[PMolly]

We just turned my 2.5 yr old's seat around because his feet go to sleep every. time. we. ride. Fortunately it only happens in our in-law's truck, so his seat in our car is still RF. The seatback in the truck is absolutely straight up, no tilt at all. And the seat bottom seems to angle up in a weird way. It makes his seat sit pretty upright even when it's installed in the recline position. It seems like there is just no room for his legs. Also, that seat gets taken in and out from time to time, so the install can't be complicated at all (no rolled towels, etc.) because I can't guarantee it would be done correctly each time.

Am I really the only person who has encountered this? I've seen the websites, videos, and all the propaganda that says "keep them rear facing". And I totally buy it. But when he's crying after a 10 minute drive that his legs hurt and can't stand when he gets out, that just doesn't seem fair.

For the record...he's in a Boulevard in both vehicles. Never has a problem in our car. It seems so odd. Comments?

 

[DahliaRW]

My oldest had the same problem around 15 months in our car. He couldn't talk well yet, but he could sign and he would sign pain and point to his legs. He was really tall for his age as well. We did end up turning him, since he was in actual pain rather than discomfort (this had gone on for a few weeks consistently before we did).

Interesting enough, his little brother has no problems being rfing in the same seat in the same car going on 16 1/2 months now.

 

[alysmommy2004]

DS used to gripe a ton when RFing, but I never knew what about. In general he didn't like being in the car though (probably due to motion sickness). He primarily rode in/rides in a Boulevard. When I'd put him in the Radian RFing I never heard any complaints out of him. Now that he's FFing he's back to complaining and I suspect it may be his legs bothering him.

 

[alegna]

I've installed the blvd in a number of cars- what sometimes helped was using the rf tether to increase the recline.

good luck!

-Angela

 

[Papooses]

IME, when the recline angle is correct *and* comfortable, this generally isn't an issue

Correct recline angle can be 30-45 degrees. 30 would be upright. My daughter has always been about 97th percentile for height ... not torso height, she's LEGGY . . . while most CPSTs at the time were saying kids usually like to be more upright, I found my daughter liked it reclinedmore -- just never recline past 45 degrees!

If you have a Britax or Radian, install the carseat securely so that it moves less than 1 inch in any direction at the belt path & then use the tether to increase the recline angle.

If you have any other carseat then you cannot use the tether rear facing. You could ask your local CPST to help you achieve a correct, secure installation with greater recline.

My daughter rear faced until just after her 4th birthday in my car. She was forward facing in other cars @ 2 yrs old. She always complained of numbness in other cars, never in mine. As soon as she had to turn forward in my car she complained of numbness. Seats like Britax & Recaro that have a base & sit up higher allowed her to just barely rest her feet on the vehicle seat while she was awake, but after falling asleep she woke up screaming with pins-n-needles. 3 years worth of this in other peoples' cars, only a few months worth in mine. She eventually grew long enough that her heels were flat on the floor in a low profile seat. She's so leggy, though, that this happened much sooner for her than most kids.

Another idea: perhaps the lap portion of the harness is tooooooooooooo tight? That was the culprit during my 1st ever private seatcheck appointment. Turned out there was a defect with the harness. The company replaced her seat for free.

 

[sunnymw]

I had a similar issue with my Boulevard in my Durango, and switched it out for a TrueFit since I couldn't get it reclined enough for him and still have the leg room. His leg room almost doubled and I could recline the seat a little more and still have the leg room because of the shape of the shell. If you can trade your BV (which is worth more $$ than a new TF, probably) it might help. The BV has less leg room than any other seat I've owned--Radian, Uptown, even Comfortsport.

 

[an_aurora]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alegna I've installed the blvd in a number of cars- what sometimes helped was using the rf tether to increase the recline. good luck! -Angela

The newer Blvd manuals prohibit that now. Too many bases were broken due to over-tightening. You can always use a towel or noodle to adjust the recline, though.

 

[alegna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by an_aurora The newer Blvd manuals prohibit that now. Too many bases were broken due to over-tightening. You can always use a towel or noodle to adjust the recline, though.

how interesting. Man, you'd have to really yank that thing to break the base...

-Angela

 

[an_aurora]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alegna how interesting. Man, you'd have to really yank that thing to break the base... -Angela

Yep, I guess the strain of an over-tightened tether made it so some seats would slip in and out of recline mode.