Ryan went to the childminder today for the first time in his brand new Britax First Class Plus car seat. Matt and I were looking for a seat that would offer extended rear-facing without breaking the bank, and for £99 this seat was perfect for us. It will allow Ryan to stay rear-facing to 13 kgs (which should be until he's at least 2) and from there will last him forward-facing to four years. The best bit is that it can accommodate newborns so it will be able to be passed down to any sibling(s) if needed.
We purchased the seat yesterday from the Babies R Us in Oldbury and the staff who check to see if they fit weren't very knowledgeable about its rear-facing ability. Initially they tried to explain, as if we weren't aware, that with Ryan being 14 months, he was "allowed" to go forward-facing. We then kept responding that we were well-aware of this, however, rear-facing is 5 times safer and for our peace of mind, we preferred to keep him rear-facing. Still, when they went to check the fit of the seat in the Corsa, they showed how wobbly and unstable the seat was rear-facing despite Britax's site confirming that it did fit our car's make and model.
Rather than argue, we simply said we would take that seat anyway and we'd just have to use it forward-facing, against what we intended.
It wasn't until we got it home and Matt modged with it for a bit late last night that he found a stabiliser "foot" that folded out from the bottom of the seat. He found that when he pulled it all the way out and secured the seat in the back, rear-facing, that the seat was perfectly stable. So, this morning before leaving to drop me at the train station, Matt installed the seat and placed Ryan inside.
Perfect fit and our little man couldn't have been happier.
He sits up a great deal higher so he can see clearly out the back window, which is convenient for when I pass by and wave when I'm dropped off!
In other news, Ryan has really settled in well at the childminder's. He now has a notebook that she writes in daily to tell us what he's been up to and what sorts of things he has eaten. He's having loads of fun meeting all of the children there and seems to especially like his time with the older children when they're back from school in the afternoons.
Now that both Matt and I have less time with him during the week, we try to make the most of his bedtime routine, including his bath and story time. He has now moved on to That's Not My Dog and he loves when Daddy reads!
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing - we are looking for a car seat too, one that allows our tall 5.5 month old room for her feet to move! Reading your review was helpful.
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