Baby's Head Is Flopping Forward and the Graco 4ever Deluxe Car Seat

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Just a note if yous are new hither, I am a Kid Passenger Safety Technician, certified through CPSAC. You can find me at Calgary Car Seat Cubs.

The Graco 4Ever is an "all-in-one" car seat marketed as maybe the only seat you'll ever need to buy for your kid.

Is that too good to be true? How does information technology stack upward in terms of fit to kid, fit to vehicle and ease of install? Is it the right seat to meet your family'due south needs?

Remember, whenever you read one of my car seat reviews that at that place is no ane seat that works for everyone. The right seat for yous is the seat that fits your budget, your child and your vehicle, so read on to observe out if the 4Ever will tick those boxes for you!

What does "all-in-one" really mean?

A child'southward machine seat journey goes from a rear-facing, harnessed seat to a forwards-facing, harnessed seat to a booster seat (with a back and then without) to the adult seat chugalug lonely. This journey is usually at to the lowest degree ten years long.

I would say that most families start with an infant seat (the kind you carry the baby to and from the car in), then use a convertible seat and and so use a booster seat—that'south 3 different seat purchases.

There are a few car seats on the market that are deemed "all-in-ones," significant that they do the job of those three different seats, plumbing fixtures a child from birth to pre-teen.

That's a pretty massive range of sizes for one seat to handle, and then as y'all can imagine there are definite pros and cons to choosing this blazon of seat, which I would say is true of about any production that is designed to meet a wide range of needs. Most multi-use products, whether we are talking infant gear or appliances, tend to do a couple of things really well and so be rarely used for their other advertised purposes.

What are the benefits of using one seat from nativity to booster?

• More economical
• More sustainable from an environmental perspective

What other things should you lot consider if you want to use i seat from birth to booster?

• All-in-one seats may not fit small-scale newborns (peculiarly preemies) well, leaving parents stuck needing to buy an babe seat anyway. It's very hard to predict exactly how big your baby will exist and what their proportions will be, so it is always a fleck risky to showtime off with an "all-in-one" seat. As an instance, the height minimum to use the Graco 4Ever is 18″ (46 cm). While both of my twins were over iv lb (1.viii kg) upon existence discharged from the hospital, neither was 18″ long yet. (For comparison, Graco's Snugride babe seat has a tiptop minimum of 16.5″/42 cm.)
• Some kids consider their harnessed seat their "infant" seat and it's hard to get them to purchase in to using the aforementioned seat they've had since they were in diapers as their booster. Depending on the child and depending on what kind of seats (if whatever) their peer grouping are using, parents may need to buy a "big kid" booster seat to make sure their child cooperates and is safe in the vehicle.
• Kids are really gross, and their car seats get really gross. If you're not strict nigh nutrient in the auto seat and frequent cleanings, using the same seat for ten years may be a bit (a lot) gross. I always recommend not feeding kids in their seats, but realistically, nosotros all do. Call back to always clean your car seat co-ordinate to the manufacturer's directions.
• Depending on how long it takes a kid to reach the correct size to stop using a booster, the all-in-1 seat may expire (the 4Ever has a 10-year death) before they're done using a booster, but this may mean you merely demand to spend $20 for a elementary booster until they grow a few more inches.

What nigh using the 4Ever as the last seat later on the baby seat?

This would be my personal recommendation for a family interested in the 4Ever. A well-chosen babe seat is specifically designed to adapt fifty-fifty the smallest of newborns and also provides a great deal of convenience. I find the start weeks with a newborn are already stressful enough without having to be worried about your baby being too small or merely not the correct shape to get a rubber fit in an all-in-i car seat. The Graco Snugride 35 is a beloved infant seat that is easy to use, fits newborns—including preemies—well, and would be a great choice to use pre-4Ever!

Because the booster fashion of the 4Ever provides a reliable belt fit and goes from high-back to backless (not the case for all all-in-one seats on the market), it tin, for most children, be the last seat purchased following the babe seat.

If you want to employ the 4Ever from birth, or truly whatsoever all-in-one, my best communication is to have an infant seat on standby (perhaps infringe i from a trusted friend) just in case you are struggling with your babe's fit. If you await your baby to be premature or small (for example, if you're expecting multiples), definitely choose an baby seat that is well adapted to tiny babies and keep the all-in-one seat for after down the road. Regardless of what seat you lot choose to apply from birth, if yous can encounter with a Kid Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) for a prenatal session, yous'll feel confident y'all can install it and use information technology correctly from mean solar day 1!

What'due south the deal with the 4Ever'southward re-designed headrest and head slump?

Y'all may have heard or read complaints that babies are more decumbent to head slump in the Graco 4Ever and that Graco recently re-designed their headrest in response to customer feedback. Commencement of all: fashion to become Graco! I really capeesh that they took customer and CPST feedback to heart and went back to the cartoon board. Secondly, remember that as consumers it is important to give feedback to brands—information technology can pay off!

Seats manufactured equally of May 2020 feature a slight headrest redesign, made to reduce incidences of "caput slump," or basically an bad-mannered positioning of the kid's head, when it is pushed forward towards their chest.

As well the appointment of manufacture, you can easily tell if a seat is the original or redesigned version by looking at the back of the headrest: If there are two elastic loops around each plastic hook, information technology is the original version. If there is a unmarried elastic loop around each hook, it is the redesigned version.

Please annotation that there is nothing wrong with the original 4Ever. As you will see as I go to the details of my review, we had one of each to work with, and I was unable to observe any deviation between the 2 for my twins. (Due to the ongoing pandemic, finding random babies of different sizes to examination in my seats has been … incommunicable.)

If you have an original 4Ever and it's working for you lot, that is crawly and totally normal; there are plenty of consumers who have 4Evers and had no fit bug, and therefore take had no need to complain. But the squeaky cycle gets the grease, and then apparently, in that location were enough complaints to warrant the modify.

I take encountered CPSTs who've had goose egg issues with their 4Evers for their ain children, and I've also encountered a few who accept ultimately been unhappy with the seat considering of the headrest. But I would exist remiss if I suggested that this is unique to the 4Ever. At that place are plenty of seats on the market place known to do well for some and non so well for other shapes of children. It'due south just that in this instance, Graco actually made a change to adjust more children meliorate, which is a smart decision if you ask me! If you buy an original 4Ever (which will get less and less possible as onetime stock runs out), you're non likely to accept problems, and then don't panic. I can honestly say that I've seen plenty of kids who fit perfectly well in their 4Evers. And frequently, a kid's head positioning (in whatsoever seat) can be remedied with the assist of correct harnessing (bank check your manual!), correct use of possible installation angles (check your manual!) and correct use of any included positioning cushions (check your manual!). When in doubtfulness, regardless of brand, reach out to the manufacturer's customer service and reach out to a CPST.

Considering my twins fit well in both of my 4Ever models, I did bank check in with some fellow CPSTs who had worked with babies who had trouble getting a nice fit in the original version and were then tested in the new version. I'thou happy to written report that the feedback was generally positive and for most babies, head positioning was improved.

Recall that there is NO unmarried seat on the marketplace that fits every child perfectly, and then when possible, information technology is e'er best to try a child in a seat earlier you purchase. Besides note that the caput being pushed slightly forward or slumping, especially when a child is asleep, is not an automated cause for business organisation. For children without neck control—typically children nether 3 months one-time—if their head is folded frontward at the neck, their chin to their breast, whether in their car seat or in whatsoever babe device (such as a stroller or infant carrier), and so they are at take chances for positional asphyxia, and this is absolutely something that must be remedied.

Equally per Graco'south Canadian Compliance Engineer, "The previous version of the 4Ever had a total EPS headrest (white foam) with an EPP pad behind the head (black foam pad). The new version has a full EPP headrest without the pad."

In a nutshell, the black rectangle you run across on the original headrest is EPP (expanded polypropylene) padding and the white foam in the original is EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam.  Canadian regulations require "a deadening recovery, energy absorbing textile" be in contact with the child'due south head, and that was the function of the black padding. The new headrest removes the piece of blackness padding, making the entire headrest out of EPS foam, thus removing that rectangular layer of foam that tin button some heads forward, simply maintaining the EPP foam that has energy absorbing properties backside the child's head (and in fact throughout the entire headrest.)

Please note that if you accept a 4Ever with the original headrest, you cannot alter it by removing parts of the headrest. The new headrest blueprint is also a full fabric redesign, not but a removal of one piece. Never effort to make DIY adjustments to any car seat. E'er contact the manufacturer if you have questions or concerns.

Graco 4Ever review

Finally, we get to the eye of the matter. How did the 4Ever fare in each of its modes for my kiddos? Every bit mentioned earlier, we received both a seat with the original headrest and a seat with the redesigned headrest, and I used them both extensively. Ultimately I noticed no difference betwixt the ii for my children.

Rear-facing mode

Fit to child

Weight range: iv–twoscore lb (1.eight–18 kg)

Height range: 18″–43″ (46–110 cm)

Child must take 1″ of infinite between the height of their head and the red adjustment handle.

We tested the 4Ever in rear-facing manner on my ii.v-yr-quondam twins and my 5-year-old daughter.

I expected to come across a huge difference in caput position with my twins, one of them in the original headrest 4Ever and one in the redesigned headrest 4Ever. The truth is, I could simply be certain which one was in which seat by checking the date of manufacture. My boys just don't have a caput positioning result with this seat, and I've been actually fortunate in that all of the car seats we have used accept not caused the states any fit issues. (And we have used many; such is the nature of the task!)

This is an example of one car ride in the *original* 4Ever. You lot tin can see at one point his caput flops forrad while he's comatose (normal and not a business organisation) and that he also repositions his head to the side without issue. I didn't experience whatever head positioning issues with my twins with the "quondam" head residual, merely I also did not take the chance to test if with a younger baby with less cervix command.

My smaller twin is 34.5″ (88 cm) and 27 lb (12 kg), and my bigger twin is 35.5″ (90 cm) and xxx.5 lb (xiv kg). They both fit really nicely in the 4Ever and seemed to savor the cup holders. We used the 4Evers installed as upright equally possible. (More on that later.)

My daughter is simply under 43″ alpine (109 cm) and is 38 lb (17 kg), putting her at the cusp of outgrowing the 4Ever's rear-facing fashion. For fun, and considering i time nosotros needed to do a big seat switcharoo to accommodate two of her friends, she has tested it a couple of times rear-facing and I was impressed that she fit quite well! A lot of times when you try a kid who is close to the stated pinnacle and weight maximums in a seat, they've already outgrown information technology, then it was smashing to see that the 4Ever worked for my daughter who was basically at the height maximum and only ii lb (.9 kg) shy of the weight maximum for rear-facing. Note that my daughter is pretty petite, so neither of her buddies who sometimes ride with united states of america and are the same age could use the 4Ever rear-facing.

The 4Ever comes with a bum cushion and caput cushion that are just to be used in rear-facing fashion. My kids are big enough to apply the seat without these cushions, but smaller babies will definitely need the bum cushion in identify. There is no specific weight requirement for using the cushions, then it'south a matter of trial and error, testing how your kid fits with and without. It is fine and quite common to use the bum cushion without the caput cushion. Only do not utilise the head cushion without the bum cushion.

Rear-facing installation

The 4Ever has three recline angles for rear-facing, and the angle indicator on the side of the seat employs a bluish line and a bubble. The chimera needs to be fully contained on the blueish line to be an adequate installation angle. When the bubble is all the way to left (towards the back of the vehicle), the seat is at its nigh reclined (definitely needed for a newborn). When the bubble is at the opposite finish, towards the front of the vehicle, the seat is at its most upright. As long equally your child has neck control, I would just choose the bending that is almost comfortable for your child and fits your vehicle best, with the bubble anywhere along that bluish line.

The 4Ever can exist installed using the lower anchors for the entirety of its employ in rear-facing mode considering the seat can merely be used rear-facing up to 40 lb (18 kg), and a seat chugalug installation is only required at 45 lb (xx kg).

Installing with the lower anchors is a breeze because y'all can easily pull the tail of the UAS from the inside of the seat like so, without even having to pull upwards the fabric cover:

Push-push connectors are easy to click onto and remove from the lower anchor confined in your vehicle, even the ones that are deep in the seat crack. (Because the vehicle pattern team had no parents on it …)

Installing the seat in rear-facing mode with the vehicle seat belt was also fine in our Odyssey.

Forward-facing mode

Fit to kid

Weight range: 22–65 lb (10–xxx kg)

Height Range: 27″–49″ (69–125 cm)

The child's ears must exist completely contained inside the auto seat headrest.

My twins volition exist rear-facing for quite a while still, and my oldest son is too tall for whatever harnessed seat on the marketplace to exist a tester, then my girl serves as my forward-facing model. The seat fits her well forward-facing with quite a bit of room to grow. My girl doesn't like using the harness covers (they are optional), merely I noticed the harness saturday quite shut to the neck of ane of her friends who was borrowing the seat, and then in this case the child would probable adopt the harness pads on. It really depends on each child's shape and preference!

One of the groovy things about the 4Ever in forrad-facing mode is that its tiptop harness tiptop is 18″ (45 cm). Height harness height is often overlooked by parents when seat shopping because information technology's not a stat that is readily available on the box. Essentially the top harness height measurement tells you how long of a torso (also known every bit seated height, measured from bum to shoulder) a kid can have earlier the harness starts coming from below their shoulders (which means they're too tall for the harness).

Two children who are the exact same continuing height tin easily outgrow a seat at completely unlike times considering one kid has long legs while the other has a long torso. Because it'south non exactly piece of cake to predict a child'southward future torso measurement, I like to see seats take at least 18″ of harness height before I give them a resounding recommendation. It is very frustrating for a parent to realize their child has outgrown the harness of their seat before the child is set up to go into a booster. Some pop seats take a acme harness summit of as little as 16″, which truly does exit some tall 4 and v yr olds in need of new seats earlier they tin can apply a booster. My son is taller than average and would've hit the 18″ torso summit around age seven, then he would've easily been able to remain harnessed in the 4Ever until he was heavy enough and mature plenty to apply information technology every bit a booster.

Forward-facing installation

Installing the 4Ever in frontward-facing style, whether with seat belt or with lower anchors, proved easy in our Honda Odyssey. Call up that the seat must be installed using the seat chugalug for a child who weighs over 45 lb (20 kg).

Because the fabric seat comprehend tin be opened and so conveniently, it'southward really easy to pull the UAS or seat belt tight from the inside of the seat, which is always the easiest way to get a tight installation.

The seat tin use reclines 4, 5 or 6 in forrad-facing mode. You lot'll want to select the one that fits your vehicle best and is comfy for your child.

Booster Manner

Fit to child

Summit range:

With back: twoscore″–57″ (102–145 cm)

Without back: 43″–58″ (109–147 cm)

Weight range:

With dorsum: 40–100 lb (18–45 kg)

Without back: 40–120 lb (eighteen–54 kg)

Child must exist at least 4 years erstwhile to use this seat in booster fashion. CPSTs recommend boostering no before than age v.

Unfortunately, I don't accept a model to examination the 4Ever in loftier-back way, but having worked with the Graco Nautilus, which is very similarly designed, I have no large concerns about this seat equally a high-back booster.

In high-back booster mode, the highest height for the shoulder belt guide is 19″ (48 cm), and information technology is just ever-and then-slightly too low for my 8-year-old son. The belt guide needs to be even with or just above the shoulders, and it is just a bear on beneath his shoulders now. He'south 52.five″ tall (133 cm) and his current booster seat has a 19.5″ (50 cm) shoulder guide height, and he won't fit it much longer either. My son is taller than average, so many kids would be able to use this seat in high-back mode for much longer.

At age viii, I'm not concerned about him riding in a backless booster, but he prefers a dorsum on as he finds information technology more comfortable. The primary plus of keeping the dorsum on the booster is that it helps kids sit down up straight, even when napping, which keeps their seat belt properly positioned.

When used equally a backless booster, the seat belt fit for my son is great without using the included belt positioning prune. (Remember to put this piece in a safe place when you unbox your 4Ever: if you lot've bought it for your 1-year-old, you won't exist needing the prune for a while!)

Go on this shoulder belt clip somewhere prophylactic! You may demand it in backless booster mode.

Installation

Turning the 4Ever into a high-back booster takes no time at all. In fact, if you have it installed forward-facing using the UAS for your usual passenger, y'all could plow information technology into a booster quickly to conform an unexpected booster-passenger without having to uninstall it.

When you pull open the seat comprehend, you'll come across a little compartment you can store the harness in, every bit well as a spot to place the crotch buckle. Many seats on the market require y'all to completely remove the harness and crotch buckle for high-back booster mode, which is a full pain. To use the 4Ever every bit a backless booster you do have to remove the harness completely, but in that location isn't really a way around that.

In high-back booster mode you can use the lower anchors (in the forward-facing belt path) to secure the 4Ever to the vehicle. Recollect that this is not a requirement and only serves to agree the seat in place when the child is climbing in and out, and so it doesn't become a projectile when unoccupied. The developed seat belt is what does the job of restraining the kid in a booster seat.

When used every bit a booster, ensure the seat is on recline 6.

To apply equally a backless booster, completely remove the seatback and harness from the seat, which once again is really quite quick. Considering the UAS strap is part of the backrest, you cannot adhere the 4Ever using the lower anchors when used in backless mode. (Remember to buckle the booster dorsum upward when it is unoccupied so information technology doesn't become a projectile.) Place the booster on the vehicle seat and ensure that the vehicle headrest supports your child's head up to the top of their ears. (Never use a backless booster in a position without head back up.)

The 4Ever is a lot wider and taller than my son's regular, dedicated booster seat. This makes it difficult for him to buckle himself. I observe the buckle in the third row of our Odyssey ofttimes gets stuck under the seat, and I've got to attain in to pull information technology dorsum out so nosotros can buckle him.

My son had no complaints about using the 4Ever as a booster. For everyday employ, I definitely prefer him in a narrower, lower contour booster. If we needed to, however, I don't come across any reason why he couldn't continue to use the 4Ever as a backless booster until he passes the 5-footstep test and fits the adult seat belt properly.

Overall Opinion

The 4Ever could be the only seat you buy for a kid about to be born, but it is not likely to exist. If your newborn is big enough to get a practiced fit in the 4Ever, it'south likely that x years down the road, once the seat has expired, that aforementioned kid will still demand a elementary booster seat to make it all the way to the end of their car seat journeying (when they're alpine enough to pass the 5-step test).

Based on the considerations I listed at the beginning of this mail, some families may opt to first their car seat journey with an infant seat and so employ the 4Ever all the way to booster, and that works too. Still others may be handing the 4Ever down to a younger sibling as a rear-facing seat while the older kid moves on to a booster or combination seat.

That the 4Ever may not actually be the just seat a family buys is past no means a bargain-breaker for me. I am not convinced that any seat on the market is truly the merely seat ane child will ever use, and I honestly don't retrieve that matters. The well-nigh important thing for me is that a seat tin can be safely used by the bulk of children in all of the modes it is designed for and is non outgrown before the bulk of children volition be gear up for the adjacent mode.

The 4Ever can

• arrange a full-term newborn in many cases: I haven't tested it myself but have seen from CPST colleagues that there are babies who fit very well and also families who need a lot of back up from a CPST to get the right adjustment for their newborn every bit well as babies who needed an baby seat instead for the first few months. (This is not unique past whatever means to the 4Ever.)
• go along most children rear-facing until they are 4.
• go along most children harnessed in forrard-facing way until they are both heavy plenty and mature plenty for booster fashion.
• keep near children in a high-back booster until they're 8–10 years old.
• serve as a backless booster for children until they pass the 5-pace examination (bold the seat doesn't expire before then).

In short, the 4Ever can and does practise what it says it can practise, and it does it well. Its user-friendly installation and the possibility of a very meaty installation make it a seat that works well in a wide diverseness of vehicles.

I remember the 4Ever works best in its "convertible" style, used every bit the seat later on the babe seat. While information technology absolutely tin and will be suitable for many newborns, I am always nervous about recommending any not-infant seat from birth considering of the unpredictability of fit. As a booster, it is fully functional and will hands become most kids to the point when they can move to just the booster with an adult seat belt, just I think that most parents and kids volition prefer, by that age or stage, a slimmer, less bulky dedicated booster. (I certainly do.)

Both my toddler twins and my kindergartener fit well in this seat rear-facing. I was impressed that my daughter, so shut to the elevation and weight maximums, still fit very well in the seat. My viii-twelvemonth-old had a great seat chugalug fit in backless booster mode.

If I could make one ever-so-slight comeback to the seat blueprint, I would want an angle-indicator bubble on both sides of the seat. When I install the seat on the driver's side, I take to get around to the other side to cheque the angle. This is by no means a deal-billow, just it would be an added convenience for sure!

I also desire to acknowledge once again that I think it is truly keen that Graco made a design change (which is not a simple thing to practice for a automobile seat that needs to go through many stages of safety testing) to respond to consumer concerns with regard to the headrest. And I too want to reiterate that 4Evers with the previous headrest are still rubber to use!

For my kids, the 4Ever was a groovy fit in all modes except high-back booster, only considering I don't have a kid who is in the right size range for it. A year before and I don't dubiousness my son would've fit just fine.

While I would non personally choose to use the 4Ever as the ONLY seat for a babe on the way, it's definitely a seat that gets my CPST thumbs-up for virtually kids and well-nigh vehicles!

You can support my blog by purchasing your automobile seats and other items via my chapter link to Amazon.ca:

For more than information on the 4Ever, check out my colleagues' reviews:

CSFTL.org'south 4Ever Review
The Monarch Mommy's 4Ever Review

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Source: https://mamanloupsden.com/2020/11/24/graco-4ever/

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