Special needs baby too heavy to RF, too young for FF. What now?

i have a multi-tech and love it, but the recline isn't so great, so i can't recommend it for a 7 month old. i'd check out the maxi cosi mobi. haven't seen it, but it has a "sleeping" position which may provide enough recline. not sure about shell height though. just remember that more a carseat reclines, the more space it requires depth-wise.

another option is to get a radian for up to 45 lbs, then get a higher-weight-limit swedish seat when your child is older and can tolerate being more upright. it'd be pricey to do this though.

but hopefully one of the swedish seats can provide a good recline. good luck.

ketchupqueen said:

The Belogic is decent for recline for a toddler but for such a young infant I really would try to find something more reclined. If you PM AdventureDad he should be able to tell you which seat that goes to 25 kg rear facing has the best recline.

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Well, AdventureDad is great, but as a word of warning he told me that the Britax Hi-Way could be used from birth when I asked (it is rated from birth to 55 lbs) and now that I own it I absolutely would never, ever ever recommend that anyone use it in this way. It has the same shell as the old Roundabout so the straps would come way out above the child's head, they are big and thick and the buckle is huge, and I actually think getting a 45 degree recline is completely unworkable (and not mentioned in the instruction manual at all). My one year old looked like he was just about ready for it the first time he was in it and the recline following the manual in our car is probably about 10-15 degrees.

flipper68 said:

I'd look at a Radian or a Scenera 45 for right now.

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We have a Radian now, but at the rate she grows, she's going to need a higher weight seat within the month. Thank you, though, for making sure we have a viable seat.

newyorkDOC said:

I have a TWE. You can recline it basically however you want. It needs to brace against the front seat though so you would need to check your car manual to make sure this is ok with the advanced airbags if you have them.

The TWE is the only Swedish seat that can be used FF with harness to 55lbs. The new kidzofix can be used RF with harness to 55lbs. The manual mentions a support leg so I assume it doesn't brace at all (I only read the first 2 pages).

Like others said, I'd contact AD and ask him about infant fit in any of these seats. The TWE is the same shell as the marathon (I think) and very wide open so not very cozy for an infant IMO. Also there's no head support although you can apparently add it.

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Bolding above is mine. FF harness to 55lbs is a good reason to consider this seat. It looks like all the others DON'T harness FF that high.

I also think the TWE is worth considering because of the wider shell. My DD is very heavy, but also wide through the trunk.

Off to take a look at the TWE....

Thanks again everyone. I can't say enough how helpful this has been.

The radian you already have harnesses higher than 55lbs though, so the FF weight aren't as big a concern.

MommyShannon said:

The radian you already have harnesses higher than 55lbs though, so the FF weight aren't as big a concern.

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That's true, but the Radian is narrow and I doubt she'll fit in it width-wise much longer. Ideally, the seat we get next will fit her RF and FF for a while.

Hopefully, though, as she gets more core strength and moves around, she'll burn calories and start to slim down, or at least maintain the weight while gaining in length. If either of these happens as she gets older, we'll have lots more options for seats since we now have a Blvd 70, a Radian XTSL and her older sister's Frontier that are all in mint condition and far from being expired.