[Rachel_C]

Thanks Kaites - I will check out the Triumph, but I do like that the seat I got does RF to 40lbs. Bun is only 21lbs though, so he would probably RF in that seat for a while. The seat does fit in the back middle, but I don't know how long OH would be ok with the space in the front. I thought our car was roomy actually, but the salespeople acted like we drive a smart car! lol

Rachel, I think the seat will only fit behind the passenger if the seat is pushed all the way forward. Meaning no one could fit there!!!! But I guess if it becomes an issue I can sit in the back if both of us are in the car. I will look for the seat you mentioned, but I haven't seen that brand here. Our old car was a VW rabbit (same size as the golf) and our mazda is almost the same size. I would consider it a normal sized car, but apparently it is considered a small "compact" car here!! dang!

Ahh I forgot that cars are bigger over there! When the seat is behind the passenger seat, we have about 20cm between the front of the front seat and the dashboard, so just enough space if I sit in the passenger seat but OH wouldn't like it much. He does most of the driving anyway, and when I'm driving it's to share the driving on long journeys so he sits in the back with LO anyway.

 

[florabean1981]

Hi guys! Anyone have the Britax Multiway or the Besafe Izi Combi?

I contacted Hakan and he said the reclinging positions on the Besafe weren't great as the seat needed to be kept in the full recline position for baby to be able to fall asleep and their head not fall forward.

Anyone have the Multitech and find that a problem in that? I hate it when LO's head rolls forward and I can't do anything about it (except hold it gently if I'm sitting in the back which usually results in her waking! )

Thanks guys! I really need to buy this as LO is really squeezing into her seat. Please helP!

We have the BeSafe Izi Isofix rear facer & so far so good. The child gets a lot of leg room too, which is a plus.
The only things I've noticed are that I agree, it needs to be in its full recline setting in order for our son's head not to flop about when he falls asleep, and it also took a couple of journeys to adjust the head rest & straps to the right height to ensure he was comfy, safe & happy...
The only other thing is our son's motion sickness now that he's in an upright seat, but that's a whole other story, lol.
I would defo recommend it. If you're down south, there's a great shop in Weymouth that will give you advice, great communication & will fit it for you too.

 

[mommyof3co]

Sun~ Try going up to a Babies R Us or other store like that and they will let you try the seats in your car. The Radian does take up a lot of front to back room in most cars because it's usually a very reclined seat, it's hard to get an upright install in most cars. But the Complete Air which RF to 40lbs (it's possible it's 35lbs in Canada I really can't remember for sure) but it's more upright and is very tall too. In most cases a convertible seat will take up less front to back room than an infant seat because they are so reclined and a convertible doesn't have to be. Another good one would be the True Fit, only 35lbs but very tall so would still last you a long time, their weight gain really slows down.

 

[ummar]

I've only read the first page of this thread and have to rush off now, but wanted to quickly say to mommyof3co that you should repot that manager's behaviour to the head office of that company. He behaved really unprofessionally and should take spats with employees elsewhere, not in front of customers.

Secondly, I have done very little deep research on car seats because this is my first baby but I have an awful story to tell: my cousin's young family were in a car accident last summer, with four adults and one baby in their car. Three of the adults, including my cousin, her husband and his mother died instantly. My cousin's father in law was the fourth adult and he came away with broken bones in every part of his body.

The baby came away without so much as a scratch - thanks to a miracle and a well-thought out carseat.

 

[sausages]

YEY for this thread!! I have been getting irritated with my carseat for ages and have just put up with it, but now i may be able to find a solution if you can help me!!

We have the BeSafe Izi Combi with the belt straps cause our car is too old for isofix. It's a Ford Focus. The shop we bought it from fitted it for us and we have since been scared to take it out and move it to any other car. It just looks so complicated and we daren't try it in case we do it wrong and have an accident and it's not safe.

Our parents have DD a lot (lucky!) and we have ended up just putting them on our car insurance so that they can take our car when they need to drive her anywhere. It would be FAAAAAAAR easier if they could just take the blummin car seat into their car.

Anyone else have this problem? Is there a way around it? Are the seats as hard to fit as they look? Both DH & I plus our parents would need to be able to do it and DH's mum is about as scared of stuff like that as you can be - she has OCD so would need to know she'd done it properly iykwim.

Do we just need to get a different seat?

We planned to ERF DD until she was quite a bit older, but at the moment we are planning to turn her at 2.5ish because it's such a massive pain in the arse.

 

[Lliena]

I wouldnt call keeping my child safe a massive pain in the arse...Am sure its easy enough to fix in to a different car if you have a look. Or take it to a specialist shop/bck to the shop you hd it fitted in and get them to show you how to do it in both cars and have a practice till you feel secure doing it.