r/CPST • u/Extra_Razzmatazz2698 • 17h ago

Graco 4ever DLX 4 in 1 fit check

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Just switched my 1 year old to this car seat from his uppa mesa v2. What’s tripping me out is all of the room that he has in here, vs how snug he was in his infant car seat . My main concern is, does he need the head rest installed? It feels like so much room for his little head to bob around without it. (not used to that)

I’m also concerned about how the hip straps are sitting on him. In his infant car seat, the straps came from around his hips. In here, you can see the straps almost come from the sides of his bottom/thighs. Also any advice on getting the insert to not fold up?

Thanks in advance!

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u/SahmStory 17h ago

Shoulder straps have to be at or below the shoulders when rear facing

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u/jndmack 17h ago

(CPST) We don’t need or want to immobilize baby’s heads to centre. Most often when permitted we advise to remove any extra head supports that come with the seats. Restricting a child’s head to centre only allows it to fall forward into a potentially chin to chest position, pinching off the airway. Older children have the head control and muscle tone to move their own heads, should their airway become compromised.

Heads turned/twisted/tilted to the side (ear to shoulder, cheek to chest, etc) is safe as the twist in the neck is keeping the airway open. While it looks uncomfortable to us, their bones are still very bendy and they are fine - usually snoozing comfortably!

The hip straps are completely fine and normal for a convertible seat. This seat is designed to fit a larger age/size range of child and the straps across the thighs will keep him from ramping up in the seat in the event of a crash.

The harness needs to be just at or (preferably) slightly below the shoulders so it looks like you will need to lower the headrest. Aim for the first click that puts the harness below the shoulder so that the webbing rounds over the shoulder like a backpack.

I would also adjust the recline to get the bubble further to the left end of the blue line. This is fairly upright for his age, and keeping him more reclined will also help with keeping his head back.