Car seat - too tight for baby

Looking at that picture she needs the insert back in because the straps should be coming out level with her shoulders. Once the insert is in you may need to adjust the headrest and harness height slightly to accommodate it. Instructions for this will be in your manual 😊

the straps start below her shoulders and then bend over them. The newborn insert has big hard cushions on the sides which means her shoulders and arms are being pushed into her body, and annoyingly the newborn insert is one whole bit.

even if she is screaming the whole time?

oh, it looked in the photo like the straps were coming out higher, but it’s hard to see. I’d still try putting the insert back in and raising the headrest to accommodate. The manual will state when it’s safe to remove the insert but I would doubt it’s yet. I know it’s distressing when little ones don’t like the car seat but if you don’t have the option of replacing the seat I’d personally take a safe, crying baby over an unsafe one.

I would rather find ways to stop her screaming while safe than risk her being seriously hurt in an accident 😔

I think she looks fine in this seat as long as the straps are tightened down snug enough. Do you have certified car seat technicians? They can inspect your seats and let you know what's safe

Do you know how long she is? Most insert are down to length and shouldn’t be removed unless they are longer then it x

we don’t have car seat technicians in the UK

Do you have a pic of her in the seat with the inserts? X

we don’t, but we do have independent car seat experts with tons of expertise knowledge. It’s so scary how many babies I see with such unsafe fits using unsafe car seats (as in, car seats that aren’t even properly tested- not Swedish tested or Swedish plus tested) 😓

yes, they’re few and far between though and usually won’t support if you didn’t buy the seat from them, although some of them do provide useful support via Facebook groups which could be useful in this case

She looks like she’s got too much room around her now, car seats are meant to be snug

My 1 year old still screams, some babies just hate being strapped into a car seat unable to move, especially if they are quite clingy babies and like to be carried around and held. They don't understand that they have to sit their for their safety and ate crying to be picked up. The same way they would cry if they were put in a cot when they didn't want to be. I learned this after changing car seats...twice! Thinking they were uncomfortable when it turns out she just doesn't like being strapped in for any length of time. I've resorted now to distraction techniques on my mobile phone, put Netflix on, she can watch twirly woos whilst we drive, it's the only thing I've found stops her crying.

We have the same car seat and I’ve taken it out too but she still screams so I don’t think it was the newborn insert :( she looked so squashed!

She needs the insert. There is way too much space around her which makes it a very unsafe fit now. They are supposed to be ‘squished’ in. Some babies unfortunately just hate the car seat x

❤️

My baby cried when I put her in car seat but my husband later on put a blanket on car seat to make sure her spine and back wasn’t hurting from all the squashing. So my advice is to fold a blanket and adjust accordingly so baby has support on her back and isn’t too dipped inside the car seat. Give it a try dear. My baby doesn’t cry anymore and she is most comfortable now.

My son hated his Mesa car seat, we needed to buy a new one. Im so sorry!

do you mean a blanket behind baby in the car seat? That’s extremely unsafe, you’re affecting the fit of the car seat entirely.
Please take that blanket out and don’t advise other mothers to do the same.
Nothing at all should be added to a car seat

unfortunately putting a blanket on her back isn’t safe. The baby needs to be in the car seat with nothing but their clothes, jackets excluded

Just join the Facebook group called “Car Seat Safety UK” and there you’ll have professionals who will give you advice on what to do

@ Beatriz Ok. Thanks. We only did it for couple of months coz she was too tiny. Don’t use it anymore but thank you for your advice❤️

no problem 😊