Need to make car seat fit in seat better?

Question

Does anyone know of a wedge or any product available to put under a car seat so it will recline properly in the seat. We bought a seat for kids from 5lbs to 80lbs...and when installed it tilts way forward so little man's head just bobs. It has lines on the side that show they should be parallel with the floor, but they don't because the seat is deep. Does anyone know of a product like a wedge that can be placed on the seat, under the car seat to make a surface that is more flat????

Answer 1

You can go to your local police department and ask them to help you properly install the car seat.  If THEY can't do it, the seat is not safe for your car's style.  Get another one.  Don't take risks with your child in an improperly installed or poorly designed car seat.

Tex

Answer 2

Try searching this site it has alot of good information........

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.h...

Answer 3

You can use a tightly rolled towel or a length of pool noodle to make the recline better.

The 3-in-1 style seats are not generally recommended by carseat techs because they are outgrown quickly.  Try car-seat.org for more help.  There are great techs there who can help you.

Answer 4

As KAK said - I'd return that seat - since it sounds like you just got it, take it back and run far far away from it! LOL Part of the reason you can't get it to install well is b/c those seats are notoriously difficult to install rear facing, as you've discovered. There's several other reasons the seat is discouraged by car seat techs: The Safety1st 3-in-1/Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in1 seats. These are all the same company - same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That's what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too short a shell to really go to 40lbs. And that's another misleading thing the box says - 5-100lbs. What the box fails to mention (you don't find out until reading the manual!) is that the harness only goes to 40lbs, NOT 100lbs! After 40lbs it must be used as a booster.And they do not make good boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they're at least 8 years old. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you'll ever need to buy.  

Also, Please don't get a Graco Comfort Sport. Car seat techs call it the 'crappysport'. LOL Its a crappy seat that won't last your child very long b/c it has a really short shell. The straps twist all the time, and if they're twisted they won't support your child in a wreck properly. They're hard to install. There's nothing good about these seats except perhaps they're cheap sometimes.

If you want or must keep the seat, you can use 1-3 pool noodles (taped together like a triangle is you use more than one) in the crack of the vehicle seat to help get the correcty recline. For a newborn baby or until he can hold his head up well, it needs to be at 45 degrees. For the older baby who has great head control, which your little one doesn't yet if his head is bobbing forward, it can be 30-45 degrees. It is extremely important to get that 45 degrees for him - if his head falls forward, it will cut off his airway and suffocate him since he can't pull it back up yet.

But again, if it were me - I'd return it, lol. When shopping Remember these rules:

1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you're more likely to use it correctly.

2)children need to stay rear facing as long as possible.

Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!

  A)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.

  B)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.

  C)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.

  D)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)

3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can't sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight - 40" tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I'd have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.

Here's some much better options:

The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different variances of luxury additions, with the Marathon being the cheapest base model) can be found for regular price of $269, and on sale at Albee Baby online for $209-$219. The Marathon a wide open easy to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot easier, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. I can get it into 4 different vehicles in under 2 minutes. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats (all car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture) lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years old, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years old. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years old.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17", harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has little less plush padding. Wide open belt path, easy to install, though it doesn't have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don't have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. No more tugging straps to tighten them either. You tighten and loosen the harness using k***s on the side of the seat. As a major bonus, it can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode. Awesome for kids who still sleep in the car. I LOVE THIS SEAT! LOL My son, who is too big for every other car seat at Walmart has the same amount of room in this as the Britax Marathon.

The Compass Tue Fit, also sold as The First Years True Fit, is a great choice, too. Here's a thread talking all about it: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t... Has 16.5 inch top harness slots, half inch shorter than the Britax Marathon and Evenflo Triumph Advance. Rear faces to 35lbs, forward faces to 65lbs, has built-in lockoffs, and you never have to rethread the harness to change harness height. The headrest is removable to fit better in smaller cars. $179 for the one cover Walmart offers it in, check Babies R Us and other stores for different covers at a little more expensive price.

Answer 5

Check with your local police dept. or highway patrol office.  In CA. all CHP offices have officers that have been to 8 hours of training concerning car seat installations.

Answer 6

I've used a towel folded a couple of times.

I've also returned a car seat cause it didn't fit nicely an bought another kind.