Nextfit fit issue with almost 3 yr old

Carolinadaisy

New member
I really like ourNextfit. However, I have an issue that I need help to solve. Ds2 is a big boy. He is a little over 35 lbs fully clothed and at least 40", he was 39" at 2.5. Wearing 3 or 4t shirts and moving to 4t pants now. He will be 3 in a few weeks and is happily riding rf in his Nextfit still. However, I am not sure we currently have it adjusted properly. It is installed rf in a 2010 honda odyssey captains chair on recline 2.

He is using the outer buckle position because the inner one is slightly under him. Because of the deep seat, the outer buckle is in front of him with some space and by the end of a car ride he is really slouched into and I am afraid the straps end up slightly above his shoulders. A little hard for me to tell with all the seat padding....guess. I need to try the butter knife trick to check. However, if I lower the straps it looks like his head is above the top of the headrest which is above the shell already. If I move the buckle back, it does keep him sitting more upright in the seat, but with the buckle slightly under him it is much harder to get him buckled and straps properly tightened.

I have been considering ff at his 3rd birthday as he is almost the size DS1 was at 4 and it is getting increasingly hard for me to get him in the seat rf. I guess what I'm looking for is advice from other Nextfit users with big kids. I was hoping to make it closer to 4 (prob 3.5) and height and weight wise, it should not be an issue. In reality, it's getting increasingly frustrating to get the seat properly adjusted for him and ff would be easier at this point.....other than I don't want little feet kicking my seatback!
 
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Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
If the harness is only coming from slightly above his shoulders post-slouching, I would probably leave it on the outer buckle. When I emailed Chicco about a fit problem I was having, they mentioned that slightly above was ok.

I use a NF with my almost-4yo charge and yeah, it's not the easiest thing ever. I lose buckles under him a lot. Loosening/tightening every time helps a ton. Mostly, we just deal with it, since I don't consider FF an option until at least 4 and we're happier in the NF than we were in the Radian. I can't really justify replacing it again, lol, plus I'm not sure there's anything else I'd like better.
 

Carolinadaisy

New member
I will have to double check how far above they might be. I don't think it is much. Moving the buckle back really isn't a good option as the straps will not tighten once he is buckled that way.

I will probably end up sticking it out. In all honestly, he will probably hit 40lbs before age 4 if he stays on the same growth curve so we should be able to manage until then. Some days, it really pushes my patience limits though. I think it is the unloading that gets harder as there is really no way he can get down by himself and he is a heavy boy now!

He does sleep so well in it on long road trips and I know he is comfortable. I don't want to compromise his safety for my convenience. I'm going to aim for 3.5 for now, I think. 6.5 more months sounds manageable. We will reassess after that point if he is under 40 lbs still.
 

YinzerMama

New member
I notice this as well, it is hard to get the straps exactly where you want them and not have the wings crowding the shoulders. It's hard to get it just right, like there needs to be a bigger gap between where the slots are and the wings begin. I just get it as good as I can. It does end up being slightly over but the next click down and the wings are too low.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I feel like there need to be smaller click increments or something. If I put it on the correct slot G's head is awfully close to the top, but next slot up is clearly too high. Chicco ok'd it but I still don't love it.

To get G out, I unbuckle him and then he swings his legs over the side. I take his hand and pull him/balance as he climbs out (so I am not pulling hard, it's more leverage.) Once he has a foothold on the side, he clambers down with assistance. I usually have C on my hip, so I am not lifting him etc. He's outboard, so not tons of space, but enough to get a foothold so I don't need to heft him out.
 

Carolinadaisy

New member
I feel like there need to be smaller click increments or something. If I put it on the correct slot G's head is awfully close to the top, but next slot up is clearly too high. Chicco ok'd it but I still don't love it. To get G out, I unbuckle him and then he swings his legs over the side. I take his hand and pull him/balance as he climbs out (so I am not pulling hard, it's more leverage.) Once he has a foothold on the side, he clambers down with assistance. I usually have C on my hip, so I am not lifting him etc. He's outboard, so not tons of space, but enough to get a foothold so I don't need to heft him out.

This is how I get my son out, but he has had a couple of times where he has almost fallen and it makes me nervous. But I can make it work for a little while longer. I don't think we will make it to 4, but I am feeling ok with that.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
The point of the straps not coming rom above the shoulders is so that a kid can't slide up enough to expose the top of the head in a crash. If the straps are even with below when he is sitting straight, then scooting down isn't going to be an issue because even if he slides back up into the harness in a crash, that just puts him where he would have been if he hadn't scooted down.

Did that even make sense the way I typed it?
 

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