Does baby really need newborn insert in car seat?

Hi girls,
DP and i have been lucky enough to be given a 2ndhand car seat for our little one on the way. It a Safe n sound royale retractor (convertible) and is in great nick, no accidents, etc. came with all accs, harnesses etc but the lady had lost/misplaced the newborn insert padding that they usually come with.

we have hunted around and have been unable to find somewhere that sells the inserts, without buying a whole new car seat.

my question is, do you really need the newborn insert or can you use something else e.g. blanket to support them?

our other option is to hire a capsule fro kidsafe WA until bubs is big enough for the car seat, but were not sure how long bubs would need a capsule before they are able to lie in the rearward facing part without an insert?
please help :)

Have you tried emailing the company direct to see if they can help you out? They might have something in a warehouse somewhere? Might be worth a try?
The only other thing I can think of is the Tetra Tea Tree products, I think they have a head support?
Yep just checked - found them on the basically baby website, but I thought they had their own website as well? Anwyay, if you go to baby accessories, there is a baby headrest. Not sure if this would be suitable or not though?

you can pick up inserts for car seats/prams ect from babyco and baby shops like that. just try and ring them and ask instead of going all the way down there to check... hth

Ta ladies, went to baby on a budget today and they have head supports and pram inserts but said they're not suitable for car seats as they don't match the car seat safety standards, so that's out of the question.
Any idea how long baby needs the newborn insert for before they can lie in the rearward convertible car seat? Then we can just hire a capsule til then :)
We cannot afford to buy a capsule or new car seat just to last us a few months, we are pretty strapped!

you need the padding until 9kg in rear facing. Then you can turn to forward facing without it.
Your best bet is to email the company that makes them and ask them for one. They will help you out. I have done it before. Not the insert but a base of a cot I brought that was broken and they let me buy just that bit so I am sure that the insert would be the same :)

sorry, cant help you there. i know when you are allowed to turn them around but thats it....

Contact the company who make Safe N Sound (they're called Britax - if you go to their website, just put a dot com dot au on the end) and ask what they can suggest. I've called Britax in the past and they have been very friendly and helpful :).

We used our hire capsual till our kids were about the 6 month age im pretty sure. then put them in the normal carseats that face forwards

With My first I never had a newborne insert in her seat...I just used a clothed nappy rolled up and placed around her head. But I would contact the comapany as i'm sure you could get one from there, I had to get a new belt locator for one of my boosters and they sent me one it cost me $18 dollars but was cheaper than a new booster.

Yeah we never had an insert either, just the car seat facing backwards until DD could hold her head up properly and then we swung the seat around so I could keep an eye on her in my visor mirror while driving.

I wouldn't think it would be absolutely necessary to use an insert, you should be fine with just a towel or blanket if you're really concerned?

Good luck, I know what you mean about being cash-strapped, DH and I were given a hand-me-down from my aunty but it just looked bodge to us so we ended up giving it to mum and dad to use in their car and stopped off at Autobarn the day we brought her home from hospital with $300 we'd borrowed from the 'rents to buy a new one for us!!

You can get generic newborn inserts for carseats from BabyRoad - I got mine in the Meville store on Leach Highway but I know that there are other stores around. They are expensive - I paid $62 for mine and I kind of regret it because I'm going to hire a baby capsule for the first 3-6 months anyway. (Decided after purchasing! :doh:)

RedCross WA hires the baby capsules for $60 or 3 months or $120 for 6 months so by the time my baby is in the carseat, she wont need the insert.

HTH

Cool thanks ladies, think I will stick to hiring a capsule from kidsafe for 6 months, its $80 for 6 months and then I can use the car seat, cheers! Can't believe how muuch ppl spend on car seats its crazy!

hi ladies just letting you know i found a newborn insert at big w for $17! all sorted, thanks for all ur help!

Oooh thanks Tattoo Mama - good to know that Kidsafe WA is cheaper. Will google them for more info.

I got my car seat second hand too and really thought I would need the insert! :wall: But its crazy what they charge for car seats and because we love our darlings and want to keep them safe, we pay up!