Car seats for civic and concern about flat headed babies

[Student loan stomper]

Hello all!

 My husband and I are considering what kind of car seats to get for our first child (due in June).  I have two main questions, the first is convertible vs. infant.  At first we thought we might go with the infant click-into-base type car seat so we could by one seat and two bases. But after reading some warnings here and doing some research there seems to be a positive correlation between this type of car seat and babies with flat head issues.  I am not sure how concerned about this I should be... people seem to be astonished when I bring this concern up...  We currently do a lot of driving to visit family (closest relatives live 3 hours away) and that combined with the fact that a couple babies I know are in helmets has me worried....   Anyway, what have you all experienced as far as car seats and babies who have developed flat heads?

My second question is what is a good convertible car seat that will fit in a 2010 civic?  My husband and I are both tall and have to have the seat back to drive.  Also just about anyone who would ride with us would need to have the passenger seat back (and at last partially reclined)  to ride Comfortably .  DH has a 2014 Jeep Patriot but I think there will be less issues finding something that will fit in his car. 

Thanks!

[BeanCounter]

I'm an infant seat fan because they just make life easier for the first few months. Your baby can get a flat head from being in any "thing/device" too much - swing, bouncy seat, car seat etc. just limit their time in seats. Hold them or have them do tummy time on the floor when they are awake and you'll be fine.
We were able to fit an infant seat in our Jetta in the middle seat just by sneaking the top lip over the top of the front seats.

[chemgeek]

Second the recommendations above. It's not one device that gives your kid a flat head it's simply time on  their back. With the back is best rule, more kids are having issues. FWIW there are mixed scientific results as to whether or not helmet therapy is actually effective and many doctors are no longer suggesting it.

[Abe]

Agree with statement regarding helmets - except for severe congenital deformities, there's no strong evidence they are helpful - most children's skulls will grow into a normal shape regardless since the associated joints haven't calcified by the time they are walking around. Car seat types will have little effect if the babies aren't left in for abnormal periods of time

[LadyStache in Baja]

There's also the click-in to a stroller type thing.  So imagine your baby riding to the car in their container, arriving, but instead of being taken out and held, they're just clipped into a stroller, and spend some hours shopping, then back in the car, then you get home, but baby fell asleep, so you just take the whole container inside.  The babies never move!  So bad for all kinds of development. 

Hold your baby.  Move your baby.  The best for getting strong yourself strong and for baby to get strong is to baby-carry (rather than wear, and definitely not stroller).  But of course life happens, so just be sure that you do everything in moderation and try not to make things too "convenient".

[KCM5]

Yes to moving your baby and not letting it sit in a bucket all the time.

Regarding the car seat, pretty much any seat should be fine in the civic as long as it is in the middle. We have a Prius (from the Civics I've been in I think the back seats are about the same size) and have a GIANT rear facing car seat that will rear face until our child is 5 (Clek Foonf) and have no problems with it because we have it installed in the middle seat. Both front seats have plenty of room. If we wanted to move it to the side, such as if we had another child, then it would be an issue. The seat we have only works after 6 months, so it wouldn't be the ideal seat if you want one from birth. I'd check out the Diono Radian or something like that if you want a convertible that will last a long time and work from birth. Second the recommendation for carseat.org or there's a facebook group called Car Seats for the Littles

[Yankuba]

Our son was born with extremely low muscle tone (bottom one percentile) and he was a great sleeper. He spent 18 hours a day on his back and the low muscle tone prevented him from shifting his head. So he got a flat head, which was mostly corrected via a helmet.

I see some folks don't think the helmet is necessary, but the entire therapy was only $100 and our son was so young that he didn't mind the helmet at all. Our pediatricians were like "whatever, it is a cosmetic issue, some parents get the helmet and some don't" but enough parents online said the helmet did a great job so we went for it. This was back in 2011.

I don't see any downside to getting the helmet - it won't cause any harm - and the upside is that it has the potential to correct the shape of your child's head. When we were debating whether or not to get the helmet we thought about the future - when our son was 13 and getting teased for having a flat head. Then were we supposed to say "well, we could have gotten you a helmet when you were a baby but we were self conscious about putting you in a helmet so we decided to leave things up to chance."

We also got this pillow for our son (and we use it with our current baby):

http://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Noggin-Support-Brown-Wheels/dp/B001O9F6M8

You can put the pillow in any seat, swing or bouncer. So you don't have to worry so much when you put the baby in the car seat.

[Student loan stomper]

Thanks everyone!  I feel a little less worried.  We are not planning on getting a stroller, and plan to carry and wear a lot.  I don't think we would be the type of people to let LO just be in the seat all day, but I know that the best laid plans sometimes don't end up how you expect.  I guess we will ponder on this and check out carseat.org. 

My hope is that by being aware of the issue and not going into it with the idea that the seat should function as an all purpose device (which is what many of my friends have been excited about) that we will be less likely to use it as such. Do you think this thinking is logical?   I do also like the idea of taking the seat inside to avoid the 100+ degree weather we will be having while baby is still tiny. 

Glad to have so many people to ask advice from!

[Milizard]

I have a '99 civic coupe and a very tall husband.  The infant seat was almost do-able, but there was no way it would fit behind him, as he barely fits with the seat all the way back.  I'm much shorter and was a bit squeazed in myself with the infant car seat behind me.  A smaller rear facing convertible sort of fit in the middle, but encroached on the front seats.  Putting a baby in the back in that convertible seat was damn near impossible.  Remember, 2 door coupe, and I was no longer very flexible, and had a c-section.  I felt like I was bending like a pretzel getting back there with baby and seat.  Getting back out was like a birth experience for myself. The baby bucket, as we liked to call it, was infinitely easier to deal with in that car, but limited as far as baby size is concerned.  (Both our boys grew large very quickly.)
  Our minivan held the Graco myride65 convertible, and that barely fit in that big-ass van when it was rear-facing, in the middle.  Forward facing is no problem, but the recommendation is 2 years RF.  I've read that babies r us will let you try seats out in your car to make sure it fits.  There's also a website somewhere with carseat compatibility with different vehicles.

[JROH]

Regarding the car seat-  if you see yourself getting the seat out of the car a lot, get an infant seat.  We have the infant seats but we rarely take them out of the car, so in hindsight a convertible seat might have been more efficient.  Also, we baby wear all the time- I've only used our stroller system twice and that was to make sure I used it a few times before winter set in!

[pbkmaine]

My God, I feel 100 years old. Babies get flat heads now and have to wear helmets?


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[kimmarg]

Our baby is in a Graco Click Connect 35 infant 'bucket' seat. She hasn't spent a ton of time in it. I do really like the click in click out because it's winter and the car is freezing. we keep the seat inside and that way we can get her all buckled in, warm up the car and then bring her out in the seat. Reverse it going back to the house. I had never heard of the flat head issue - so far so good.   We also have the stroller that the car seat clicks into. It has totally helped my sanity as we have gone for lots of walks, even in snow today. We have a Ergo carrier and like it too but being able to get out and walk for 20-30 min without anything puling at your shoulder is great for the psyche. She doesn't have enough head control for a baby jogger yet so the carseat stroller is great. I'm sure if she was in it for hours a day it'd be a problem but a 30min walk a few times a week and a few trips to the grocery store a week is not a problem.

we have a honda fit and it works ok for keeping the seat forward - has to go behind passenger as long legged driver with stick shift needs lots of space. Babies R US will let you try putting the carseat in your car (leave them your ID in exchange) so go down there and try a bunch before buying something online for cheaper.

[Kmp2]

We went with the infant car seat for the first six months or so, it is really nice in the winter time. And instead of using the base we just used the seatbelt to hold the seat in. Makes switching from car to car easy. Now that we have a toddler, we have a convertible and as we have a civic (2004) and wanted a narrow car seat, and were interested in extended rear facing. we went with the klept foonf (the dynamo was the only othe one that fit those criteria at the time, and I found the foonf on sale - they aren't cheap) It fits comfortably in the middle seat, and both front passengers can recline. Because it is narrow, it is not too uncomfortable for an adult to sit beside - even I can do it and am nine months pregnant and at 5'8" not that petite either.

[skuzuker28]

We have an infant seat for our daughter, and drive a Ford Focus.  First time I got in the seat in front of her I skinned my knee and bled everywhere.  Fortunately my wife is small and fit just fine, so I was always driving.

[tobitonic]

I have a '99 civic coupe and a very tall husband.  The infant seat was almost do-able, but there was no way it would fit behind him, as he barely fits with the seat all the way back.  I'm much shorter and was a bit squeazed in myself with the infant car seat behind me.  A smaller rear facing convertible sort of fit in the middle, but encroached on the front seats.  Putting a baby in the back in that convertible seat was damn near impossible.  Remember, 2 door coupe, and I was no longer very flexible, and had a c-section.  I felt like I was bending like a pretzel getting back there with baby and seat.  Getting back out was like a birth experience for myself. The baby bucket, as we liked to call it, was infinitely easier to deal with in that car, but limited as far as baby size is concerned.  (Both our boys grew large very quickly.)
  Our minivan held the Graco myride65 convertible, and that barely fit in that big-ass van when it was rear-facing, in the middle. Forward facing is no problem, but the recommendation is 2 years RF.  I've read that babies r us will let you try seats out in your car to make sure it fits.  There's also a website somewhere with carseat compatibility with different vehicles.

On top of that, there are strong benefits to continuing to RF until age 4. Also, here is a 3 across guide to the Civic. The biggest issue, as several have noted, will be front-to-back space.

[Maya]

A few people have mentioned to me what nice round shape myy kids heads are... I wore them a lot and didn't really have a chair or keep them in their car seat for very long.

[Venturing]

We and one of the ones thT clicks into the base. However, babies should spend as little time as possible in car seats of any sort. Aside from the flat head issue, the incline isn't good for keeping their airways open.

I always took my daughter out of the car seat as soon as we stopped driving. We have a pram with a lie-flat cot attachment that we used when we were out so that she was flat and free to move. At home she just had a mat on the floor to lie on when the playing.

I'm not a fan of the various 'containers' you can get for babies. as others have said, it is these that cause flat heads. And flat heads are just a symptom of a general lack of movement which will obviously have other impacts.

[kimmarg]

I'm not a fan of the various 'containers' you can get for babies. as others have said, it is these that cause flat heads. And flat heads are just a symptom of a general lack of movement which will obviously have other impacts.

I would modify this to be "not a fan of the various 'containers' you can get for babies for a lot of time" Holding them carrying them is great but having somewhere to put them down is essential. Bathroom trips, pulling dinner out of the 400 degree oven, not something I want to do while holding my baby. Rather than screaming full tilt on the floor or crib the swing gets me 15 min of 'both hands' time which is great. Of course all babies are different and if yours likes lying on a mat on the floor that might work fine.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I'm not a fan of the various 'containers' you can get for babies. as others have said, it is these that cause flat heads. And flat heads are just a symptom of a general lack of movement which will obviously have other impacts.

I would modify this to be "not a fan of the various 'containers' you can get for babies for a lot of time" Holding them carrying them is great but having somewhere to put them down is essential. Bathroom trips, pulling dinner out of the 400 degree oven, not something I want to do while holding my baby. Rather than screaming full tilt on the floor or crib the swing gets me 15 min of 'both hands' time which is great. Of course all babies are different and if yours likes lying on a mat on the floor that might work fine.

Sometimes you just want to put the baby down so you can eat dinner at a restaurant. I definitely used the bucket sometimes. It's not something you should make a habit of, but once in a while letting baby finish his nap inside in the seat is not going to immediately give him a flat head.

Dunno what to tell you about the passenger seat. I'm short and I was definitely cramped up there. The worst was when we had 2 RF seats. (Toddlers do not require as steep an angle of recline as babies, so the certified car seat tech was able to install them so my husband could still drive the car--Big Brother went behind the driver seat and Little Brother went behind the passenger seat.)

[EmFrugal]

I would recommend checking out the Diono Radian. We just purchased the RXT on sale from albee baby for one of our children in order to fit three across in our 2010 Honda Accord. If we find out that the other two seats we currently own are still too big, we'll be getting two more of these.

I have always used an infant bucket seat and never had a "flat head" issue. But if you're looking to save money and plan to baby wear, forego the bucket and get a convertible that can rear face for a long time. Like the Diono's.

[Scandium]

There's also the click-in to a stroller type thing.  So imagine your baby riding to the car in their container, arriving, but instead of being taken out and held, they're just clipped into a stroller, and spend some hours shopping, then back in the car, then you get home, but baby fell asleep, so you just take the whole container inside.  The babies never move!  So bad for all kinds of development. 

Hold your baby.  Move your baby.  The best for getting strong yourself strong and for baby to get strong is to baby-carry (rather than wear, and definitely not stroller).  But of course life happens, so just be sure that you do everything in moderation and try not to make things too "convenient".

This.
One of the reasons I had no interest in one of those "travel systems". (that and my dislike of what I perceive as jack-of-all, master of none products..).

I'm also concerned about the hunched up posture of car seats. So we got a pram insert for our babyjogger stroller. Son grew out of it ~6-8 months I think, and we put the regular stroller seat in. I just feel sleeping on his back must be better, and some science seemed to back this up (nothing conclusive and probably a minor point though). It was also great as a portable bed

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jogger-Deluxe-Pram-Black/dp/B00GODPB6U/ref=sr_1_sc_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1452890431&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=babyjogger+deluxe+pram

They're used more in europe so must be great right..?

ps: I think an infant seat is fine, and very practical! Just don't leave the baby in it long and you should be fine. I think  some 3 hr drives should be no problem.

[abhe8]

We just used convertible seats. Diono radians for all 4 babies. They fit my newborns just fine, but some convertibles, like britax, are not a good fit on most newborns. I also used a bucket seat for my first, but found it a huge pain to lug in and out of the middle of our SUV. When my sister had a minor car accident with the seat in her car, I decided not to replace it. I used a stroller with full recline and with babies #3 and #4, we had a bassinet, which I loved. Babies took many naps in the bassinet, both at home and on the go.

[alwayslearning]

Speaking of convertible car seats - I found this article really interesting.

Did everyone know the middle seat was the safest seat for baby?

http://www.babble.com/parenting/infant-car-seat-safety-consumer-reports-study/

[Yankuba]

Speaking of convertible car seats - I found this article really interesting.

Did everyone know the middle seat was the safest seat for baby?

http://www.babble.com/parenting/infant-car-seat-safety-consumer-reports-study/

Back when I only had one child I wanted to use the middle seat because I thought it would be safest but I read that you should avoid using the LATCH if the middle seat doesn't have it's own anchors. In other words, the advice was to avoid using one anchor from the left seat and one anchor from the right seat. Bigger vehicles have six anchors, so you can use the middle seat. This may be irrelevant if you use the belts instead of LATCH. 

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Speaking of convertible car seats - I found this article really interesting.

Did everyone know the middle seat was the safest seat for baby?

http://www.babble.com/parenting/infant-car-seat-safety-consumer-reports-study/

I did! Unfortunately, it's reeeally inconvenient. But my first child got to ride there for several months. Then I couldn't get him out anymore. (Super-short, short arms, and was pregnant again.)

If you are able to use the middle position and a side position, you should actually let your OLDER child ride in the middle, or so I've heard. The baby will be better protected by their seat; assuming your older child is forward-facing, they are less protected by the seat and therefore should get the safer middle spot.

[kimmarg]

Speaking of convertible car seats - I found this article really interesting.

Did everyone know the middle seat was the safest seat for baby?

http://www.babble.com/parenting/infant-car-seat-safety-consumer-reports-study/

Back when I only had one child I wanted to use the middle seat because I thought it would be safest but I read that you should avoid using the LATCH if the middle seat doesn't have it's own anchors. In other words, the advice was to avoid using one anchor from the left seat and one anchor from the right seat. Bigger vehicles have six anchors, so you can use the middle seat. This may be irrelevant if you use the belts instead of LATCH.

This is correct. LATCH is only rated for whatever seat is was designed for. So if you have it on the left and right you can't use one from each for the middle. You can use the middle belt or put the carseat on the left or right to use latch. Our car has no middle latch so we'd have to use seatbelt. As it happens if we put the seat in the middle it hits both the driver and passenger when rear facing so we have it behind hte passanger with LATCH so the driver has the most leg room to shift.

[tobitonic]

Speaking of convertible car seats - I found this article really interesting.

Did everyone know the middle seat was the safest seat for baby?

http://www.babble.com/parenting/infant-car-seat-safety-consumer-reports-study/

I did! Unfortunately, it's reeeally inconvenient. But my first child got to ride there for several months. Then I couldn't get him out anymore. (Super-short, short arms, and was pregnant again.)

If you are able to use the middle position and a side position, you should actually let your OLDER child ride in the middle, or so I've heard. The baby will be better protected by their seat; assuming your older child is forward-facing, they are less protected by the seat and therefore should get the safer middle spot.

Correct. An outboard rear-facing child is safer than a center forward-facing child because of how much safer rear-facing is in general. Also, seat belts make it much easier to install multiple car seats than LATCH.