Rear-Facing Support, Questions & Answers

[special_kala]

This is why i love BnB!

After reading this we have decided to defiantly rear face for as long as we can. Have even persuaded OH even though the car seats are 3x more expensive.

What british ones would you ladies suggest?

 

[mommyof3co]

Yay that's great!!!

I'm not there so I can't say for sure but I'd check out importing one from sweden, you can look on https://www.carseat.se/store.html

I've heard really great things about the Multi Tech especially but also the hi way. Those are the only ones I've really heard much about, hopefully some other ladies can point you in the right direction

 

[special_kala]

Just spoke to a very nice swedish man who is going to email me some pictures of car seats and he knows our car as well so hopefully will find one that fits

 

[mommyof3co]

Yay that's great!!! Hope you'll share pics when you get one in

 

[special_kala]

Emailed the website you suggested. He sent a few pictures of the britax hi-way in their version of our car and it looks good. My seat might have to be a bit further forward but as long as River is safe as she can be

 

[special_kala]

Any views on rear facing in the front seat?

 

[mommyof3co]

If the airbag can be turned off it's technically ok just not recommended. The best place is in the middle of the back...furthest from point of impact, next would be the sides in the back, and then last the front without an airbag

 

[Eala]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on, special_kala Would you recommend that site (was that where the man you spoke to was from?) I've managed to persuade my DH that extended rear-facing is best for us too I pointed out how long these seats last for, the amount of time our LO is in the car, and some of the statistics re safety, and got him convinced at last

I think we'll definitely need to speak to someone though, to make sure that it'll fit in our car. We had issues with one or two infanct carriers and a group 0+ seat not going in, it seemed like the seatbelts were too short? Thankfully neither of the carriers we had for ourselves (the others belonged to a friend) have had any issues, and we use a base anyway. Still, I'd def want to speak to someone who knows what they are talking about to make sure that a seat would fit our trusty Volvo

 

[special_kala]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on, special_kala Would you recommend that site (was that where the man you spoke to was from?) I've managed to persuade my DH that extended rear-facing is best for us too I pointed out how long these seats last for, the amount of time our LO is in the car, and some of the statistics re safety, and got him convinced at last

I think we'll definitely need to speak to someone though, to make sure that it'll fit in our car. We had issues with one or two infanct carriers and a group 0+ seat not going in, it seemed like the seatbelts were too short? Thankfully neither of the carriers we had for ourselves (the others belonged to a friend) have had any issues, and we use a base anyway. Still, I'd def want to speak to someone who knows what they are talking about to make sure that a seat would fit our trusty Volvo

that website is brilliant. the man was really nice, i rang up and he was really helpfull and he emailed me which one he thought would suit best and included pictures some of which were of his kids as they have the same kind of car to us.

Never had that kind of customer service in the uk

 

[Eala]

that website is brilliant. the man was really nice, i rang up and he was really helpfull and he emailed me which one he thought would suit best and included pictures some of which were of his kids as they have the same kind of car to us.

Never had that kind of customer service in the uk

Wow, that's fantastic Will definitely use them when the time comes for our next carseat. My LO is dinky, so will probably be a while, but I suppose it's never to early to start thinking about it!

Thankees

 

[dom85]

Hiya

When I was pregnant I had heard of the benefits of rear-facing and my Dad bought Brady's car seat and got the Britax First class which I really like (apart from the seat belt in the way thing), it's been great for long journeys especially as a newborn.

However, I thought that the RF weight limit on it would last until he was over a year old but by the way he's going I dont think it will and having read into it more I want to keep him RF for as long as possible.

I want to get something that will last and as Brady is on the 99th centile for height it needs to be tall as well. I like the Britax Hi Way but i really like the Multi Tech as I've read that it's taller but cant find any info on whether it will fit into my car (VW Golf), I've read that it fits into most mid-sized cars, which I suppose a Golf is, but dont want to drive quite a long way to get it fitted if I'm not going to be able to use it.

Has anyone used/using the Multi Tech?

 

[dom85]

Oh, and what are tether straps for?

 

[mommyof3co]

I haven't personally used the multi tech but I know it fits most kids through age 4-5, it's very tall. I would try writing that site like special_kala did and see if they can tell you if it would fit in your car

Tethers are the top strap, like on the back top part of the seat. Very few seats in the US have them for use with rear facing, but it just makes them more stable. Forward facing seats here have to have them, it's a requirement. It's like an anti rebound thing for rear facing though, so if you have an anti rebound bar, which it seems alot of the ones over there do, you don't need the tether strap. But neither are required here. I have a tether on my radian but no spot in my car to attach it for RF so we dont' use it

 

[dom85]

Thank you for that, I wrote to Hakan at carseat.se yesterday and got a really helpful response this morning, even sent me pics of the Multo Tech and Hi Way fitted in a VW Golf.

So helpful, I bet if I had asked a shop in the UK they would have taken a random guess and then said it was my responsibility to check to cover their asses.

Best get to saving my pennies for one then

 

[dom85]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on, special_kala Would you recommend that site (was that where the man you spoke to was from?) I've managed to persuade my DH that extended rear-facing is best for us too I pointed out how long these seats last for, the amount of time our LO is in the car, and some of the statistics re safety, and got him convinced at last

I think we'll definitely need to speak to someone though, to make sure that it'll fit in our car. We had issues with one or two infanct carriers and a group 0+ seat not going in, it seemed like the seatbelts were too short? Thankfully neither of the carriers we had for ourselves (the others belonged to a friend) have had any issues, and we use a base anyway. Still, I'd def want to speak to someone who knows what they are talking about to make sure that a seat would fit our trusty Volvo

I had to ask about seat belt length as well hun, as the middle one is shorter than all the others in my car so I couldn't get Brady's infant carrier in there. Apparently the seats are fitted a bit differently so there isn't normally an issue with belt length and the belt doesn't go around te seat so you should be ok.

Also, you don't need to import the seats now, there are places in the UK that sell them, but you may have to get them specially fitted. Britax don't allow the Multi Tech to be sold online as you need it fitted properly. rearfacing.co.ul has got a good list of places that sell the different seats in various areas.

 

[Eala]

rearfacing.co.ul has got a good list of places that sell the different seats in various areas.

Yup, unfortunately the list in Scotland is quite short, and so far the websites don't seem to back up the information that rearfacing.co.uk gives I'll probably just visit those stores nearer the time, but the carseat.se site seems to have a far bigger range than any of the Scottish stockists. From what little info I could find, they only seem to have one type of seat, and I don't think it was a Britax one (I forget which it was though).

 

[bjl1981]

I've convinced ERF is the way to go, but they are SOOOOO expensive compared to FF car seats. I know that you shouldn't compromise on safety because of cost, but I'm sure for lots of people its a big factor.
Were lucky that theres a stockist where we live, so going for a look this weekend!

 

[mommyof3co]

Hope you find something you like!!! Try and think about it like you won't have to buy anything but an inexpensive booster after this. You will never have a need for a harnessed forward facing seat, if you leave them rear facing to the limits of the seats that are like 55lbs RF, then you can move straight to a booster and those aren't usually expensive

 

[Rachel_C]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm looking into buying Leyla's next car seat and I've managed to convince OH that extended RF is the way to go (his big concern was travel sickness!), but I'm not sure when we can move her into another seat. We currently have a Mothercare infant seat (RF) that is suitable from birth to 13kg but to be honest, I went for the lightest seat to carry rather than the safest. I just assumed that if it was legal it would meet all the requirements and be fine, but I wish I'd done more research now. Anyway I'm now planning ahead for her next seat but I've noticed that some are suitable from 9kg, which she isn't actually that far off. So my question (finally!) is: is it safer to keep Leyla in a baby seat for as long as possible, or is it ok to move her up to the next stage seat as long as it fits her properly? The Mothercare seat also looks really uncomfortable whereas the ones I'm looking at look much nicer for long journeys.

 

[mommyof3co]

Some actually say the ones that stay in the car might be safer, but both pass safety tests so both should be just as safe in that aspect. Most babies do like the next step up better because they can sit up and see more. So as long as she is within the weight limits of the seat it's completely fine to move her out of the infant seat whenever you want