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My experience using a child seat in my car for 3.5 years

4th July 2023, 14:05 by Ananth Iyer

Everyone thought that as a new born is very delicate, the safest way to travel for her is the mother's lap.

BHPian NG_EV recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am writing about my experience of using two different car seats for babies after a use duration of 3.5 years (approximately.) I first came to know about the car seats after watching a few movies. I first thought that these were a luxury item and did not know about their true use. This was about 10 years ago and I did not give them much thought. About 5 years ago my elder brother who lives in the United States told me that he was looking to buy a car seat as the hospitals there do not allow the baby to leave the hospital without one (He used a borrowed one initially and then bought a new one). I then ask him more about the car seats and he told me about their use as a safety equipment. After this I read up some more about their utility. Then when we were expecting our daughter, I went through the entire thread about the baby seats.

When I first told my family about the same, my wife was very supportive but others not so much. Everyone thought that as a new born is very delicate, the safest way to travel for her is the mother's lap. There was resistance from the family and I even had a fight over this issue but I didn't budge from my position.

After going through the thread, I finally purchased the Britax Roemer Baby Safe car seat. Reasons for the purchase of this brand:

Reputed brand
Within the budget (I don't remember the price now.)
Didn't purchase the all in one system initially as it was too expensive for me at that time.
It had a canopy (to protect the baby from sun) (not available in the all in one system).
Easy to carry in and out of the car if the baby is sleeping as compared to the bulky all in one system.
It was only one available offline (among the preferred brands) at the First Cry store near me. I had read that you need to first check the feasibility of the seat fitment in the car.
It could be fixed with the 3-point seat belt. (No isofix in the car, wasn't even aware about isofix at the time of purchase of the car)
The purchase process was smooth. I went and made payment at the First Cry store. The seat was delivered and the delivery person also gave a demonstration about the use and installation.

All the apprehension about the seat were gone in the wind when the family members saw how comfortable she was in the car seat. In addition to that, no one had to carry her in the lap for extended time (though a baby is small, holding her properly for even 1 hour in a moving vehicle is an exhausting task). We continued using the seat regularly in the normal rear facing position. Then as she became older, she started becoming uncomfortable as the seat was getting smaller. In addition, she also developed motion sickness. I tried using the seat one or two times in the front facing position but it felt unsafe.Then I started looking for a replacement. I finalized the Graco 4ever DLX 4 in 1 car seat. I picked this for the reasons below:

Reputed brand
Within price range
It was available on Amazon (at a discounted price)
The cover was removable (more important if the child has motion sickness)
There was no response from the Britax India website and the seat was a little costlier
The seat is also made from solid plastic and is not blow moulded.
It can be used with either isofix or seat belt and also has a mechanism to secure from top.

After the seat was delivered, I started using it in the rear facing position as it is recommended to keep the baby seat in rear seating position as long as feasible. There is a bubble level which lets you know if the seat is in proper position when used in rear facing position.

However we had to switch to the front facing position as she was not comfortable in the rear facing position. The family members also said that the car seat was the culprit for her motion sickness but we tried travelling for small distance with her in her mother's lap but it didn't make a difference.

The culprit turned out to be me and our roads. Whenever she was asleep, I tried to cover maximum distance, thinking that as she is asleep we could travel more at a higher speed. But the condition of the roads coupled with the higher speed (80-90Kmph) led to the motion sickness. Nowadays, I take a scheduled break of 25-30 min and allow her to refresh herself. This has reduced the motion sickness a lot on plains. However, the mountain roads are a different story. Nothing has worked to this date.

Coming back to the car seat, now she asks for the car seat before travelling anywhere. It is now used in front facing position. Now we are trying to get her to sit alone in the car seat in the back, while her mother sits in the front.

Link for Graco seat