Which seat is best for a 2 year old SBS survivor with no head or trunk control?

A

anaya

Guest
I have a daughter who is 2 years old, 25 lbs and 33 inches tall. She is a shaken baby syndrome survivor and I was wondering which car seat would be best for her since she has no head control or trunk control. Which normal car seat reclines the most forward facing? (For future use, not right now) I'm stuck between a Graco My Ride 65 or 70, Graco My Size 70 and the Britax Boulevard or Marathon. After she outgrows the seat I go with, I will get her a special needs car seat. Please help!!!

Breann
 
ADS

wavegal

New member
The most reclined of those and what would have been my suggestion anyway is the graco myride. Its the most reclined forward facing seat I know of that's not a special needs seat.
 

1mommy

New member
If you have the budget I would recommend getting her a radian and rear facing her as long as possible. It is very reclined rear facing, and is 500 times safer. It would not make a good foreword facing seat for her though. If you are set on forward facing her for whatever reason I would go for the Myride, keep in mind most kids outgrow a seat by height and not weight so changes are the 70 won't give you more time in the seat then the 65 because they have the same height shell.
 

PikkuMyy

New member
If you have the budget I would recommend getting her a radian and rear facing her as long as possible. It is very reclined rear facing, and is 500 times safer. It would not make a good foreword facing seat for her though. If you are set on forward facing her for whatever reason I would go for the Myride, keep in mind most kids outgrow a seat by height and not weight so changes are the 70 won't give you more time in the seat then the 65 because they have the same height shell.

It sounds like she is still rear facing. :) OP said she was asking for "future use, not now."

OP, I agree that the MyRide would be best suited for your child's needs.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
The problem with the MyRide is that depending on the build of the child she may be able to rear-face in something like a Radian as long (or almost as long) as she'd be able to forward face in a MyRide.

The MyRide is indeed the most reclined seat for forward facing, but I would hold off and buying anything until she gets too big for rear facing. Rear facing is going to offer her the most recline and support so choosing a seat that will last RF for a super long time will be your best bet. Then when she gets too big for that, it will be time to evaluate her needs, see whether any conventional seats will work for her, or perhaps transition to a special-needs seat if necessary.

At 25 lbs and 33 inches tall, she has a LONG time to go before thinking about which seat she may someday need. We may have options then that we can't even guess about right now.
 

aporthole

Active member
I'd also consider the Chicco NextFit. It is very long lasting rear facing with a wide allowable recline range for rear and forward facing. The install is also super easy.
 

Belle's Mamma

New member
Hi Breanne!

Welcome to C-S.org :)

I very strongly agree with the previous posters about rear facing your DD as long as you possibly can. There are quite a few seats on the market that will accommodate RFing her for several more years (my 7yo DD would still be able to RF in our current Radian but she is in the 2nd% on the growth charts @ 44" & 43lbs). As she is petite, pretty much any of the seats mentioned above would give her additional time RFing but the amount of time they will do so will vary.

The Britax convertibles sold in the US probably won't give your DD a lot of time RF (maybe a year??) but they are super cushy & plush IMO. I don't think that it would be the safest option for your DD. So personally I would only buy one of the Britax convertibles if you planned to buy another RFing seat in another year.

The Graco My Rides have nice deep sides that could give her extra trunk support. I like them in a lot of ways but they 1) take up a lot of room so you probably wouldn't be able to have more than one other person in the back seat with her & 2) can be challenging to unload & load a child into RF by the time they are your DDs size if they aren't able to help maneuver themselves into position. The loading & unloading is more of a challenge if you are standing next to the vehicle & loading her into an outboard seating position (i.e. next to a window/door) than if you are getting into the vehicle and putting them into a center seating position. This is particularly true if you have a taller vehicle (minivan, SUV, truck, etc) & are putting her in the vehicle while you are standing outside. I've bonked my DS's head many times doing this when we had the MR65 in our old minivan. If the any of above don't apply than I would recommend it without hesitation. Other than loading/unloading issues it's a great seat though.

I haven't had enough experience with the Chicco NextFit to compare it to the other seats you have mentioned.

My personal favorite RFing seat would be one of the Diono Radians. I'd suggest the Radian RXT b/c the headwings will give her extra support so that her head has less room to flop to the side.

The Radian is all around a fantastic RFing car seat. It isn't on any type of platform & has low sides which make putting her in & taking her out of the car easy even if you have her outboard in a tall vehicle. Since the Radian has high RFing weight & hight limits you won't have to worry about her outgrowing it anytime soon. For your daughter, I would use it as a RF only seat. it wouldn't be an ideal seat for you DD FF as it is pretty straight up & down FF in most vehicles. The only caveat being that it can be tricky to install in some cars (more so when installing FF though) if you have any trouble you can certainly post here or find a CERTIFIED Child Passenger Safety Technician (a.k.a. a "CPST) to help you with installation and to teach you how to install it yourself as well.

Whichever seat you choose, you will want to use it until your DD meets the RFing hight or weight limits of the seat. If you decide to buy any of the (US) Britax convertible car seats, I would plan on buying another rear facing car seat with higher weight & hight limits after she outgrows the Britax.

So, unless Britax starts selling their Swedish seats here, my number 1 pick for your daughter would be a Radian RXT.
 

sunnydayz

New member
I do not like the Diono seats for babies/toddlers with low muscle tone. The have a flat back with low profile sides. This leads to slouching and and uncomfortable floppy position in my experience.

I would recommend the Graco MyRide. It has nice deep sides and cocoons a low tone child. Your dd sounds average height and weight, and this seat should give her a good amount of time rearfacing.
 

vlswager

New member
My 2.5 yo is also 25lbs & 33". she has CP so exact opposite where she has too much tone and we intend on keeping her RF for as long as possible. I have three car seats for her...Symphony 65, RA50 Classic and MR65. I absolutley LOVE LOVE LOVE all three, but the MR is by far the seat that will get her RF the longest(would have gotten a Radian but not in the budget).

We don't have her in the MR right now due to the issue of getting her in and out, we have a Kia Sedona with her in the passenger captains chair and it was getting too hard to get her in & out, especially with how stiff she is. I would highly recommend the MR though, my very tall (44") 4.5yo JUST outgrew the MR rfing a few months ago. As she outgrows her seats RF(Symphony will be first, then the RA50) we will move her back into the MR. Hope that helps!
 

anaya

New member
Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. I went with the Graco My Size 70. It fits her like a glove and it keeps her head from falling forward when its front facing so this seat will hopefully last me until she can forward face. I dont know how long that will be because she has such spasticity in her legs it makes it difficult to keep her rear facing because her feet touch the seat and her legs ar stiff so its hard on her dislocated hip. She will be getting that fixed when she turns 3. Im trying to keep her rear facing as long as possible though. She has no trunk or head control but shes stiff too if that makes sense.

Breann
 

Kac

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Welcome to car-seat.org, Breann!

I love the Graco MySize 70. Way to keep her RFing!!! :)
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,659
Messages
2,196,907
Members
13,531
Latest member
jillianrose109

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top