Car Seat for Very Large Baby

[fionasmom]

My friend has a very big baby - at 8months, he's already 35lbs! She has him in a Alpha Omega RF'ing car seat right now, but she realizes that he will quite likely outgrow the RF'ing limit in a month or so. What should she do when this happens - keep him RF'ing in the car seat, even though he's more than 35 lbs, or turn him to FF'ing, even though he is less than 1 year. Considering babies neck strength, I would think that he would be safer RF'ing.

[TechnoGranola]

If he's 35 pounds, he has already reached the limit of the seat. :( And with clothes on, he would be more than 35 pounds. :(

I would totally import a RF Swedish seat in this case, but the problem arises if customs decides not to allow it in to Canada. Could you call Transport Canada for her and just ask what people are to do if they have an 8 month old child that is 35 pounds? That child can't even FF in a seat due to manufacturer's instructions.

[snowbird25ca]

I've requested some information from somebody who works with Transport Canada and I'll post back when I hear.

I'm not aware of any options aside from having to ff with the 35lbs having been reached, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

[MomToEliEm]

What a tough situation to be in. Rearfacing in the babies current seat isn't an option as the limit was reached at 35.0 pounds. Probably if I were in your friend's situation, I would be importing a Swedish seat, though as TechnoGranola mentioned, it may be difficult to get through customs.

Which scale did the mother weigh the baby on? Maybe the scale was off. If the child really is 35 pounds or larger, have her make some calls. If she can't get an imported seat into Canada, then the child may need to be forward facing.

[fionasmom]

Thanks for the advice. One of us will try calling Transport Canada tomorrow when they are open (but I would be very interested in what you find out snowbird25a). I just can't believe that there aren't other 35lbs under 1 year babies out there.... I'm pretty sure she's going by her doctor's scales - at 6 months, he was 30 lbs - he definitely feels twice the weight as my daughter who is the same age.
Any estimates on how long the Swedish car seat would take to arrive, given the customs loopholes? If it's going to be more than 2-3 months, then it's probably not worthwhile. And I cringe at the cost - again, any ideas on cost and shipping (I don't think there is alot of extra money around the household right now...).
Thanks!

[TechnoGranola]

Any estimates on how long the Swedish car seat would take to arrive, given the customs loopholes? If it's going to be more than 2-3 months, then it's probably not worthwhile. And I cringe at the cost - again, any ideas on cost and shipping (I don't think there is alot of extra money around the household right now...).
Thanks!It's not the length of shipping time that will be the worry, it's the fact that non CMVSS approved seats are illegal to import and use in Canada. So, if customs realizes it's a car seat and sees that it is not CMVSS approved, then they will not let it go through. It will stay there. It will not return to sender, nor will it come to you. It will be gone, along with your money, because the seller isn't going to refund for a seat that they did not receive back.

Add to that potential tickets, demerits, possibly reduced or voided insurance for injury/death and possible criminal charges....it makes using a foreign seat VERY difficult.

This is a terrible position to be in, a baby that cannot be kept safe in the available restraints, yet no access to a legal alternative. I really hope Transport Canada has a loophole or an approval process for children in this situation.

[unityco]

I'm watching this with interest. I had to turn my son too early 2 years ago.

[snowbird25ca]

Ok, I've heard back and unfortunately, there aren't any other options right now.
I'd second getting babies weight confirmed - and if baby is indeed 35lbs, he will have to be turned ff'ing. Is there a medical problem in the mix, or does it just seem to be the way he is?

There's always the hope that as he becomes more mobile he'll lose weight. 5lbs is a lot of weight to gain in a 2 month period at his age - kids usually do slow down after about 4 to 6 months, so double check the weight. Younger kids naturally feel heavier than older kids even if they weigh the same just because of the way they hold themselves. I'll send some hopes that there's a few lbs room and that he can eek another few months out rf'ing anyways.

[TechnoGranola]

Ok, I've heard back and unfortunately, there aren't any other options right now.This is so sad. :( And the crazy thing is, in proper use provinces, she could get a ticket for not using the seat properly because her child doesn't meet the FF requirements (height on some seats and age on ALL seats). I think it's crazy that Transport Canada doesn't have a solution for kids in special situations.

For the techs, I can't recall, what is the weight of the dummy used for the rear-facing test? Is it a 35 pound dummy?

[snowbird25ca]

This is so sad. :( And the crazy thing is, in proper use provinces, she could get a ticket for not using the seat properly because her child doesn't meet the FF requirements (height on some seats and age on ALL seats). I think it's crazy that Transport Canada doesn't have a solution for kids in special situations.

For the techs, I can't recall, what is the weight of the dummy used for the rear-facing test? Is it a 35 pound dummy?

The fully clothed and instrumented dummy weighs in at 35lbs.

I know that in the case of Dorel, the manual states for children between 5 and 35lbs (current seats, old ones were 30lbs,) and less than 1yr old, the seat must be used rf'ing. So a child over 35lbs isn't misusing the seat by ff'ing prior to a year old due to the way it's worded.

I don't think other manufacturers use that same wording, but nobody is going to ticket an over 35lb child who is ff'ing because there is no rf'ing restraint that will secure him/her safely. Once the child is over the rf'ing weight limit, age becomes a side fact in terms of the proper use enforcement. Or it should anyways... anyone ticketing a parent for ff'ing an over 35lb child because they're under 1yr old - when everything else is correct, is wrong.

eta: While I think that it would be wonderful to have a solution for heavier kids under 1yr old, I think the lack of one reflects how rare an occurrence it is that a child passes 35lb prior to his/her first birthday. Transport Canada doesn't determine what the weight limits are on seats - manufacturers do. So I think really when it comes to trying to get other options, it comes down to pressuring manufacturers. It's hard for any organization to have something in place for the exception when the exception really isn't that common... 35lbs at 8mos is so far off the chart that it's up in the 90%ile for height line on this chart here: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1clinical/cj41c017.pdf I think as much as we'd love to point fingers somewhere so that it seemed like there was somebody responsible and that somebody could fix things, sometimes kids are exceptions... If we had seats with 50lb limits and a child was 51lbs we'd still feel the same way - IYKWIM?

editing again: I just also wanted to say that having 35lb limit seats now does make a huge difference - even if 5lbs is only 2 months, it's still 2 months.