# Tall baby outgrowing RF True Fit?



## ihugtrees (Oct 16, 2008)

My daughter is 13 months, 20 lbs, and 30 inches tall. She is all torso! We had to recently raise the shoulder strap height because they were coming up and over her shoulder, pushing down on the top of her shoulder and almost cutting into her, plus not feeling secure. It feels better now, but I still think it could stand to be raised one more notch soon if not now. On the side, where you adjust the shoulder straps, there is an illustration, and it says that the level we needed to move her shoulder straps to, she should be front facing. Her head is almost to the top of the seat, as well, and it says she should be front facing once she is at the top of the seat. But she is so little and so young! I bought this seat because I thought she could rearface until 2 or 3 in it?

I don't know if this makes any sense to someone who does not own a True Fit, so I apologize for the lack of clarity! I will try to remember to get a picture of her in it tomorrow to post.


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## StoriesInTheSoil (May 8, 2008)

The harness when RFing HAS to come from at or below shoulder height, it cannot come from above the shoulder. I assume she is on harness height 2 right now? 1, 2, and 3 are all okay for RFing and 3 and 4 are okay for FFing.


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## syd'smom (Sep 23, 2008)

DD is 3.5yo, 32-ish lbs, and about 36-37" tall, and still rfing in her trufit (and radian).

As pp mentioned, for ALL rfing seats, the should harness slots MUST be AT or BELOW the top of her shoulders.

Hopefully that makes sense - it's late and I'm tired!


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Have you put the removable head rest back on?

Here is a picture of a 41" child rear-facing in a Tru Fit, so it seems virtualy impossible that your 30" child has actually outgrown it.

Oh, and another "yup" to having the straps come out UNDER the shoulders when rear-facing.


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## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

My long-torsoed DD is 36" and still RF with ages of space in her TrueFit. Mine has an illustration that says you can only RF on the 1st or 2nd strap setting, but after a call to the manufacturer I learned that the 1st 3 strap settings are allowed for RF, and this rule is retroactive, no matter what the sticker says.

Also, my DD is still on he 2nd strap setting, which even the sticker says is ok. The 3rd one is *almost* even with her shoulders now. As the others have said the straps MUST come from below and go "up and over" the child's shoulder when RF.

Have you removed the infant padding from underneath her bottom? I'd be really surprised if any 30" child needed the 3rd harness position yet. It really sounds like she should be on the 2nd (or the 1st).


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Do you have the padding out and the headrest on? If you can post pics that would help. My ds1 had a horribly loooong torso, but still fit in the MA at 13 months, which is shorter than the TF.


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## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

I have two year old twins Rf in TrueFit's. They are both 34" tall and only on the 2nd harness height. I agree with the others that padding should be removed and/or removable head rest put on. Straps come from below shoulders (or at) when RF. I always used to worry about my dc's outgrowing carseats by height because they would grow so quickly but it seems to take a long time to grow in torso height.


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## Kat_shoshin (Feb 16, 2007)

I took my 3 year old out of the Truefit because he outgrew it by weight. He is ALL torso (like in 4t shirts and 2t pants)

#1 - take your padding insert out (you will find that the straps fit MUCH better without it too)
#2 - put your headrest on if you haven't already
#3 - you may use any strap height that is at or below their shoulders as long as their head is more than 1 inch from the top of the shell. The big concern for strap position is that the setting for rear facing only is not re-enforced to take the impact of a forward facing child in a crash. That said, your daughter is probably within the first 2 settings with the infant insert removed.

Enjoy!
Kat
Canadian CRST


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

No way is a 13 month old to tall for the TF. Put the headrest on







Also, you can use any of the bottom 3 strap positions when RF (even if your seat only says the bottom two, the manufacturer made it retroactive).


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

My 6 mo looked like he was outgrowing his TF also, since he was already outgrowing the 2nd slot. Then I took out the infant insert/padding, and now at almost 10 mos he's still on the first harness slots. At 20 lbs, you're not required to put the headrest on yet, but itgives you loads more of space to ease the worries of outgrowing.


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## ihugtrees (Oct 16, 2008)

I did not even know you could take the padding out! I was going to read the manual but it's packed somewhere (we are moving). Glad I came on here! I bet when I take that out, it's fine.

So the straps are supposed to be at or below her shoulders?? Geez. I wish I could find a CST near me...there is one listed online but the number doesn't work.

The head rest doesn't fit, I don't think...I have a Toyota Camry! It's a tight fit. They really need to fix it if the manufacturer says differently than the car seat. That's so awful!


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## newmommy7-08 (Feb 2, 2008)

Yes, the infant insert that isn't snapped in can be removed. Obviously the car seat cover that's snapped in can't be removed.









Regarding the head rest not fitting. Your LO can be more upright at her age she doesn't have to be at a 45degree angle. So that may help.

The reason the seat states differently than the manufacturer is that the decision to allow the 3rd slot for rfing was a decision made on the newer seats, but it was made to be retroactive. So if you bought a seat that had been made before they made that decision the sticker on the back side is still wrong.


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## just_lily (Feb 29, 2008)

Is your manual attached to your seat? My TF has a slot right on it for the manual to slide into, so we keep it right with the seat.

I can't imagine a TF not fitting in a Camry. I have gotten ours RFing in a Dodge Caliber, and that has a small back seat. Just install it more upright.


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## Megan73 (May 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ihugtrees* 
The head rest doesn't fit, I don't think...I have a Toyota Camry! It's a tight fit. They really need to fix it if the manufacturer says differently than the car seat. That's so awful!

You probably won't need the head rest yet but I promise that when you do it will fit at a more upright angle. I have one in a Honda Civic without any trouble.


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## StoriesInTheSoil (May 8, 2008)

I've installed a TrueFit with a headrest in a Corolla so I'm 100% positive it will fit in your Camry which actually have quite spacious backseats!


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## Jamie* (Jul 10, 2010)

The straps need to be AT or BELOW the shoulders for RF. The headrest is to be used once baby reaches 22lbs is what my manual says.


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I have a TFP behind the passengers seat in my accord and it fits OK. Makes that seat sort of cramped, but not too bad and no worse than w/ the baby trend flex loc we had previously. I've also had it in my DH's civic and it fit fine in there too.


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Megan73* 
You probably won't need the head rest yet but I promise that when you do it will fit at a more upright angle. I have one in a Honda Civic without any trouble.

Don't count on it. I have a TF with headrest in my PT Cruiser, and the front seat is completely unusable. I have it installed at the angle indicated on the seat (line parallel to the ground), and he's sitting fairly upright, but in some vehicles it just doesn't work well.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cristeen* 
Don't count on it. I have a TF with headrest in my PT Cruiser, and the front seat is completely unusable. I have it installed at the angle indicated on the seat (line parallel to the ground), and he's sitting fairly upright, but in some vehicles it just doesn't work well.

The problem is that you have it at the 45* angle for newborns







If you had it more upright (the manufacturer allows up to 35*) you would have much more room


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## UberMama (Feb 27, 2007)

I've installed the TF in a Camry in the RF (more upright position) with the headrest on and it fit just fine (didn't touch the front seats, installed in both outboard and center).


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## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

Yeah, in the more upright position, the TrueFit with headrest fits beautifully in my Mazda Protege (corolla or civic sized car). A Camry is really not very small, I bet it'll fit great. I don't know how big a PT cruiser is, but if the chidl is big enough to need the headrest he's probably big enough to have it considerably more upright. It can be as upright as 35degrees from the vertical, which makes a big difference (and makes my 2yo much happier in the car).


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