DS3 is due at the end of March and has been diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I have been doing some research on an OI parents message board and they have been very helpful about preparations with things like clothes, but the carseat info seems pretty off to me. Mainly what I have gathered is that it is important that the carseat is very padded and easy to get the harness on and off (can't pull arms through and such).
What they have done and are suggesting to people is to cut egg crate foam or memory foam stuff and put it in an infant seat under the cover and on the sides. Most suggest switching to a Britax convertible when desired and to turn FF when their legs are compromised (legs against the back seat is an actual concern for them because some can and have broken in the car seat and not even always in a crash) or when they outgrow it by weight (OI kids can be very small so for some this is beyond 4 or even 6 years old in a RA or MA even). They have to deal with casts/splints a lot and some even tell how they had to move their kids at 16 months to a booster with a pillow on it in a reclined seat held on by bungee cords. Also, it seems that a child's feelings of wanting to be normal at a certain age are taken into account about when to change carseat usage.
Now, I know that if my child's legs can break when RF from stepping on the brake too hard that it would be all that much easier for his neck to break if he is FF. I am trying to put this all in perspective and figure out what to expect in this area. I guess ideally he would be RF forever, but I'm sure that is completely impractical. A lot of people with OI live relatively normal lives too, so that means school buses and field trips and going out with friends/family eventually. The other thing is that most people do a lot of traveling to hospitals with specialists for treatments or surgeries, so airplane use and alternative transportation is an issue.
What they have done and are suggesting to people is to cut egg crate foam or memory foam stuff and put it in an infant seat under the cover and on the sides. Most suggest switching to a Britax convertible when desired and to turn FF when their legs are compromised (legs against the back seat is an actual concern for them because some can and have broken in the car seat and not even always in a crash) or when they outgrow it by weight (OI kids can be very small so for some this is beyond 4 or even 6 years old in a RA or MA even). They have to deal with casts/splints a lot and some even tell how they had to move their kids at 16 months to a booster with a pillow on it in a reclined seat held on by bungee cords. Also, it seems that a child's feelings of wanting to be normal at a certain age are taken into account about when to change carseat usage.
Now, I know that if my child's legs can break when RF from stepping on the brake too hard that it would be all that much easier for his neck to break if he is FF. I am trying to put this all in perspective and figure out what to expect in this area. I guess ideally he would be RF forever, but I'm sure that is completely impractical. A lot of people with OI live relatively normal lives too, so that means school buses and field trips and going out with friends/family eventually. The other thing is that most people do a lot of traveling to hospitals with specialists for treatments or surgeries, so airplane use and alternative transportation is an issue.