Convertible car seat for 16 mth old low muscle tone & hydrocephalus

C

cwvu

Guest
I am looking for a convertible car seat for a 16 mth old boy toddler with low muscle tone and hydrocephalus (swelling of the brain). He is 18 lbs and 29 in. He has 3 VP shunts in his head. He sits in a tripod position (mostly supported), rolls some, and does not crawl. He also has some visual impairment.

I am looking for suggestions on the best seat to buy and what are the "must have" items to look for in a convertible car seat for him. I am looking for a seat that will support his body and possibly also provide cushion support for his head while RF and FF. I read somewhere that he may have to sit at more of reclining angle. If so, we have a 2007 FORD expedition and I will take any advice on those types of seats that will fit in the second row.

Currently, he is in a Graco Snugride. We place a cushion around his head to try to keep his head from "flopping" around during long trips while he is asleep. He is a twin so we will have 2 convertible car seats in the second row. Also, looking for your recommendation if it is better for him to be in the center rather than on the side behind either the driver or passenger. His brother does not have any special needs.

Thank you for any suggestions or recommendations.
 
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bubbaray

New member
I'd look for something that with RF to a high weight so that he can RF for a long time. A Diono seat should work well. I'm not familiar with how they install in that MY of the Expedition, tho. Another option would be a Britax seat (Marathon or Boulevard). The nice thing about them for low-tone is that once the child is FFg (a long time from now, you'll want to RF for as long as possible with low tone), the Britax seats have more of a recline when in FFg mode than the Diono seats, which are very upright. You could always get the other twin a Britax seat for now and then switch them later as the children get older (ie., SN son in the Diono RFg, other twin in Britax RFg, when SN son is older to FFg, switch the seats).

I'd prefer rolled-up receiving blankets on either side of his head. I used to secure mine (so they didn't unroll) with a hair elastic. Not sure how that would work with his shunts.

ETA: usually we recommend that as a child gets older, the RFg recline can be more upright. HOwever, in the SN situation you describe, and at his very low weight, I would be OK with keeping him in a newborn recline if the tone issues require that.
 

featherhead

Well-known member
I don't think Radians are very supportive for a child with low tone. I would recommend a Graco MyRide65. It has nice deep sides, and is quite narrow inside.
 

jess71903

Ambassador
Welcome!! My son has spina bifida, with hydrocephalus, and has a VP shunt as well, and I drive an Expedition, although mine is an '05, so the previous generation.

I agree with the MyRide rec. as well. Make sure you get a "regular" one, and not one with the new Safety Surround stuff. The SS ones severely limit the functional height limit for RF. I would definitely RF as long as you can, maybe even beyond the limitations of the MyRide, but you can think about a seat after the MyRide later.

It installs easily is most things, so I can't imagine you'd have any issues in your Expy. As for middle vs. outboard- personally, I'd just put them both outboard. The safety improvement of middle vs. outboard isn't enough for the inconvenience for me. As he gets bigger, too, I'd be more concerned about your back from hoisting him up and into the middle. Of course, you can put him in the middle if you like.
 

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