Hey there Mamas!! I have a question for ya'll. My son, who is now pretty close to 8 months, seems to be getting too tall for his infant seat. His feet hang out the end of his car seat, and when he's rearward facing in the car, he's all cramped up in his car seat and gets very irritated!! He is almost 19 pounds, but is 30 inches tall... I know you're not supposed to switch them until their 20 pounds and AT LEAST a year old, and to keep them that way for as long as possible, but it's so irritating to him, and I don't think I could go on another car trip with him always screaming because he can't move! Any advise ladies?
Hi. I also have the Britax Marathon and love it. Both my girls were in it, rearfacing, untell they were 14mo and then forward. They both still like there seat and I plan on getting one for my son when he gets older. If you go to babyuniverse.com they usually offer free shipping and you can get the exact style you want:) Hope this helps
-A.
Buy a regular car seat that is both rear and forward facing. It is bigger and sits more up right so that the baby's legs aren't cramped. This happened with both of my kids. Just make sure you keep him rear facing til he is one. GL.
I had a big son too when he was that age. If his feet are hitting the back seat it is time to switch him. Talk to your Pediatrician and explain the situation. I moved my son around to face forwarding position in a regular carseat at 10 mos of age. A lot has to do with how strong they are too.
Talk to your Dr, even the local fire dept that helps with carseat safety to make sure you are doing the right thing.
I can sympathize howeer, my son is four and wearing size 6T in clothes, he has always been tall for his age and we had to make adjustments earlier then it was suppose to happen.
There are some convertable car seats that can face rear then be changed to forward facing once the child is old enough. We had to put my 11 month old in one about two months ago because of her length. The only inconvenience is not being able to pull the whole seat out when they fall asleep, but that really isn't such a big deal, especially since they are getting heavy to lug along with the weight of a car set anyway. Britax has some good ones that are really good as far as safety rating.
Like Kelli said, get a convertible car seat. Britax makes some that can be from newborn all the way up to 65 pounds. Babies can be turned to face forward after 1 year, but I believe the recommendation is to keep them facing backwards for as long as possible - even if it is more than one year.
My daughter outgrew hers at 6 months so we bought one of those 3-in-1 seats and they are awesome. She had much more room. They are rear facing, forward facing, and then the back pops off to convert to a booster. It is literally the last carseat you ever have to buy! Ours is Cosco, but Eddie Bauer makes one as well. We ordered from babyage.com and got free shipping and a much cheaper price.
there are tons of bigger cat seats that you can get where he is still rear facing. britax is the best and then you can turn it around when he gets bigger
Everyone already covered everything, I just wanted to second that a Britax convertable car seat is wonderful. They are very expensive, but when it comes to your child's safety, money shouldn't matter! My kids switched to a convertable car seat around 9-months and they stayed rear-facing until they were 15-months old in the Britax Marathon, it's that big and comfy.
We have a Cosco convertible that we love. We used it both rear and forward facing. It reclines in the forward position for sleeping comfortably on trips, etc. It's very easy to adjust the straps, etc. We love it! It fits quite large children. I'm sure it would have plenty of leg room. I don't have the model info right now, but we got it at Target. It's kind of large, but it works great. We do road trips all the time and our son just loves his car seat. I could find model info if you are interested.
There's a height limit on those infant seats, too, and I'm guessing he's been too big for that seat for several months. I think my car seat's limit was 26 inches! (some are 28, though)
So get him out of that seat and into a convertible car seat. They look like big seats, but can be installed backwards until your son is big enough AND one year old. Then you can turn it around. My son is 2 now and is riding in his convertible seat. When he gets too big for that, he'll move up to a seat that is bigger with a harness, and when he's too big for the harness, it becomes a belt-positioning booster seat. (we've done all this with our oldest, age 4, already)
As far as which seat to buy, I suggest the Costco Touriva/Regal Ride. Maybe it's called something different now, but it's the kind that the fire department gives out. They're inexpensive (~$40) and they're the narrowest on the market. That means more room in the back seat. You may not care about that right now if you only have one child, but if you're going to have more than just him, you'll appreciate the room!
You're right, you're not supposed to switch them to a forward facing position before one year AND 20 lbs, but that recommendation is the bare minimun. I know how frustrating and even distracting it can be to have a crying baby in the car. If he's still in the carrier type seat, he may do better if he were more upright while rear facing. A Convertible carseat will allow this, and believe it our not you can get a pretty good one for about $35 if money is a concern. The Costco Serena is available and Walmart and KMart for sure and quite possibly other stores, too. Also, maybe try different types of distrations in the back for him like toys, books, snacks, even a DVD. The longer you can keep him rear facing the better. Weight and height really have nothing to do with the safety level of a child who is forward facing. It has to do with the hardening of the spine. Baby's and toddler have soft spines, and are at a much higher risk of serious injuries and even death. Research has found that this risk is more then 4 times greater for children under two who are foward facing versus children who are rear facing. It's pretty scary, and unfortunatly not common knowledge yet. So, try whatever you can to help your little guy to be happier in the rear facing position for as long as you can, especially while he's still under a year old. Hopefully something will work for him. Good luck, and hang in there. :o)
The Britax Marathon is the absolute best carseat! It's worth the $ and is very easy to install. It works wonderful forward and backwards facing. We have had ours for almost 2 yrs and still love it everyday.
