head falling forward

[Q]

I have a brand new graco 5pt restraint carseat for my liitle 5day old baby girl . The level is in the right place and the harness clip at chest level but i find it pokes into her neck plus her head keep falling forward! What am I doing wrong???
I'm scared to drive anywhere.

[JElaineB]

What seat do you have? Popular Graco seats would be the SnugRide infant seat or the ComfortSport convertible seat. Either way it sounds like your seat is not at a 45 degree angle which you definitely need for a newborn. The level indicators aren't perfect on these seats, unfortunately, though I found the ComfortSport indicator to be more accurate. You may need to use rolled up towels or a pool noodle in the "seat crack" to get the right angle. Read the manual again and it should give you some information on this. You probably want to have your seat inspected (with your daughter in it) ASAP and they will help you get it installed right. The Seat Check website can help you find a place to get your car seat inspected:

http://www.seatcheck.org/

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[sweetbasil]

Our second son's head did the same thing in his carseat when he was a newborn, and the seat was installed correctly (per the level indicator on the side)- also a Graco seat that came with a travel system. Anyway, I got a neck donut at Target (looks like a boppy, but really tiny), and that worked for a few minutes, then he figured out how to pull it out from under his neck and toss it away from him. He continued to let his little head fall forward, to the side, etc., and slept/rode fine. Now that he's 11 weeks, he's holding his head up much better, but it still falls to the side in the carseat.

Everyone in public would stop me and say, "his head is at a 90degree angle to his body, is he going to be okay?" I'd righten it up, and he'd just relax and his head would go back to where it was. I didn't like it, but it was something he grew out of pretty quickly.

Best wishes!

[C99]

Probably, nothing. Like Julie's second son, my son's head did this as well. It didn't seem to bother him, so I tried not to let it bother me.

[Q]

I'm glad to know that i'm not the only one with this problem. Thanks. Anyway I tightened the straps a little more and that has helped some. Her head still goes forward sometimes, especially on hills but like you guys said it dosn't seem to bother her. Now if Mom was just as easy going!

[murphydog77]

Congratulations on your baby! Actually, a newborn's head falling forward IS a safety risk--it can cut off her airway. Unfortunately, children have died this way, so getting the proper angle on your car seat is very important.

The level indicator on any seat will only work correctly when the base is level itself. Since most back seats are sloped down for adult comfort, the base on the car seat (infant or convertible) will slope down as well. So, what you need to do is get that base level. Most infant seat bases have some kind of foot to get the base level. If you find that the foot is adjusted to the highest position and the base still isn't level across the bottom, then put the foot into the lowest position and use cut pool noodles or tightly rolled towels as well. If you need more than one noodle/towel, use 3 in a triangle shape and tape them together. Once the base is level, your infant seat should be at a 45 degree angle. If you are using a convertible seat (one that can be used rear-facing, then turned forward-facing for an older toddler), then you'll have to guestimate the angle of recline. Remember that the base should be installed so that there's less than 1" of movement when you tug at the belt path.

Here's more help with angles: http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm

If you are using a convertible seat and the top of the harness chest clip is positioned at arm pit level and it's still poking your dd in the neck, then you may want to get an infant seat to use. That may solve that problem, though some of those chest clips used on infant seats are humongous, lol!

And *definitely* get to a certified child passenger safety technician as soon as you can. S/he can teach you how to install the seat correctly and use it correctly. You can usually find free checkup events in your area by calling your local Safe Kids coalition (http://www.safekids.org ) or by calling a tech (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/inju...acts/index.cfm ).

HTH!

Heather, CPS Tech
http://www.carseatsite.com

[cpstechmom]

How big is she? Any way you could post a picture or two? That might help us. Try putting a pool noodle under the base in the bight of the seat and that should help. Sometimes the indicators on the seats can be wrong. Also, have you had a car seat tech look at it? They might be able to help.


Janice M. Mom to Cias-born 4/13/02 and forever rear-facing in his Britax Marathon.

[california_sales_girl]

What type of seat is it? Is it a convertible or a Snugride infant seat?

[Christi]

We have the Graco SnugRide and had it installed by a CPS Tech and my son's head did the same thing! I ended up using a rolled up receiving blanket around his head to keep it propped up, which is a no-no, but at the time I didn't know any better. After 6 or 8 weeks, he had better control of his head and it didn't seem to happen anymore. ~Christi