Padding a car seat

[DesertQueen]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this but here goes...

We own a Britax made in the UK. It is not well-padded like the American-made ones. DS has been screaming and crying while sitting in it @ 50% of the time and I think the lack of padding may have something to do with this.

So today, DH used 3/4-in. thick foam padding to make the car seat a little more comfortable for DS. He cut out pieces to fit the parts of the seat that needed a little extra (mostly around DS's butt and hips.) They were placed under the cover that easily slips on and off the seat.

My question is: is it okay/safe to do this? This seat is the ONLY rear-facing seat available in the UAE that I have found so far. I have been told that other Britaxes will be available shortly but I really don't have $350 to spend on another one. (That's about the cost of one here. Mine was originally $270.)

In July, I will be going to the U.S. for a visit and I plan to buy a Marathon to bring back with us to the UAE. So this padded car seat needs to last us only another 6 months...

TIA for any advice!

[Namegirl]

Absolutely not, sorry. It's not safe to alter your carseat in any way.

[scatterbunny]

Absolutely not, sorry. It's not safe to alter your carseat in any way.

I agree. Sorry, OP.

[DesertQueen]

Great...guess DS won't be leaving the house anymore...

[scatterbunny]

I'm sorry, I know it wasn't the answer you were hoping for. FWIW, my daughter DESPISED the carseat for quite a number of months and nothing made it better. Her seat had no padding, too, but I didn't know enough to question if that was the problem (I had no idea better-padded seats EXISTED, had never heard the Britax name). Eventually she did outgrow the crying fits in the car. They were hard to deal with at the time, but I learned to tune her out. I knew she was crying because she hated being in the car or hated her carseat, not because she was hurt or sick or needed something. We can't just stay home, travel is sometimes necessary, and crying isn't going to kill her. It sure annoyed me, but I got over it, and so did my dd, with no lasting ill effects.

[Niea]

I've never seen your seat in person, but all the pictures I've seen of the First Class SI show an infant insert. Your DS is only 9 mos. . .will he fit in the seat with the insert? It looks like it provides more padding.

[DesertQueen]

I'm sorry, I know it wasn't the answer you were hoping for. FWIW, my daughter DESPISED the carseat for quite a number of months and nothing made it better. Her seat had no padding, too, but I didn't know enough to question if that was the problem (I had no idea better-padded seats EXISTED, had never heard the Britax name). Eventually she did outgrow the crying fits in the car. They were hard to deal with at the time, but I learned to tune her out. I knew she was crying because she hated being in the car or hated her carseat, not because she was hurt or sick or needed something. We can't just stay home, travel is sometimes necessary, and crying isn't going to kill her. It sure annoyed me, but I got over it, and so did my dd, with no lasting ill effects.

I know he's not hurt or sick but it breaks my heart. He cries so hard he chokes! And I thought the stress of that wasn't good for them...it's definitely not good for me!

I've never seen your seat in person, but all the pictures I've seen of the First Class SI show an infant insert. Your DS is only 9 mos. . .will he fit in the seat with the insert? It looks like it provides more padding.

I should update my siggy. He's less than a month away from turning 1. He's kind of skinny, though. I'll put it in and try it out. I just assumed he was too big for it.

Thanks!

[Niea]

I should update my siggy. He's less than a month away from turning 1. He's kind of skinny, though. I'll put it in and try it out. I just assumed he was too big for it.

Definitely check. Also read the manual to the seat to make sure there are no rules for when you have to stop using the insert (certain weight or height or something). I'm just unfamiliar with the seat and don't want to steer you wrong.

I just know that my DD was well over a year before we removed the infant padding out of her Decathlon. She got a little squished at the end, there, but she really liked the padding a lot anyway.

[SusanMae]

Graco recently recalled 18 individual seats because the foam was too thick and it would change the way the seat performed in a crash.

So I absolutely agree with everyone else.

Also at 1....he's really moving and got this whole big world to explore. And then someone comes along and STRAPS him down!!! That's got to be very frustrating(but necessary) for little ones who are busy moving and then are forced to stay still.

Susan

[MsFacetious]

Have you looked in nearby areas to see if you can order a seat somewhere else and have it shipped? I know that for example you can get Swedish seats in London. I would look into whether it is possible to order something from a neighboring area/country that might be better?

Or, do you have someone in the US who could buy the Marathon for you now and send it? That is also another option as well.

Good luck, I'm sorry. It may not even be the lack of padding. My girls are pretty picky about that but they have never complained about the barely padded seats even after using the very padded Britax ones. He may just hate the carseat, in which case he has to deal with it.

Good for you for keeping him rear facing as well.

[DesertQueen]

Have you looked in nearby areas to see if you can order a seat somewhere else and have it shipped? I know that for example you can get Swedish seats in London. I would look into whether it is possible to order something from a neighboring area/country that might be better?

Or, do you have someone in the US who could buy the Marathon for you now and send it? That is also another option as well.

We looked into this. We can only get a seat through a store because no one in the UK or Europe will ship a seat here. Other countries in the ME carry the same seats available here. The stores in the UAE will only order what they sell, naturally. We were told we would have to wait 3-4 months to get the Britax we have now. We found one in-country because DH happened to go to one of the baby stores at just the right time. They had received 3 and had 1 left for sale - we took it.

The shipping is just too expensive for us right now. It will cost about $400 - $500 for the seat + shipping (that's with FedEx because companies that sell seats will not ship here. I have to have the seat shipped to a family member first and have them ship it here via FedEx.)

Good luck, I'm sorry. It may not even be the lack of padding. My girls are pretty picky about that but they have never complained about the barely padded seats even after using the very padded Britax ones. He may just hate the carseat, in which case he has to deal with it.

Yes, this could very well be the case. As I mentioned above, if it is, I don't see us traveling very far from now on...

Good for you for keeping him rear facing as well.

Thanks! We are the only family doing this as far as I know. I have tried to convert my friends to the RFing mentality to no avail. I did manage to convince 1 friend to turn her 5-mo old back around to RFing but she'll turn the baby back as soon as she's big enough.
Most of the Arab families here don't know what a car seat is. Everyday, I see tons of children and infants sitting on their mothers laps in the front seat (even the mother is not strapped in) or 5 kids standing up in the back seat. Very, very sad in a country whose national male population likes to drive aggressively and at high speeds as a rule.

[MsFacetious]

The shipping is just too expensive for us right now. It will cost about $400 - $500 for the seat + shipping (that's with FedEx because companies that sell seats will not ship here. I have to have the seat shipped to a family member first and have them ship it here via FedEx.)

Where is your family located? I was thinking more like the family goes just to the store (Babies R Us for example) and buys the seat, then ships it to you. (Depending on exactly how much shipping is. I know the size of the box matters more than the weight itself, plus shipping out of the country is real expensive.) Or, buys it online with free shipping.

If I were you, I would probably buy this Boulevard now and have it shipped to family (free shipping). http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Bouleva...1294702&sr=8-1

It's cheaper than the Marathon even which is about $260. Unless you watch here in February when the Britax sale happens. I believe the Marathons were down closer to $200 during the last sale. Since you are coming to the US in July, it might be worth it to get the seat a little sooner to save a little bit of money.

Just depends, if you want the most recent manufacter date then you can just run to Babies R Us while you are here. But there are a couple of other ideas if they would be possible.

Good luck!

[DesertQueen]

Depending on exactly how much shipping is. I know the size of the box matters more than the weight itself, plus shipping out of the country is real expensive.) Or, buys it online with free shipping.

Yeah, int'l shipping with FedEx is super expensive. My cousin hasn't told me exactly how much a boxed carseat would cost to ship but I had him ship a 1 1/2-lb. small box of cloth diapers to me and that cost $35 (that was the price after his discount.) I can only imagine that a car seat weighing a lot more in a much bigger box would be hundreds of dollars.

It's cheaper than the Marathon even which is about $260. Unless you watch here in February when the Britax sale happens. I believe the Marathons were down closer to $200 during the last sale. Since you are coming to the US in July, it might be worth it to get the seat a little sooner to save a little bit of money.

Definitely! Are the Britaxes on sale on amazon.com only or is this a country-wide event? I am going to get a Marathon, even though they are more expensive, and have it shipped to my sister's house so it will be waiting for us when we visit this summer.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[southpawboston]

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.p...standard+cloth